How to do a display cabinet with pink!

Well here we are, another Saturday...the best day of the week! You know, have you ever thought about this, there are only a limited number of Saturday's in one's lifetime which must mean they are meant for ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO, right?

This Saturday the hubs is doing what he loves best: Cycle Oregon!

and today I'm doing what I love doing best...organizing and decorating, but not necessarily in that order! I thought I'd show you the wine and beverage bar from our DIY kitchen project that you'll find HERE. 
But today I'm changing it up a bit and we're going pink! Yep folks...pink in THIS room I actually do have a touch of pink, something I don't have a lot of throughout the rest of the house . 

Years ago I was in a Depression glass phase and collected many different patterns of "Elegant Glassware" most of it pink and clear along with aqua German Majolica in a pattern called "Lily of the Valley" pictured below. 

However when we did the kitchen remodel I was afraid pink and aqua just wouldn't work in here anymore, perhaps because of the very neutral color palette of white, grey/green, taupe and oil rubbed bronze. Also I didn't really want a lot of color in here to take away from the classic vintage look I was going for. I wanted it to look very monochromatic as you can see in the picture below which was taken just as we were finishing the remodel.

But as I started unpacking after living out of the dining room and laundry room I knew I'd have a hard time not displaying my beloved pieces so I got wild a crazy and tried them in the new beverage bar and this is how it looks today...

It seems pink and aqua work pretty well here. I like how the subtle colors really do enhance the display cabinet and bring in just a pop of color where it might otherwise be a bit bland and stark looking.

Something I was a little worried about was that I didn't have another piece of my German Majolica to balance out the left side of the cabinet and thought it might look odd. However I tried my Crystolite "celery dish" and loved how it looked, eclectic, balanced and not matchy-matchy. 

So there you have it, a fun way to decorate with the color pink 

while still keeping it sophisticated, classic and timeless...

 Remember what I said in the beginning of this post? There are only a limited number of Saturday's in one's lifetime and they are for 

ANYTHING YOU WANT TO DO

So what's on tap for your Saturday...the best day of the week?

Linking up with with Beverly for 
Pink Saturday 

A Labor of Love for Labor Day...

Well for those of you that have patiently waited and watched through this and this wait no longer...we have arrived so come on in...

POP THE CORK, IT'S THE KITCHEN REVEAL!

Oh and by the way, fair warning...this may be a bit picture heavy but you'll just have to suffer through it so pour yourself a glass of champagne and come sit a spell :O) Also I think I may have to post in phases because in the end there's a lot to see in this sweet little kitchen...well maybe not, I'm so excited to show you this it may just be one big long post :O)

First of all I'll get the text out of the way and let's just say this was a labor of love and as always it took a lot longer than we ever thought it would. But during the remodel we lived out of here for almost the entire time because of the kind of stuff going on you see in the picture below! 
This picture was taken during month six when the painting was happening and let me tell you, it was AWFUL...DID I SAY AWFUL? WELL I MEAN IT, IT WAS THE WORST PART OF THE ENTIRE PROCESS...stinky and messy all at the same time for 3 long weeks!

One of the main reasons the remodel took so long was because Mr.La Bella Vie did 99% of the labor...and yes he does work-full time folks at a "real job" but like my grand kids always say, he's "IRON MAN PAPA" and seems to be able to juggle things really well! 
He can build an island, rip out walls, climb mountains on 100 mile epic bicycle rides and yet still be willing to do a major kitchen remodel! So enough said, let's get on with the show!

But before we do, one more peek of what our 20 year old kitchen looked like prior to...7 months ago...

And what a beautiful new kitchen it is today taken from pretty much the same exact spot. 

Notice where the wasted, unusable space is under the counter on the island, well we changed that up by making it a bookshelf with lights to house all my prized collectible cookbooks and enclosed the end with the glassware, which you can see in the photo below. This not only allowed us to gain storage but by moving the bar stools to that end, we're able to open the refrigerator without knocking guests' off their chairs! 

(Click any picture to enlarge and toggle through for a better view)

 

Below is the view you see when you first enter the kitchen from the front door. Out the back window of the nook we have a great view Oregon's state tree, the Douglas Fir...

So keeping that in mind...

We chose a beautiful hand-made scenic tile coupled with ivory Subway tile from Pratt and Larsen for behind the Wolf cook range that would reflect our surroundings. It may be difficult to see the color of this tile but its sort of a Taupe/grey...

Below is another view from the other side of the kitchen. The first shot, again that ugly 20 year old kitchen. Oh and may I point out the "terrible awful" behind the stove...the only reason all the junk is sitting behind it was because it was sheet-rock and grease splatters wreaked havoc on it! 
Also, note the oven/microwave area in the left of the picture. That big hole was where the Ginormous old microwave used to live but died many years ago, so the Hubs enclosed it to better accommodate the new, smaller SS microwave that you see in the picture below.

and today...

The picture above and below is looking from the family room toward the kitchen. The hubs and I designed all that you see here and sketched it up on Visio a design program, the hood, the cabinets...everything. 

Which also includes the pendant light platform above the island. It used to be that when we turned on the over-head lights ALL 9 can lights came on which was like being in a suntan bed!

So we had to come up with a way to have only the island lights come on with a separate switch without having to rip out the entire ceiling and this was our solution...rewire but cover it up!

To the left of the fridge is the new beverage bar which used to look like this...kinda blurry but I was in a hurry to start ripping out walls!

 

and below once again the way it was meant to look all along...

The new beverage bar is a great place for this...my favorite Chardonnay!

So just as the title said, this truly has been a labor of love!

I hope you've enjoyed it and I'd love to hear what you think! 

Oh and there's lots more where this came from but that's for another day!

Linking up with my favorite blogs:

Top This Top That

Common Ground

Between Naps On The Porch-Metamorphosis Monday's

"Wow Us Wednesday's" at Southern Savvy Style

Sources: 

Cabinet paint color: "Vintage Ivory Cream" commercial source

Island paint color: "Galvanized" by Ralph Lauren

Cabinets and doors: Beaudry Custom Cabinetry, Newberg Oregon

Custom Tile: Pratt and Larson, Portland Oregon

Granite: "Portofino", Precision Granite Counters, Wilsonville Oregon

Hardware: Rejuvenation, Portland Oregon

Lighting:  Rejuvenation, Portland Oregon

SS Appliances: Basco Commercial Appliances, Portland Oregon 

Wolf Cook Range, Fisher-Paykel, Liebherr, Electrolux Icon, 

 

Kitchen designers and Labor: Mr. and Mrs. La Bella Vie

Sweat Equity: Mr. and Mrs. La Bella Vie

Staging and clean up crew: Mrs. La Bella Vie

assistants to Mr. and Mrs. La Bella Vie, Pearl and Emmy

Disclaimer: I purchased Visual Watermark but the site didn't recognized it right away so some photos may have a little teeny-tiny annoying little watermark of their own on it...just disregard it, because its useless information but I told you anyway...

Happy Weekend!!!

Hello all and happy weekend! Thought since I couldn't post any kitchen pics until the end of August, I'd just post one of our favorite appetizers that we've enjoyed in the new kitchen!  

Bruschetta with Tomato Basil recipe

This is a wonderful way to capture the flavors of ripe summer tomatoes, fresh garden basil, and garlic and the hubs and I just love it with a crisp bottle of Chardonnay! 

In the new kitchen of course!

Enjoy!!

We did!

Miss Larrisa Rose

Happy Saturday everyone, the best day of the week! For the most part the dream kitchen is done and life is somewhat back to normal. The upside, except for a few small details like a paper towel holder, towel rack and accessorizing we're done...the down side, as mentioned in my last post you don't get to see it yet until after the August reveal...August 27th to be exact :O)

In the meantime, I'm going to veer off course for a less traveled road, well for for me anyway...I decided to do a post about two things I don't normally put much thought into; dolls and the color pink. Not that I don't like either but because I'm too busy thinking up the next remodel project and because I'd rather be organizing my house and creating than playing with dolls which is what this post is all about...two dolls and the color pink. I don't have a lot of pink in my house except in this room which also doubles as a guest room.

So today I've decided to do a post on a lovely little doll that came into my life many years ago and left an indelible memory in my heart forever...

meet sweet Miss Rose with the beautiful smile...

When Rose came into my life 18 years ago I had no idea we would become such good friends and become as close as we did. She was "elderly" if I dare say that, but I mean it in the sense that she was well into her senior years at that time and I was in my 30's which meant we were at different places in our lives chronologically speaking.

But the more I got to know her, the more I soon realized we had much more in common than I could have ever thought possible. She loved her husband and family and she loved to laugh and enjoy each day. She loved to cook, loved celebrating and being with family and loved her home. Most importantly, Rose had a keen sense of humor and the just loved life...simply said, Rose was a women after my own heart and the more I got to know her the more I realized age means nothing when you have kindred spirits and friendship.

When my sweet friend passed away last year at age 96, it was a like loosing a family member and dear friend. I missed our frequent "chats and giggles" as we used to say to each other. I missed her smile and the kindness she always bestowed upon me whenever we saw each other. She had a way of making me feel as if I was the most important person in her life and that I made her day she most certainly always made my day better no matter what was happening in life!

One of the many blessings that came out of my friendship with Rose was getting to know her family and especially her daughter and son-in law...

Shortly after Miss Rose was gone in the month of December, her daughter called and asked if we could meet for lunch. She and her husband picked me up and off we went. The three of us were having a lovely time catching up when they pulled out a beautifully wrapped package...a Christmas gift and a special remembrance of Rose, my sweet friend...

As I opened the gift, I saw this beautiful, beautiful face looking at me, so pretty, so sweet all dressed in pink Moire satin, ribbons and lace...

and her name was

She was just the sweetest thing I had ever seen...from her lovely little bonnet down to her lace covered shoes and crocheted stockings, she was beautiful!

As I began to open the box she "lived in", I noticed in some ways she looked like my friend Rose. She had dark hair like Rose,

and the most beautiful eyes like Rose...

But most of all, she reminded me of Miss Rose because according to her daughter, Rose collected dolls and this was her favorite. Her favorite...and I was being handed this precious gift...Rose's favorite...what a sweet honor to now become her caretaker...

That day, I named this lovely doll, "Larissa Rose" in remembrance of Rose and the memories she'll forever hold in my heart.

Larissa Rose is now residing in my SEWING ROOM 
and when I walk past the room or into it,

I see sweet Larissa Rose smiling back at me and remember a lovely friendship shared and how thankful I am two paths crossed in life to share a little of each other's journey...

joining
Beverly at How Sweet the Sound
for her Pink Saturday
and her birthday!
Happy birthday Beverly 
and thank you for hosting another sweet pink party!