The Irish Cupboard

It's time to do a little celebrating the Irish way,

so I thought I'd try something a little different this year,

and share some decor inspiration with an iconic kitchen staple

...the Irish Cupboard.

New House Living Room Inspiration Board

Last night I needed a diversion from packing. Can I admit I'm already tired of it and I've only scratched the surface? I've spent most of this week in my office/studio trying to make some sense out of all the crap,  junk, supplies, treasures,  stuff that I have. I may not be at my all time "best" through this move. It's a good thing my husband is patient and longsuffering... 

So I hopped on Polyvore once he went to bed and thought I'd put together an inspiration board for the Living Room. Our "soon-to-be" house is small, folks, so nothing is going over there that isn't functional and doubles as storage. Let's just say that most of my furniture and fun stuff is destined for a very large storage unit.

The new little house has a lot of  "wood", in the form of cabinets, woodwork, trim, etc. not my favorite "white". So I'm having to go with a more masculine vibe. Maybe I can translate that into a little of my favorite, "English Country". I can't paint the walls or anything else, and frankly we'll probably only be there a year, so I'm not going to totally "decorate", but I have to feel like I have a "home". (we'll just be leasing until our house sells, then buy something permanent or build) So hubbs and I came up with a plan and we pooled our pocket change and bought a Chesterfield Sofa and Loveseat. Believe me, there is some great looking furniture out there that doesn't break the bank, and I was determined I'd find it.

So we purchased the sofa and loveseat and a couple of new lamps in a bronze tone with linen shades. I have to decide what I'm going to sell, but for now I'm justifying this purchase because all the downstairs furniture will likely be sold. (And it was our anniversary present to ourselves.) I was secretly wanting to do something different downstairs anyway, so please... be careful what you wish for.

These examples of furniture from Polyvore are just representative of what we're using. I have an old cedar chest that had a horrible finish that I painted a Country Gray, which I'm going to use as a coffee table. It's pretty rustic and not at all what you'd find in my current living room, but hey, I'm making the most of this and using or repurposing what I have. 

I have a beautiful black area rug that hopefully will work

 under the coffee table/trunk. If not I have my taupe-y one.

Then, I'm hoping to use some stacked suitcases and a few decorative tole trays and wooden boxes for end tables. I also have a really wonderful very old school desk from Atlanta that's like a tea table. It's been hidden downstairs the whole time we've lived here; I think that will work with a lamp for an end table.

Hubbs has a great leather recliner that we'll use 

and I have another chair that hopefully will fit.

I love me some leopard/cheetah print so I'm going to try to find some throw pillows, cause the pillows that came with the loveseat and sofa are not what I'm going for. 

Love that chair above, but like I said, just "representative" of what I'll be using, something that I already have. How many of you bought the "required" massive entertainment center when big screen tvs first came out? Oh yeah, we bought a doozy, but it's still pretty, and we have one large wall that needs to be filled, plus we need the storage, so we'll be using that puppy.

Every time I feel overwhelmed I take a few deep breaths and try to remember why we're doing this. Let's see...do I remember why? Oh yeah, we're downsizing so we'll be ready for retirement and whatever else that might bring. Actually, this house is adorable, and I'm super grateful that we found it. It will be perfect for us, I just need to get used to this downsizing business. 

you get the idea?

Hope you're having a great weekend, 

more snow in the forecast...brrrrrrr.

Joining in these parties this week:

 Dwellings
Mod Vintage Life
Cozy Little House
Confessions of a Plate Addict
A Stroll Thru Life
City Farmhouse
Savvy Southern Style
Craftberry Bush
Jennifer Rizzo

xoxo,

Today's Sponsors

Nostalgic Artifacts 

and 

Nostalgic Summer

Bovine Beauties

Last week in my post on the downstairs mantel I mentioned I had a fondness for vintage landscapes, especially with a few cows and sheep sprinkled in. I'm always on the lookout for a sweet vintage sheep or cow print, and a few weeks ago hubbs and I found this one in it's original frame on one of our trips home from St. Louis.

I have it in the Living Room, but the glare from the windows is so bad I couldn't do a straight-on shot. I'm generally a little wonky anyway, and this just proves it. 

The antique clock is a family piece that my mom and dad had

 in their Dining Room  for as long as I can remember.

Here's another old print in the Living Room that I painted the frame. It had been dark and not attractive, so it got a shabby paint treatment. My husband gulped hard at my painting it, but didn't voice his opinion. He's learned...when it's gotta be painted...it's "gotta be painted!"

This old print, also in it's original feather painted frame,

is in the Master Bath above the tub.

(sorry...no bathroom "reveal" at the moment)

And here is the little milk maid, "Amalie", that my husband gave to me for Valentine's Day last year. She's in the kitchen. Also tricky for a photo without glare.

 I had to move her to another spot for a good look.

She's so sweet.

 These old prints make me think of the French Countryside. Today I just shared a few of my cows...now the sheep are another whole blog post.

joining in for these weekly parties:

 Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
A Stroll Thru Life
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Knick of Time
The Scoop at CedarHill Ranch
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend,

Black Tole Trays

I started collecting black tole trays about 12 years ago when my son-in-law brought me a large reproduction one back from England. He had found it in the gift shop at Buckingham Palace, and from then on I was smitten. Some can be pretty pricey, so I try to look for the bargains. My little collection has steadily grown, but this last few weeks I've been on a roll.

 I found this one on Etsy here at a great price, and was so happy to find it, despite the small areas of rust. It's a pretty good size, and if perfect, these can set you back a penney or two.

I'm sticking with hand-painted ones for now, even if they're a little rusty.

( a little rust never hurts anything anyway! right?)

It's now setting on my double ovens, making a pretty statement.

Before, this smaller one just didn't show up enough.

Then, this last week when Anne and I were out scouring the shops,  I found this one with pink flowers. It's in the Dining Room for now on an old black wooden folding luggage stand.

Then, in St. Louis I came across this one that had pink roses. 

I found a spot on the kitchen counter for this one.

And then a baby one from St. Louis too...

Anne put it here on top of the scales and I think it looks so sweet!

right behind one of my chalkware lambies.

I found this other smaller one a while back,

and it has made it's way to the countertop.

This was from last Fall,

love them lined up on the backsplash.

I've been tempted with other background colors, but there's something about the black ones that just grabs me. I think it's that they remind me of an English Country kitchen, and I love the contrast of the black with the antique white cabinets.

I'll be joining in for these parties this week:

Thrifty Finds at Southern Hospitality

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

Tuesday Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Cowgirl Up at Cedarhill Ranch

Knick of Time Tuesday

Ivy and Elephants

Primp

Very Merry Vintage Style

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

A Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

No Minimalist Here

Brambleberry Cottage

The Vintage Farmhouse

The Charm of Home

Sweet and Simple Friday at Rooted in Thyme

At the Picket Fence

French Country Cottage

2805

Stuff and Nonsense

And be sure and come back Tuesday afternoon for the Blogaversary Give Away. I'll be giving away 3 (yep, 3 of them) copies of Carolyn Westbrook's new book, Through the French Door. See you tomorrow for Monday Marketplace!

xoxo,