Monday, September 30, 2013

Because Fake Ivy Makes Me Cringe.

So, one day I walked into my kitchen to discover this (which I immediately posted to Instagram):


That is a Shaq Attaq Paq of Pepsi, circa 1993. My husband found it in the attic and took it upon himself to place it atop our kitchen cabinets. See ... the top of our kitchen cabinets are bare. I just cannot, for the life of me, figure out what should go up there. Clearly, my husband felt that he had the solution.

And, sadly, the Shaq Attaq Paq stayed up there for a while before I took it down. It was just so...classy! Ha.

The space above our kitchen cabinets has always presented itself as a mystery to me. Had I been the designer of the kitchen, I would have simply extended the cabinets to the ceiling. Bam. However, this isn't exactly an option now. The problem is that I typically associate cabinet decor with clutter. But, last week, I ventured to my cousin's house for a play-date and found myself ooo-ing and ahhh-ing at her kitchen cabinet decor (and her entire house, actually). It was grouped nicely and had a good mixture of textures. I loved it. If she could do it, surely I could, uh ... try?

So, this morning, I tried my hand at some upper-cabinet-decorating, and I need y'all to tell me if it looks terrible.

Now. The photographer in me is a tad disappointed that I did not try to make these pictures appealing with angles and aperature; however, today has been a nutty Monday and my phone was the best tool I had. So, try to imagine that, in person, it is a bit more...dynamic? Incredible? 


 (Three cheers for an off-centered tray! I will fix that after bedtime tonight when I can stand on a chair without the children also trying to stand on chairs.)



I do not have a "before" picture, so just try to imagine the blank space. And can you tell how big the space is?? It's kind of daunting. Also, note the pot on the stove and the crock-pot on the countertop. It's about to get all chicken stock-y in our kitchen, y'all.

So. Opinions. Should I leave the decor, or tear it down? Blank space, or usable space? More? Less?

Shallow topic for a Manic Monday. :)

Have a lovely day!

20 comments:

  1. Looks great! You have a really nice kitchen!

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  2. I like it. I always has this issue in our old house. When we built this one I made sure that the cabinets met the ceiling.

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    1. Smart. You are smart. I wish I could just "extend" these cabinets, ha!

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  3. It suits the space perfectly!

    http://angela-megan.blogspot.ca

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    1. Thank you! I still need to tweak a few things, but thank you.

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  4. I actually LOVE decorating the space above kitchen cabinets. But I also LOVE fake ivy, too. ;)

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    1. I'm sure your fake ivy looks amazing. My neighbor at our old house had ivy above her cabinets and it was arranged beautifully. Every time I've tried it, I've failed! I'm pretty sure I'm the problem here, not the decor!

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  5. lol... This was my big concern when we built our house. I knew I wanted the cabinets to go to the ceiling to avoid having to decorate and DUST! :) I think it looks lovely:) Seems to make the room look taller, maybe? My favorite group is the one above the fridge. I love that basket!!

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    1. That's my favorite grouping, too. I'm tweaking it a little more.

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  6. Good good. And now I have a mental image of all the kids on chairs. :)

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    1. ...and standing on countertops. Safety first in our house, folks! :)

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  7. Yes, this is always hard to know what to do. You could get some fun photos or printable things to put up there too, if you want to expand options. (-: What a great kitchen - I love the cut-in open cabinet area! (-:

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    1. You've actually inspired Phase Two of the above-the-cabinet decor! I have some canvases that need a home... :)

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  8. I think it looks great. I love how you put things together. I too, have this problem of what to put on the cabinets. I am going to leave them bare because what I really want to do is have them built up to the ceiling and painted!!!! You know, just another thing on the list! :)

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    1. The long list. Someday we'll finish our house projects, right? Instead of just starting them ...? :)

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  9. Looks great! I just love your big island!!!

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    1. You can have my island if I can have your cabinets! ;) I do love it, though. It's great for cookie-baking with the kiddos.

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