Positively ledge-endary

Load me up on Americana and fairy lights

It all started a couple or three years ago, when Mari posted some pictures of a home improvement project.

I don't remember how long it's been because although I have attempted to find the post on Mari's blog, I have been unsuccessful.

Perhaps she can answer the question as to when her beloved Bob (Bon, to me) installed board and batten in their dining area.

All I know is that, when I saw it, I said: I want board and batten in my dining area.

The project was completed by the first week of April 2020

Ours is a 34-foot-long eat-in kitchen.

At the far end of our kitchen is the defined dining area, and when I saw what Bon had done to his and Mari's dining room, I coveted the same treatment for ours.

Not being able to import Bon to do the work, I turned to my own resourceful and more-than-capable TG.

TG went a shade pale when I explained what I wanted.

By late March 2020, the ceiling had been smoothed and the new light installed

But that was just because he'd never installed board and batten before, and also because he was worried about removing the existing beadboard wainscoting, which he himself had put in place many moons ago.

Turns out -- these are his words -- installing board and batten is not that difficult. Once you have asked a building contractor/remodeler buddy where to start, and found your tape measure, you're all set.

Unlike now, there was no lumber shortage fifteen months ago.

However, as with most of our projects and proposed projects, this one did not happen quickly.

That end of the kitchen looks very different today

Mari will be the one to set the record straight as to when I first saw the board and batten on her blog, but I'm going to say it was a couple of years before we went all copy-cat in our kitchen.

At any rate, during the winter of 2020 I impressed upon TG that it was finally time to actually remodel that end of the kitchen, instead of just talking about it. And to get a few other things done at the same time.

As in, a scraping and smoothing of the popcorn ceiling was not only wanted, but was absolutely necessary.

Here's your view from the front door, when you come to see me and I stand aside

I just couldn't stand how it looked, anymore.

TG had smoothed the ceiling in our TV room five years ago when we did some fairly extensive cosmetic changes to the house.

It's a messy job, he warned me for the fifty-eleventh time.

Yes I know, I reassured him. But it still has to be done.

Here it is from another angle. The door by the popcorn machine goes into the front room.

He knew it was true. And he knows how much I hate for my house -- especially my kitchen -- to be in disarray.

But sometimes you just have to suck it up. This was one of those times. And so the project began.

You can see from a few pictures I've included here that we had not yet started the work on TG's birthday in late January.

Or on Valentine's Day.

In mid February, the walls were still teal

Or on my birthday in early March, immediately after which we took a three-day trip to Raleigh, North Carolina.

Immediately upon our return from Raleigh, the pandemic thing started.

So it was that, in the evenings -- because he is self-employed and still works full time -- TG started on the ceiling smoothing plus board and batten installation in our kitchen.

I've included a few pictures of what my kitchen used to look like, this latest remodel being the third of its ilk.

In this photo of my birthday in early March, you can see the awning-stripe shaped valances

When we moved into our house (which was built in 1972 by the original homeowners, from whom we bought it) in 2005, the kitchen was papered in an '80s era busy, fussy, flowery navy-blue-and-pink wallpaper that was so offensive to me that I would not move in until it had been banished.

TG stripped all of that and painted the majority of the kitchen a pale butterscotch (Sherwin Williams Blonde, all the rage in the mid oughts), with a Chinese red accent color in the dining area.

First though, he installed the aforementioned white beadboard up to a chair rail in said dining area.

Andrew and Brittany gave me this for my birthday last year. You can see the unpainted boards in the background.

I have a couple of dozen metal signs which I mounted as a collage on my red walls.

At that time I had a casual but substantial dining set in white, with oak table top and chair seats -- not the big black-and-white glass-topped table that is there now.

(I had the table; I've had it since 1993. But it was in the front room, minus the family collage).

I found shaped valances in an old-gold color, with roosters in red and green and yellow, and contrasting piping.

The work had been planned but not yet begun on TG's birthday in late January 2020

My mother bought me a few cute rooster accessories -- plates to hang on the wall, and a ceramic clock which sat on a metal easel, and even a ceramic rooster.

I was so thrilled with my rooster kitchen. I'd dreamt for years of having a rooster kitchen.

Several years went by. I think it was early 2013 when I decided it was time to change up the color scheme.

Also I'd read somewhere that critter kitchens were SO out. I'd begun to worry that I'd seem out of touch with current design trends, what with the roosters everywhere.

On Audrey's birthday in late March, it was a work in progress

Besides, I wanted my walls to be a clear, lively teal blue color. And I wanted my accent colors to be black and white.

So I picked out a color and TG painted it on the walls. Gone were the pale butterscotch and Chinese red and most of the roosters along with it.

In were the clear, bright teal walls and black-and-white awning stripe shaped valances piped in black, at the windows which were covered with white two-inch blinds.

I loved it. 

It was time for a change

Several more years went by -- you know; as they do, with alarming rapidity -- and then I saw Mari's post with the board and batten, and having seen it, I could not forget it.

Part of the charm of the board and batten, for me, was the ledge at the top, where I could put things.

Let's talk about things. As in, I have a lot of things to put.

Well over thirty years ago, my mother and I plundered a small antique shop in Northwest Indiana, where we both lived at the time.

The green '20s or '30s era armless rocker is nearly a century old

It was the late '80s and everybody was wallpapering everything, and Americana was all the rage for decorating.

We had a full finished basement that was a good size, and Henry wallpapered every inch of it above the chair rail, beneath which we painted an ivory/beige/tan color.

The wallpaper was a charming country print in blues and mauves, and we added (of course) a cute border just above the chair rail.

In the midst of redecorating my basement family room, I discovered a lady in my neighborhood who had a small garage crammed with antique and country accessories.

Make mine traditional American

Mother and I spent a happy afternoon picking through the stuff in that garage, and I came away with pieces that I loved, and that I still decorate with today.

There was a 1930s era armless rocking chair, painted green, that groans in a certain distinctive way when sat upon. It's as though the chair is objecting to being sat upon, while at the same time welcoming you to sit on it.

It now sits in our sun room. Andrew says that the sound of that chair is his childhood.

I got this cloth horse that day

I also bought at least thirty other objects, both old and new, that I've layered on shelves and window sills and tables and walls as accent pieces, for all of these years.

Things like my heavy wrought iron black pig bank, a wooden heart with blue wings that hangs on a rope, a small antique washboard, a tiny iron skillet, a cloth horse with thread-spool legs, an assortment of old bobbins, and at least a dozen glass apothecary bottles. 

And more.

Waiting on our no-bar plantation shutters

Back to our long-ago family room basement, newly papered and painted. After completing that project, TG and Henry built me a double row of pine shelves across the back wall, supported by pine corbels.

I had a blissful time decorating those many feet of shelves with books and my new country and antique artifacts.

So it was that when I saw Mari's new dining room design, I knew I'd love having a ledge in my dining area, to decorate with all of my stuff, both old and new and semi-new.

It's a long room and full of light

It was a happy day when TG realized that scraping the kitchen ceiling smooth wasn't going to be as difficult or labor intensive as he'd feared.

We have a small powder room off the kitchen, way down by the door which leads in from the garage.

I had bought a new pedestal sink and potty, in black, anticipating a remodel of that tiny space at the same time as the kitchen was repainted.

My board-and-battened powder room with black sink and round rubber-rimmed mirror

So he scraped the ceiling in there too.

Once that was done, TG started on the board and batten.

Meanwhile, I chose a new light for our kitchen ceiling.

It wasn't long before the board and batten was finished, and the painting could begin.

@powderroom

My vision was for the palest pistachio green I could find. I chose carefully, and held my breath as the first swatches of pale green were applied over my old teal color.

The color was perfect. Truly and totally, exactly what I wanted. In case you're interested, it is a PPG color named Silent Storm.

Meanwhile we had ordered no-bar plantation shutters for the two windows.

Plantation shutters over my black single-basin sink

They proved to be the icing on the cake and I cannot imagine this space without them.

So clean and minimal next to my layabout-laden ledges.

(My mother called knick knacks "layabouts" ... things one lays about.)

The best thing about my ledge is that it's deep enough to display small books -- of which I have more than you can shake a stick at -- and to put fairy lights all in and among the things. I love fairy lights.

Pretties poised along the ledge

The space above the ledge cried out for a huge clock, and I got one as big as would fit.

I love changing things around on my ledge, seasonally and any time I want.

I was so grateful, when the sorrow and trouble came in late summer and early fall and I was in Greenville with my mother half of the time, to come home to my pale, cool kitchen and all the pretties on my ledge.

And I was glad that Mom got to see it newly decorated, when she came to my house in late April, just after everything was completed.

All is calm, all is bright

She enjoyed following along with the project, as she loved decorating too. Who doesn't?

Remember that powder room I told you about? The one that needed a new potty and pedestal sink? That was finally completed too, but it took some nagging encouraging.

It was finished in time for Thanksgiving. And guess what? I mentioned putting board and batten in there as well, and TG did not object, and the result is charming. 

More ledges to decorate, although so far there is nothing on them as they are narrower than the kitchen ones.

Such fun.

Get you some ledges and love them to death

If you're still with me and did not nod off somewhere around 2013, thanks for reading all about our kitchen decorating journey.

It's a chilly Wednesday here: driving rain and currently fifty-two degrees, dropping down into the forties before nightfall. 

Most unusual for South Carolina after Mother's Day, but then that's why they call it May: you MAY get just about any kind of weather you can think of.

Good thing I have a flannel robe, and socks, and I know how to use them.

And that is all for now.

=0=0=0=

Happy Wednesday :: Happy Week

Comments

[Gayla]

I love this! Your makeovers follow the years perfectly! That pistachio color! It is perfect and has a beautiful name. I insist on both. Lol. I don't think I will have any luck with a ledge request... except maybe in my bathroom someday! Your layabouts are wonderful. I am so glad your mother saw this beautiful project! I find it miss sharing completed things with Mom almost excruciatingly! I talked my son into looking at them, and he is great about it!

[Jennifer]

@Gayla ... YES it is hard to not be able to share things with Mom. She understood everything I wanted to do, and why! I could just babble on and on about this and that, and she'd smile and laugh with me. It's fortunate for us that our children get it, and let us ramble, and at least pretend to enjoy looking at everything we're going on and on about! I do love my paint color ... it's so easy to get it wrong but this time I hit the jackpot. I hope you get a ledge somewhere soon, hahahaha! Shelves can scratch the itch. xoxo

[Ginny Hartzler]

I don't think I have ever seen board and batten before! I love it! It looks very fresh. And the way you arranged your things on the shelves is so professional looking, very pretty.

[Mari]

It turned out just beautiful, and I too am glad your mom could see it. I miss showing those types of things to my mom too and it's been 17 years now. I love the color and the peaceful feeling it imparts. And yes - the ledge! I love mine too and changing things out during different seasons. Someday I need to come see it in person.
We did ours in 2018 - here's my post:
https://marislittlecorner.blogspot.com/2018/09/a-little-remodeling-going-on.html
However, Bon did not agree to taking off the popcorn. I'll have to tell him how cooperative TG was on doing that. I better not do it now though, he did just get done with flooring and is still dealing with finishing the porch project! :)

[Jennifer]

@Ginny ... thank you! I'm glad you now know about board and batten because it's awesome! xoxo

@Mari ... I promise you that your popcorn ceiling does not look anywhere near as bad as mine did. For one thing, over near the stove area, they had done something decades ago which left the ceiling lumpy for a few feet. Also we have a ceiling fan on the other side of the stove, and it is always on, and the ceiling gets dirtier there, and there is no way to clean it. It was so bad that even TG was anxious to get it smoothed, but he felt obliged to flap around a bit first, hahahaha! And your Bon stays so busy and WOW what a beautiful job he does. Like I said before ... you two are influencers! You influenced me to do this project and I love it, and I love you for it. Aw shucks I just love ya ... and BTW come as often as you can and stay as long as you like! You know I mean it! xoxo

[Mari-Nanci]

Ohhhhhhhhhh... I _love_ wandering around in the homes, of bloggers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I do! I do! I do!!!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Oh and ..... Now ....... You could continue on, through the whole house, if you would like! ..... Nahhhhh, I'm not greedy. Not one tiny bit. -smile-

Oh that final shade-of-green paint. Lovely...........

And every tiny bit, is you, you, you, you, you. As it should be.

Handy husbands are worth their weight in gold tooooooooo! Please tell yours that. Mine has done all sorts of things around the house. In our first apartment and in our first little starter house too. -smile-

He has done a couple of different types of your board and batten too. In our den, and what was downstairs powder room... Is now bathroom, shower and laundry. The tops are not quite as high as yours, and do not have wide-ish ledges though.

In the kitchen eating area, he put a chair rail. And we have 2 different, but go together, wallpapers, above and below it. I saw something like this, on a trip, staying in an old B&B. We came home, and did it. -smile-

Again, I do love such a post. And look forward to more. 'Cause I'm not a bit pushy or greedy or.... -grin-

Happy Spring that has not yet arrived...
Mari-Nanci
From now paused "Beside a babbling brook" blog

[Jennifer]

@Mari-Nanci ... I am so glad you like it! I always think, when I talk about and show pictures of my house, WHO will be interested in this? But I love to see home interiors too, and never tire of looking at pictures of bloggers' houses. My house is above all, comfortable and sees LOTS of life! That's what I like about it, but I do like my things around me too. I get that from my mother, who was the same. Your wallpaper sounds charming. I do love wallpaper, when it's done right. And I have loved every picture you have shared of your cozy abode! And yes, we need some REAL spring weather before we freeze to death! xoxo

[Barb]

I love that stormy green paired with clean white. In our home (which was built by our sons in 1995), I have "vignettes" of treasured objects that I enjoy having around me. Many, many family photos, but also antiques and gifts from family and friends that have particularly good memories attached. I have colorful woven rugs hanging as art on the walls and many red accent pieces though my walls are painted a soft adobe that changes in color as sunlight moves around the house. We have plantation blinds in the bedrooms, but our Great Room has a cathedral ceiling and wall to wall windows which let Nature inside with us. Our homes should be a refuge, and I think yours offers an ongoing story of your life there with TG and your family. BTW, Bob is great about doing repairs around the house, but that project is above his level of carpentry! Bravo to TG!

[Carla TePaske]

Hi,
I enjoyed reading about your projects, but most of all I am glad your mom got to see it.
Twinkle lights are a favorite of mine too.
I hope it warms up for you. We are finally warming up here in Northwest Wisconsin, I wore a short sleeved shirt today!!

[Jennifer]

@Barb ... first let me say, it is such a joy to hear from you! I was about to compose an email and make sure everything was OK out your way. I hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day. And I know some of the beauties of your lovely house, having seen pictures on your blog. It does seem like a retreat that would give a person all the buffering they need from the cruel world. And having our things around us makes those homey spaces even better. Love you my friend! xoxo

@Carla ... yay for warming up and for short sleeves! It was cool again today but we're trending up, although, TG fears, not fast enough. He's worried that the pool will not be warm enough for the grandkids to swim on Memorial Day weekend, our traditional "opener" of the summer. I know that if it's sunny and hot out, they will swim even if the water is on the chilly side, but the ten-day is not looking promising. We need the hot sun to warm up that water! xoxo

[betty]

I had to look up what board and batten was :) I wasn't familiar with it :) Looks so lovely! I was with you the whole post. I admire people who do projects like this and change things up over the years. My brother/SIL are like that, always doing something to their house. We've been in our present house for 5 years and haven't done much but I'm sure soon we'll start thinking about perhaps doing something :)

Great pictures you shared here too!!

Is it hard keeping everything clean with a kitchen that size?

betty

[Jeanette]

I love it! It was definitely worth waiting for! Your kitchen looks cozy ad inviting and a great place for all those fabulous parties you have!

[Jennifer]

@Jeanette ... It gets crowded sometimes but that's why it's there. Happy new week to you! xoxo