With all the attention I’ve been giving the new apartment, I feel like my house (remember my house?) is taking a back seat! Admittedly I’ve been putting a lot of house projects on the back burner while we get the apartment side of living in order, but this past weekend I dove head first back into the ongoing kitchen renovation and made some major progress. Witness…SHELVING:
YUP. No more dishes stacked up on the floor in the corner of the kitchen, cuz I’ve got SHELVES. I planned out and ordered custom Shenandoah shelving from Blake Avenue back in January, and I’ve been desperately trying to find time to hang them ever since. Daniel was kind enough to come to Newburgh and lend a hand on Saturday, and we had them up in no time. I’m so glad I took a chance and asked Joe at Blake Avenue to quote me a price, because they were much more affordable than I assumed they’d be—even with shipping factored in. I initially considered just ordering the brackets and sourcing reclaimed lumber locally, but in the end convenience won out.
Here are a couple of redundant photos of my shelves, because I love them so much.
Detail shot! The industrial iron brackets are really nicely made and SUPER strong. They attach to the wall individually, which is great if you (like me) have an old house with uneven walls that would otherwise require lots of shimming in order to hang a shelving unit this long. The wood is reclaimed Douglas fir. I coated it with mineral oil before hanging. Even though I really liked the way the unfinished light wood looked, in a kitchen I think you want a little more protection from heat and humidity.
I’m also in love with the swing-arm Otis lamp from onefortythree. The photos on the website seriously do not do Logan’s work justice. This a beautifully-made lamp, with all of the right attention to detail—from the square switch to the perfectly bent steel arm to the cloth-covered, twisted cord. I’m really impressed.
Of course, since I’m a jerk and decided to open the box pre-coffee, I immediately broke the tubular Edison bulb that was included. I put a chrome-tipped globe in for now, but I’ll replace the tubular bulb as soon as I can get to a bulb store. The globe just looks too bulky to me.
I know, I know, too many photos! I can’t help it. I’m still obsessed with this corner. I can’t wait until spring so we can take the radiators out and finish tiling the last wall and a half. In the mean time, I’ll just keep petting this corner and feeling proud of myself for making those trim pieces work.
Even though I’ve written about these mugs before, I’m including them again here because my coffeestagrams always seem to draw inquiries about their origins. They’re Bono mugs, designed by Catharina Kippel for Design House Stockholm—also available without a handle, if you prefer. They are lovely to hold, and are still chip-free after five years, which is how long the date on this post tells me it’s been since I bought them.
Also they look really nice on the new shelves. That’s the other reason I’m including a picture of them. OK?
Soooo…I did it again. As if my bathroom trash can wasn’t “controversial” (or whatever) enough, I went ahead and bought another Vipp. This time, though, I got it for a super bargain! My scavenger guardian angel, Daniel, found a floor model for sale at the DWR Annex and picked it up for me. Yayyyyyy. (Remember when Daniel found me a Random Light at a thrift store? I’m still not over it.) I love my bathroom Vipp, and I’m sure I’ll love my kitchen Vipp just as much. It feels really good to know that I’ll probably never have to buy another trash can, I’ll tell you that much. And yes, these things matter to me.
Let’s end this with some Instagrams of scarves, friends, puppies and shattered dreams…
87 Comments
I LOVE the new shelves. Dare I say they tie the whole room together?
Anna! Is that the Arrow Scarf from Block? I just ordered one!
Its funny because I swear I also ordered a bookhou bag the day before you posted yours a while back.
Weird..
Yes! It is! You have good taste. 😉
Everything looks great! Are you planning to update your flooring in the spring as well?
That actually IS updated flooring! We installed it when we bought the house 7 years ago, and we still love it. We did recently discover a carpenter ant infestation in our kitchen subfloor, though, so we may be forced into changing the flooring. We’ll know more when the radiators come out in spring and we can really take a look at what’s going on under the floor.
Did you buy the mugs seperately or in sets? I see that you have four mugs of each design, and I’ve never been able to find them indivdually. Or do you have four sets of four!?!
I have eight mugs total, four of each of two designs. Does that make sense? They used to be available individually, but I think now you can only buy them as a mixed set of four.
The mix of materials in you’re kitchen is just perfect. I’m a huge fan of wood in the kitchen and those shelves combined with your work table is juuust right. Bravo!
And, might I add, that light is super good looking.
Wow! Love the shelves…the kitchen looks so good Anna.
I love, love LUHVE those shelves! (and those stools, and that light fixture, and yeah–all of it. )
Girl, you can’t possibly put too many photos up of all that beautiful handiwork. From the tile, to the painted hood to all that beautiful oiled wood- well done. I know if feels good to walk into that kitchen every morning and see what you’ve done. I’ve always enjoyed reading through all of the renovation progress over these past few years.
omg where do I begin….I love the controversial Vipp purchase, I’m obsessed with wanting to be bff’s with you and Daniel, I would pet the corner of tiling job that I did, I love those DHS mugs with all my heart, etc. etc. I can’t believe there is another person in the world with taste as good as mine haha! and who thinks the same weird stuff as I do like the satisfaction in knowing you’ll never buy another garbage can and that you’ll always love the crap out of that garbage can. heart this blog so much.
Hahaha! Thanks, Kristy. 😀
The kitchen is glorious. Love everything you have done to it. It is clearly a project of love, something that is well worth the extraordinary amount of effort you put into it. So cool Daniel dropped by to help.
Dream kitchen!!!!!! I love this so much times a million.
LOVE your blog! I joined your site maybe 2 days ago I think? You have GREAT style, an eye for design, and… let’s just be real… you’re an INSANE writer!
Look forward to reading more!
B
I’m an insane something, that’s for sure…
I’ve been following you blog for over 2 years now and I think I never left a comment.
But now I have to say that your kitchen looks absolutely stunning.
The shelves look great! Looking forward to another update!
I’ve been reading your blog only for a little while. But man, do I love it. You’ve got great taste and it is very inspiring to follow all your renovation work. Thanks for sharing *hops on over to the hardware store*
Silvia
They are fab. How do they attach to the wall?
Thanks, Jemma! The brackets have holes for screws in the rear side that’s against the wall. It’s the simplest of designs, literally a rectangle with holes for attaching the bracket to the wall and for securing the shelves to the brackets.
yay shelves! they look great – as does the whole kitchen. it looks modern now, it will look modern in ten years, it’s fab! I’m contemplating getting shelves for our kitchen (right now, we have upper cabinets on one wall, inherited from the previous owners, and they are very functional but a major eyesore), but the idea of my plates and cups getting dusty/kitchen grimey is holding me back… anyone here have any experience with that? the shelves will be on the opposite wall of where the hob is, so not too close… but still! any advice or Tales of Experience are welcome!
Anne, everyone worries about the dust/grease thing with open shelving, but I actually think it’s kind of a non-issue unless you’re using the shelves as “display” more than for functional purposes. I’ve had open shelving in my kitchen for as long as we’ve owned the house, but I only use it for dishes (not food—that was previously in closed cabinets, and will now be stored in the pantry). You’ll also notice that I don’t have a bazillion things on my shelves. Yes, we need more dinner plates (working on that!), but other than that, this is pretty much all I need to cook and serve food. Pieces that I only use very occasionally are in storage, and I’ve given away or donated all of the stuff I never use. A kitchen needs to be efficient in order for me to enjoy cooking in it, and to that end, having to occasionally rinse off a serving dish before using it trumps having a bunch of bulky wall cabinets all over the room that I need to open and close constantly…especially in a small kitchen like mine with a lot of doors and windows, since it’s not possible to have a long, clean run of cabinets anywhere in the room.
WHEW. Sorry to go on and on about this! Haha. Short answer: Every few months, I do take things off the shelves and wipe them down. It takes about 15 minutes to do the whole kitchen. I can handle 15 minutes a few times a year. 😉 I suspect it’ll be even faster now that I have these new shelves, since the old ones (GRUNDTAL from IKEA) had individual rods that had to be cleaned.
thanks! 15 minutes a few times a year sounds do-able 🙂 I also realized… I have my cookbooks out on a small shelf next to the cabinets, and some cake plateaus sitting on the work bench, and, you know, washing up liquid and all that stuff… all of that’s as ‘exposed’ as our plates and cups would be, and nothing gets too dusty or greasy for me to handle. so I guess now the question is, how much stuff is actually in those cabinets 🙂 and how much of that would look not too cluttered when exposed, what can find a home elsewhere in our kitchen – or elsewhere in the world.
Hello,
I might add that I think the work involved in open shelves depends on what kind of cooking you do… I rent an apartment with no kitchen fan (just a grate in the wall), some open shelving and a husband who loves to stir fry everything, and every few months I spend a weekend afternoon degreasing every exposed surface in the kitchen, including mugs/pans/appliances that are out in the open. If I am ever able to own, the first thing I am doing in installing an industrial strength oven hood!
The kitchen looks beautiful, Anna! Love the new old table.
i used to think its stupid but now I’m thinking to put a bulb above the stove. Trust me, so many times i bumped my head in dark because of low exposure to light.
There isn’t anything to bump your head on in my kitchen since there’s nothing above the stove, but I do like having extra light in my prep area. I like that it’s easy to swing this lamp into various positions…that way I won’t bump my head on the bulb. 😉
Everything is just gorgeous and I love how many photos there are and that you included that beautiful corner again, very important. That light looks so good there, love that is swings, I used to love your Marimekko tea towel though.
I still love the tea towel! It was just too small/not substantial enough for that area. I’m sure I’ll wind up putting it somewhere else in the house, though…or maybe I’ll take it out of the frame and give it a second life as a tea towel. 😉
This post was really fun. So thanks! I needed that.
The whole place amazing and has really come together. I especially love the shelves. Can I just ask if you used regularly matt grout or glossy with the tiles? It looks matt. Thanks
Nope, they’re just regular old off-the-shelf cheap glossy subway tiles. I think it’s a lot harder to pull off matte tiles unless you’re going with a stone or really high-end ceramic. The cheap matte tiles look kind of plastic-ish, IMO.
Oh wait, I just realized you were asking about the grout, not the tiles. It’s just standard sanded grout, so I guess you can call it matte. I’ve never even heard of glossy grout before!
Your kitchen’s looking great, am loving the new shelves!! 🙂
Wow, love how it all came together! The shelves, light and tiles and that great table (that will be so happy with the new shelves as company.) The new Vipp and the light go well together but with the table legs, you have an amazing International-haut-vintage-industrial trio, quintet if you add in the Tolix. So inspiring to see what you did. Bravo!
(I have a table with those legs I found on a Brooklyn street 20 years ago; I love it still, and bring it (in pieces, with the vintage US nuts and bolts) every move, last time being 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.)
It’s really coming together. Such a great, unique kitchen. Love the mix of woods, black/white, and tiles. And that fabulous table! Very inspiring!
wow.. it’s beauoooooooooootiful!!!
The shelves look fab. I think they bring some balance too the room. Not too heavy, not too light. And they make your dishes and pots and pans look so pretty. I almost wish we had room in our kitchen to put up something similar.
Also, the light is cool. I don’t mind it with the globe bulb. In fact the tubular bulb might look underwhelming. But I guess I’d have to see it to get a sense of whether or not it’d work.
Bruno is sooo cuuuute! And the shelves are lovely 😀
Oh Anna, it looks so wonderful. Congratulations! You and Daniel hang a mean shelf, and you are one expert tile-ist.
Also, your table now looks like it was always meant to be there with those shelves. So perfect.
Can I just say that I am in love with your kitchen. It’s so YOU. You’ve done awesome work in there (well, everywhere).
jbhat
Looks tremendous, lady. I mean, OF COURSE. *wink*
You know, you should never apologize (or try to rationalize) spending your own money, which you earned, on things you want. If that trash can floats your boat, all the better.
Your kitchen is looking FAB by the way. Your whole house is gorgeous but I’m loving what you’re doing to the kitchen. Can I also say you are so lucky to have Daniel for a friend?
Well, I think it’s really about more than the money. I wrote a post about it:
http://www.doorsixteen.com/2011/08/03/design-matters/
And yes, I’m very luck to have Daniel as a friend—and vice versa. 😉
you know, i have those mugs (got them at crate and barrel when they were there back in ’08) and 2 have broken! another 2 on the way… they get these hairline cracks in the base/bottom corner… the first one that broke happened when i had put cold milk in the mug, and then hot coffee on top – broke in my hand! 🙁
not sure how to fix hairline cracks in porcelain?
Oh wow! We use ours all the time for hot coffee (they’re the only mugs we have in multiples), and they’re all still in perfect shape. We always do coffee first and then add our creamer after…maybe that’s why? Hmmmm. Do you have a dishwasher? We don’t, and I wonder if that could have anything to do with it. Maybe?
we HAD those mugs also. they devoloped the hairline cracks too. the first time i assumed it was a superficial crack, until i poured hot coffee in the mug, and it leaked all over the floor. we went from 12 down to 0 in five years. such a bummer, i loved them.
we dont have a dishwasher, but i suspect my husband dropped them in the sink, causing the cracks to start.
Yikes!! I guess I’ve just been really lucky!
love the shelves! they (and the rest of the room) look so great!!
I seriously dig your style. So simple. Lovin the shelves, lights and mugs, can’t decide what my favourite is!
this looks really amazing! i am so glad you posted a lot of pictures it really helps give a good idea on the flow. thank you. i also have had open shelves and so was curious about the dust/grim accumulation. thanks for answering that above in such detail.
everyone is asking about the cups but i’m curious about the plates to the left of the cups. they look interesting and i hadn’t noticed them before. i’m also curious about the ikea salt and pepper grinders. they are gorgeous but i wondered how they felt to use; does the lid stay on easily or is it more of a hat resting on top? does it feel too heavy or like something is going to fall off on your toe and break into a thousand pieces? perhaps too detailed a question about salt grinders considering this is a post on shelves. great work in the kitchen, looks tied together with those shelves!
Oh, I don’t mind the questions at all! I actually haven’t used the salt/pepper grinders yet. I bought them several months ago, but I’ve been waiting for my kitchen to be done before using them! (Daniel has used his, though, so go read his post!) In all honesty I don’t even know where my peppercorns are at the moment, because I’m in the midst of getting all of my food and spices organized into my pantry. Right now everything is on the floor in the dining room! The “lid” you asked about isn’t actually a lid, though—that’s the top of the grinder, the part that you turn to operate the gears and grind the contents. It’s held in place with a bolt. The piece at the bottom is separate, though! That’s a cellar for your salt/pepper. Quite an ingenious design if you ask me! You grind your S&P into the cellars, then store by resting the grinder on top. And yes, they’re solid marble, so if you drop a grinder on your foot it will definitely hurt. 😉 There are no loose parts that could fall off, though.
Here’s a better photo of the plates to the left of the mugs:
They were my grandmother’s, purchased in Spain (I’m guessing in the 1940s). I use them to serve dessert all the time…but I am very, very careful when I wash them! 🙂
those plates are gorgeous, better than i could have imagined. thanks for the photo. i lived in spain for a tiny bit and am mexican these are totally up my latin alley. thanks also for the details about the grinders. i’m gonna test them out on my next venture to ikea.
It’s looking so good! Perhaps I’m getting mixed up with another room, but are you still planning to put some wallpaper up?
Yes! It’s going on the wall opposite the stove, where the fridge is now. I can’t do anything else on that side of the room until the radiators come out to be refinished and repaired in the spring. 🙂
It really looks amazing so far. Just wondering where the fridge is now?
Thanks! It’s on the wall opposite the stove.
What size vipp is this? Thanks
Medium! There’s a link with the dimensions in the post.
It looks absolutely gorgeous all together, there is no less than 20 things in your kitchen that I am feeling just covetous over. And bravo to you for still having enough of a dark sense of humor pre-coffee to think to take a photo of a shattered Edison Bulb. I am sorry but it made me giggle in a very empathetic way.
I understand the Vipp purchase too, now if you get the matching Vipp Laundry Bin Im going to be insanely jealous.
Great job Anna, you should be puffed up sort of proud on how the kitchen is pulling together so beautifully.
How beautiful!! Love your styling. And your blog. You got a new follower. 🙂
its looking great, the tile and shelves really elevate the udden cabinets. i have the same ones, but they really look so much more high end in your space.
Is it just the photos, or do the shelves seem a bit high? Is it difficult to reach the items you have on them?
Nope! They’re the same height as standard kitchen wall cabinets.
Ok, those shelves rock…and that lamp rocks even more. I want it in my life. My kitchen is too tiny for shelves, sigh.
Wow, those shelves don’t disapoint! I loved them when you first show them but up on your walls, they fit perfectly, such a simple, efficient design. I have to say again, that island is so beautiful! I wish you could make a little video of the whole kitchen when you are done so we can have a sense of dimension (wow, that sound intruding, I am sorry!). Anyway, keep up the good work!
I’ve thought about doing some videos, Mariane! I don’t really have any experience with it so it’ll take some trial and error, but I’ll definitely give it a shot. 🙂
Excellent shelves!
Wow – Love your aesthetics! And no, there aren’t too many pictures 🙂
Took the entire day off to study. Found your blog as I was surfing the net during lunch break. Three hours later, I’m still on it. Oh, what have you done to me?
Love your taste, style, EVERYTHING – please keep posting those “redundant” pictures! The more redundant-er the better!
Haha! Sorry, Haruka!! I definitely know the feeling. 😉
AWSOME shelving, but i LOVE LOVE LOVE your kitchen table!!! where did you find it? i’ve been looking for something like this for ages!
Thanks, Eva! The table is vintage. There’s a whole post about it here:
http://www.doorsixteen.com/2013/02/08/please-meet-my-kitchen-work-table/
Those shelves are so clever and so beautiful. The whole room looks great Anna, well done.
Loving the kitchen Anna!
Have you considered changing the electrical wallplates to complete the look? I’ve done A LOT of research for screwless wall plates on the US market (for my job in architecture), and Lutron do an affordable option called ‘Claro’. The screwless plate has a much cleaner aesthetic, and isn’t as complex or expensive as luxury wallplates (yes really) such as Trufig.
Yeah, we have some of those in other parts of our house, but honestly…the screws don’t bother me at all. My kitchen is so casual and imperfect. If anything, we’re more likely to change to something with more prominent screws that looks more industrial.
oh la la…your kitchen is absolutely lovely! i adore the open shelving. discovered your blog through Blog Boss and i’m so happy i did. such a delight to read! i gave you a little shout out on my blog today…ohsoloveydovey.com.
xoxo, Lo.
Thanks so much, Lo!! 🙂
What’s Blog Boss?
I loved your kitchen before and probably would have never thought to change it, but I am so glad you did. It looks so good. How are you liking your Nespresso? I am totally obsessed with mine.
I keep coming back to look at those shelves. SO GOOD.
Just found your blog from someone’s list of favorite blogs. Wow!! It’s amazing!! I think you did a phenomenal job with your kitchen. Love the shelving!
Hi Anna,
The kitchen is looking fantastic. Could you tell me if that a Simple Human dish drainer? I was thinking about getting one myself. Does it work for you? What about the size (I was thinking it might be too small to be practical).
Thanks in advance!
Sarah
Yes, it is! It’s this one:
http://www.simplehuman.com/compact-dishrack-stainless-steel
It’s pretty tiny, but that’s the amount of space we have…so it works perfectly. 🙂 We’ve had it for 7 years and it still looks good, too. It’s definitely big enough for washing all of the dishes associated with preparing and serving an average meal for two people. If we have guests over or if I cook something fancy that requires a lot of pots/pans, one of us will wash while the other dries.
We have this one in the apartment, where there’s more counter space next to the sink:
http://www.simplehuman.com/slim-dishrack-stainless-steel
Yay!!! It looks terrific. And thanks for sharing all your sources. Checking out onefortythree for our lighting fixtures. So hard to find affordable lighting I like…
beautiful! congratulations. I wanted to know what gas range you have and if you are happy about it. Thanks!
I already answered your question on the other post you commented on! 🙂
http://www.doorsixteen.com/2012/11/20/kitchen-planning-for-real-this-time/