Finally.....The Island

Ok, I'm done.  After about a dozen colors added and an end-product that looked like it had been on fire, it's finished.

This is the before.  Kitchen not yet painted.  Plain big box store island.  Green formica counter.  The bar stools were donated.  The formica went out on rubbish day and someone took it for salvage.

This was my crazy idea....laughed and and scorned by some.  Take old doors and use them as panelling.  Trim them up with old wood and change the counter to barnboard.

And here it is finished.

Close up of the finish.  Farrow and Ball Brown with Green Blue followed by a very diluted All White.  Rubbed on.  Rubbed off.  Sanded edges.

Look at the gorgeous barn board.  My cottage neighbor is really handy and offered to do it for me.  He got the boards off a barn slated for demo, and then he sanded and waxed them until they were absolutely perfect.

I had these bar stools made.   I fell in love with this Robert Allen fabric and I don't care that they don't match the Green-Blue.  I wanted a mix and think the colors pop against the pale subdued colors of the kitchen.

 

I actually like the holes where the knob and lock was.

Total cost.  Old door $10.00.  Gift from Lorraine and Steve who immediately saw it's potential.  2 small wooden panels from old cupboards- Re-use Centre $10.00 each.  Barnboard and labour $350.00. Paint. $30.00. (small sample pots, plus 1 litre, existing leftovers.)

Landfill contribution...Zero.

Inky Waters

Interesting colors by the lake....a breakwall with gorgeous browns and whites...looks perfectly distressed.

Dusk is an interesting time to take photos.  There is still a reflective blue in the sky, but the sun is low enough to create murky shadows.  Last night I took some photos around the harbour. 

The water looked Inky, oily.....dark and a bit creepy....

I swim here......but not at dusk in this dark dark water.....

This made me think of the Oil Spill....the water looked like oil. In the daylight it is clear blue. 

Vivid Orange against the Ink

An ink blot on the water.  Love the name of this little wooden row boat.

Kathaleen.....I can just hear someone calling that name....Kath-a-leen.

Dramatic contrasts... red blue black.  The owner thought I was impressed with his boat and asked if I was from a magazine......I think he was disapointed....

This looks like thick oil paints on a canvas....my favourite little tender....

Inspiration Found

Thanks so much to all of you who posted words of encouragement about my cottage island (kitchen island that is) disaster.  Some of you actually liked it....someone said it was like old pieces uncovered from the 1800's.  Someone else suggested I call the technique "Charred" .  Can you imagine a magazine caption "The kitchen island with it's gorgeous charred finish...........".

 I decided to leave it to see if it grew on me, but after a week it still looked liked it had been charred or was growing mold.  So I went through my cottage photos to muster up some inspiration.

I knew I didn't want it white because all the cupboards have just been painted white.

So many of my cottage Bits are blue or green, so after a chat with the color consultant Craig at my local Farrow and Ball, I settled on Green Blue.  A Beachy Color with a definite vintage feel.  So by Monday, I will have photos of my next incarnation of the island.  The fire restoration should be complete.

The Over-Faux Finish- When You Just Don't Know When To Stop.!

image.www.Farrow-Ball.com

I had an idea a while back.  I was going to panel the ugly island at the cottage to make it look old...like an old fixture re-used here in the kitchen.

Melissa from Cranberry Cottage Blog had a little meltdown yesterday, (read it here) wondering if other bloggers had things go wrong, if their houses were ever a mess, or if they were in a perpetual state of staged perfection.  So, I thought it timely to show my kitchen with stuff laying about and unflattering pictures of my project.

This is the before picture.  A standard Home Depot veneered ugly-pugly island. (that is not my furniture here or my decor)

And here is phase 1.  You may ask yourself "is that a door" nailed to the island and you would be correct in your assesment.  In my quest to use only re-used materials in the cottage, I came up with the idea to use old doors for my panelling.  Lorraine and her husband found me the perfect old door at a thrift shop for the back, we cut the window piece out and nailed it to the island.  I found 2 smaller panels at the Re-Use it Centre and used them for the ends.

Handy Ken, then filled the gaps with old barn board.

Last weekend, I attempted to paint it, adding layers of white, blue, brown.  The paint took to the barnboard areas much differently than the painted panels, however, and I couldn't get the look I wanted....so I kept going and going, obsessively added colors to "age" it.

After a dozen coats, it ended up with a Very Faux, Faux finish.  Over the top and completely overdone.  Not at all what I had in mind. 

I think it looks like,

 it was in

 a FIRE.

A Contest - Call for Entries............ The Attraction of Simplicity

Blue Boat

Red Boat

For me this composition was a study in Simplicity.  Looking at something in it most basic, raw state and seeing much much more than a more complicated version.

  From a hundred or so sail and motor boats in the harbour, it was these 2 that I was most drawn to.

 Not the expensive yachts with their fancy equipment, polished decks and gleaming chrome.

Basic.  Simple.  Bare. Unassuming.  

Food. Fashion. Art.  Design. Garden. Books. Pets. House.  People. 

If you peel back the layers of almost anything,

it is the underlying beauty of something in it's most basic form,

 that is the most striking. 

If you have a photo that illustrates this point, send it to me and I will do a post of them. You can give a little explanation if you wish. my email is chania@razmataz.ca
 I will then pick one that I feel represents the Beauty of Simplicity and the winner will receive something simple and beautiful as a prize.  Deadline Aug 1.  I will post the entries over the next few weeks. 

Mish Mash

At first glance, my weekend photos were a bit of a Mish Mash.......no theme or connection.  A Hodge Podge.  But as I started to compose this post......a common thread emerged......RED.  Brilliant splashes of Red.

 I love the way this photo of the boat turned out.  It reminds me of a Ken Danby painting. 

Look at that splash of red on this Woodpecker and his beautiful spotty "bloomers"

The hummingbirds love this flower.  A random couple knocked on my door and asked what these were.  We ended up chatting for a bit and I discovered that they were avid gardeners.  I dug some up for them to try in their garden.

If you plant one new plant this summer, you should try Bergamot (Bee Balm). If you pinch it in your fingers it has the most glorious scent like Earl Grey Tea.

You can see the hummingbird in this photos right above the left side of the birdbath.

The Hummingbirds don't use the feeder if the "real" stuff is available.

A splodge of red in the Geranium....

I love theway the read on the marina sign looks against the weathered  white board.  The whole sign says Lion's Head, but I didn't have the right lens to get the whole thing.

The gorgeous res stiching on this Cat Studio pillow that my bother gifted me for the cottage.  Look at all that hand worked stitching.....

Breakfast in Bed

How pretty is this Calamine Pink breakfast tray with this brown and white transferware tea set?

Sometimes when we set up a new display in the shop, I just hate taking it apart.  Like this teaset in pristine condition.  I want it to be part of the "display" forever.  I love it so much with this breakfast tray. I bought from its original owner, a charming old lady who told me she's downsizing...... getting rid of her old stuff...... de-cluttering.....

An Evening Walk in Canadian Cottage Country

Love the galvanized metal and tuquoise against the grey stones.

I always love to catch a glimse of other parts through the blogs I read.  I thought you may like to see some photos of Georgian Bay.  You can sail from Lake Huron right over to Georgian Bay and come have tea on the cottage porch.  So you Michigan readers, that's an invitation. You can come for tea of you arrive by car too.!

I took all of these photos on my evening walk, when the lighting has an odd vibrancy, making the colors sharp and almost glowy.

Looking out to the point.  The dimming sun makes everthing grey.  Around the point a little is the Cape Croker Indian Reserve....one of the most beautiful pieces of land around.  Next time I go I will take photos.

The homeowners make paths of large rocks so they can walk down to the lake.

This was Canada Day weekend.....I think this guys needs a new flag.  It looks like he is on a deserted island and hung his boxers on a tree.!

A good old fashioned row boat....

This old floating dock looked so vibrant against the rocks....

A path of wildflowers beckons to the lake...

All along the beach, people have fashioned seating and campfires from the wood and rocks...I love these primitive little benches..

I try to carry one rock back each time I walk for my garden...

This is the best spot for star gazing at night because it is so dark...this little row of trees creep me out at night....they look like people...

It was almost dark, but this delphinium was almost glowing in the dusk....no flash used.

The view from my favorite cottage..

And this is my favorite cottage.....an old farmhouse with stone chimney and a wrap around porch.

You can follow this trail from Niagara Falls to Tobormory...

Back at the docks, the boats are coming in for the night....

Mama duck watching out over her young.  I love how the masts create "Ribbons" on the water.

I hope you enjoyed the scenery. I took some photos of some of the cottages too, and will post them another day.  I hope everyone had a good 4th of July and Canada Day here in Canada and the US, and your summers are off to a good start. (Sorry my Aussie friends....not trying to make you feel bad.  Remember, when we are in the dead of Winter, we are reading all of your summer posts)