A New Kitchen For An Old House In Santa Barbara

This is an old house. She's 92 to be exact.

What's that saying about not teaching an old dog new tricks?

I agree.

An old house is not going to budge when it come to certain things, especially at 92.

I can't change the footprint because of set backs and the usual rules governing a historic house.

And I can't mess around much with windows or doors and why would I? 

They are all really beautiful, with old arches and screens and large french patio doors

So that leaves us with the interior walls, which I had initially thought could be moved 

and reworked to 

 enlarge the spaces visually.

Then a few weeks ago, I had a visit from a person who used to live in this house.

She was in her 70's and her daughter had recently passed away.

She wanted to see if she could find this house again 

because she and her daughter had enjoyed it here so much.  

Her parents had moved to Santa Barbara from the Midwest and had rented this house from the original owner who was then very elderly.

She remembered the house was pink with sage green trim.  

I've found traces of the old pink paint every where 

and you don't often see a pink house these days.

She recalled, rather tearfully, sleeping with her small daughter in the screened porch area off the master bedroom.

We had recently completely gutted that part of the house and

I honestly felt guilty telling her it was all different.

I made the decision then and there to leave as much intact as I could 

going forwarded to preserve what I think will enhance her old bones 

and put some spring back in her step.

Which now takes us to the kitchen:

The kitchen was remodeled at some point in the early 90's

I'm showing this photo of my Thanksgiving morning crazy woman cooking mess because I love a good "before" shot!

The tile is sort of faux Spanish and although it has held up pretty well it's really orange!

Sort of like orange sherbet ice cream...remember that stuff?!

On the opposite side is this massive old Thermadore

This was one of the first commercial grade stoves for the home chef and it's a beast.

I have repaired and cleaned every burner so it cooks evenly but there is no such thing

 as a simmer setting.

On is on and on is 18,000 British Thermal Units of hell.

Same goes for the oven,

Burnt everything.  

Tops, bottoms sides, you name it 

Me and my big girl oven, we have fried many a meal to a blackened crisp.

So she will now have a home at a local homeless shelter next week, because, well they needed a new oven and they wanted it.  

Hopefully they will have better luck with her and keep the burnt cookies to a minimum 

I've decide to use Bosch for some of the new appliances.

I like the minimalist clean look of them.

I'm also going smaller.  

I love to cook and yet I never really use more than 4 burners at once on a stove top.

So the new range will only be 30 inches wide 

which will give me more prep area on either side as well.

The stove area is inset so it will have some nice spots for open storage, spices and crocks 

and a little pot rack for a vintage copper collection

All of the new counter tops are Ceasarstone.  

I chose Raw Concrete, honed, with an 1.5 inch mitered edge detail

And yes it is counterfeit, but it looks like the real deal only better!!!

By the way....all three of these colors are beautiful.

 I'm still tossing around paint colors, like darker grays.

The kitchen walls will all be re-stuccoed and left raw 

as we have done throughout out the rest of the house

Tile will be kept to a minimum.  

All the tile is hand made and hand glazed and somewhat irregular.  

Fingers are crossed that we get it some time before the 4th of July.

Reclaimed wood, raw steel and whitewashed terracotta  are a few of the other details.

A small china cabinet will be outfitted with wire or wired safety glass

 for some additional texture.

I found these safety glass pendants at Restoration Hardware.  I love these.  

Even better was the price

Originally $890 each I scooped them up for under $300 dollars

A few trendy things like a black faucet and some brass 

hardware will probably sneak in too!

Gray and brass in kitchen design is definitely having a moment but  

in the back of my mind I want it to look at least something like it did in 1925  

and more importantly I want it to feel like an old-ish kitchen.

I'm especially fond of these classic English kitchens by Devol.

I think they look somewhat similar to what this kitchen may have looked like.

Small and compact but warm and inviting and a fun place to cook.

Demo starts next week...bring on the trash cans! 

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xoxo

Getting Ready For Spring Gardening: Tips & Inspiration

 Nothing is better than that first sunny warm weekend in early spring.

You slip on the grubby garden shoes like a broken in pair of bedroom slippers and grab the pruners and your old friend the garden hoe.

My favorite small perennial shovel is so worn the wood handle feels 

soft and smooth from hours of digging.  

And while I don't have nearly the amount of chores as I have had in the past, every thing is pretty much the same....like riding a bike...just on a smaller scale.  

I usually hit the vegetable garden first.  

These are Sweet 1000's from last year and I have a few cherries already planted.

If you think you can't grow a vegetable to save your life, just try a cherry tomato plant.  They will grown in spite of your brown thumb....trust me on this one.  

If you're just starting a vegetable garden try to give yourself at least 18 inches of well composted soil.  

Depending on what you want to grow, most plants take about 3 months to get to the harvesting stage, so that gives them plenty of time to develop a really robust root system. 

Challenge yourself to come up with creative trellis and supports.

Unless you're really short on time don't just settle for the usual junky stuff 

from the local garden center.

It barely lasts a season and will likely wind up in the trash.

Here I used bamboo and willow and it worked wonderfully.

This year I have bulbs and flowers planted among the veggies.   

I like the look of it and it helps to keep the garden bright and pretty.  

Or hang a basket or and old bucket near by just for fun

In the rear of my garden I hung a set of harvesting baskets.  

Not only useful but a cheerful addition to the kitchen garden space 

A little bench is used for small containers and for working on topiaries and arrangements 

which come into the house from time to time

Usually spring is the time I like to tune up the irrigation system. 

 Emitters and sprinkler heads get replaced and any thing leaking or that has become too small for the area is upsized.  I always stop in at the local pro-irrigation store near me and chat it up with the guys behind the counter.  You can learn a ton and they are always helpful if you are a new gardener. 

 Now for the good stuff....plant what you like to eat but....

I have had some epic failures trying so hard to do it all.

 I typically steer clear of  things that are  plentiful in my local farmers market

 and take up way too much garden real estate 

I have planted lots of carrots but mine never look this good.

We eat them anyway!

And I always have some sort of onion planted but usually the smaller green scallions

and chive, both of which are super easy

A few things I've tried and will probably never repeat:

strawberries

corn

celery

tarragon

asparagus

artichokes

just to name a few

Lettuce and greens are an excellent choice for any new vegetable garden.

Lettuce doesn't necessarily need intense sunlight to do well either.  So if you have a partially shaded area go of the lettuce varieties.

I always include radicchio and endive

 as well as arugula and some of the spicy asian greens.

 And no great kitchen garden is complete without herbs.  

I love the idea of the dedicated herb garden 

and will try to repeat something like the pretty one I had in Ojai.

 But if you're short on space (like me) plant herbs among the lettuce and tomatoes

My tried and true favorites are Italian parsley, lemon thyme, rosemary, sage, chervil and of course no herb garden should be without basil

I plant the big Sangiovese style basil as well as purple 

and some other odd varieties that all have great flavor.

Lettuce and greens can be self sown into the beds directly and will produce an amazing amount of yield from a small seed packet.  

Remember, the soil must be warm and damp consistently or the seeds won't germinate. 

Small turnips and beets are a great choice and super easy.

You can harvest them early and toss into a salad for some crunch just like a radish.

And do try some radish...easy and usually great results.  

My favorite is the D'avignon 

Perennial beds are always a challenge for me, especially because 

my garden style is full and sort of messy.  

To keep things in check, I prune and deadhead and clip....a lot!

And I didn't plant sweet peas this year either.

I know I will miss them

Instead I think I'll focus on some small little pockets for annuals and summer bulbs.

Bulbs are a great way to add color without a lot of work.

One of the garden chores no one ever like to do but is probably the most essential is to focus on the quality of your soil.  

Adding in some big bags of compost will really change how your plants look and will save on weeding and water down the road.

I know pretty boring right?!

And when I'm not in the garden....

I'm actually starting a much needed kitchen renovation in about a week so I'll try to post a little more and share some new ideas, products and a few new discoveries.

 

Hope you are enjoying the beauty of spring

xoxo

Thoughts on Design, Metropolitan Home and Chit Chat

Well Ok....lets just get caught up!

No excuses, just mounds of life stuff that creeps in and makes the days fly by. 

Happily I wave bye bye to this crazy winter and yell hello to spring.

Honestly I have really struggled trying to find something relevant to talk about that doesn't wind up seeming, well, sort of irrelevant.  

We have been working on a little house project in Santa Barbara (photos above) and I will be starting a kitchen remodel in about two weeks.

Unfortunately the only thing I have chosen thus far is this sink faucet.

Looks like I'm having commitment issues but hopefully I will snap out of it quickly or this kitchen project will be really long! 

For those who have followed this little blog for the last few years, you know that we sold our Ojai ranch house and moved to Los Angeles for a year.  

While in LA we rented a very cool condo and I started messing around with modern furniture

mixed in with a few of the usual "country" details....just couldn't help it : ))

I have loved modern design since I first popped open 

a Metropolitan Home Magazine, many years ago.  

It was the first magazine that really inspired me and I tried very hard to emulated the hip modern rooms Met Home featured. 

The magazine published its last issue in 2009 

but Hearst decided to relaunched Met Home last summer 

aimed at Gen X and Millennial city dwellers.  

Many current design trends remind me of Metropolitan Home features from the 80's and 90's.

But design is so much more consumer friendly now and sharing information, sources and competitive pricing are the norm.  

And did I mention FREE shipping!! 

Just about everybody ships furniture for free or for a flat rate.

On a young working mom's meager salary, most of my purchases were from Crate and Barrel and everything else came from thrift stores and antique malls. 

 Extra money was used for diapers and bouncy chairs, certainly not furniture.

Not much of that scenario has changed except I'm no longer young 

and yes, I still like Crate and Barrel.

I especially like the latest collaboration with Ross Cassidy for the CB2 line

I have recently

splurged on a few new pieces of furniture

 that are really modern but will work well in any setting

A Saarinen table...a classic

Here I paired it with inexpensive chairs from All Modern ,

a vintage Gas station sign from the 50's

and collectible American red ware circa 1880..ish

An Eames lounge chair in white Edelman leather...delish!

Looks right at home next to the firkin stack ;)

The coffee table is from Serena and Lily and the English bamboo side tables and some of the new antique pottery pieces are 

from Revival Antiques in Pasadena 

The large Steel Console is a fantastic piece designed by Giulio Lazzotti from Design Within Reach.

This is an office credenza but it works wonderfully  as a media console.

The couches and chairs I designed and slipcoverd in basic white twill 

 with pillows in orange velvet from Schumacher 

I'm loving black accent pieces right now 

 and recently purchase the Antoccino shelving in black oak from RH Modern.

 I don't have a photo of this in our apartment but it is a beautiful piece 

and I can see it in so many different settings.

Now back to the story....we moved (again) from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area, a little over a year ago. 

 I know...we move a lot.  Believe me, we are really tired of it.  New places are really stimulating and exciting for the first few months but it just starts to get crazy and unsettling.

Today we are in an older, smaller rented condo but it's still pretty 

and the location downtown is amazing.

Here is essentially all of the same furniture with a few new pillows.  

It really looks different and yet works nicely in this older smaller space.

Interesting however, is that nothing looks very modern here.

The walls are a sage-ish odd green... I'm just living with it

 but I think the paint really dates this condo. 

In our spare time (?)  we work on the little house in Santa Barbara

Many of the things I have purchased for this house have a 

more modern and spare feel as well.  

While this is a 1920's Spanish Colonial house, 

modern and current looks right at home

A dresser in the master bedroom is from Room and Board with swapped out hardware paired with a purple over-dyed rug 

A lovely minimalist painting from Jean Jack mixes with vintage American pottery 

and antique Hubley doggy doorstops

The walls are hand troweled stucco which are left unpainted and raw.

 The original oak floor will be sanded and refinished in the next few weeks

and any thing but this orange will look sooooo much better...

I've changed out most of the lighting 

including the chandelier in the dining area which just didn't work for me.  

I know a lot of people would have kept it but it didn't allow 

for any changes in the dining room configuration 

which is important in a very small house. 

Choosing artwork that has a connection to this style of house 

but can work in a more contemporary setting has been fun and something of a challenge 

because of the limited space.

Add in the garden we have less variety of plant material 

and more linear sight lines, with clean walls and pathways

Vegetable gardens can look messy at times but the stone beds keep things in check 

and the gate provides a private garden room entrance.

Now that the rain is finally letting up a bit 

you can be sure I will be gardening more.

Tomatoes got planted a few weeks ago in February ....seriously Kelley? 

don't you think its too early?

I guess we will find out

xoxo

K  

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