How do you define a color palette for decorating a kitchen makeover? In an 1896 New England farmhouse? With consideration to a goodly wife with a penchant for cooking and baking and with a French heritage?
In years past, I had torn up the floor for a room where we eventually intend the kitchen to be, replaced with more sturdy floor joists, and then tiled the floor in a diagonal pattern with 12 inch square french farmhouse tiles. I had wanted some tile that had the look of old travertine but was less susceptible to dirt tracking and retention and would clean up fairly easily. The original intent was to move and upgrade the kitchen to that area.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Diagonal French Tiles
But time has passed.
My wife has said more than once that we tend to collect items before we build the house or room to put the stuff in. I am guilty as charged. But recently, she had wanted one additional cabinet for our existing kitchen to gain some efficient storage and requested an added butcher block counter-top for one corner of the kitchen to add some counter space for a baking center. The project has since taken off in a completely unexpected direction and commitment after that initial request. Kind of superceding the "other" projects we had agreed to currently work on. Aaaah, me.
On a special birthday many moons ago, [Hint: My wife is perpetually 26 years old]...I bought a wonderful, porcelain-covered, combination wood-burning, coal, and gas-fired stove for her. To complement, not replace, her modern efficient stove, of course. HEAVY cast iron! Four burners. Oven. Overhead warming ovens. At a yard sale in town, no less. Great price.
It had a memorable provenance in that it was used in a family-restaurant business in MA and upstate NY. Allegedly, the restaurant had a famous chili dog relish recipe. There was nothing I could do to cajole the recipe from the owner, however. I have been seeking unique chili and relish recipes ever since to add to the stove's patina.
It is a World War I Victory Stove having been patented Independence Day July 4, 1916 in Taunton, MA not many miles from our homestead. This is beating swords and cannons into plowshares.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Independence Day WWI Victory Stove
Manufactured by Barstow Iron Works.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Barstow Stoves Taunton MA
It is a green-and-cream porcelain. The intent was eventually to build a kitchen around it. I think that project has started in a manner different then I had initially intended!
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Green-and-Cream Porcelain Wood Cook Stove
The stove reminds me of the old dairy farm our family visited in Ashby, MA when I a child. They had a similar wood-burning stove in the kitchen that was the farmhouse's sole heat source. When my sister and I would return home from the farm visits, we would hook up hoses and "milk" the wood-burning stove at our house as if it was a milking machine. Just like they milked the cows at the dairy farm! There are some old black and white photos depicting the humorous scenario buried somewhere in the family archives for which I don't have access. The memory image is in my mind's eye and deserves a painting some day.
We have since acquired numerous cast iron skillets, stove top toaster, stove top waffle iron, bean pots, etc. to accessorize the stove. A tin bread box was bought at some point. At that time, black would not have been my chosen color choice for a bread box.
At a later special (again, 26th) birthday, my wife received a Kitchen Aid mixer with all the accessories. In a color to match her old-fashioned kitchen stove. Green-and-cream, and stainless mixing bowls, porcelain pitchers, and matching utensil purchases like the whisk and flour sifter have accumulated over the years.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Green-and Cream Kitchen Aid Mixer and Accessories
Years ago, we had purchased a set of dishes from Pier One Imports with a pleasing color palette that was suitable for French, Italian, American, spring, summer, fall, and winter cuisines. It was named Alexandria.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Pier One Imports Alexandria Dishes
I had always thought I would like a kitchen with a color palette that would go with the dishes. Maybe even stenciling a similar pattern around the kitchen. Seemed of French heritage. Like my dear wife and daughters.
Then, this year, my middle daughter, Little Bit, and I went on the Boston Beacon Hill photo jaunt. The color palette of black, white, yellow, red, green, and gold was forged back into my memory as a pleasant combination. And reminiscent of the New England heritage. I tried a few palette combinations with online tools. Bought some yellow paint reminding me of farmhouse butter. Painted one wall. My girls didn't like it. It didn't resonate. It wasn't superb. A minor stall point.
Then we went to a store closeout to buy the butcher block counter top my wife wanted, and, after some protracted negotiations, ended up buying a store display shelf unit that was tomato red. After re-sizing it to fit our application, we found we liked the color and decided to not re-paint it to see how it looked. Nice against the green-and-creme mixing bowls. Highlights a pumpkin pie nicely.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Green-and Cream with Tomato Red
A pleasing sight to display our canned tomatoes from the summer harvest. Spaghetti with home made sauce served weekly.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Tomato Harvest With New Shelves
Years prior, we had bought a rural farmhouse picture with the entire palette in use in "When I Lay Me Down to Sleep, I Count My Blessings and Not My Sheep..." replete with a black and gold trim frame. But we had placed the picture in the wrong location and context and we had not given it prominence until recently. Once we refocused on it, this was used as the originating artifact as we tried to steer and aim at and nail down the palette selection for the kitchen.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 When I Lay Me Down to Sleep
We had purchased black braided rugs years ago with the picture to hide the accumulated dirt tracking in the high traffic farm kitchen. They matched the dishes and the picture frames.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Braided Rugs
So we went back to the design board, got more color swatches, and my wife and I worked out a more pleasing combination of the entire palette selection, not just the yellow. We balanced the intensity of the various colors better. Bought the paint. Painted a wall and a cabinet.
Bingo. We liked it. Got kind of excited about it. Started painting more. Building and changing cabinets some more. Liked it better. Started making other design decisions in the existing kitchen. Experimented some more. Yikes. It's progressing swiftly now as a Work-In-Progress.
Since we have started down this path, I realized that I have bought other things in the past that depict the palette. It's like Christmas uncovering the objects and rediscovering that I liked the palette all along.
I had bought a Punch Studio stationery set with file folders in a chinese and french pattern in years past.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Punch Studio Stationery Set
I had bought three Watkins Washing Compound mugs purchased at yard sale this past summer. And using them frequently with my green tea and wheat-grass improving my health and maintain an alkaline metabolism.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Watkins Washing Compound Mug
Annually, my Mom would cut a few sprigs of bittersweet in season for me from her 1700's farmhouse property the last few years and drop it off during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. With her passing way this summer, this year I had to source it locally. It's basically a varmint vine and most folks try to eradicate it as a nuisance weed. Until it blooms in the fall! The kitchen emergent plan reminds me of my Mom's annual bittersweet endeavor much as life, and death, are bittersweet at times.
And lastly, I had an old lithograph from a yard sale or flea market with a bible verse inscribed and suitable for a kitchen. "Trust in the Lord and thou shalt be fed." Psalms 37:3. Suitable encouragement and promise of simple blessings during these days of unemployment. Had all the right colors. The frame seems old and original and the matte board is actually a dimpled gold not just yellow. In taking pictures of it for today's blog, though, I think I should replace the glass front with a non-glare glass to get the best effect of the lithographic color intensity.
Copyright James E. Martin 2014 Trust in the Lord and Though Shalt Be Fed - Psalms 37:3
So I have had affirming evidence from my previous jaunts and purchases and memories to affirm the color palette for our kitchen makeover. Memories. Objects d'Art. A historical portfolio of decisions and selections. Finally arriving at something that pulls it all together. This is many years in the making to arrive at this point this year. Serendipity.
The Artistic Endeavor.
The Creative Pursuit.
The Journey.
The Daily Walk.
Living the Moment.
I have just a small inkling of happiness as we put together this personal space of a kitchen where we spend much of our family time. It's nice to be working this as we come into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season.
