the evolution of the dish room

 

Here’s another look at the new area in the house that I'm calling the “dish room”. 

Throughout the seasons, it’s really proven to be quite useful and popular for photo shoots, as well as housing all my extra plates, home accessories and vintage colored glassware.

Last year I decided to take an unused bedroom and use it as the main hub for a lot of my styling props. 

Here it is styled for the autumn months. Brown and white transferware, copper accessories and lots of natural textures five this space a fall vibe.

 

A cottage farmhouse display was set up against the big wall with furniture that was already in the room. I just added a peg rack to the shelves that were already in the room. 

I did have to paint the shelves white and move them to the center of the wall, but all in all, this was all very budget friendly.

 

A dark brown-black Ikea desk and the two shelves were transformed with a few coats of white chalk paint. I papered the wall with a fun beadboard textured wallpaper which saved me quite a bit of money on using actual beadboard.

 

All I bought, besides the wallpaper, was a custom-made peg rack to fit right under the bottom shelf and a cute gingham curtain for the desk opening.

 

I also found the most adorable vintage chandelier to finish off the room. This is now a great spot for my early morning photo shoots and also fulfills my organizational tendencies! 😜

My good friend and contractor George found this vintage corner cabinet around the corner from my home, on the curb!! It was free, and he knows my taste so well, that he immediately called me to give me the heads up on this free cabinet.

 

When we found this piece, it was painted with a very shiny and bright enamel paint that was just starting to peel off.

 

A lot of elbow grease, sanding, scraping and now this piece was ready for a new coat of paint.

 

I painted it a neutral grey-green color. In this photo, it looks greener than it does in real life. It’s a great farmhouse style neutral color.

 

With all the pretty dishes and plates I’ve collected over the years, I decided floor to ceiling dishes on the wall was a fun surprise for this main accent wall.

 

The stage is now set. There’s still time to fill in all the plates, but projects got in the way of it all. I love the evolution of it, so time is on my side.

 

Some of my favorite farmhouse and cottage style pieces are now on full display here in my new dish room.

 

And best of all, when Christmas projects came along, this was now the perfect backdrop for some very special stylings…

 

You may recognize this shot from the winter 2024 issue of Country Sampler Farmhouse Style magazine. Yes, my new little dish room now has proudly graced the cover of a magazine!   

 

Don’t ask me how this happened! It was a complete and utter surprise, but wow!!! A very special one!  

Here' how the cover shot turned out... 

This dish room is like a dream come true! I love how you've made use of an unused space and turned it into something so functional and aesthetically pleasing.

It's always inspiring to know a little creativity and some resourceful design can completely transform a space.

 

ciao fabiana

 

 

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falling for pumpkins

It's nearly October, my favorite month and that's really got me pumped! Yes, from now until Halloween it's going to be pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!

Don't worry, I'll share other stuff too, but for now I'm slightly obsessed. I do love the little white pumpkins because they're so easy to add to just about any look.

The floral above is from Bouquet Box. I arranged these flowers last week and they're still going strong and smell amazing! The only flowers that didn't last were the three red poppies, but that to be expected.

 

Wild and unruly pinky lavender Japanese anemones from the garden fill this newly found vintage ironstone pitcher. A little bit of brown transferware is always a favorite look for fall. 

I look forward to these autumn blooming Japanese Anemones all year long, and they're just going wild in the back garden. 

Cute little pumpkins are a must in just about every room. 

 

I tend to love the more muted colors for fall and add a pop of color with the mums. I’ll share details of this beautiful fringed throw soon. It isn’t officially released until October. 

Fall table setting can be so easy if you have the right seasonal accents. Believe it or not, all these little pumpkins and gourds are real, and I just purchased them this weekend at Armstrong's Garden Center. 

A wooden cake pedestal works perfectly as the base. I then layered in some interesting pumpkins and gourds, softened the look with a few Heavenly Bamboo leaf cuttings from the garden, and for a whimsical touch nestled a few mums in between everything. Cheery and fun for our weeknight dinners!

 

The secret is to mix in some simple tableware for an effortless look.

Today’s dining room mood… I can’t get enough of these peachy-orange Cinderella pumpkins mixed in with the beautiful white pumpkins and green-tinged gourds. The colors are so soft and ethereal, and such a great alternative to traditional bright orange pumpkins.

Late afternoon in the breakfast room... the September sun dazzles like no other! I've paired my chunky linen runner with a whole assortment of new pumpkins.

 

I recently found 3 huge boxes of vintage candles at a yard sale, and much to my surprise, there were several orange beeswax candles... so perfect here.

 

Patterned napkins from August Table are the perfect backdrop for the little white "Baby Boo" pumpkins at each place setting, and the amber goblets glow in the September sunlight.

That’s not all… I’m working on several other new fall and year-round tablescapes this week, and I can’t wait to share them with you all.

 

In fact, I’ve got some more new vintage glassware to style with along with lots of pretty tablecloths and napkins. I hope you’ll check back in with me soon!

ciao! fabiana

 

 

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beautiful flowers and a cover shot

Flowers are a huge part of my life simply because they bring me so much joy! 💐 I haven't shared this yet with all of you, so I wanted to give you a little inside scoop.

This shot was created especially for Country Sampler Farmhouse Style Magazine as part of an article on collecting vintage pitchers, and ended up being the cover shot of the summer 2021 issue. I had no idea it would be on the cover, but WOW, what a wonderful surprise when I first saw previews of this issue on Instagram. I was literally speechless!

With all the ups and downs of the past year, this little picture was really special for me, and I’m truly so grateful for this moment in time. 
  

Here's a shot that's styled without the peaches 🍑 🍑🍑, but the peaches made it on the cover. They're so quintessentially summer, don't you think? My next door neighbors have a peach tree, and every summer they share their juicy peaches with us. Peach pie is a favorite to make, but they're also so good in a salad or smoothie. 

 

 

Also included in this issue, is a close up of this tablescape I put together highlighting a few of my vintage coffee tins filled with lovely flowers.

 

DIY Sections are always my favorites!

The final published image of this table setting is a really tight shot, so you can really check out all the details. I've been collecting these vintage food tins for a couple of years now. I just love the graphic style and colors of these cans and tins, and they do work well on a table for a punch of color. 

Also included in this issue is an easy and delicious recipe for a Grilled Peach Spinach Salad I whipped up. I hope you'll get to try it this summer, because it's really so yummy! 

Wishing you a lovely Sunday afternoon.

ciao! fabiana 

 

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