[GardenOfDarwin]

I'm looking for ideas for the breakfast room wall. The space I have in mind is here:



On the left, mounted about 18" above the island cabinet top, will be this little cabinet, painted "Simply White" to match Stat White, embellished a little with some trim and fancied up with label holders with finger pulls on the drawers and a knob matching those on the cabinets proper for the door.



I've never liked the idea of adding "decors" or themed items, and I don't have any suitable art pieces. I was hoping some brilliant and unique idea would occur to me, but it just hasn't. I'd be willing to spend some money to get just the right thing, or I could use some more of my copper pieces, or hang some of my whiteware plates (maybeones with cutwork?)on the wall. I just don't want it to be pedestrian.

FWIW, walls are Sage Tint by Benjamin Moore, floor is Moreno by Natural Cork, counters are soapstone from Vermont Soapstone, cabs are (of course!) IKEA Stat White, island is distressed matte black with a tung-oiled birch top,backsplash will be Calacutta Oro marble in a basketweave pattern with Oyster Gray grout, appliances and hardware are either stainless or brushed/satin nickel. Copper pieces live in the glassfront cabs over the sink and whiteware pieces live on shelves in the rest of the room. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Susan

[DesignDiva]

For something really spectacular, I'd put a large decorative mirror, either with brushed steel or copper as a frame. another option would be an old weathered window frame. If you are going with the "french" theme you can hang two rows of three old copper flower tins with dried flowers in them.

For a simpler look, black floating LACK shelves with whiteware would be pretty, or you could use the narrow aluminum "Klang" shelves from IKEA.

If it was my kitchen, I'd put a wild modern poster in a brushed silver frame, just for fun.

[nyc_home]

I'm not big on "theme" rooms either, but if you already own a lot of copper , of course that's the easiest way to go.(Cheap, too, if you're using things you already own.) How about some really nice copper colored frames and hanging your kiddies' artwork? Plants, either hanging or on shelves, are always nice and would bring out the green in your walls. Do you need a calendar/family message area? That would be an excuse for those fun-looking new chalk board cabinets.

Looking at your little cabinet again, I'm wondering if it would work to add tiny wooden feet and perch it on top of the island counter instead of hanging it on the wall?

...I'm finding it so much easier to think of ideas for other people'shomes than to rework plans for my own kitchen.

[GardenOfDarwin]

Actually, the cabinet HAD tiny little feet. I took them off. The reason I want to hang it on the wall is twofold: One--I want/need all the counter surface I can get and this thing, while small by cabinet standards, is takes up a pretty big chunk of real estate. And two, the island needs to be movable. The room is pretty small, and having the island movable was one of the major requirements for it's inclusion. The idea with the cabinet is to put it up on the wall, and then the island can be pushed up against the wall underneath it. Sort of "docking" it up against the wall--like it is in the picture above.

Anyway, I thought about the copper. I'd have to look at what pieces I have that can be wall mounted and not protrude too much into the space. And how to hang them?? I have one large rectangular platter that would look good hung vertically. Have to work on that one...

Susan

[DesignDiva]

Assuming you can attach something like a hanger to the copper pieces themselves, I'd suggest mounting a towel rail high up on the wall and suspending the copper pieces from it with ribbons or thin chains.

[nyc_home]

GardenOfDarwin wrote:

And how to hang them?? I have one large rectangular platter that would look good hung vertically. Have to work on that one...

Susan

Would it fit on one of those narrow shelves that come with a groove for pictures?

[GardenOfDarwin]

We haveshelveslike that on the other walls where I keep my collection of whiteware, and we put did putgrooves on the shelves to keep things from slipping.The only thing is, I'm not sure we have the clearance right there for a shelf 6"-8" deep (the platter is 14" x 28" so it would need a pretty deep shelf to accomodate it). Our everyday dishes are stored in the wall cabinet against the wall and the kids' stuff is in the pull-out pantry below, so it gets alot of traffic. The platter is pretty heavy, so I'd have to think carefully about how to suspend it if we went that way. Merits a little thought.

Any other ideas? I'd also like to consider some posters/wall art, but I have no idea where to start looking. Any online retailers that have a good selection/reputation? (I live out in the boonies and don't getto civilization often) Thanks!

Susan

[GardenOfDarwin]

Totally different direction. I don't usually like "Framed Art", because it seems so impersonal, but I love tulips, so this doesn't count!

I know monitor colors make things hard to judge, but I think this would pull in the taupey/greyish colors in the rug and soon to be marble backsplash, plus it might tie in the cork floor and the black of the island and soapstone. Although maybe that's asking too much of it. You judge....




18.5 in. H x 15.5 in. W.
It's an X-ray photograph by Steven N Meyers called "Parrot Tulip I". The frame is 1" wood with insetbeading and a patina.The matting is "Coconut Milk and Mojave Dusk"

Our garden is just outside the bay window in the breakfast room, so I was thinking this might be a nice reflection. Sooo, decorating divas... What do you think?

Susan

	W definition W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.

[DesignDiva]

I love it! I am thinking it might be a tad bit too small, so maybe you can get a second one in the series and hang them side by side if that is the case. It's hard to judge sizes from pix.

Fantastic subject and technique, I really like that artwork!

[GardenOfDarwin]

Wow! That was quick! Thanks for the response -- Tigger (DH, Tigratrus around here) agrees. Too small.

There's only one other in the series, but that's still an option. There's also a larger size available, but not framed like this one, and I really liked the frame (and the price -- $54, including shipping!). I could buy both prints and mat/frame them. Or, I could keep looking...

I keep thinking that something long and narrow would be good. Like this one I bought for my NYC born mother for her birthday this year. (It comes 30" x 10", 39" x 13" or 60" x 20")



The one linked below is new since I was at the site last....a Central Park map. Not exactly what I was looking for, but definitely interesting!

http://store1.yimg.com/I/centralparkposters_1818_211316

Anyway, I hate to say this, but I wish I could find a website that organized the art by the size. Y'know...sofa sized, foyer sized, breakfast room wall sized... I think I want something vertically oriented, but not just ANYTHING. Sigh...

Susan

	DH definition DH usually means Dear Husband (or, pick your own adjective starting with D).