Primitive Island ~ Kitchen Renovation

Mr. Hollow and I decided it was time to say good-bye to the table in the kitchen.  Since I love to cook and was in desperate need of the extra counter space, we decided to go with an island.  Plus, we made an overhang to create a bar on one side to accommodate 2 people.  Just perfect for us! :)

 

My big purchase was two counter top height chairs in a dark oak from Overstock.com.  They are very sturdy and comfortable.  Since it is nearly impossible to match my cabinets, I went with my love for a darker oak.  ;)  I am very impressed with the quality of the chairs which was a relief, since I was buying without testing... Yikes!



 

 

 

 

 

I will do a post later on a new method (to me anyways) that I found for distressing wainscoting.  Believe it or not, my original plan was to leave the island a stained brown.  It was Mr. Hollow that came home and kept suggesting that a distressed look would be better to tie in with the garbage holder that my son made and makes it completely different from the cabinets.  What the man is allowing painted furniture and distressed to boot?   I wasted no time and surprised him by faux finishing it the next day while he was at work.   He said it was better than he could have imagined.  WOW... this was a great compliment coming from a terribly picky man! :) 

Mr. Hollow and Farmerboy finished the cabinet out with some vintage barn board.  Here is where my Hubby's non love of prim comes in... Flaking paint!  I had to promise to run it over lightly with a wire brush and finish with some matte sealer.   That will be easy enough! ;)

I was adamant that there wouldn't be any doors on this island with the proximity to the stove.  Farmerboy wanted to make some with chicken wire, but it would have been unappreciated in the back and a pain to open.  So, Mr. Hollow left the back open and made a short removable shelf to store lighter food items. 

I can honestly say the island was one of the best decisions that we have made for our home.  It makes our kitchen... Well... More like a kitchen! ;)  Plus,  I found out how great it is to NOT be leaning over a table all the time to prepare meals.  It is absolutely heavenly! :)

Vintage Fence Post & Barn Board Birdhouse

My son has been creating birdhouses out of old barn boards for the last couple of years and mounts them on old porch turnings or fence posts.  This house was built with a cool old knotty weathered fence post.   He also added door handles, old keys, and an old rusty hand sickle for embellishments, along with a grapevine wrap.   Usually the welcome sign on the front is hand painted, but this one is burned into the wood.  On one of his birdhouse creations, he snitched some gourds that I passed on cleaning for my art and created a cross bar with little gourd birdhouses.   Each one is unique from the shape of the houses themselves to the assortment of rusty hand tools.   A few of these barn board creations have graced the front windows at the antique shop that I work at.  The sun comes from the south in that window but does not bother them, and they lend a nice rustic charm to the antiques.   This one was created as a donation for our local school raffle that my son donates to every year. :)

My son has an arsenal of old worn out tools from sales, along with keys, hinges, and knobs.  He also has earned  a reputation  around town for taking cast outs.  So... local renovations usually bring old doors, porch turnings, and wainscot his way for the hauling... or anything else that strikes his fancy.  Of course, it is a win - win situation when homeowners are worried about filling a dumpster! ;) 

I can remember back before Farmer boy was a teenager, he use to take a lawn mower and trailer to haul items. (Now he just uses a bigger tractor and trailer! LOL)  The local bank was taking down the brick building that housed their first location.  I cannot tell you how many bricks and odd items made their way to our backyard!  My hubby and I went for a walk while this demolition was going on that summer, and there was our son going under the yellow tape for another load.  My hubby informed him of trespassing and safety issues.  It  was right at that time when the leader of the demolition team came out of the building and informed my hubby that our boy had his permission to enter the area...  We should have known that kid had all of his bases covered! LOL      

Hunting Season... Primitive Deer Mount!

It is deer hunting season in Northern Illinois.  The weekend brought the echoing sound of shots in the distance, and deer hanging from the branches of local trees.  Although my son loves target shooting, he hasn't gotten involved in hunting deer, yet.  Well... not the four legged kind anyways. ;)

"What inspired this work of creative expression", you ask?  Let me see... A few weeks ago, my hubby had the crew out on a smaller tree removal job.  As they came back and were unloading equipment, I spied my son's friend carrying a piece of wood that he had pulled from the back of the chip truck.  When he was close enough to the window for me to see, I yelled to him that he had a nice deer head.  He smiled and looked back at my son and said, "Your Mom got it!"  It was an amazing natural resemblance to a deer mount.  They set it on the back patio, and I forgot all about it. 

The days that followed brought strange sounds from my son's workshop in the basement.  My hubby found me in my studio area one night and told me that I had to check out what the kid was up to... And this is what I saw.   

Farmer boy has been saving these antlers for the longest time.   I am not really sure how in the world he got them mounted so sturdily on the bust, and the wooden ears are just perfect.   I love it!  It is so primitive and makes me smile.  The barn board plaque allows it to fit in so well with my rustic pieces that I have been collecting.  If I have a separate studio in the near future, this guy is going to be on the wall for sure! :)

Vintage Nesting Boxes ~ A New Home for the Girls!

My son swapped his barn board planter for two sections of vintage nesting boxes.  The picture below is the single section that he has already mounted... And as you can see, the girls are already making use of it.  The second unit is a double decker nesting box that was painted at one time and will need to be repainted before putting it into use.

 

Egg hunts are not just for Easter anymore!   

Does this little girl look serene sitting there?  It is hard to tell by the photo, but she is raising her back feathers at the camera.  If I had audio, you would be hearing an awful sound that originates from the depths of her soul.  My son is pretty sure that there are two eggs under her, and she is determined to hatch them out.  Like Beatrix Potter's "Jemima Puddleduck", this charmer has never been much of a sitter, but time will tell...

Planter with Birdhouses out of Barn Boards

My son created this large barn board planter with birdhouses.  He has done some smaller ones in the past, but this one was custom ordered for a swap of goods. ;)  If I get out tomorrow with my camera, I'll post some pics of what he received out of the swap.

We are always on the look out for enamel pots that he can incorporate into his pieces.  The chipped pots work out great for him.  He is working on a smaller one now.  It will have an oval roaster for the planter.  I will have to get some pics to post when he is finished. 

I finally finished going through my aluminum coffee pots today.  Most of the ones that were in good shape went back to the basement and were put on a storage shelf.  My son and his friends can  grab a few to take camping.  Some are just to cool to part with. ;)  The ones that didn't have guts or had rough insides are being reserved  for craft projects.  I am running some ideas by my son and will post as soon as we have finished our collaboration. :)  The rest will get priced and taken in to work.   This girl needs to downsize!     

Handcrafted Vintage Style Potato / Onion Bin out of Barn Boards

My son has been using up some of his barn boards again.  Here is a potato/onion bin he created using vintage ~ recycled materials.  It turned out really cool.  He made it for my kitchen, but I just do not have the room for it right now. :(  That is the problem with having an old house.  It was not designed for having so many cabinets and modern appliances.  My garbage can holder (posted earlier under Kitchen) is in my only open space.  Although, I have kicked around putting that in another room but would really rather not...  Anyways, I took it into the shop that I work at.  It looks nice with the other vintage pieces around it.  I love the old paint on this piece (white, lt green, and red), and he even used some old square nails that he had scavenged to put it together!  Aaaagh!  The only new pieces on it are the two hinges that tip the bins, and I mixed some paint and faux sponged them to look rusty. 

Usually, I am really good at reworking areas of my house to make things fit.  I even considered using the piece as a lamp stand in the front room.  Really...who would ever open it up??  Well... I guess they might if I put some beautiful smelling onions in it!!  I feel defeat surrounding this piece, there is just no solution to this dilemma, so my poor potatoes have to stay sitting in an old crock next to my fridge.  (Yes, I am feeling sorry for myself now! Pathetic isn't it?) ;) 

At least, I get to look at it on the days that I work.  Maybe if we ever get the chance to build that dream house, the bin will have a space...  How long do you suppose it will take for me to crack and bring it home?  Hmmm, maybe I can rearrange my little studio area off the kitchen.  You know that might work! :)    

New "Vintage Style" Barn Board Pie Safe

What to do with the fabric stash? My main way to hide all of my accumulating fabric (from my hubby ;)) was to put it in my collection of picnic baskets. It is amazing how much you can fit in those babies! Not to mention they are beautiful (or at least I think) stacked to make plant stands or side tables. But my stash outgrew their containers, and I wanted to eliminate some of the 'search and find' missions that had to be put into action when looking for a particular piece. (I suppose this also constitutes a Fab Friday Find, since most of these fabrics were bought in new condition at various yard sales.) I fell in love with an English cupboard at a local antique shop, but it was way to big for the space that was available, so the next thing that popped into mind was a pie safe. I have seen a few at sales, and they were pretty pricey. My son was with me on one of these excursions and rolled his eyes proclaiming that he could make them for a fraction of the price. Like that would ever happen! But imagine my surprise when he made me this one for a gift!! It even had the chicken wire front (that was salvage) that I wanted! I fell in love with it immediately. (I am truly a blessed Mom!) It was made out of barn board that my son salvaged himself out of a nearby location. The barn hinges were too big for the project, so he used some hinges that my Dad bought for him at a yard sale. It will forever be one of my favorite pieces, along with the garbage can holder (that can be viewed in my "kitchen" posts). The dimensions to this one are 32" x 37" high. He built this for me a few years ago, when he was eighteen. Salvaging barns is kind of an odd hobby for him to break into on his own, but we are all heavily into recycling in our family, so it was not a surprise either!

Here is a larger matching piece that I had him build me a year later. The dimensions are 34" x 65". The fabrics look bright in both pics, because I needed to employ my flash to get a clear image. Both pieces make a beautiful focal point in my sitting rooms. Not only are they handy for retrieving fabric, but they are quite the conversation pieces as well. I always tell my son that I will have a studio filled with his barn board furniture some day, and he tells me that if he keeps getting more barns, he will build the studio out of it too!! ;)

My Primitive Kitchen

Here is my kitchen. I finally have it organized for efficiency in my cooking endeavors or experiments! In the past, storing spices, flour, and sugar was a struggle. It seemed like I made too many trips to the pantry for supplies. I finally decided to get some use out of my vintage canning jars. It didn't take long to fill them up. So, out to the store I went for the little squat Ball jars on the shelf to store my yeast and other spices that are kept in smaller quantities. The large apothecary jars are so handy for sugar and flour. (They need to be filled soon, but I like to let them run down every once and a while.) People often ask if it is a problem having so much flour out at room temperature, but I make my own bread and bake a lot which uses it up pretty fast. The sugar takes a little longer to go down, but it keeps fine and bug free. I found two scoops (one green and one red handled) to go in them. One of my favorite things is the copper measuring cups that my son mounted for me on the wall. My Dad picked them up for scrap metal but brought them to me instead. How lucky is that? On the stove you can see the cast iron dutch oven that my Mom found at a garage sale. It is a size 9. I love the old cast iron to cook with. I cannot believe she stumbled on that treasure!

Here is a full view of my kitchen. I like having some of my older pieces up above the cupboards, but I tried to keep it simple for cleaning reasons. ;0)

The old fruit crates came in handy to give me some height which makes the walls seem not so tall and blank. The wall color lends itself to the orange side of the color wheel. It works well with the vintage pieces.

This piece was a gift from my son, who knows I love the more rustic primitive look. (hubby loves oak) Not only is it a nice stand to put my snack bowl and Hamilton Beach shake machine, but it tips out in front and holds my tall (concealed) garbage can. COOL! It is made from old barn boards and hinges that he salvaged. Even the handle is a salvaged piece. I just love the old wainscoting with its original white paint. I'd have my whole kitchen done like this if we ever build a new house. (Heaven knows my kid has enough boards stored up and then some!) This piece was a complete surprise, but after seeing his skill level, I have had him build some other pieces to store fabric.

My kitchen is finally a warm and inviting place, reflecting my love of the pioneering spirit. I might have a few small things to add in the future. For now, I look around and every piece has a memory for me on how it was found, and a story behind it on how it fit into history.