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was all different i made the decision then and there to leave as much intact as i could going forwarded to preserve what i think will enhance her old bones and put some spring back in her step which now takes us to the kitchen the kitchen was remodeled at some point in the early 90 s i m showing this photo of my thanksgiving morning crazy woman cooking mess because i love a good before shot the tile is sort of faux spanish and although it has held up pretty well it s really orange sort of like orange sherbet ice cream remember that stuff on the opposite side is this massive old thermadore this was one of the first commercial grade stoves for the home chef and it s a beast i have repaired and cleaned every burner so it cooks evenly but there is no such thing as a simmer setting on is on and on is 18 000 british thermal units of hell same goes for the oven burnt everything tops bottoms sides you name it me and my big girl oven we have fried many a meal to a blackened crisp so she will now have a home at a local homeless shelter next week because well they needed a new oven and they wanted it hopefully they will have better luck with her and keep the burnt cookies to a minimum i ve decide to use bosch for some of the new appliances i like the minimalist clean look of them i m also going smaller i love to cook and yet i never really use more than 4 burners at once on a stove top so the new range will only be 30 inches wide which will give me more prep area on either side as well the stove area is inset so it will have some nice spots for open storage spices and crocks and a little pot rack for a vintage copper collection all of the new counter tops are ceasarstone i chose raw concrete honed with an 1 5 inch mitered edge detail and yes it is counterfeit but it looks like the real deal only better by the way all three of these colors are beautiful i m still tossing around paint colors like darker grays the kitchen walls will all be re stuccoed and left raw as we have done throughout out the rest of the house tile will be kept to a minimum all the tile is hand made and hand glazed and somewhat irregular fingers are crossed that we get it some time before the 4th of july reclaimed wood raw steel and whitewashed terracotta are a few of the other details a small china cabinet will be outfitted with wire or wired safety glass for some additional texture i found these safety glass pendants at restoration hardware i love these even better was the price originally 890 each i scooped them up for under 300 dollars a few trendy things like a black faucet and some brass hardware will probably sneak in too gray and brass in kitchen design is definitely having a moment but in the back of my mind i want it to look at least something like it did in 1925 and more importantly i want it to feel like an old ish kitchen i m especially fond of these classic english kitchens by devol i think they look somewhat similar to what this kitchen may have looked like small and compact but warm and inviting and a fun place to cook demo starts next week bring on the trash cans find me here daily on instagram and check out my boards on pinterest too xoxo kelley getting ready for spring gardening tips inspiration 17 comments kelley nothing is better than that first sunny warm weekend in early spring you slip on the grubby garden shoes like a broken in pair of bedroom slippers and grab the pruners and your old friend the garden hoe my favorite small perennial shovel is so worn the wood handle feels soft and smooth from hours of digging and while i don t have nearly the amount of chores as i have had in the past every thing is pretty much the same like riding a bike just on a smaller scale i usually hit the vegetable garden first these are sweet 1000 s from last year and i have a few cherries already planted if you think you can t grow a vegetable to save your life just try a cherry tomato plant they will grown in spite of your brown thumb trust me on this one if you re just starting a vegetable garden try to give yourself at least 18 inches of well composted soil depending on what you want to grow most plants take about 3 months to get to the harvesting stage so that gives them plenty of time to develop a really robust root system challenge yourself to come up with creative trellis and supports unless you re really short on time don t just settle for the usual junky stuff from the local garden center it barely lasts a season and will likely wind up in the trash here i used bamboo and willow and it worked wonderfully this year i have bulbs and flowers planted among the veggies i like the look of it and it helps to keep the garden bright and pretty or hang a basket or and old bucket near by just for fun in the rear of my garden i hung a set of harvesting baskets not only useful but a cheerful addition to the kitchen garden space a little bench is used for small containers and for working on topiaries and arrangements which come into the house from time to time usually spring is the time i like to tune up the irrigation system emitters and sprinkler heads get replaced and any thing leaking or that has become too small for the area is upsized i always stop in at the local pro irrigation store near me and chat it up with the guys behind the counter you can learn a ton and they are always helpful if you are a new gardener now for the good stuff plant what you like to eat but i have had some epic failures trying so hard to do it all i typically steer clear of things that are plentiful in my local farmers market and take up way too much garden real estate i have planted lots of carrots but mine never look this good we eat them anyway and i always have some sort of onion planted but usually the smaller green scallions and chive both of which are super easy a few things i ve tried and will probably never repeat strawberries corn celery tarragon asparagus artichokes just to name a few lettuce and greens are an excellent choice for any new vegetable garden lettuce doesn t necessarily need intense sunlight to do well either so if you have a partially shaded area go of the lettuce varieties i always include radicchio and endive as well as arugula and some of the spicy asian greens and no great kitchen garden is complete without herbs i love the idea of the dedicated herb garden and will try to repeat something like the pretty one i had in ojai but if you re short on space like me plant herbs among the lettuce and tomatoes my tried and true favorites are italian parsley lemon thyme rosemary sage chervil and of course no herb garden should be without basil i plant the big sangiovese style basil as well as purple and some other odd varieties that all have great flavor lettuce and greens can be self sown into the beds directly and will produce an amazing amount of yield from a small seed packet remember the soil must be warm and damp consistently or the seeds won t germinate small turnips and beets are a great choice and super easy you can harvest them early and toss into a salad for some crunch just like a radish and do try some radish easy and usually great results my favorite is the d avignon perennial beds are always a challenge for me especially because my garden style is full and sort of messy to keep things in check i prune and deadhead and clip a lot and i didn t plant sweet peas this year either i know i will miss them instead i think i ll focus on some small little pockets for annuals and summer bulbs bulbs are a great way to add color without a lot of work one of the garden chores no one ever like to do but is probably the most essential is to focus on the quality of your soil adding in some big bags of compost will really change how your plants look and will save on weeding and water down the road i know pretty boring right and when i m not in the garden i m actually starting a much needed kitchen renovation in about a week so i ll try to post a little more and share some new ideas products and a few new discoveries hope you are enjoying the beauty of spring xoxo kelley thoughts on design metropolitan home and chit chat 31 comments kelley well ok lets just get caught up no excuses just mounds of life stuff that creeps in and makes the days fly by happily i wave bye bye to this crazy winter and yell hello to spring honestly i have really struggled trying to find something relevant to talk about that doesn t wind up seeming well sort of irrelevant we have been working on a little house project in santa barbara photos above and i will be starting a kitchen remodel in about two weeks unfortunately the only thing i have chosen thus far is this sink faucet looks like i m having commitment issues but hopefully i will snap out of it quickly or this kitchen project will be really long for those who have followed this little blog for the last few years you know that we sold our ojai ranch house and moved to los angeles for a year while in la we rented a very cool condo and i started messing around with modern furniture mixed in with a few of the usual country details just couldn t help it i have loved modern design since i first popped open a metropolitan home magazine many years ago it was the first magazine that really inspired me and i tried very hard to emulated the hip modern rooms met home featured the magazine published its last issue in 2009 but hearst decided to relaunched met home last summer aimed at gen x and millennial city dwellers many current design trends remind me of metropolitan home features from the 80 s and 90 s but design is so much more consumer friendly now and sharing information sources and competitive pricing are the norm and did i mention free shipping just about everybody ships furniture for free or for a flat rate on a young working mom s meager salary most of my purchases were from crate and barrel and everything else came from thrift stores and antique malls extra money was used for diapers and bouncy chairs certainly not furniture not much of that scenario has changed except i m no longer young and yes i still like crate and barrel i especially like the latest collaboration with ross cassidy for the cb2 line i have recently splurged on a few new pieces of furniture that are really modern but will work well in any setting a saarinen table a classic here i paired it with inexpensive chairs from all modern a vintage gas station sign from the 50 s and collectible american red ware circa 1880 ish an eames lounge chair in white edelman leather delish looks right at home next to the firkin stack the coffee table is from serena and lily and the english bamboo side tables and some of the new antique pottery pieces are from revival antiques in pasadena the large steel console is a fantastic piece designed by giulio lazzotti from design within reach this is an office credenza but it works wonderfully as a media console the couches and chairs i designed and slipcoverd in basic white twill with pillows in orange velvet from schumacher i m loving black accent pieces right now and recently purchase the antoccino shelving in black oak from rh modern i don t have a photo of this in our apartment but it is a beautiful piece and i can see it in so many different settings now back to the story we moved again from los angeles to the san francisco bay area a little over a year ago i know we move a lot believe me we are really tired of it new places are really stimulating and exciting for the first few months but it just starts to get crazy and unsettling today we are in an older smaller rented condo but it s still pretty and the location downtown is amazing here is essentially all of the same furniture with a few new pillows it really looks different and yet works nicely in this older smaller space interesting however is that nothing looks very modern here the walls are a sage ish odd green i m just living with it but i think the paint really dates this condo in our spare time we work on the little house in santa barbara many of the things i have purchased for this house have a more modern and spare feel as well while this is a 1920 s spanish colonial house modern and current looks right at home a dresser in the master bedroom is from room and board with swapped out hardware paired with a purple over dyed rug a lovely minimalist painting from jean jack mixes with vintage american pottery and antique hubley doggy doorstops the walls are hand troweled stucco which are left unpainted and raw the original oak floor will be sanded and refinished in the next few weeks and any thing but this orange will look sooooo much better i ve changed out most of the lighting including the chandelier in the dining area which just didn t work for me i know a lot of people would have kept it but it didn t allow for any changes in the dining room configuration which is important in a very small house choosing artwork that has a connection to this style of house but can work in a more contemporary setting has been fun and something of a challenge because of the limited space add in the garden we have less variety of plant material and more linear sight lines with clean walls and pathways vegetable gardens can look messy at times but the stone beds keep things in check and the gate provides a private garden room entrance now that the rain is finally letting up a bit you can be sure i will be gardening more tomatoes got planted a few weeks ago in february seriously kelley don t you think its too early i guess we will find out xoxo k and follow along daily on instagram here kelley older posts home subscribe to posts atom about this blog the polished pebble is now an archived blog posts here were written from 2009 to 2017 with over 4 5 million views please enjoy these simple posts written with a full heart and a lot of joy you can now find us here blu canoe instagram blu canoe blu canoe studio portfolio website blog archive 2017 3 march 3 a new kitchen for an old house in santa 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than that first sunny war...