a real country pantry and larder

Antique and vintage collectables have always had a dear place in my heart, especially kitchen collectables. Once you start off with a piece or two, the collecting process can be quite fun!

 

It’s always a hoot finding one of these pieces, and they can turn up in some of the most unexpected places. 

Garage sales are my favorite place to find these goodies and a great opportunity to create a super cute vintage-style pantry like the ones shown here.

Mason jars filled with dry goods and colorful cans are an excellent way to bring character into any country pantry.

 

 

What adds character to a farmhouse style pantry and personalizes the space most? Well, I think it’s having a few elements that are perfectly imperfect!

A rustic wood floor, an unfinished ceiling, whimsical lights, mismatched chairs, flowers from the garden, the possibilities are endless!

In this case we've got ironstone on the top shelf, followed by blue and white transferware on the second shelf and red and white transferware on the third shelf. What a pretty way to style a pantry! 

 

There are so many ways to personalize your kitchen and add character. Check out these adorable mis-matched country curtains hiding whatever is behind the shelves under the counter. 

 

This kitchen stopped me in my tracks! The vibrant green color of this fabulous kitchen table is amazing! 

It’s got all the storage opportunities of a mini larder or pantry right there, smack dab in the middle of this kitchen. 

All the photos above have been found in the pages of one of my favorite magazines, Country Living.  

 

So, what is the difference between a pantry and a larder? A pantry is a general storage space for food, drinks, and kitchen items, while a larder is a cool, dry area for storing food that needs to be preserved.

 

Larders must be cool and dry in order to help preserve a variety of foods.

 

A pantry is usually a larger space, added through stylish use of architectural features and are often created from spare rooms or extra space near a kitchen.

 

Even though the differences are subtle, and the words are now used interchangeably, I can’t help think of Downton Abbey, Mrs. Patmore and Daisy creating fabulous meals in that historic kitchen.

 

The kitchen itself had “larder” elements. It’s just a vibe! That chic English kitchen look is something that is completely ingrained in my mind.

 

From the copper pots and pans to the classic cabinetry, this kitchen is just dreamy. And when it comes to life during the hustle and bustle of cooking for the Downton family (the Crawleys) and guests, it really is at its best!

 

You can ring my bell, any time!

I hope you’ll follow along with me on Instagram for all the latest projects and décor I will be sharing in 2025.

 

 

 

ciao fabiana

 

 

 

 

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cozy cottage christmas curio cabinet

A little touch of Christmas here and there is all I need right now, but brrrrr, there is a chill in the air this morning.

 

I may have to get my “fa la la” on much earlier than expected! I might even break out the holiday tunes today…

For now, I’m sharing the cutest and most useful of all curio cabinets I’ve ever seen! Just a little something I recently found... 

It’s really the cutest and most charismatic of all curio cabinets I ever did see. It’s so fun to style it for the holidays! 

 

I can’t wait to style it for spring with all sorts of little daffodils, bunnies and more!

Have you noticed this piece has a classic shabby chic design for a wonderful vintage look? The patina is perfect!

 

 

The design is just so sweet! I love that this little wooden wall cabinet features a cottage-themed window design with a 2-tiered shelf and two arched doors with a metal screening… it’s just perfect!

 

 

ciao fabiana

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on Instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials” 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.

 

 

vintage finds from antiques cottage

 

Don’t you love discovering new little shops right in your own neighborhood? There’s a sweet little antiques shop called Antiques Cottage right here on 17th Street here in Costa Mesa that I never knew about before.

 

I found some really fun little finds last week when I stopped in, and it just so happened that they were having a sale, so the prices were really reasonable. What more could you ask for?!

Just a few little fun things to add to my collection, and some of them make really cute additions to my tablescapes too.

 

I’ll show you some of these fun finds individually… first up is this darling depression glass double-handled sugar bowl in just the most perfect shade of green.

 

This type of glass is also known as Uranium glass because it has minute traces of this element, and it actually glows brightly under a black light. So cool!

It's just the right size for a little impromptu bouquet of flowers from the garden.

 

I also found this amazing zester with vintage green wooden handle. These vintage kitchen utensils still work great, and I’ve gathered a useful little collection over the years.

 

After a thorough scrubbing, this little beauty is set to create beautiful ribbons of citrus peel for a my next yummy recipe or cocktail.

 

Now how about these cute little piggy napkin rings? I found a larger set, and I’m keeping half and selling the second set of 4 on my eBay store. You can check them out here.   

 

These little guys are so charming, they’d be a fabulous addition to any tablescape, from country to farmhouse to grandmother chic.

I paired them with this bright and festive blue and white check napkin for my 4th of July table. They just add such a fun whimsical touch, don't they? 

One of my favorite finds that day was this beautiful embossed antique creamware pitcher. I listed it on eBay last week, and it sold immediately.

 

Pitchers are one of my favorite ways to display flowers. I don’t know what it is, but flowers always looks so good in a pretty pitcher.

 

These soft purple Downton Abbey rose grows like mad in my garden, and I just love it in this creamware pitcher.

 

Here are some other ones, both large and small, that I have listed on the blog shop. 

This McCoy striped mixing bowl is my absolute favorite find of the day. It’s the perfect size for my big salad. This one has bacon, egg, tomato and is topped with a home-made ranch dressing… super yummy!

 

Here are some similar McCoy bowls for you to check out and if you're interested, here’s a link to my ranch dressing recipe. It whips up in minutes and it's dairy-free, paleo, and full of delicious herbs. 

 

The two matching polychrome transferware bowls I found at Antiques Cottage are just the perfect vessels for going out to the garden, picking fresh veggies like these peas and tomatoes, and bringing them right into the kitchen for a fun and tasty display.

 

These beauties went right into our salad for dinner, and now the bowls are ready for more fresh garden produce. 

What I love most about bowls like this is that they can go straight from the garden to the table, and always look beautiful.

Here’s a pretty eye-spy of vintage kitchen utensils. This is the green handled part of my collection. Can you spy my new little zester?

 

These fun and colorful kitchen gadgets are sometimes spotted at garage sales, thrift stores and on eBay, and best of all, they usually work better that their modern versions.

 

So far I've gathered mostly red and green handled ones utensils, with only a few blue ones to be found in the wild. And of course, blue would be my favorite color.

They add such country charm to the kitchen for a timeless nostalgic look. 

 

I’m telling you this zester works better than any I’ve tried, and the citrus peel becomes very fragrant after being sliced so neatly.

 

My husband also loves vintage kitchen gadgets, and since we both love to cook, it’s one of the things we’re always on the lookout for when we go thrifting together.

 

Here’s my little stash of treasures again. The pudding mold in the back will be used during the holidays to make an old-fashioned Christmas pudding full of spices and fruit that we all love.

The wicker coffee cups are just sooo cute, and I got two sets of 4 that are in the original boxes. 

They're from the1970's just as I suspected. (You can just see Mary Richards and Rhoda using these while gossiping at Mary's kitchen table on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.) 

They'll make adorable options for coffee at brunch or they'd even work great for a hot toddy during the winter months, topped off by a fragrant cinnamon stick, and maybe a twist of orange peel from my new little handy-dandy zester. 

All in all, I'm really pleased with these fun little treasures. What are you collecting these days?

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials”*. 

 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.

 

weekend round up

How is it possible that it’s the weekend again? Here we are almost halfway through the year, so I thought it was about time that I share a weekend round up feature. It’s been a while, so here goes with a few of my favorite things.

 

Let’s start with this pretty bunch of flowers that I collected from the garden. I was working on a fall project for Cottages and Bungalows and needed some kind of autumn floral statement.

This big handful of blooms from the garden may not be wildflowers, but they sure give off that vibe. This is just a bunch of sage, pink grasses, nandina and yellow aquilegia and are so perfect for this big ironstone pitcher that I love so much.

 

After photographing my fall project, I moved the flowers out of the way and set them on these books in front of the window. The sunlight coming in from the garden was so pretty, I had to capture this moment.

Sometimes, it's those unexpected things that are so pretty. I was putting off going to the store to buy sunflowers, and then just went out and gathered what I thought would be a sentimental autumn look.

And speaking of this fall photo shoot, I wanted to share with you how I simply styled this little wooden shadow box. I used it to add some texture to the background of my pictures.

I found it recently at my neighbor’s estate sale. She said she stripped the finish off and never finished the project, but I love it just the way it is. 

A few of my favorite little vintage stoneware crocks fill out the cubbies. I'm not sure if I have room for this piece as a permanent display, but I think it'll be fun to style it seasonally. This little gem is one of my most favorite finds ever!

 

Summer essentials for sure! These two Vagabond House items are my most recent additions to my coastal collection from them.

 

First up is the Sailboat Decanter made with beautiful and heavy Italian glass and topped with the cutest pewter sailing sloop finial.

 

This decanter style actually comes in three different shapes and sizes, and I’m kind of obsessed with collecting all three to display on our bar cart.

 

The cocktail glasses you see here are a pair of Nautilus Double Old-Fashioned Glasses. Check out the base of these beauties. That’s a solid pewter base with nautilus shell motifs circling around the whole glass.

 

I think these would make beautiful votive candle holders as well! I’ll share more on the decanter and the glassware soon.

 

This red, white and blue table I set recently features a tablecloth and napkins by Solino Home. This Navy-Blue Capri Stripe Tablecloth is so versatile, I styled it three different ways, using three different Solino Home linen napkins.

 

I’ll be sharing all three of these looks very soon, but today I wanted to highlight these adorable napkin rings.

 

I just got a set of 12 of these Rattan Napkin Rings on Amazon, after searching high and love for something that was chic and that have wonderful texture.

 

Some of the ones on the market look so cheap, but these are exactly what I was looking for. I love how they look with my favorite Serena & Lily raffia placemats and my Serena & Lily light fixture.

Lastly, I want to share a couple of pages from Country Living UK magazine that I recently spotted. This red, white and blue little baking scene has all the hallmarks of my style and the things I love. 

The gingham, the china and the little stoneware crock are some of the things I love most. This was styled by Alaina Binks.

Also from Country Living UK, this home and bike epitomizes the perfect summer day. I hope to take a leisurely ride on my bike this weekend. It’s been too long!

 

Happy weekend to you all!

 

ciao! fabiana

 

 

For lots of fun extras, follow me on instagram!

 

 

 

You can check out some of my favorites here at “Tablescaping Essentials”*. 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links.