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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Herb Station



Hi there! Summer is almost over. My kids go back to school in a week, and my older one moving into college. Evenings are getting a lot cooler, and I can smell the crisp autumn air! It's that time of the year when I bring a lot of the plants inside to protect them from the cooler weather.
I like using fresh herbs in my cooking, and I have many of them growing outside in my garden and some in pots. I have some sitting on my kitchen window sill:


Close at hand and ready to snip whenever I need them:

I love recycling various tin food cans for my indoor herb garden:

I found these reusable chalkboard labels at the local craft store:

I can re-position them or write on them with chalk as many times as I want! Very easy to use, and no mess. I'm really loving them:

The potted herbs sit in a clay saucer lined with pebbles:

The green herbs look so pretty in these simple tin cans, and it's such a neat way to reuse them:

Keeping them grouped together in the saucer...

 ...makes them easy to transfer from the window sill to my herb station and ready for use in salad dressings, 

marinades, and dipping sauces......

.....or for flavoring oils

and vinegar.

Herb infused olive oil tastes delicious with freshly baked bread

Having a herb station on my kitchen counter keeps everything organized, makes dinner preparations easier for me, and even my kids can help me with the meal:

 The rooster and hen is one of my favorite salt and pepper shaker collections that I picked up from a little home decor store while vacationing in San Diego

Close up on Roo


Miss Henny-Penny


Don't they look adorable together?

I hope you enjoyed taking a peek at my herb station and have inspired you to create your indoor herb garden:

Thanks for your visit! It is always a pleasure having you over. 
Have a beautiful week, everyone!

I would also like to take the time to thank these sweet ladies for featuring my Foyer in their weekly linky parties:
Hop over to their beautiful blogs for wonderfully inspiring ideas or join their fun weekly linky parties to share your own projects and ideas.

Linking to:
Common Ground: Be Inspired
The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sundays
Dwellings: Amaze Me Monday
Boogieboard Cottage: Masterpiece Monday
~ Hugs, Poppy~

at 34 comments:

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Welcome to My Foyer



Hi, how is everyone doing today?
The weather has turned a lot cooler, and August feels more like October! Today, I thought I will welcome you into my summer foyer:

before I tweak it again for autumn!


Well then, please step into my foyer! It is pleasure to have you here:


The warm wall color and the black and white porcelain floor tiles in the foyer has a more Tuscan flair. The hand-hooked woolen rug contrasts nicely with the black and white tiles:


In my previous post I showed you my front porch (HERE). As soon as you walk through the front door the first thing that greets you is this mirror:

However, the mirror never started out looking like this! It is made out of a resin-like material and was an online purchase many years back. I was never too crazy about the finish on it once the order arrived, but I loved the structure, framework, and the column detailing. 


I lived with it for a while until I decided to give it my own finishing touch. It was a pretty easy project to repurpose it and give a new life to it. I gave it a single coat of burnt umber on top of the existing finish followed by a coat of white gesso. Then, I distressed the surface with sandpaper, applied an antique brown glazing medium, and wiped off most of the antiquing medium with a soft rag. 


A coat of clear paste wax gave it a nice sheen and finished it up beautifully, don't you think?





On the right of the front door sits a wicker planter:


A little bit of greenery livens up a dark corner of any room:


Two metal wall grilles are hung on the walls on either side of the front door:

A close-up on the metal wall grille. I love the little bird detailing in the center of the grille:


My foyer is not too big so taking pictures was a little challenging for me. On the opposite of this wall...
...sits a wrought iron and granite console table:


The distressed mirror sits right over the console table:


I picked up this granite console table from my favorite Hobby Lobby store. Sometimes, they carry beautiful accent furniture for affordable prices.

I love the scroll work on this table:


The floor to ceiling window in the foyer brings in plenty of sunshine throughout the day in an otherwise dark foyer:


and I love the view of my front patio and blue oversize pottery through this window:
 The pink verbenas overflowing in the blue pot remind me so much of the Mediterranean region:


A closeup on the gorgeous blooms:

In color sketch:

 I love playing with the tabletop vignette of my foyer table:


Elements of a vignette:
A concrete pot overflowing with summer thyme
A tray of canisters with an antique finish:
A wicker jug from Home Goods with a chalkboard welcome sign:
An up-cycled wine bottle candelabra 
Together they harmonize each other beautifully:


When grouped together the above elements add height, texture, color, and balance to a vignette:


and makes me smile:


Playing with my camera in color sketch:
Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to leave such lovely comments.  


Thank you ladies! I am honored to be a part of such wonderful inspiration in blogland. Stop by and visit their beautiful blogs and join their weekly parties for inspiring projects and ideas!

Have  a beautiful week everyone!
Hugs, Poppy
Partying at:
The Scoop
Common Ground: Be Inspired
The Tablescaper: Seasonal Sundays
Dwellings: Amaze Me Monday
Boogieboard Cottage: Masterpiece Monday




at 35 comments: