Repurpose Reuse and Green Stuff: Whimsy that Functions

I go back and forth between peacefully enjoying the tranquility of minimalism and child-like frolicking with the discovery of interesting things.  I even admit to loving a bit of whimsy!  That said, I am a designer who fully appreciates function.

Whimsy that functions, how fun!

My prized whimsical piece is an iron "butler" who once held cigarettes, a lighter, and an ash tray.

This elegant gentleman has held canes or umbrellas close to my front door for years.  More recently he has been in my closet holding scarves.  But my current fascination with Downton Abbey has me thinking he should once again be more prominent in my life.




A little creativity can make whimsy function.



How can this butler become a
functioning part of our larger household?  After all, wars are long over and butlers long gone.



Since I am in the process of dreaming up a "butler's pantry" where my guests can help themselves to coffee, tea, drinks, and goodies I'll start here.













He can hold the spoons, cream and sugar above a tray with the cups, saucers and coffee pot.






We do a 'sometimes' annual Black Tie New Year's Party that would benefit from his services and get him out of the pantry to greet the guests.




He could help out in the kitchen.

He could wait patiently with a hand towel or hold a few kitchen items.





Or, he could really make himself useful and hold a lot of kitchen stuff.















He would be a whimsical surprise in the powder room.






Whimsy can be casual or have a more formal appeal.

Whimsical pieces can add interest and, of course, the unexpected.






Below are more functional whimsical items.  Perhaps they will inspire you to put some functional smiles in your home.








Kris Kricket will make anyone smile.  He has been with me since childhood.   And even though a little beat up and minus his front wheels, he kindly holds a stack of erasers.

I love this amber glass and brass deco cigarette holder.  It gives the business on these cards a sense of permanence and importance.

A vintage pressed glass compote casually offers napkins at the breakfast table.  The shape and and idea of using such a piece for a napkin holder shouts fun without being overly casual.

No need to drum your fingers while working at this desk.  The hand made wooden toy will do it for you.  The sticky note pad it keeps close by is hardly even noticed.

This unusual shaped Victorian basket keeps my business cards within easy reach.

An inexpensive chalk board was the perfect size for the side of a kitchen cabinet.  It can offer up the menu for dinner parties or keep a grocery list handy.  Hooks were added at the bottom for holding measuring cups, spoons and more.

This vintage stand with inlaid mother of pearl was so cute I had to have it.  It holds a plant here but could hold just about anything.  I have no idea of its original purpose.












Who could function without an old truck head light made into a trivet?

Or, a funky old vacuum to hold the umbrellas!

Off The Wall And Special Things: Antique Dining Furniture Update

It isn't easy using large antique furnishings in today's dining rooms while staying current and stylish.  Refer to my blog post of September 2012, Specific Requirements: Antique Dining Furniture, as this post is an update of that earlier project.

An appraisal was done on the project furnishings, pointing to the appropriate decision of cleaning, touching up and repairing.  Complete refinishing would have lowered the value.

Using the design path created in the above blog post, I carefully chose lighting, fabrics, and accessories to work with my old behemoths, the original rug and colors of other areas on the main floor of the house.

The chair seats got a large current pattern fabric in a neutral tone, Riad Dune.  Lined curtains were placed in front of the bay window area on a dark wood rod.  The dark wood relates to the dark dining furnishings and the curtain fabric is of a large modern sized toile with a brown background in a Linen and Rayon blend.  Placing the curtains in front of the bay allows for optimum vertical height.


The formality of the silver chandelier was toned down by using dark natural linen shades.


Large retro style lamps fit the scale of the dining pieces and bridge the gap between today and the early 1900's of the furnishings.

Wooden bowls, boxes, baskets, and a mixture of vintage and modern table settings help to make the room less formal and more current with today's trends, without trying to make the furnishings be other than what they are.

The walls were covered with a textured green fabric, an updated colorful grass cloth look.  The green color works with the rug, furnishings and accessories of the adjacent room as well.

The dark background curtains help balance the back of the space, where there is a lot of light from the windows, with the front of the space where the large buffet is placed (it is on the left, not seen in the above photo).  The server that is seen on the right, in the back of the photo, also helps to balance the larger buffet, not shown.  The five foot diameter round table is in the middle of the space under the chandelier.  The table can seat eight without the addition of leaves.  Yet the room still feels spacious and inviting.

The server and buffet are placed on opposite corners in an attempt not to crowd the table and traffic flow around it, refer to the above mentioned blog post for the space requirements.  New mirrors above these two large pieces help lighten these areas and give a feeling of more space around them.  The larger mirror is used over the smaller server piece, giving it a larger sense of scale and helping balance the opposite larger buffet.


The bay window area is the perfect spot for the large lazy suzan style silver serving piece.  The buffet is too high for this piece.   Placed on the server furniture it sticks out into the room, crowding the table and chairs.  This permanent display solved a storage issue as the piece is 34 inches in diameter.

Although the original plans and design path called for the addition of a china cabinet, once the project was underway it was thought to be too much furniture.  Using the bay area for the lazy suzan server was adopted as a new option for the plan.






While the silver tea set kept its original spot on the buffet  -small hand painted antique tiles with neutral colors, dried hydrangeas in a silver bowl, a tiny carved wood trinket box, large retro style lamp with dark natural linen shade, and amber candle holders maintain an elegance without being overly formal.

Mirrors still need to be hung and art work chosen.  The art and wall hung pieces have to work hard in this space to maintain the balance of old and current.  It is worth waiting for the perfect pieces to come along or be commissioned.  The design path set forth in the earlier blog post stated that art of a personal nature be used.  Art placement may also make a difference on the exact placements of the mirrors, they will learn against the wall for now.

Although the art part of this project has not been completed, the room is certainly ready for use.  Further detail can be added to this space and any space at any time.  Some changes can be made without disrupting the style and sense of the way it is now.

Look for a future blog post on the three phases of a space and how some people like to live with phase I while others move on to phase II and still others like the highly detailed spaces full of character and objects found in phase III.

This photo is of the completed space with art and mirrors hung.  See more photos of the room
on the Houzz web site.

Color and Other Designer Horror Stories: Fancy Table Settings

Most likely, we can all relate to a Holiday or fancy occasion meal where it wasn't the food that went wrong.   Colors that don't work well together, seasonal pieces that are past their prime, and odd pieces that just don't seem to fit today's world can take some of the special out of any occasion.

 An enjoyable table setting will be harmonious with all it's parts and pieces.

Here is what you can do to prevent your event from becoming another horror story.

For starters:  Know the basic china, silver, and glassware that you have on hand to work with.



Sure this sounds simple, but how many of you really know what you have stuffed into your cupboards over the years?  Or, what pieces broke way back when?

A good way to know what you have is to pull it out and photo it.  List how many of each.



Doing this, I discovered I have three china sets for special entertaining.  One set is a complete set for twelve, shown top left.  Another is complete for 5, but there are 12 small bowls, cups and saucers and 8 dinner plates (shown right).  The other is for 20, except for one plate.



I have eleven green with gold soups and 12 saucers.  I have 12 green with gold demitasse sets.  I have 8 gold demitasse sets.  I have salt dishes, butter pats, relish plates....

Who uses all this stuff?

What I needed to know, and what you need to know, to quickly deal with the basics of what's on hand and get on to making our tables fabulous are: What colors and what shapes work well together?  If doing a dinner for eight what are the options?  If service is required for six or for twelve?  What if it is a basic three course? Or, a fancy seven course?  What can demitasse sets be used for?  Is there another use for shot glasses?  What about those tiny "liquor" stemmed glasses?  Is there another use, other than that first intended, for the other oddities we can't seem to get rid of?  And, what can be added to make our table settings look more up to date?

Lets talk Shapes.

Most china is round, no problem.  However, there are squares, ovals, rectangles, octagons and even twelve sided, as shown in two of my sets above, and more.  Circles, or rounds, dominate a design.  Placing a round on top of another shape will work depending on their sizes, and vice versa.  A good rule of thumb is smaller rounds on top of larger other shapes and same size or smaller other shapes on top of rounds.   Experiment, if you have varying shaped pieces.

When it comes to glassware, shapes can work hard for harmony or subtly, yet mightily, work against it.  When placing different shaped glasses next to each other note the negative space between the "bowl" of the glasses.  Is the space between the glasses pleasing, like the two different glasses shown left?

Is the shape the same, such as these cobalt glasses?  Are the patterns alike, or close, such as in the cut and etched design above?


Shapes are important.



A square under plate updates this vintage desert bowl and ice cream spoon with modern flare.  The vintage cordial stem adds interest and fun when filled with a sauce or creme de menthe.

A large square plate used as a service or place plate is quite modern under another square plate.  The small vintage fan shaped plate is great for an appetizer and the crystal salter is large enough for a sauce.











The same square service plate works for this larger fan shaped plate (vintage snack plate with place for cup) and is perfect for a salad.  The egg cup works well for "dressing on the side."


A twelve sided vintage china plate sits nicely on the square service plate as well.  An Ikea double handled soup bowl helps make this setting special without seeming overly formal.


Round on round on round always works, and this up to date Calvin Klein cup, with no handles, and a saucer are a favorite of mine for a small soup serving.  The square napkin with geometric pattern further updates this setting with vintage platinum rimmed dinner plate used as a service plate.

The same saucer adds a touch of modern to this vintage 12 sided dinner plate when used as an under plate with a coffee cup for a soup course.







The saucer works for an appetizer with vintage cocktail fork and modern oval mini sauce dish.

A paper napkin in a square lucite holder sits nicely under a crystal finger bowl used for cold soup.  Even with fancy spoon, napkin ring and name card , the unexpected decreases the formality.


The combination of modern saucer, vintage gold demitasse saucer, vintage ice cream spoon, and vintage clover shaped ash tray (yes, cigarette ash tray) are perfect with a paper napkin to say "special desert" without looking old school.




The napkin, shown below, folded into a triangle and set under the soup bowl and on top of modern salad plate and vintage dinner plate gives this place setting a current appeal for a somewhat formal look.


Mixing a non-traditional into your table setting is an easy update.  Try a large dinner napkin folded into a square and set atop an unmatched plate on a vintage one.  There are many ways to bring vintage into today's world.  Try a salter for a mini sauce bowl, a bird Christmas ornament clipped to a name card placed on the plate instead of above it, and more.

Color and Pattern Can Do Amazing Things.

The silvers, grays, and whites of the setting above say soft and fancy.  The colors and the patterns of this setting shout special fun.

Below, the vintage mix of glass on modern plate, in a muted tone with no pattern, still says elegant. The mix plays down the formality of the white table cloth, crystal goblets and silver.

A mix of pattern and color can be playful, lively and informal, as seen right.




                                   


Mixing just a couple of patterns with less bold color and not as much contrast between colors makes for a more subtle statement.

Not so bold modern colors are easier to mix with vintage patterned multi-color china.

Finding current and modern pieces to use with what you already have can be a challenge.  

I was lucky to find a color called "ash" from Calvin Klein at a discount store.  The fact that these modern additions can be microwaved and are dish washer safe is icing on the not so old fashioned yet somewhat fancy and this is special cake!

The next post will pull it all together for a special Holiday table.