Window Seat Love & Pillows in the Kitchen

25 comments:
 Window seats are always a great spot to showcase interesting textiles
and I now have one in my new kitchen!
 Always on the lookout for wonderful things, I often will buy a textile
with no idea
as to what I will do with it.

This was a textile I just couldn't pass up!
 I purchased it about 6 months ago from my wonderful friend Wendy Lewis.

When she described it a something she has never come across before...I knew it was going to be really special

and it really is

 It was originally a very large "drop cloth" of pieced together burlap sacks.

And to make it more wonderful, the entire outside edge was finished off
in a bright red cotton bias tape.

We think it was used by olive farmers to collect their ripe olives
after they are shaken from the tree.

 Even if it was used for something else
the story sounds like a good one
and the cloth showed all the signs of being used that way.

All of the tatters and worn areas are what I love about it...and there is no way you can reproduce the vintage faded look of a fabric like this.

So Pottery Barn...don't even try guys!
 Running throughout  the various sacks used to make up this large cloth,
 are beautiful faded stripes of ecru, purple and red.

I did wash this cloth about 3 times on the gentle cycle,
with lots of fabric softener
to clean it up.
 The cloth has beautiful faded lettering and I designed the cushions to take advantage of the graphics, the stripe and the red bias tape
 We cut off the tape and re-worked it into a flanged welting...but there wasn't quite enough to do the bottom, so we used left over burlap for that.
 And now for pillows!

I collect old small vintage, children's ticking feather pillows...

they look cute!


 How about some French striped ticking?


 What about some blue with the red?




 Lets try out antique black floral and some really old 
graphic grain sack pillows...


 And finally I tried out these bright turquoise floral pillows
 made from 
French curtain panels....love these!
 Wow...everything just looked so fun with the new window seat cushions....
I really doubt I will ever keep it the same for more than a week.

 Any favorites?

I took a little time off to catch my breath 
and enjoy Mothers Day with my family

But thank you for stopping by
and
I will have more great ideas to share soon!

best, Kelley

25 comments:
  1. You've done it again, Kelly! They are all fabulous but I do think my favorites are the black floral/vintage burlap...LOVE IT! I've been trying to hold myself back from purchasing your two burlap pillows (in your shop)...LOVE those.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Kelley,
    Love your window seat cushions. Only you would come up with an idea so unique. Love all the pillows and I couldn't pick a favorite if I had to. ~Delores

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love it love it love it! And my favorite would be the simple blue ticking stripe ones...but they all looked gorgeous! And how fun to be able to change them out frequently!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have some of these pillows myself and actually use two of them to sleep with at night! They came from my Grandmother and I just can't throw them away. They feel just too good. I love all the looks of the various colors but I especially love the double-hung windows. Where is this window seat in your house? In the kitchen? The dining room? I would love to do one of these somewhere here in our place but I'm not sure we have enough windows to devote to this. I am going to contemplate it though!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hey, Kelley! I think you have been stealing pillows from my textile closet! ...the ticking ones and the calico ones!
    I love your window seat and cushions! That was the biggest loss when I moved from my last house. I had three of them! So missing in today's homes!!! Great addition.
    xoxo, Chris

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love my window seat too and probably for the same reason you wrote this post, cause I love pillows! I like all the combos here, but will always chose that turquoise floral! Fun project!

    Xo,
    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love my window seat too and probably for the same reason you wrote this post, cause I love pillows! I like all the combos here, but will always chose that turquoise floral! Fun project!

    Xo,
    Amber

    ReplyDelete
  8. My favorite is the turquoise floral with the black and white/red and white stripe, but they all look great. What a unique look for your window seat.
    Best...Victoria

    ReplyDelete
  9. we used to have a large window seat in a house (3 houses back :) ) and I really miss that seat...the kids and their friends used to love to snuggle and hang out there....it used to be a large bay window/breakfast room area and we made the whole thing into a window seat, so it was large enough for 2-3 people to lay down on ....i miss that spot alot...prob the fave part of that house!
    your cushions/pillows look great...i love ticking anything! xo

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the combo of the last two...so pretty. I'm trying to "spruce" up my sofa with cool pillow combos, I should post some pics of my sofa, pillowless, and ask for suggestions. Your post has inspired me! I'm gonna get to work on that right now. But I really wanted to say...your roses are crazy beautiful! Love your arrangement! Those roses just look sooo perfect. I want some. Lovely job!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Kelly
    I have been reading your blog for quite some time, but have never commented. That cushion is to die for! Love the plumpness, the uniqueness...it is just fabulous! Love all the pillow combinations as well!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Fantastic fabric for the window seats. I love the black floral and grain sack combo!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is really, really, really wonderful!!!! You have a wonderful "eye"! I couldn't possibly pick a favorite, they are all just perfect!

    Cindy Jorgensen

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh I LOVE those cushions, your PB line made me laugh, you tell them!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Kelley, I don't think I could pick a favorite, but I do gravitate towards the stripes. all of your combos are wonderful, I know you will have fun changing with the seasons!! Happy Wednesday,
    Kathysue

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great material& great window seat. Love those reds and I'm usually not much of red person. Wendy's site is wonderful. Now I'm wondering if you could take her runners and have them seamed somehow for a rug...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Those grain sack cushions are awesome Kelley!! How fun to have a window seat right in your kitchen. I think I like the red/ticking striped pillows best, but like you said you can just rotate them all regularly.
    Cheers~
    T

    ReplyDelete
  18. drool !!!! I love the ticking pillows and for a dressier occasion the black florals and french grainsack ones !!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. A huge thank you for all of the comments! I really do love to shop on Wendy's site. She has a wonderful eye for all of the best things and really puts her heart and soul into her business!

    Glad you like the window seat cushions....I like them too!

    ; 0 ) kelley

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your window seat is fabulous! I love that material for the cushions... olive tree drop cloths, how romantic! And how great that you have so many wonderful pillows to choose from! hard decisions, but at the end of the day I would go with the black!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I think your window seat is GORGEOUS!!! Such a homey place to curl up and drink a cup of tea and read a book. And as to which one looks the best . . . why choose??? They are ALL gorgeous!! Change them out every few weeks. I have a window seat in my house, but the window is higher than the seat and I've been thinking about having my cabinet guy come out and change itto cabinets to give me some more storage space. But YOU have inspired me to keep it and make it pretty like yours!! On the prowl for some vintage looking fabric. Thanks for sharing your beautiful home :0!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thank you for posting this. It’s exactly what I was looking for!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wonderful! Now some practical questions...
    Foam and down in the seat cushions?
    Do you think I could wash an old potato sack and not loose the printed graphics?
    May I come by for coffee and stay until cocktails (or wine - I'm not choosy)
    Cheers! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  24. LOVE it - I like the blue and red combos best but they are all great. I had a window seat in my bedroom growing up and I always wanted one in my house as an adult - the kitchen would be great!!

    ReplyDelete

~*~love to hear from you~*~

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.