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All Things Home

Decorating

vintage & new kitchen rugs

I usually don’t post here on the blog on Fridays.  I keep the day open so I can paint, work on projects, go shopping, and not be tied to the computer.  But, I have so much to share about the kitchen, the pool, my upcoming art sale, and other house projects, so I’m taking some time to get a post up!  And, today, I am sharing the rugs I picked for the kitchen. First of all, I found the most perfect kilim rug from my favorite source for vintage kilim rugs, THIS Etsy shop, for the area under the sink.  I wasn’t looking for a rug that was 11′ long, but when I did the measurements, it would perfectly fit along the cabinets under the window.  I was worried it might look like overkill, but I love that it spans the floor from the range to the sink to the

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Antiques

antique ironstone breadbox

As I shared last week in THIS POST, I did a bit of antiquing and thrifting and found some great pieces.  The outings also reminded me why I can’t do this too often!  There is just so much good stuff out there and it can be hard to not bring it all home.  I did pretty well at staying focused, though, and I found an absolutely incredible piece that deserved its own blog post.  As I combed through the booths at a local antique shop for copper for my kitchen, I spotted a bread box that caused me to lean in and examine it closer.  At first, I thought it was wood and enamel and nothing too exciting, but there was something that I recognized in the luster of the white material and I was certain when I saw the crazing.  I removed the things on top of the box

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Antiques

latest antique & vintage finds

Over the weekend, I felt the urge to get out of the house and explore a bit.  My mom and I have hit a few local stores now and then, but with renovations happening and lots of work to do, I’ve been home a lot lately.  I needed to go to the grocery store to get some fresh produce anyway, so I decided to drop in a few thrift stores first.  On the way, I remembered an antique store Jeff and I visited when we first moved here that is just a few minutes from our house, so I stopped in there first. It’s a store that is a bit hit or miss with some booths that feel more thrift-store-ish and some booths that have nice antiques.  I ended up finding a few great things for my kitchen, though, which is what I was looking for.  I was specifically looking

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Antiques

Antique European Mould Rack

When our kitchen renovation plans were in the very early stages, I had in mind that I wanted to find an antique plate rack.  I have always been drawn to them, especially since I have an extensive collection of ironstone and dishes.  There’s always a chance I’ll find one at an antique store or market, but I was combing Maria’s shopping and van-loading pictures as she took shopping trips to Europe to fill a container to ship back to the US to sell online and in her California-based shop, Dreamy Whites.  I spotted this pretty pine rack on her Instagram stories one day, circled it, and texted her the picture. Several weeks ago, before the kitchen renovation even started, a huge box arrived unexpectedly at my doorstep.  Maria is incredibly generous, so it’s not unusual for packages to arrive when I haven’t ordered anything from her.  I opened the box,

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Antiques

furniture follies

A couple of weeks ago, on the high of shopping at the Lucketts Spring Market and finding some great pieces for our kitchen, I spotted a charming pair of chairs on Facebook Marketplace.  Right away, I got those butterflies when I find something special.  They are unique, and adorable, and would be so perfect for our kitchen.  I double-checked the measurements and thought they would be perfect.  So, I arranged to pick them up the next evening. As soon as I saw the chairs in person, though, I knew something was off with the measurements.  What I thought were nicely-sized kitchen chairs were very small in scale with straight backs and shallow seats, and they were so light I could easily pick two up at a time.  If I could figure out the logistics, I could probably carry all six at a time. I knew looking at them and sitting

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1970 home renovation

1970 kitchen renovation | this & that

It seems like the kitchen should be done already, but all of the little finishing details take time and that’s what’s been happening in the kitchen for the past few days.  It’s a little bit of this and that.  Installing trim, caulking, painting, patching, finishing, and starting to get things more organized.  So, I thought I would share some of the this and that, because it’s all a part of the kitchen renovation. Last week, the trim went in around the dining room and basement door frames and it’s amazing how much that added!  It’s just simple trim, but it did the trick at making these mismatched doors make more sense together.  (The dining room doors are open in the photo below.)  We worked on filling, caulking, and painting them yesterday. The “appliance garages” are actually regular cabinets with hinges that will hold the door up when opened.  We looked

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1970 home renovation

1970 kitchen renovation | installing cabinet hardware

Last weekend, Jeff and I took some time to put the hardware on the cabinets  We have put a lot of hardware on furniture and cabinets over the years, so we knew this was a task we could manage ourselves.  We were also working with two different styles and a few different hardware sizes, so I wanted to ensure I could take my time to determine the correct placement on each cabinet and drawer.  It would be somewhat tedious due to my own uncertainty on a few things, so it would be better for us to install it ourselves instead of dragging someone else into the lets-try-it-in-the-center-again process. As a reminder, THESE are the crystal and brass knobs I selected for the cabinets and a few of the drawers and THESE are the unlacquered brass pulls I ordered for the drawers, appliances, and select cabinets.  I did a lot of

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Furniture Makeovers

stripping an antique pine baker’s table

Who is ready for a furniture makeover tutorial?  I haven’t had one of those in a while, but you can find a bunch of old ones HERE!  If you’re new here, working on furniture used to be my specialty.  I do refinishing, painting, upholstery, repair, slipcovers, and all types of rehab.  When I moved to Minnesota, though, I shut down that part of my business and I only work on pieces here and there for my own home.  I do still enjoy it to a point, but it’s not what I want to do all day every day anymore.  After working on this table, my back and arms confirmed that!  So, I bought this beautiful antique baker’s table at Lucketts to use as our new kitchen island.  I knew that I didn’t want the black-painted base, but I also knew that was something I could address pretty easily.  While I

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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