Wednesday, February 11, 2009

WWOW - Farmhouse Kitchen and Goodwill Chair

For Leslie's Watcha Workin on Wednesday, I thought I'd share a tad bit of what I've been up to lately as far as decorating goes.

The church ladies gave me a gift card to Gordmans at the Christmas party. I hadn't spent it until now, because nothing really jumped out at me until I found this sign on clearance the other day for $8. I really liked the looks of it and thought it would be just right for above my kitchen sink and I liked the price. Remember I do love a blend of primitive/farmhouse and rustic decor. All my appliances are black, so this really seems to stand out against the wall color with the other black in the room.


Here's a closer look:


I've been trying to decide what the little bit of wall above all my cabinets needed too. Since I'm unsure, I've done nothing. That's really my philosophy. I'd rather do nothing, than buy something I'm not sure I would want. One day, I know I will come across just the "right" things, whether it be in a store, or ideas in a magazine, etc. I've been thinking along the lines of old muffin tins, but not necessarily all muffin tins. That could get monotonous. I don't want it to be really busy either. Any ideas for all this area?

As you can see it goes all the way around 3 different walls.


Then remember the Goodwill chair that I found to use for Joy's desk? After three coats of paint, here it is:


Joy didn't really want it distressed, so I left it as is. She is thinking she would like something stenciled on the back. Any ideas? Here's a link to the post she did on her bedroom. You can tell a little more about her decor there. I'm thinking something Shabby Chic/Cottage Style, but again we both like simplicity, so nothing that takes center stage, but something subtle, if anything at all.

And that's about all I've been up to as far as decorating here lately. It seems we've been doing more running than anything. I'm really wanting to start a spring stitchery, so hopefully next time, I can show you something like that!

Thanks for stopping by and for your input! I always enjoy the comments...thanks so much! Have a great Wednesday!

~ Tammy ~

36 comments:

Linda - Behind My Red Door said...

Hi Tammy - love your new sign! Here is a link to Sarah's kitchen and some of the pics show her displays above her cabinets. In my humble opinion she got it right - not too much and they are the kinds of things you can collect over time.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569818278DOahlh

Janene said...

Tammy~You did very well with your gift card!
I have a soffit above my cupboards that looks rather bare.
I tried a stenciled saying, but the stencil moved and smeared the paint! UGH!!
So I ordered a large sign from Kathy at Sweet Home Gardens, and it covered up my Oops! and looks great!
Your goodwill redo turned out nice! I bet Joy is happy she has a nice chair to sit on while she posts on her blog!
Have a great Wednesday!

Wendi said...

Love the sign! The chair turned out very nice, I am sure Joy is pleased.

Have a great day!

Melissa said...

Love your sign up there.

Susan said...

I like the idea of the muffin tin, then maybe an old eye beater, a cheese sredder, etc.

The chair turned out fantastic. What a buy. I think stenciling would be great on the chair.
Susan

Leslie said...

Tammy,
I love the sign! It looks so nice! Are those yo-yo's in there? I love yo-yo's!

I am with you on not doing anything unless I am certain! It's better to be that way than buy and hate it and end up back buying something else later. The pieces will call to you when you find them :)

Joy's chair looks nice! Love it. I don't know what to suggest for the stencil. I would say something very simple, though...

Have a great day!

Leslie

Michele said...

Hi Tammy...I love the new sign...fits in really well there! I think muffin tins would look great above your cabinets.

I love Joy's chair...it turned out great! I need to head over and check out her blog!

Hugz,
michele

Amber said...

Hi, Mrs. Tammy,
I like Joy's chair! My mom has old blue canning jars, an old milk bottle, some old coffee cans, old cookie jars, a basket, and stuff like that on top of our kitchen cabinets. I think it looks really good.
Love,
Amber

CozyGirl said...

I like the sign! It looks great against your wall color. Joy's chair turned out great too ! I always had trouble deciding what to put on the top of my cabinets in the last house I live in. I like the idea of simple groupings around the top. Maybe with crocks, old baskets, jars of dried goods. I've been buying the huge jars of pickles and then using the jars with the lids painted black or fabric on the lids to fill with drieds. You could even mix in a gameboard or an old scale or something like that.
Have a good day Tammy !

Mandy said...

Tammy, looks like we are working on the same thing right now. I have a lot of empty space above my cabinets too. I want just the right things also - I don't want to just throw a bunch of junk up there! Right now up there I have a "Simplify" sign, an old wooden cake stand and a couple of crocks. I'm constantly moving the stuff around!

Joy's chair looks great! I love stenciled Ivy - maybe you could stencil some ivy or small flowers in colors that match her room.

Have a Great Day!
Mandy

Angie said...

I have a ledge up above my cabinets, too. I don't like too much stuff up there because that means I have to climb up there and dust it..heehee! I have a collection of old candy jars up there right now that look so pretty when the sun catches them. Have you ever seen those peel and stick wall words? They make so many designs that maybe you could look into something like that? They are so easily changed and no permanent damage to the walls. EAD Designs has some affordable ones.

Sharon said...

Love the new sign and the chair.
I have a collection of plates from each state that I have been to.
They do look nice up there but when it comes to cleaning time I wonder why I put them up them to collect dust.
God bless

Backwoodsprim said...

Hi Tammy,
Well it's just amazing to me how much we have in common!
Our DD's do too!
I could just go on and on about how much of the same things we
enjoy and do! My DD enjoys reading
your DD's blog and would love to have one too....one of her favorite t.v. shows is also Lucy... :)

My space above my cabinets is not very tall...but I always wanted to have a place where I could display some old treasures! I decided to display old crock bowls above our's....some are not perfect...but they are for display not for use, so I could get them for considerably less...I don't buy them in poor shape....but a little hairline crack doesn't bother me....

Joy's chair turned out nicely!
She has a lovely room!
My DD has her room in a shabby chic
with a touch of contempo/retro maybe....????
She has a beautiful old iron bed in an almond color,a wood and metal black screen an antique chifferobe....with the color bedding and window treatments that
were in your DD's cupcakes! LOL!!
We hope to post pics of her room
if we get her blog up and going....
Do you have an e-mail addy that you'd share?
I need to learn more to some questions I have about how to set certain safety features for both my blog and her's...
I'm just not sure how to do some of this stuff and what it all even means.....??? :)

Have a blessed day!
Backwoodsprim

Black Sheep Lisa said...

Love the new sign, I agree with Linda, Sarah has put together some great gatherings in her kitchen!
Muffin tins, even old bundt cake pans, to mix it up a bit!

Keeper of the Home said...

Hey I have that same rolling pin hanger. I have never used mine yet but I plan to hang it somewhere. *grin*

Never So Simple said...

Hi Tammy,

I loved the sign. I loved the price even more. :) Have you checked out this blog?
http://allroadsleadhome-deeb5.blogspot.com/
She has pictures of her kitchen which I just love and the one thing I like is the top of her cabinets.

Just a suggestion about Joy's chair how about a fancy alphabet stencil and just do her name?

I also sent you an email.

Donna

carolyn@simple~primitive~devotion said...

Oh, I love your Farmhouse Kitchen sign! The colors are perfect for your kitchen! And the chair turned out great!

My style is also a blend of prim and farmhouse. They are closely related in my eyes, though. LOL!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Farmhouse Blessings said...

Is is really Wednesday already? Oh dear, these days are just flying by. I LOVE your new sign ~ and what a deal!

I am just like you, I'd rather leave something just plain than to create something that just doesn't perfectly suit me. I have a collection of stoneware pitchers on top of my cabinets. It all started with a beautiful old McCoy bowl & pitcher that I bought at a roadside sale while visitng my grandmother when I was just a young thing. I love all the different shapes and sizes. I only have room for one more, but if I find more than one that I really can't live without I'll just find a home for other pieces.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

The chair is great! If my husband didn't keep me balanced, I'd be bringing home a different old chair every week. They're wonderful!

My computer is on the blink again, but thought I'd stop by for a visit while it is working.

Smiles,
Lea

Anonymous said...

Tammy,
I would do coffee pots or old kitchen utensils, that would look good.

Also loved the chair for Joy, what a find, I wish I could furniture that cheap.

Loved the car post, I also had a car that I loved dearly when I was single, it was a Cutlass Supreme and it was red with a white top and I thought I was so cool. This car was loaded unlike my other cars that were "stripped" models. I felt luxerious! LOL

Jill from NY

Cottage Rose said...

Hey Tammy; I love the new sign, it really goes with your kitchen color. You did a great job on painting the chair. I am the same as you about decorating some times. I am sure that you will do a fine job on finding just the right things for you kitchen. Maybe a nice little Rose vine on the back of the chair nothing too big. Any way please show us when you get the the chair done.

Hugs;
Alaura

{lauren} said...

I love the sign...very cute! My mother has a nice set-up on top of her kitchen cabinets I think...she has several baskets that my (now ex) SIL made and some pitchers. She also has greenery up there (but I'm not crazy about it..haha:) She doesn't do prims or anything, but I think something like that would look great done in prim style stuff. That chair looks great too! Not sure what to stencil though...but I think whatever you choose will look really good:)

Unknown said...

I like that sign, what a cute find!

Great re-do on the chair!

I like the look of baskets on top of cabinets but I don't have space here at the new house

Amy said...

Hi Tammy
I visit your blog from time to time and saw your post today about what to do over your cabinets. How about a mix of kitchen items, such as scales, muffin tins, some yellowware bowls, maybe some old tins, etc. I agree about not having all one thing - it would get to be either too much of a good thing or boring. Take care and thanks for sharing.

basketsnprims said...

Tammy,
I love your new sign and it looks great in your kitchen. I love how the chair turned out. I love the color of the paint in your kitchen ~ do you know what it is? Thanks.
Pam

Bethel said...

Looking good! The chair is perfect for Joy's room, too. Love the look!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hey Tammy, I'm not very creative and am definitely not a decorator. SO--I cannot add to your ideas. However, I do love Joy's chair and once she gets some stenciling on it, it will be even more HER...

The picture in the kitchen seems perfect for your kitchen... I love it.

Hope you didn't have any flooding or damage with yesterday's rains/storms.
Hugs
Betsy

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

love the chair--perhaps her name with some other extras--like stars or angels or ribbons of color?
Why not put items on the cupboards instead of the walls? tins-baskets, crocks. grapevine balls, rusty buckets or old jars.......
that sign is awesome. i copied it and am going to try to make one for myself...
ps-ii have my pitchers collection above my cabinets.

Susan said...

I love the sign and Joy's chair turned out great.

Paula said...

I love the sign, Tammy!!
Great job on the chair- ot looks like a brand new one!

Karen said...

I love your new sign...it would look good in my kitchen! :-)
Karen

Cat Nap Inn Primitives said...

love the sign..how about some old kitchen items like tea kettles or old coffee kettles used for camping type..roosters, muffin tins..old coffee grinders. etc...maybe some greenery tucked here and there..those labels that everyone are doing put on old glass jars or papermache..the possiblities are endless..and can be done seasonal too...

Blessed Beyond said...

Hi Tammy! Happy Wednesday to you! Hope you had a great day. I love your new kitchen sign. It is darling! I love the way the chair looks with the desk. It really is nice.
Hugs and Blessings,

Stacey said...

I love the sign! As you already know, we live in a farmhouse that was my husband's grandmother's homestead. I too have a mixture of farmhouse items along with my collection of prim things.

Above my cupboards I have crocks, lanterns, buckets, milk bottles and cups, boxes, a feed sack and a few other things thrown in there. I love to be able to have the room to do that with. My sister-in-law used grapevine around the top of her cupboards along with some tins and other things too. It looks great and is not busy at all, she is used just a few things here and there. :) She lives in Wisconsin and we live in Ohio, so I can't get a picture of it or I would send one to you.

Good luck with your decorating, I know you will find the perfect things to use and it will be gorgeous!

Blessings,
Stacey

Shelley said...

Your farmhouse sign looks perfect up there! How funny - I just did a post on the space above my cupboards and I think you're right - it will just come to you one day what you want to put up there. I have bird houses and wooden loons on mine. I do like your idea of the muffin tins.

•♦•©The Olde Weeping Cedar •♦• said...

Hi Tammy-I really like your sign, looks great up there. Your wall color looks a lot like color I have in the family room! :)
Love it in your kitchen!
Joy's chair tunred out great too!

have a wonderful day.
hugs-Kath

Country Chick said...

Hi Tammy, I wanted to say thanks for visiting my blog also and for the kind comments. I wanted to clarify something, we don't live in that house with all the rock walls, but that is a client's home of ours and my husband did do all the rock work though. :) We are trying to showcase his work somehow so that when we are bidding jobs or talking to new clients, they can go check out the type of work he does. Thanks again and have a great Valentine's Day weekend! PS I love your home... it looks so wonderful and cozy!