Are you someone who adores spending time on Pinterest? On Instagram? I know I am. I love a pretty picture, and confess that I am greatly influenced in what I achieve in my day, by how visually pleasing the effect will be, when I am done.
I love the gleam of my hardwood floors when they're freshly swept and mopped (yes that is my new Falcon oven peeking at the right hand edge of this shot...delivered yesterday...
....and so too, the gleam of my beautiful Tasmanian Oak laminated beam bench and buffet tops....
..I love looking from my kitchen bench, across the living area, to our bank of louvres and out into our shady tropical garden. It's a special pleasure...
....and in the Master Bedroom, I love the soothing ivory and blue colour scheme, with my hand embellished faux Moroccan blanket...
...and toning throw rug, fringing elegantly draped over the antique blanket box that I bought with my very first pay packet 41 years ago. The framed photograph was produced by a local primary school class, for their school fete. I won it by Silent Auction, for just $50. Isn't it the sweetest?
So, when it came to my kitchen, I was similarly influenced by how darling it could look. Over a period of years, and aiming for this sort of idea, below...
...I assembled an extensive collection of vintage Harlequin kitchen canisters. Different types, but mostly full sets. The anodised metal one at front right you see in the next picture, being the exception. I had some wild idea (not entirely misguided), that I would find mates for that one in my thrift store shopping expeditions. I augmented this with my collection of recycled jars, seen bottom right, which I topped with a rainbow of crystal door knobs. I loved them. Husband less so. He says he doesn't mind a bit of Vintage Charm in the kitchen, but I think he means me...lol!
On the occasions when Husband, or my lovely sons or daughters-in-law cook for the family, it's been difficult for them to navigate my Rainbow canisters. The canisters say Flour or Sugar, but which one is Plain Flour or Rice Flour? Which is Raw Sugar and Caster Sugar? Where is the Quinoa? And which canister holds the teabags, and where is the filter coffee kept? Sigh. It sure was delightfully dreamy looking at those sorbet hued canisters, but jeez...not easy to find stuff.
My recent win of kitchen appliances, gave me a whole new viewpoint. Suddenly I didn't have to make do with pastel canisters, and a sorta, kinda half French Farmhouse, half 50s Retro kitchen any more. The centrepiece of my kitchen would now be my Falcon Range...
...and I could fulfill my dream of a true French Country Farmhouse kitchen.
Cupboards were emptied....eee-yew...scary what gathers in there over the years...
...cleaned and painted white...
...even cutlery drawers were madeover...here before...
...and here, below, after...
...and new clear canisters sourced for just $8 each set of three in graduating heights.
Fifteen sets of three in all, plus some chalkboard style labels and a white pen, saw my kitchen changed from chaos to calm...
My favourite pink vintage canisters and bread bin were retained and given pride of place. They still make me smile...
...and now a calm, harmonious arrangement is in place for my extensive array of cooking ingredients. No matter who the designated chef is, ingredients can be found easily, levels checked instantly, shopping lists made simply, and order reigns supreme.
It's been a real lesson for me. I was so focused on having a Pinterest Perfect idea of a kitchen, that I neglected to appreciate who uses the space, when and how it's used, and why it needs to be a space where anyone can walk in and find what they need. Sure, it needed to be an area in which I loved to work, but I am not the only one working there!
It's now time to pretend I've had a windfall of a longed for appliance or piece of furniture in other rooms of the house, and evaluate those space for functionality, and not just the pretty picture they make.
After all, this is my home. Not a Pinterest board. Right?
What about you? Are you influenced by the plethora of pictures with which we are bombarded these days? How do you keep your home, yours, in the era of Pinterest and Instagram?
