House Tour #2 - Part 1

Since this is a tour of my house, I broke it up in a few parts. Part 1 is the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room. The dining room is an open concept space. It is open to a walkway area, the foyer, and an office/library. I recently found the slipcovers on line at http://www.customcoverings.com/ . They come in a variety of colors.

The antique candlesticks are from Bolivia. The green Tole bowl is just the beginning of my Tole collection.

The table is early American and was one of our first antique purchases. The brass candlesticks are also early American. The red vase is Limoges, a gift from my grandmother.

I also collect Japanese jewelry boxes. Some day I will dedicate a post to these lovely little boxes. This is just a peek. The watercolor is an original by artist - Jorge Fernandini

The kitchen was renovated about 10 years ago. I still love it.

I designed all of the cabinets and had a carpenter make them in his shop. I love the glass fronted cabinet doors. The extra large drawers are wonderful and soooo much better than just having doors on the lower cabinets.

I collect Tole trays. I was obsessed at one time, but am slowly recovering. I papered the backs of the upper cabinets with grass cloth for more texture and depth.

The window seat is one of my favorite things about the kitchen.

Not the best photo, but the bookcase is perfect for cookbooks and, of course, more Tole trays.

I also collect dishes. Some of the sets were inherited, others were purchased. Lately, I have been using them for simple meals.

Looooove my dishes....For years, I had brown and white transferware hanging on my dining room wall, now I actually use it.

I recently found the Emma Bridgewater CHEESE platter on line at http://www.joannehudson.com/ . The PURE BUTTER platters are very difficult to find now.

I keep everything handy on this little elevated tray from Pottery Barn - salt, pepper, sugar, toothpicks, etc.
The laundry room connects to the kitchen so I continued with the Tole trays in this area as well.

My next project is to re-do the window valance and paint in this room. I just have to find the right fabric and color. Another Pottery Barn buy - the giant chalk board.

That's it for now...my real life is calling!