For those who were interested, the tutorial on how we made the range hood in our kitchen is now live on HGTV.com HERE. This was one of my favorite projects, because it made a huge difference in making the kitchen look custom and higher end.
Speaking of my kitchen, I have an exciting photo shoot coming up, so I’ve been keeping an eye out for cool kitchen things. I actually already have a pretty ridiculous collection of serving pieces, linen, dishes, etc., but the stylist asked if I could change out the preserved boxwood topiaries for some herbs. I’ve always wanted rosemary topiaries, so it was a good occasion to get them.
Don’t get too used to seeing them, though. I’m sure I’ll kill them in no time and I’ll be back to preserved boxwoods, which have gained my affection due to the fact that they won’t die.
I’ll go off on a little dead-plant-rabbit-trail for a minute… I bought a couple of evergreen topiaries to flank my front door. I’ve had them since January and have been pretty proud of the fact that they were still alive, despite being in my care. Well, last week, one of them started to look a little sick, then it turned brown, dropped all of its needles and died. My husband looked down at it one day as we entered the house. I knew what he was thinking. Another plant fallen victim to Marian’s black thumb. I replied to his unspoken words, “I know, I know. I have been taking good care of it, so I don’t know what happened!”
“Well, you know…plants need water.”
“I have been watering it! Look at the other one! It’s green and has all of its needles and it’s fine. I have watered them both at the same time, so that blows your theory!”
We both just laughed.
Maybe it got too much sun. Maybe not enough. Maybe I just looked at it wrong or didn’t talk to it enough. Maybe it just knew that death was inevitable, so it might as well drop the needles and let go instead of lingering on my front porch, making my home look like a safe place for other plants despite the empty window boxes and weedy beds.
Well, anyway, chairs have a better chance with me and I think I’ve finally decided what to do with these…
I’m thinking this…
…stain the cane and white wash the frame. I can’t wait to have the time to work on them. I’m the “snack helper” (as my son’s say) for Vacation Bible School this week, so we’ll see how much work I can get done around that.
If you’re interested, a few more of my costume tutorials are available HGTV.com, too…
The costumes were waaaay out of my element, but it was so fun to see the kids put them on and enjoy them.
34 Responses
Oh, your chairs are going to be gorgeous! Your kitchen hood looks very nice too! Always so pretty.
Ha! You know that little aviator pilot looks JUST LIKE YOU!! Good luck with the chairs – and Man! Is your kitchen looking SPIFFY!?
Breida
Your costumes are adorable and your timing is brilliant. Dreaming up our kids favorite costumes with them could be the perfect opportunity to teach sewing/crafting during these less scheduled days of summer. One less thing on our to -do lists for fall!
Your kitchen is looking really awesome..!! The way you have organised things inspiring me a lot, definitely I will suggest this post to my wife..!!
I don’t have a lot of luck with herbs in pots. I usually end up putting them in the ground and letting nature take care of it. I did this with a rosemary, ignored it and it took off ridiculously. It’s huge! I don’t think rosemary needs a lot of water since it’s a Mediterranean type plant. Plant it outside after your photo shoots and see what happens.
I can’t keep herbs or plants alive inside my house, BUT I’m doing a great job in our greenhouse and vegetable garden. Maybe you should try that? For you, I’m thinking a gorgeous French/Belgian ‘orangerie’ with antiques in between the plants, not a plastic polytunnel like ours :-). Btw, don’t give the rosemary too much water! It survives in our greenhouse (90-100F) and we don’t water it every day. It has grown to a little bush.
Don´t be sad one of your topiaries died, it´s very likely it was already sick when you bought it. Sometimes this happens even to my mum who is qualified gardener and she is very good with plants. It can take even a whole year for bigger plants to die without any mistakes in your care. So chear up!
Looking forward to your “full-of-herbs” kitchen ^_^
That witch costume is absolutely adorable (the little girl is gorgeous too!)
Chairs turned out gorgeous! What is paint color in your dining room??
Love following your projects 🙂
Thank you for the hood tutorial. Chairs will be very pretty. Stripping, staining the cane; make it brittle and prone to breakage? Hate to see damage on those lovely chairs. Enjoy the very important job as snack lady at VBS.
I love the chairs!!! Great contrast between stain and paint.
I know someone who spray painted her topiaries green after they died and continued to use them! Love the little pot the rosemary is in. Can you give me a source?
I love your dining room rug or floor covering. I was wondering where you purchased it and if it is still available. I have admired it for a while now. Your home is beautiful, maybe one of these days I’ll get brave enough to start a blog of my own. You do such a good job and are so talented. A great inspiration to us all. Whatever you decide to do with the chairs I’m sure they will be beautiful.
If your outside evergreen was a Dwarf Alberta Spruce, don’t be too hard on yourself :)Spider mites were the most likely culprit as they are very susceptible to them.
Hi! I too have a black thumb when it comes to gardening- but if I make self-watering planters for my plants, they fend for themselves! I have some shrubs on a windowsill, where I essentially just bought two of the same planter pot, and stacked them in each other after I cut some short pieces of 1″ pvc pipe to hold the top planter box off the lower planter box, creating a reservoir. You can google “diy self watering planter” to see tutorials on how people do this. But it allows me to forget about my plants (unintentionally, but it always happens) and they don’t die and I cannot over or under-water them, because they can take as much water as they want from their reservoir and stay happy and healthy!
Good luck!
OH Marion, I just about squealed when I saw the tutorial was live! Yes this little girlie girl (ha ha because I am so NOT a girlie girl!!) has been waiting with baited breath…. can you say ugliest improperly functioning range hood on the planet!?!
Does the exhaust fan connect to an existing vent? I have an empty space above my stove from a removed microwave but it’s on an interior wall. I am wonder if I can replace the upper cabinet with this custom range hood instead. I always thought it was supposed to tap into some vent that would pull that air outside.
can’t wait to see what the kitchen shoot will reveal. Magazine spread? And as far as herbs-in-pots-on-windowsills goes; these are for show only! Herbs are not meant to grow indoors or in small pots. They like outdoor, good soil, sunshine, and room to expand. Enjoy them for the shoot and then (like you said) put your preserved boxwoods back in place. Thanks for the tutorial, btw
I love those chairs, and the dark cane contrast with the white will really look great. I’ve always been concerned about cane seats holding up well, and your recommendation is changing my mind on that. Thanks.
Growing herbs inside. Once I got the hang of it, my herbs began to flourish year round. Outside in the summer and inside in the winter. One basil plant grew 3 foot tall. I finally lost it to an unseasonal frost this spring. Clue: Check the hole in the bottom of the pot for roots. When herbs become root bound, they have no where to go for food and water. Of course, say nice things to your plants on a regular basis – Really Works!
where i live topiaries are especially hard to grow, they get mites which you can’t see. but at Christmastime i still buy them…and then i just let them die from lack of water which keeps the foliage intact. next i spray paint them with a professional silk/fresh flower paint called Design Master. they last indefinatley and the green colors are very realistic looking. i use them all winter long on the table or in vingettes and no one is the wiser.
I like to say that my thumb is dark green; lots of plant deaths on my hands but I am not giving up. When I got to the section about the chairs I was sad that it didn’t say “send these to my reader Carrie”. 😉 Cute costumes!
Those costumes are off the charts adorable, thanks for sharing.
Yes, most likely spider mites got your outside plant. If you intend to keep the other one, hit it with a fairly strong spray from the garden hose every couple of days. And the primaries, give them a summer vacation outside, only bring in for photo shoots or cold. =0)
where did you get your beautiful dinning room rug? The one that your table is sitting on with all the wonderful black graphics and letters.
The costumes are just adorable!! And of course the kitchen is beautiful!! I’m also loving the way your going with your chairs. As always it all looks beautiful Marian!!
Love the idea for the chairs, but, I think an undercoat of a pale green gray would add a little something extra.
The chair plan is GORGEOUS! Costumes, too?? I was going to ask if there’s anything you can’t do, but I just read that you can’t keep your plants alive- haha. 🙂
Enjoy your VBS week!
Jeanette
I love those inspiration chairs – they are beautiful. And don’t worry too much about your topiaries – I have the hardest time keeping some of my plants alive too. Some just don’t seem to like me 🙂
I have a black thumb when everyone else in my family has a green one. 🙁 But, I think we get to enjoy having other talents. Your kitchen looks wonderful.
Well you are in luck Ms. Marian! You can’t kill rosemary! LOLOLOL
Hey there Marian. I was away for a week and missed your posts but am now just catching up. You HAVE been busy! Bathroom is looking gorgeous. New colour is gorgeous… can’t wait to use it. And, those costumes are over the moon cute.
Now, I’m a little confused. I thought you were going to get your Aunt’s DR table and chairs. Are you saying you are going to paint them ALL? Just trying to keep up with you, my dear. 😉
I was wondering if you would mind sharing an approximate price of the cost to do your range hood (all supplies, venting to outside, etc). I would love to have something just like this in our home and DIYing would make it more affordable. Just wondering how much more….
It looks amazing, thanks for sharing!!!
Looking to do something similar soon. I love your kitchen.
Did you use the Broan hood LINER with the actual unit?