Small Changes in the Kitchen

I was digging through the archives to find a photo featuring the valances in my kitchen.  I had to go back to May 2011 when the hydrangeas and daisies were just coming into bloom and all was looking lovely.

While I have loved those valances for the sixteen years they have been hanging there, it was becoming clear that they had served their purpose.  Why is it that after awhile things in my home are no longer noticed the way they were when they were new?  

I'm not one for changing up the window treatments just to keep up with the latest trends.  However, I had begun to notice that the strong southern sun had been slowly fading them and, perhaps, it was the southern humidity that had begun to make them look  droopy.  Kind of like they needed a dose of starch.

Without any idea what would replace them, I took them down.

Instantly the view into the garden became greater and the amount of light in the room did too.  The valances hung just below the transoms and tended to cut off the view one would see from a standing position.

Privacy isn't an issue due to the wooden blinds.

So, I've decided to forego new window treatments altogether.

Instead I'm filling the transoms with colorful glass.

We do get a lot of sunlight through these windows which looks so pretty when it hits the glass.

Now I can change the look with the seasons by snipping things from the garden and popping them into the vases.

The hanging piece in the center above is a blown glass vase that I have had for years and never known what to do with.

The vases here are thrift shop finds.

The piece in the center was purchased on our recent trip to California.  When I look at it I am reminded of our time in the charming town of Capitola.  The conversation with the gallery owner is now woven into the memory.  Her suggestions for displaying it safely up there on a narrow window ledge (Museum Wax and a clear easel), her sharing how the artist would bring them into the gallery with her pretty little daughters in tow and the way she shared how she is working two jobs to make ends meet while caring for her aging parents. 

Although it was only a small purchase, I treasure the connections made and the sense of supporting a small local business.

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