Cottage Dining and More!!!

   

OK, I've rested, so lets see if I can write a coherent post.

I will resume, not where I left off, but where I started on Thursday.

MY DINING ROOM!!!!

Yes, I KNOW, I'm still talking about the space where food is supposed to be served (but isn't very often.)

(Ah-Oh, if you look in the kitchen, you can see that I didn't realize that the black cord of the photography lights is showing in the picture.)

(I am such an accomplished photographer!!!!)

(I mean, it's smack in the middle of the shot!!!!)

(I'm too lazy to reshot, pretend it's not there, OK????)

I'm about to amaze you with another before and after.

The shot above is the AFTER!!!!

This next shot is the BEFORE!!!!!

This is how the house looked when I saw it with my real estate agent.

The previous owners furniture was a little glitzy....

I made a few changes.....

wood flooring...........

closed up the pass-through  from the kitchen into the living room.....

extended the wall in the kitchen to the end of the peninsula.....

yanked out the white laminate built-in in the living room.....

wallpapered EVERYTHING!!!!.....

changed the doors on the kitchen cabinets.....

added a crown molding to the kitchen cabinets.....

changed the tile backsplash.....

changed the countertop......

and

DECORATED (yah!!!).

The before.....

(That's my blue file folder, I was taking measurements for my floorplans.)

The folks I bought the house from, figured that if a little white is good.....

a lot of white is better.....

welllll, I like me some color!!!

and the after.....

the before....

I think it's so funny that we both bought sunflower pictures for this wall....

and the after.....

This is my bar, I will discuss this more tomorrow.....

an overview of the whole space (sort of)...

and a detail of my little bookcase.....

I found this on ebay!!!

I was looking for a VERY specific size.

I wanted something in split reed.

I figured, I had ZERO chance of finding something, since I was so narrow in my search of what I wanted. 

AND I FOUND EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR!!!!!

Well, not exactly, I never dreamed of something this quirky and cool!!!

This is the definition of split reed:

Flat on one side and very rounded on the other, a circle or core of rattan cut in half.

Sometimes called split reeds, used primarily in basketry for heavy-duty rims, runners and handles.

It's one of my favorite materials in furniture, and I used it all through out my Florida home.

I combined several different types of stuff to create this arrangement over the little bookcase.

The plates are majolica asparagus plates.

You arrange the spears around the outside rim, and place the dipping sauce in the indentation.

These plates I found on ebay in Europe.....

So, I was bidding on them, and all excited because there were four, and I wanted four!!!!!

So, I win the suckers....

YAY!!!

The next day I get an email from some stylist at Martha Stewart, telling me that he had meant to bid on them, but they slipped through his hands, and would I mind lending them to him for a photo shoot, he would pay for the shipping, etc. etc. etc.

So I nicely emailed back, letting him know that I needed them for a book I was writing on cottage design, and that NO he couldn't borrow them.

I think he thought that I would fall over backwards in joy, being flattered by attention from someone working for MARTHA STEWART!!!!

Never dawned on him, that maybe there are other FABULOUS folks bidding stuff up on ebay.

Never heard from the #$%er again. 

I think it was that guy Eddie.

Not sure.

Didn't really care to remember his name.

OH, the egos of us designers.....

So, I found these cool candle holders, and couldn't figure out how to use them. 

So.....

Betsy's rule number(I don't know what number I'm up to, oops!)

When in doubt!!!!!

HANG IT ON THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got some questions about my sardine box, so I thought I'd share pictures of my collection, and tell you guys what the hell they are!!

The were used (and still can be) to serve sardines.

You plop the opened can in the box, and place it on your dinner table.

They came in all different styles, to go with all different types of china.

There are also a lot of majolica ones around, but I prefer the white china boxes.

I think they is pretty!!!!!

What think you????

They can also be metal, like the one I have in my living room...

OK, that's it for today, campers.

Tomorrow we move to the bar!!!!

Yay!!!

Booze!!!!

Later, Gator

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