Modern Industrial Styling

I have been off working on another venture for awhile (creating a community for like minded event creatives to share their cool unique stuff - Gathrin), but it is so good to be back and designing and making stuff with my hands again.

I have designed and made (with the help of a certified electrician, thanks Tim) some exposed industrial style lighting, concrete planters with touches of copper and greenery to add to the look.   Let me know what you think of this look. You can hire all of this through my hire shop link above.

Up-cycled Kitchen

When we bought our house last year, all I saw was the up-cycling potential, especially in the kitchen. The kitchen had been made from wine barrel wood.  Who in their right mind would rip all this solid wood out and start again???  Definitely not me.  So I decided, since we are not rolling in dough, the best thing to do would be to up-cycled our existing kitchen.  I painted the cabinets to give it a fresh face lift and added some new door knobs.

Before

After

When we are rolling in dough we want to eventually add wooden bench tops, take out the top cabinets to open it up and add off white subway splash back with exposed shelving. Install a beautiful country style cooker. Above the cooker we want to get an up-cycled cooper/metal extraction fan. Find a butler style sink and old tap wares to finish the up-cycled look off.

Before

After

Living in a 110year old country home definitely has it's advantages like finding hidden treasures buried under the house.  So far we have uncovered vintage bottles, rusty bed frames, a rusty old scythe, corrugated iron and wooden sleepers.  I just love up-cycling items and making them fit into places you wouldn't ordinarily place them.  Take for instance an old rusty gate...........turning it into a kitchen hanger for my up-cycled kitchen....genius!! And I just love it!!

We would love to have a kitchen company come in and up-cycle our kitchen using Vintage and recycled finds but it is very hard to find companies that are willing to take the time to do this.  The Kitchen Place

is one company that has seen the potential in the up-cycled kitchen and has some great designs that we would love to use in our kitchen to make it feel up-cycled but also chic and modern!!

The Kitchen Place - Up-cycled Kitchen

The Kitchen Place - Up-cycled kitchen

I just love that Vintage Industrial Pendant Light, the use of old scales to hang a plant and the exposed metal pipping for the exhaust fan.  Not to mention the exposed brick and tractor seat stools.

There are so many elements I would love to incorporate into my kitchen from this design.  Unfortunately we don't have brick to expose in our walls but I do want to use the idea of exposed shelving which I think would really help to open our kitchen up. I am also very desperate for industrial lighting and some funky up-cycled stools. I do not particularly like the colour in the cabinets, I would have kept them white as I feel it distracts from the exposed brick which really should be the hero in this kitchen. I would of also made the kitchen island the other way around, so wooden bench top with white cabinet under, this would allow the tractor stools to shine.

I love the open feel that this up-cycled kitchen has and I hope one day soon I can create my perfect up-cycled kitchen too.

Leis xx

This post was sponsored by The Kitchen Place

Gathrin: Not more Bunting? Here's how you can make your own...

Gathrin: Not more Bunting? Here's how you can make your own...: Bunting, bunting, bunting............... I have a love hate relationship with bunting.  I'm not sure when it started but I do know wh...

Quirky distressed table made from a door

I have a beautiful front deck on my old house but had no table to do it justice.  So project 'find old door' started.  I have always wanted to have a go at making a gorgeous old door into a long table so now I had my chance....

First I needed to find myself an old door.  Onto Ebay I went......nothing..........then gumtree.......two old doors up for sale in my local area!!!!! I went and looked at them to make sure they were sturdy and in fairly good nick and much to my delight they were...SOLD.  Two old doors were now mine.

old doors found! back of door

front of door

Remove door knobs for sanding. You can put back after if you like (great for hanging handbags on).  Start sanding to give distressed look

that's enough sanding. 

found some old floor board to make legs from. Measure and cut. Ethan is helping daddy with this job.

circular saw does make cutting legs easy.

always wear safety gear!!

Create a box around frame to attach legs to the underside.

Nail legs to box.

all four legs on and table in place!! I then used a clear natural wax to protect the surface.

Now we have a great place to eat, drink and be merry.

give it a go

Leis xx