(Winner announced here!)
Do you know what prompted this blog to come into being? A very sick little girl.
Do you know what prompted this blog to come into being? A very sick little girl.
Spring, 2010
Emma, my daughter and fellow blogger, has been home sick with a bone infection since October of last year. Emma and I, (Andrea), have certainly spent a lot of time in hospitals, at doctors' offices, and at home together and with my mom, Diane. There are only so many entertaining things to do day after day, and that is one reason Emma became more interested in the passion we have for table goodies. When my mom and I spend any time at all together, the conversation inevitably turns to household treasures. It was a good distraction between consultations and treatments. Emma couldn't escape, bless her heart! She has a passion for HGTV, interior design, architecture, and writing, and being able to create and write a little has been good for her. You have certainly given her a big boost in your appreciation for her creations, so we are thinking it's time to give back to you a little.
Based on the feedback on a recent optimistic post, "Outdated Kitchens Can Be Pretty, Too," we decided to expand on that theme. I wanted to show you another lovely look in the same kitchen (my kitchen) with the outdated décor. I am so in love with my outdated kitchen now that I know how to work with it. And guess what! Four of these dinner plates will go to our lucky giveaway winner! I hope to share with you how something that might appear to be very limiting is full of possibilities!
Let's start with the fantastic plates! Noritake made so many different pieces in this pattern, Lineage, including flatware! The dinner plates normally sell for around $20/each on the major websites that sell vintage china, so four of them have a value of around $80. (The giveaway rules are at the very bottom of the page.) These plates have so many beautiful colors, but the green is dominant. Later in the post, I will show you how I could have picked any color to emphasize in these plates, making it easy for me. They go with anything! Blue, red, yellow...even purple! (Pics at the bottom of the post.) But I thought the green would be a challenge in my kitchen. Plus, St. Patrick's Day is this week! So I went with it!
The design reminds me a little of Indian Tree motifs, and the birds are such a great plus! I love that they are oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. Many of my vintage patterns can only be hand-washed, so I don't use them everyday. But this is durable enough for enjoying with my little ones!
These plates were part of a huge vintage set I bought at a local Goodwill. I love them! Can you imagine them in the kitchen from the earlier post?
In the advice from the earlier post, I recommended changing out accessories to give a new look. The first thing I did was change out everything in the cupboard to emphasize the green in the plates. I tried putting in more green than this, but adding other colors helped. I used the oranges to tie it to the peach in the wallpaper. The brown pieces and the pottery were other good accents with the wood in the room.
The little turtle in the front is from one of my children. I have their art all over the house as decoration. They are my favorite pieces.
A few other examples:
But I digress...
The oranges emphasize the oranges and yellows in the plates. And the large ceramic platter was a great TJ Maxx find that I found a while back.
I like the narrow dish which allowed me to add depth. But I have a secret...it's Holiday by Lenox. I placed it on a high shelf and the oranges hide the pattern.
One of the other things I recommended was using flowers as a color focal point. These are certainly a good match!
Are you ready to see the whole table?
I think the changes worked! By the way, the reverseable placemats here are the same ones from the prior post with the pink glass plates. $1.50 each at Big Lots and two great looks!
Do you think these plates would work in your kitchen? In your dining room? Here are some examples of the plates on different placemats of mine.
Yes, that one is actually a mulberry/pink placemat.
Really was surprised the green and purple one worked so well.
I hope you like them as much as I do!
And now for the Giveaway Rules:
The giveaway is for these four dinner plates. Click any of the Amazon links below and and find a great product to go with these plates on your dinner table. It can be flatware, goblets, linens, a centerpiece, etc.
In the comment section below, leave a description and a link to what you found. You can leave one comment a day from Saturday, March 12 at 6pm EST to Sunday, March 20, 12pm EST. Each comment will equal one entry. We will use a random number generator to select the winning entry. (My doctoral program was in statistics, so I think it's a pretty good system!) The winner will be announced no later than March 21 along with a posted email for you to send us your shipping address.
Have fun and Good Luck! Happy St. Patrick's Day! (My mother, Diane, created a very pretty Irish tablescape for St. Patrick's Day here.)
-Andrea
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http://www.savedbylovecreations.com/
