On the hunt - Tray

We have an island in our kitchen.  I love the extra work space on one side and the eating on the other side.  (Sometimes that dining room feels so far away)  I have never lived in a house with an island and am having the hardest time keeping it cleared off and organized.  It is a junk drawer for everyone to see.  I don't know if this is just a problem with how we live but I have faith that I can find SOMETHING to help me keep it looking nice.  It doesn't have to be perfect...it just can't be awful most of the time.

Attempt #1:  Fruit Platter  Thought... "My kid loves fruit.  I will keep a fruit platter (like a fruit bowl but rectangular) out...it will look nice and serve a real purpose."  Wrong.  It only looked nice when there wasn't junk around it and when we ran low on fruit foreign objects would creep into the bowl....Christmas ribbon...?  Mail...?  Toys... I even (finally) hung up our Pottery Barn wall Letter Bin and Office Organizer to keep keys and mail off the island.  New junk crept in where those things once lived.

Attempt #2:  Flowers.  Thought..."They will look pretty and inspire me to keep the space neat."  Wrong.  They did look pretty but they didn't provide much inspiration.  When they started wilting the mess of petals on all my STUFF made the situation even worse.  Next.

Attempt #3:  Nothing special.  Only or lack of an idea has this become attempt 3 and, unexpectedly, the best attempt so far.  For some reason having no focal point has proven to keep the most stuff off the counter.  I could go into the reasons I think this works but I won't because, although it works, I don't want it to.  I want something nice to look at....to make it feel like I care about how it looks.  

Attempt #4 and my weekend project.  I have been seeing some great trays in blogland.  I know I am behind on the tray revolution but I love it and I think it will look nice.  It will also be functional.  I want to have a candle to provide nice smells post cheeseburger making (what a terrible smell), have a pretty bowl for loose change and small things, maybe a cup for pens (maybe not)...Will it help keep me organized?   We'll see.  

So for this weekend I my mission is to find a tray for my island. If you have any great ideas for kitchen islands please, please let me know.

Lonny Magazine

Dabney Lee

Z Gallerie

Rue Magazine

Lonny Magazine

Art Walls

I like art walls.  They are all so unique...different frame colors, frame widths, frame spacing, no frames, white mats, black mats, no mats, etc.  As a whole the arrangement itself is art.  I really like them.  That's why it makes me sad that they are everywhere and I am getting so tired looking at them.  I used to stop when I saw them in a magazine and now I turn the page with only half of a glance.  

Thankfully it feels like editors are getting bored with the more standard looking art wall because I have slowly been seeing an increase in the theme...MORE....CLOSER!  LOTS OF FRAMES AND PUT THEM UNCOMFORTABLY CLOSE TOGETHER!!  Do my caps make you uncomfortable?  That's how this type of display makes me feel....but that's why I like it.  It makes me take a step back and think.  It's like modern art.  I like it for what it does for me mentally but visually I am unsure.  More, closer together almost feels like the dying attempt of the art wall to remain relevant.  But who am I?  Maybe art walls are classic and never out of style.

from elle decor

from eye spy

from lonny

skona hem via livebreathedecor.com

my sleepy art wall

my sleepy art wall 2

All of that being said....I have an art wall (above).  Unfortunately, mine is arranged in the way I am most tired of seeing.  Maybe this will be added to my project list.  It won't be near the top but...maybe I will change it up eventually.  I like to have a lot to look at all around the house.  If I employed the "more, closer" technique people might feel overwhelmed.  I definitely see the amateur attempt...my amateur attempt turning into one of those situations where you feel like someone has too many tchotchkes.  I almost feel that way about the professionally hung walls!  If I do keep it, I know I will definitely try to increase the feeling of texture you get from looking at the wall...mixed media.  Painting, collage, photo, plates, something more obscure.  

I really like seeing the inspiration behind things.  Although, the translation from something to my art wall isn't the most compelling the inspiring piece is too beautiful not to share.  This quilt was a wedding gift from my Mom.  I cherish this quilt.  It is one of the most beautiful things I own.  It has three things I like in interiors: color, texture and a geometric design.  I painted the mats to resemble the colors of the quilt.

Oh, and this is one trend I just can't get into.  I just ask, "Why?"  Living with this hallway can't be psychologically healthy.