I love my coffee. It is the nectar of the Gods! You know what I don’t love? The mess! So I decided to jump on the proverbial bandwagon and create a proper coffee bar for my kitchen counter… A few neglected jewelry trays (which I had gotten from a previous employer) were collecting dust and cobwebs in my basement, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to get creative! Some textured paint and a couple of decorative handles, and I would have myself a tray that I could use on my counter as a coffee bar…So here’s how I did it… My coffee bar decor Let’s start with the decor…A few of the pieces pictured in the (above) image came from a recent haul of gorgeous decorative items picked up from a local thrift store. Thrift stores are amazing! If you are willing to be patient and trust the universe, you can come home with some really special finds that make your house look more like a home. Old things have character and a story, and that’s so important when you are creating vignettes. So of course my coffee bar had to have a few thrifted items. I mixed those items with some things I had laying around—or things I stole from somewhere else in the house—to create a tray that looks attractive on my counter, corals the mess, and has a function that fits my lifestyle. You’ll see that I have my little spot for wine, with a few wine glasses and a Tuscan style wine box and I have three copper canisters for my sugar, tea bags, and powdered creamer. A tiny vase of faux florals (for now) give the tray an organic feel and make it feel more engaging. Now here’s how I made this tray… Chalk painting a coffee bar tray I started off with a terrifyingly black jewelry tray that I knew was not going to just take the paint without some prep work. Yes, I know chalk paint is touted as not requiring a primer, but trust me—it does sometimes! Generally speaking you don’t need to prime surfaces when you use chalk paint (so they say), but since this tray is so jet black, I wanted to make sure I didn’t end up with really black areas coming through, so I painted it white first. My later self thanked me for thinking to “prime” this piece first, even if it was just with a thin coat of white craft paint. That thin layer of white craft paint was followed by three coats of Chiffon Cream chalk paint. Even with painting the tray white first, it still took three layers of chalk paint to get rid of the blackness underneath. The next step I took was to use glue to create a crackled finish, but to be honest I wasn’t particularly happy with the results. It did create a lot of interesting crevices, though, so I thought I’d apply some brown wax to the surface to see what interesting textural effect I could create. But before I could apply the wax I wanted to do a little distressing and lighten up the finish. So I sanded the surface with 100 medium grit sand paper and distressed corners and edges to let a little of the black to come through. Then a brown finishing wax was applied to the tray…Let me tell you, when it first went on I panicked! It was brown wax, so I don’t have to say what it looked like smudged on my tray…that I had just worked SOOO hard on! I let it dry and then sanded the surface again, this time with 220 fine grit sand paper. And, oh my God, it was gorgeous!!! Talk about a sigh of relief! Now it was time for the finishing touches…Two coats of varnish was applied to the finished tray, then large felt pads were attached to the bottom to keep it up off the counter. I made a trip to my local Home Depot and bought decorative handles and a different color of screws (I didn’t like the silver ones that came with the handles), and a few days later the handles were attached. All that was left to do was gather my decor and create my vignette! Putting it all together… Even my hubby likes this new coffee bar…Truthfully I thought he’d be annoyed! As I was thinking about what I’d like on this tray, I made sure to address what this tray needed to do. What was its function? What functional items needed to be on the tray? And then how can I dress it up to make it aesthetically pleasing for my kitchen counter? I now have my handy wine area, with a few glasses that I can quickly grab, along with a decorative box for that extra bottle of wine. Also on the tray are the three copper canisters I rescued from a basement bin and cleaned up. Those canisters—that I tried to sell at a yard sale a few years before—now house my sugar, tea bags, and powdered creamer, which is so convenient in the mornings when I make coffee. I even put a little glass jar on the counter for my dried chamomile (which I grow in my yard) for when I want to make chamomile tea! This was a tough projects in some ways, but it was rewarding…and now I have a beautiful—and functional—coffee bar to dress up what used to be a very disgusting looking area of my kitchen! So what do you think? Do you have a coffee bar in your kitchen? If not, did this inspire you to create one? If you’ve already created a coffee bar, feel free to share you comments and experiences below! I’d love to hear about them! If you’d like to hear about my new blog posts, merchandise sales, new items, social media or there events, please feel free to sign up for my monthly newsletter (coming soon) here. And you can follow me on my social media links below! This article may contain a few items or commercial mentions, but I only used them for demonstration purposes only. I am not endorsing any particular product or receiving any monetary gain for this blog. Related blog posts you may want to read: My top thrift shop finds this year How to replace a clock mechanism How to frame small canvas art How to rewire thrift buy lamps DIY Fall/Winter decorative branch box Comparing DIY upholstery cleaning methods DIY refurbishment of a dining room cabinet
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Bringing houseplants into your home can be a daunting process, especially if you are inexperienced or think you have a “black” thumb. I have found that a little bit of thought beforehand and a little research can go a long way towards helping you make a choice about what plants to bring home, if any at all. Below are five things you should consider before buying and rehoming real plants. Maintenance First things first…Do you have a green thumb? Do you“over mother” (over water) plants? Or do you forget about them until they wilt? Do you even have time to care for real plants? There are low maintenance plants to choose from—such as cacti, aloe plants, peace lilies—so with a little research you may well be able to find just the right real plant for your lifestyle. Real plants will need watering—some more than others—and usually some type of occasional pruning and repotting. For example, herbs need to be moist, as do fern plants, so keep them moist (I have killed ferns in the past due to under watering). On the other hand, cacti, snake plants, and aloe do not need a lot of water so you can be a little lazier with their care! Make sure to follow the light and water directions on the plants you buy, and give them the proper “home” with appropriate soil and pots. Just like people thrive in the right spaces, so too do plants! So choose their “house” wisely. Remember Form Follows Function. Having said that, the pot style should fit the room decor as well. Always choose plants according to how much time, effort, and experience you have and be realistic. Natural light The second most important aspect of your decision making should be establishing your areas of natural light. Ask yourself: Where is the natural light coming from and at what times of day? Do you have a North facing window, which gets less direct light? Or do you have a South facing window, which gets a lot of direct light? Which window has the most direct sunlight? Which of your plants need direct light, and which would prefer indirect light? For example, aloe and jade plants must have bright light but not necessarily direct light, so they are more at home in windows that don’t necessarily get direct sunlight. Parlor palms can thrive in spaces with lower natural light levels, and don’t tolerate direct light at all. Put herb plants on a windowsill with direct light, however, and they will thrive! It pays dividends to do your research about the plants you want to buy to learn about their lighting needs and then assess your space to determine if you have the right environment for the plants you want. The good news is there are plenty of plant types out there for any lighting needs—even little to no natural light (although I would caution buying plants if you have no natural light, unless you have grow lights). Decor style Plants can enhance decor and tie spaces together, the greenery becoming the common denominator that ties everything together. Just like any other interior accessory, the pot and plant style can be a lovely addition to your space enhancing and breathing life—literally—into the overall style of the space. You can take your room styling up a notch by choosing pots that not only work well with the plant but with the room’s decor. It’s been my experience that plants do better in groups, so if you have the space give them some friends to keep them company! (Sounds weird, but it works!) Choose a variety of colors and textures in your plants to create depth and visual interest, and then coordinate with the pots and overall room decor. The right placement of your plants will also maximize the visual impact and create opportunities for visual exploration. Safety Another issue you will have to consider when buying houseplants is safety. If you have children or pets they may get it into their heads to “snack” on your plants, so if that is an issue you may want to avoid certain plants or “go faux”. Unfortunately, quite a lot of house plants are at least mildly toxic to pets and children, and there are a few that are very toxic and should be avoided. The good news is that it just takes a quick Google search to find out the toxicity of a particular plant, so you can easily assess what plants you need to avoid using in your space. For example, Philodendrons, jade plants, umbrella plants, fig leaf trees, Chinese Evergreens (Aglaonema), and Swiss cheese plants are toxic. Money trees, parlor palms, and spider plants, on the other hand, are relatively safe. Just remember, if safety is a concern, make sure to do your research first! Space At first glance, this may seem like an obvious question, but remember plants grow—some faster (and bigger) than others—so you really do need to look at your available horizontal and vertical space to get an idea of what you can realistically fit into your space. If you have a quite a lot of horizontal space at your disposal you can go wild with a wide range of large, medium and small plants, including floor plants. If your space is limited, fewer and smaller plants may be the order of the day. Many plants will remain relatively small, especially when kept in smaller pots, but certain houseplants—like the Swiss Cheese plant—can get quite large and need both horizontal AND vertical space to spread out. Succulents, on the other hand are mostly small and confined and can fit into even the tiniest of spaces. If you have vertical space available, a taller floor plant, indoor tree, or even a hanging plant may do well in your space. Tree plants like fruit and fig trees are good fillers for that empty floor space. Parlor palms can grow tall as well (3-4 ft tall). Bamboo plants tend to grow tall, but can be cut back (giving you the opportunity to use the cuttings to propagate new plants—but that’s another blog!). Some plants—like the Pony tail palm and Money tree—start out small and grow very large, but they grow very slowly, which gives you time to make more space. Philodendrons and other “viny” plants will spill out and ramble all over if they are thriving and will eventually take up a lot of room, but like lucky bamboo plants they can be trimmed back and propagated, giving you new plants to fill your horizontal space (for a time). So I hope you at least gained a little insight from reading through my top five things to consider when you are choosing plants for your home. I have found through (painful) experience how important it can be to really be honest with yourself when thinking about buying houseplants. Plants can are living things and some of them can be as needy as pets! I'd love to hear from those of you who have had experiences with houseplants--good and bad--so please feel free to drop a comment below and let's get a conversation rolling! This blog post is highlights products for demonstration purposes only. I am not receiving financial compensation for the mentions. Related blog posts you may want to read: Six herbs I planted indoors Let's talk about houseplants It's planting season again |
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