Love Michaelian Home!

Horchow. Both black. The first is my favorite of these two.

NUTS! See, I am the perfect example of someone spending too much time on this board this week and posting too late at night. HA! I must have been delirious! I edited my response. I'm sure you got a good laugh! hahahaha

The cold weather this week has made me want to hibernate. Too much screen time for me!

Loving all these ideas!

This may be too bold, but that’s why I like it. Fun and lively … would show up well from the kitchen. Comes in several colors combos. Dragons are cool:

https://fschumacher.com/catalog/products/173275

She used it on her chairs, and I think bought it from the A-zon site:

[Source]

.

Not showing this for the pillows, but for the curtains with black trim nearby (and zebra print). I love blue and black together. I think classic zebra print pillows could look great, too.

[Source]

I love these::

LOVE the leopard and dog pillows Jojo posted above!

Went down the Dana Gibson rabbit hole…

Jojoco-

GMTA; look at the time stamp. Even though the blues are quite different I agree the patterns work well together.

I think these harken back to fireplace screens I was too cheap to buy (and which also did not cover the existing metal work i wanted to cover up.)

Oh! Those fireplace screens were divine! And lol to the timestamp. GMTA indeed!

Jinx, love the last room you posted. So pretty. The thing about the Asian prints is I don't think they really say "look at me I am picking up the black color from the range!" Also, they don't play well with others. Our floor plan is very open .. the K has five openings and the breakfast room has 3. For a 1904 house it is almost open plan!

Ruby, ooh i can see why you like Dana Gibson! I think those are too bright though, with true white background and summery blues, whereas the ikat definitely has an off white background, alas. Can totally see the Dana Gibson stuff at my beach house.

LOL Tina, monkeys!

Rather, I am going to go shopping today or tomorrow and bring home a whole bunch of pillows to get an idea for size and colors. The laSt time I did that, in my LR, i kept every single pillow.

I really like the the leopard pillows but they do not fulfill the mission of bringing in black and they do not relate to anything else.

These pillows (available in a larger size, in black on burlap) do fulfill the black requirement, in a very graphic way that I think you could see from the K. Because Tina is right, they are not printed --- they are felt appliques. They are also juvenile, trite and hackneyed. They are cheap tho and I don't have to worry about how/where to use them when we move. (a friend has suggested I open up a pillow lending library). In a 20x20 size they cost $30. And, ok they look it ... but it is a bench in an actual farmhouse K.

These in black on burlap. And then I can shiplap the whole place and get a Live love laugh sign, too!

The design is super cute and will definitely play well with others, especially the stove. But am I the only one who loathes the feel of burlap? Even just typing the word gives me goosebumps.

Oh yes and, often, the smell of burlap too ... but I have found that it does dissipate, in ~7-10 years. This bench was initially covered (by me) in genuine old flour sacks. That did not wear well as you might guess.

Generally, if we eat as a family, we eat in the DR. 90% of the time when people eat in this room, it is 1 person grabbing breakfast or a snack, sometimes 2. So they may not even run into a pillow. Plus they are used to putting up with me. : )

I absolutely love the zebras and I’m wondering if they would look good with that Zabadani print on the back. Would need samples

I think the blue of the zebra may be off. Pardon the menagerie

Hey, Jinx?

I have a woodworking question. We removed the zinc top and sanded down our island. I like it with the raw wood top (legs will be painted). I don't care at all about maintenance or durability.

I found this example of finishing a piece to look raw

https://www.maisondepax.com/how-to-get-raw-wood-look/

I can't easily find the products she used; do you know of a product(s) that would give this look? TIA!

Can you post a pic of it now?

After sanding mine, I usually use one of these: a paste wax, matte water-based poly, or mineral oil. Oil will darken it very slightly. Obviously, if you use a wax, make sure it’s safe for food surfaces. Johnson’s isn’t, but Howard’s is, iirc. There are so many waxes out there now, but those are the ones I’ve used most.

ETA — oil or wax will of course need to be redone as it wears off. I do my big wood cutting board a couple of times a year.

I see we've entered "uncharted waters" and these are not forever pillows, more for staging, so here goes:

I remember when you bought a whole bunch of pillows for your craft room, do you still have those?

Arapaho, DH and I were just discussing the very moving target that is our horizon here. The kids plans' keep morphing, as kids do. My DS may end up getting his master's and that would mean he will be in CT longer so that changes things a bit since there would be a reason for us to be here. I have a possible new business opportunity in the NYC area, but it's a long shot, and meantime I do go into NYC once a week. I'd rather not put the house on the market until the girls (and their absurd amount of STUFF) move out, assuming they get an apartment this August. But the house shows best in June. And homes sell best in April.

So many balls in the air.

In any event, my current expectation remains that we are selling some time in the next 6mos-3yrs. So yes all of my tweaks and projects have to serve my purposes as well as make sense for staging, and should not be costly unless it is something I am confident we'd use elsewhere.

I did look at some hooked pillows,too liked this one. Don't want to antagonize our golden. : )

I really wanted to go to HG because I think I need to try a bunch to get a sense of number, size, and general color. Also wondering how much you can really see --- ie will these have any impact at all?

Jinx, I will take a photo. Thx! i am not sure why she "cerused" it and what that does.

Mtn, it’s similar to pickling/pickled wood (and liming). I don’t have experience with it, hopefully someone else does and sees this.

I LOVE that horse pillow!

Following up on Jinx's suggestion of a cerused finish--how about an ebony cerused top?

Tutorial here Ebony Cerused finish

photos · More Info

Jinx,

Here is it, freshly sanded (not yet painted but the creamy color will be ~ the same).

Those are holes from where some of the metal patches were nailed. DH wants to fill them. I'm like nooo, those are precious wormholes!

It may not work with a wood top; because it is battling with a lot of other wood in the space. That's why I think it should look matte and raw, so it is clearly accepting it's utilitarian role and not trying to pass for the fancier stuff

Teeda, I like black but for three issues:

1. Takes skill

2. Makes the table less versatile for other uses going forward IMHO

3. Just dreaming of my new black marble cutting board on the raw wood

And maybe, for staging, a plant in w black container. Here or in the bfast room...

Got it--and yes, keep those worm holes!

Oh, that looks good! Yes, love the nail holes, they must stay. :)

I wish I had experience with cerusing. It is something I’ve been wanting to try.

Are you wanting it lighter? More natural? What grit did you use? An orbital sander with 120-150 grit should do it (then 220 for smoothing). Yours could definitely go lighter with more sanding.

But I really like that warm color.

This was before we did the checkerboard and after awful cherry stain removal —

This was after sanding off a dark golden oak stain finish and dark inset paint (over stain, it was a mess):

ETA: Oops, didn’t see your edit before … get to sanding, woman! :D

Ok so dumb questoin --- how do you know if something will lighten with sanding?

You just keep on until you get all the coats/color off (being very careful not to sand too hard). I can see a lot of color on yours still that I think you can get off. I wish I could see it in person!

Mine looked like yours mid-project.

I think it looks cool as is, but I understand what you’re saying about competing woods.

Ok so I have tried a few HG pillows and pillows I owned. I def like it w pillows on the bench, but they have to be large (at least 22" sq or so). Black or black and cream pillows did not look good at all, alas. In fact, even removing that condition I am not finding things that marry as well as I'd hoped/

I have two black accessories on the way; a planter and the board. I am giving up on black on my pillows. Thank you all for your help!

The thing I realized about the pillows is that , when you enter the room the way I usually do and the way guests do, they are 30 feet away. AND there is a table in front of them. AND you only see the WT, not the bench cover, from that vantage point. But that is the sort of "kitchen reveal" moment that I am envisioning and trying to optimize.

I did a mock up of pillows. All of the ikat stuff seems to fight too much. The zebras skew little too purple, the leopards don't have enough visual weight. The farm animals, for a reason I can't explain, work for me ... but TBH you won't see them when the table is there. Plus they are quite pricey and they won't go at all in Maine and so maybe they will not have a forever home with us. Poor things. Moreover, I can't explain why ikat goes with cows so maybe it does not. This ikat is pretty formal looking close up.

If we remove the black criteria, Jinx's colorful direction may work. I came across something similar to her recc from an Etsy seller. Here is an attempt at a markup w table in front. They don't go with anything else in my house but that might be ok, IDK. You can't really see other patterns from the bfast rm.

Lastly, and most simply, here are some HG finds --- I think if I could get a large royal blue solid on the left, instead of w duplicates, this is very satisfactory. These pillows could also be used just about anywhere else in my house(s).

ETA - "photoshopped" my distressed black planter

I REALLY like what you did with the homegoods pillows the best. If you google Shibori pillow you may find just the right blue with just a hint of cream or white that would look very nice with the homegoods.

That’s tough — I like the colorful ones and the HG ones, both. Mix them? ;)

The farm animals are wonderful, I think, with the ikat. Not as busy as some of the others and rather charming there.

You guys are such dears to put up with my minuteia (omg cannot spell that)

There is a big blizzard coming, so we are running out to stock up on sanding belts, liming wax, and more throw pillows (different HG store this time)

Jinx?

I am the worst at having to decide with so many choices!

I do like them together, yes.

I think the decision has to be if you’re wanting something more muted and quiet? Or a bit more lively?

And I want to see an update on the island, too! :D

Mtn, you are a total riot. Thank you.

Whatever you end up with I am sure will be stunning. I really look forward to reading more of your analyses with the purple leopards and not leaving out the farm animals.

Agree, salon! I think she’s going to come back from HG with completely different pillows that will be perfection. ;)

Lol, Mtn, going through this whole thread from beginning to end I wonder how your administrative assistant(s) managed to keep up with all your work projects!

I do like the HG pillows a lot but I want the zebras used somewhere just becasue I love them!

Mtn, not pillow related.

Just wondering if you decided to not have the light wires dangling and had them installed in the wall?

Just a thought..... the ikat on the bench runs horizontally, not vertically like WT. What if you replace bench cover with a subtle pattern like a stripe, then use a couple pillows of the ikat mixed with some others? Is replacing the bench cover even an option?

P.S. Cool pillows from HG and everyone....

I like that last arrangement best, with the beige diamond pillows. Lovely.

While the Jinx pillows are fun and add some pretty colors, I do like the last photo best with the diamond pattern and fringe. My other favorite was the gray-ish pig.

I thought I posted on this last night! It was a long post, too, grrr.

Anyway, that looks wonderful! Love the raw wood. Can’t wait to see it in your kitchen. :)

Are you going to use a sealer? Or wax, oil, etc?

Definately the Audubon! The others are "too much" of the same thing you have on your window. I do like the last pic you posted though, with the pink in the pillow.

Hate when that happens. All we are using is this:

Hopefully get something like this only more subtle

Our old zinc top was great because it was so indestructible. This will need to be babied for as long as we are using it as a K island (I can see it graduating to an entry hall or even a LR in the future if it plays its cards right). One thing styling it with the marble board will do is provide a less fragile landing area for hot things; ie we will keep it there as a de facto trivet.

That’s going to look so good. You’ve got me wanting to try it.

Next project. :)

Olliesmom! You and I are the only ones! Alas, i only see those pillows printed by Society6 and IME I have not been happy with the quality of their printed pillows at all. Somewhere, someday I am using Audubon prints. Yes they are overdone but I still like them.

I love your current mix of HG pillows-- i know it is kind of expected but given that the bench isn't front and center as you enter the room, I don't know that you want something to say "hey look at me, look at me!" Let the ikat be the star and continue to pick up pillows in various patterns in a supporting role. Ikat is just made for pattern mixing so I am sure you'll find some great options!

I also like the beige diamond pattered pillows. ♥

Thx, Nicole, they've been on my bench for a few days now and I really like them. I think they work because the ikat is also a diamond.