Bewitchin' Kitchen Updates

My friend Scoobie's been working hard on redoing her kitchen, and I thought you folks might enjoy seeing some of the still-in-progress transformation.

For long-time readers, you might remember, she's the friend who bought a house last year and has been decorating it in a Western arts-and-crafts style. She's also my co-conspirator in Fiesta dishware obsession, though where I lean toward pastels, she favors the Tangerines, Evergreens and Browns.

When it started, her kitchen was kinda... dull... and not at all Western. The previous owners had gone with a moden coffee-themed wallpaper, that was somehow simultaneously not very interesting and also strangely busy-looking.

You can see some of the wallpaper here-- lots of little coffee cans-- and the thing was topped with a Very Coffee Wallborder.

Fine, I'm sure, in its time, but not really what Scoobie was going for...

So the more she looked at it, the more Scoobie decided the wallpaper had to go. She and her younger brother spent a week removing paper...

And then painting. Based on her dinner plates, which feature orange Western mesas and green cactii, my friend chose her color scheme. The orange paint (it's called "Indian Paintbrush" and it looks quite a bit brighter here than it does in natural light), is the same shade as her Tangerine Fiestaware dishes.

(Which you can see happily nestled on her green baker's rack.)

The piece of furniture below-- part pie-safe, part hutch, or as Scoobie gleefully refers to it, "the Putch"-- was designed and built by her dad specifically for this space...

It's pretty, simple, and incredibly functional. All canned goods and soda bottles become nestled away!

I noticed she's using the orange and green arts-and-crafts style breadbox I'd found for her at the Red, White and Blue Thrift Store in Bellevue a few months ago...
And even the apples of the season have a good home here in her happy Fiesta bowls!
Going forward, she wants to add some plate rails to display some green-and-orange Victorian pottery dishes with deer, pheasants and other game transferred on them.

She also would like to display her tin enamelware kitchenalia. This should help tone down the orange a bit.

As I said, it's a work in progress, but so far nobody misses those wallpaper coffee cups. If she's up for it, I'll share pictures with you all in the future as more things come together.

And so comes together the end of today's post! I hope to see you Wednesday to talk secondhand treasures. Take care, folks!

Treasure Box Wednesday: Kitchsy Kitchen Coincidence

We've talked about this sort of thing before: regular thrifters know, you can't control what washes onto your shores in the tidal wave of thrift. You might bob and take direction in the surf of goodies based on so many factors. And yet, when your eyes are out there scanning the jetsom, and your brain is in a particular mode, sometimes it seems everything that crosses your path is just what you might be looking for.

It was oddly themic this way for me this weekend, almost as if the Thrifting Gods were determined to give me a few finishing touches for my Alice in Wonderland themed kitchen.

My favorite item is actually one I didn't find myself. And I have my buddy Scoobie to thank for it! On her separate thrifting travels, she recalled I'd been looking for a red metal napkin holder they had once sold at Target, and now don't seem to have anymore.

At the Red White and Blue in Bellevue, Scoobie came across the very item I'd been searching for and snagged it for me...

I was absolutely delighted when I met her for lunch Saturday and she asked, "Hey, did you want this?" AGHHH! Yes!! Yes, I do! Yippee!

Lucky am I to have a buddy with such a sharp eye and good memory! So, thanks again, Scoobie.

At the Salvation Army Superstore, I came across a couple other items to coordinate with my kitchen theme. Like this Alice in Wonderland collector's plate...

Amazingly, it still has its original box and collector's certificate...
And last, some playing card style snack set trays were simply too fun, and had too much potential, to pass up...
Just a few along my upper shelf added a little extra something, I think. Not quite what the manufacturers may have intended and a far cry from weekly cribbage night, but hey, whatever works!...
I hope your thrifting adventures take you to fun destinations, too, this week!

Treasure Box Wednesday: the Alice in Wonderland Kitchen

Given this particular Treasure Box Wednesday, I have nothing newly-thrifted to share with you all, I thought I would instead show you a room I hadn't really taken pictures of before.

Many of you folks were "with" me as I spent time creating my "Alice in Wonderland"-inspired faux stained glass window. (Thank you for your patience over that lengthy process!) But I never got a chance to show the big picture, and just why this particular theme had taken over my land of cookery.

It was the joy of finding Fiestaware, and integrating that into my otherwise Victorian house that left me trying to blend the streamlined art deco style of the dishes with the William Morris, Arts & Crafts red and green livingroom that the kitchen opens onto.

And one day I got looking at my collection of bright Fiesta candleholders and vases here...

...Thinking, "These Fiesta folks are completely mad! Look at those crazy shapes!"

And that's when something in my brain said, "Hmmmmmm...."

I already had a strange number of pottery hearts hanging around...
And then at Tuesday Morning, I uncovered purely on accident some odd-and-assorted plates, bowls and cups from a British-designed Alice in Wonderland dinner set. Each one had a quote from the book-- and being a writer and a huge fan of the tale since childhood, that was just too much for me to resist!

The timing was right!

Fiesta, it turns out, also made some heart-shaped dishes, a number of which I found in their outlet discount area.


Add to this things like a Humpty Dumpty teapot I had thrifted long ago and put into action now...

And a McCoy rabbit pottery pitcher, well... the whimsical theme has worked surprisingly well without being impractical for kitchen use.
The colors transition nicely from one room to another now, even though the kitchen is a lot more kaleidoscopic than the rest of the house. The pops of red, and an Arts & Crafts rug, really tie it together.

I also had fun with a little, er, prop...Anyway, that's the Treasure Box for this week. Hope the rest of your week is filled with wonders!

Kute-- er, Cute-- Kitchenalia

Cheap.

I am.

Or maybe we’ll call it “fiscally practical.” It has a nicer ring, doesn’t it?

Though I love those gorgeous vintage-look appliances that have a turn-of-the-century stove or icebox feel, they tend to cost more than a year’s worth of car payments.

I figure my refrigerator can’t drive me to work. My stove can’t transport me to thrift stores.

So being fiscally practical, these items are probably not in my future.


Instead I’ve got plain ol’ white no-frills jobbies which do what they’re supposed to and basically say:

“Pay no attention to me. I’m white and boring and not the focus of the room. Do you YAWN when you look at me? See, you’re yawning already. That is how plain and white and boring I am.”

(Hm. Sounds like my appliances are suffering from low self-esteem... Pity.)


But that just means other items in my kitchen get to step forward to make the room look as vintage/Victorian as the rest of the house.

It also means I can’t be much of a stickler for historical accuracy-- and it gives me the freedom to scour thrift stores and antique malls for cute kitchenalia.

I figure if the room simply evokes a sense of the past, I’m doing okay.

Thrift stores have been fun for finding things like casserole dishes and mixing bowls in cheerful retro colors.


Pyrex, I understand, has become increasingly collectible. Do you remember a particular Pyrex dish your mom or grandma might have used at family gatherings or everyday dinners? Maybe it evokes a certain sense of what “home” is supposed to be.

Growing up, my mother had a strange array of pink Pyrex dishes. I say strange, not because they weren’t adorable-- but because they absolutely weren’t her taste. Mom wasn’t a “Pink” girl. Mom was a “‘70s Harvest-Color Colonial Revival” girl. Yet pink Pyrex gooseberry-patterned mixing bowls still say “Mom is baking cookies” to me. And the pink Pyrex casserole dish above was like one Mom served scalloped potatoes in. I found this at the Goodwill for about $3.

The thrift stores are also good for finding vintage silver pieces. Sugar and salt shakers aren’t hard to come by at good prices. And serving pieces like ladles and serving spoons can be as functional as they are interesting to look at.


Please forgive the tarnish on these babies I’m showing here. Normally they’re polished up to a decent shine. (I’ve just been a bit pressed for time lately.) Let’s call the tarnish “character.”

Antique malls and flea markets have been good sources for finding intriguing kitchen implement, too. The wooden handles take on a nice patina with age, and things like this hand-mixer and dicer were only a few dollars a piece-- though it’s good to shop around, because these can run upwards of $8-$12.


Lastly, I thought it might be fun to show you some new kitchen items that seem to mesh well with actual vintage pieces. The “apple green” trend that Kitchenaid and Hamilton Beech have embraced has worked decently with my Depression glass-- it’s just about the same general color, and has a sort of vibrance that adds a little zing to a darker room. I just hang the teaspoons and measuring cups on hooks where I can get them.


The airtight canisters are Martha Stewart K-Mart purchases that are the same color as my jadeite. I use them for storing things like coffee and breadcrumbs. Again, it’s the color that I think adds a little something to the kitchen.

How have YOU tackled bringing a vintage feel into your kitchen? Has it been more difficult than the other rooms? I’d love to hear from you.

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Just as a reminder, the Nifty Thrifty Gifty Giveaway is still running, so you have until October 13 to submit your guesses.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted so far. If I haven’t sent you a confirmation that I received your entry, let me know. I had some flukey email one day, apparently, and at least one entry hadn’t come through to me. I don’t want to accidentally neglect anybody.

Click here if you’d like to read about the Giveaway.

Otherwise, I hope to see you all next week! Take care of yourselves!