Monday, January 31, 2022

Ins and Outs


I've been trying to set myself a daily task of cleaning/reorganizing--something I I can do in the morning and then feel free to paint or read after lunch. Josie's stuff has been dealt with, as have the many food containers that used to leap off the shelf whenever I reached for one. My closet is tidier. As are the two shelves in the kitchen where I keep herbs and spices, etc.

Alas, no sooner were those first kitchen tasks done than I realized the kitchen cabinet doors were in sore need of cleaning--a revelation made all the clearer by the slant of morning sun that showed up the dust and grease and drips and drops of the past many months (years?)

So, yesterday morning I set in with sponge and degreaser. As I worked, it became obvious that, though the doors were cleaner, they still look pretty bad--hazy and dinged here and there.

John had a look and said it would take a bit of sanding and varnish which he would do in the next few days.  Great! And while he was in there, I prevailed upon him to lift down the long board that hangs above the cabinets. It's just that, a long board with a print of a Japanese scroll glued to it, the whole varnished over. It used to hang in our kitchen in Florida--so it's had close to fifty years to age into the nasty mess it had become.

But it cleaned up fairly well and, once the area where it hangs has been painted, back it goes.

And on I moved to the Blue Willow plates hanging above the window. Greasy and grimy no more, they'll go back in place after some painting has happened. They were a gift from my late friend Vicky and they had belonged to her grandmother...

As I was polishing the white china knobs on the cabinet doorsI remembered seeing those clickbait "articles" about what's in and what's out in decorating. White china knobs were out. Farmhouse decor in general was out--like those Blue Willow plates . . ,

What if you live in a farmhouse? Oh, well. On to degreasing my collection of Crabtree and Evelyn mugs . . . Pretty sure they're out too.



 

5 comments:

Anvilcloud said...

I wonder if some people actually follow the ins and outs of ins and outs.

JJM said...

I had an aunt once who always knew what that year's "in" colour was in the fashion world and often followed suit, if not in dresses then at least with an accessory or two. (This is also the aunt who had to walk up the area in front of Versailles in her stockinged feet because her high heels couldn't handle the cobblestones.) (And she blamed the cobblestones, not her shoes. 👠👠)

So, yes, @Anvilcloud, some people do follow the ins and outs, at least to the extent possible, and certainly when the out-styled things need replacing, anyway. And, Vicki, I'm glad you're keeping the white knobs. They'll be "in" again ere long, count on it.

Barbara Rogers said...

What a great thing to do late January! A kitchen that gleams will inspire wonderful cooking...after you paint of course.

Nancy Emanuel said...

WRONG! Farm house decor is so IN! Just head to Pinterest and you'll see that farmhouse decor is alive and well with tons of decorating ideas and options abounding in the mags and sites. It's a contemporary take on the style and just might be what the house needs to feel more refreshed, not just clean!

Vicki Lane said...

Oh, I know FHD is alive and well. Those clickbait thingies just have to find stuff to say.