Friday, February 13, 2009

Mood Board #2 ~ Medicine Woman

A few weeks back I did a post called Kitchen Witchery, about transforming my kitchen into a Sacred Space. (I shared pics of my witchy cast iron collection.) I've been trying to figure out what to do with the room...I have stark white walls and cabinets, charcoal colored ceramic tile, an ugly new white fridge, and an cheap looking white light fixture. With the exception of my awesome vintage stove...I hate my kitchen. I do get tons of light which is nice, but my windows need help, the ugly white mini-blinds have to go. After thinking about it, I can actually work with the white walls, so I've decided not to paint. I'm going to fill the room with natural/organic and ethnic elements to soften the sharp modern elements. Here are some of my inspirations for this project:

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Photo below by Kat Heyes and her lovely home above...

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I LOVE the space below...high ceilings make my heart sing! via Kaleidoscope Eyes

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via Verhext! (I need to move to the woods too girlfriend!)

I dream of owning a large detailed painting by Katy Horan like the one below. (click on image to see full size) I bought a set of three small limited edition Gocco prints from her that I cherish!



I already have some great things to work with, so I only have to buy a few things. I need to find a cool vintage hanging swag lamp, inexpensive window treatments, and some shelving for all my herbs n' such. Otherwise I have lots of wooden bowls, nice woven baskets, old wood crates, misc. folk art. This awesome tribal Afgan wool rug that covers much of the floor and compliments the charcoal colored tile.

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I have a giant handcarved commune style kitchen table with matching benches that my Dad made in 1971. For my table top, I have the silverware below...look familiar? They use this silverware in the Hogwart's mess hall in the Harry Potter movie!

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I'm slooowly making my own handmade dishes...you might remember me posting my tea bowls before they went into the kiln. I didn't use color...it's a white clay which looks grey before firing. I just used clear glaze and they came out a nice creamy white! (I'll post a complete place setting soon.) I picture the table set with beeswax candles, linen napkins, my rock collection I showed you in the last post, quartz crystal clusters, and little succulent plant arrangements in handbuilt pots.

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I have tons of glass jars and a nice little collection of vintage/antique jars for medicinal and magical herbs!

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I have some very 70's things in my kitchen that I love like a macramé owl wall hanging. I also have a bunch of antler mounts, a large turtle shell, ethnic masks and art that will all tie in with my Medicine Woman/White Magic theme. I think the pieces below have found a home in my kitchen too! I got the owl from Gothic Rose Antiques. I named her Sophia, after the goddess of Wisdom. I got the bighorn sheep skull from my pal J.C. and the antler shed from a homeless guy who used to wash the windows and shovel the sidewalk in front of my old shop. He was a wise old fella with great stories to tell and treasures in his shopping cart. And on his cart he had a cardboard sign that said "Be kind, I'm not a bad guy, I just made bad decisions" I think he was an angel in disguise!

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5 comments:

Seraph + Splendor said...

Kitchens are such hard rooms to design!!! Form and function must truly be blended. We have a large collection of folk art animals occupying our kitchen and there is hardly any counter space left. Also, rugs on the floor are ESSENTIAL. Best of luck on your project!

april said...

Your kitchen is going to look amazing!!! Kudos on those tea bowls! I was a ceramics/painting double major in uni, but I could never master the wheel. I actually sanded off most of my fingernails in an attempt to make a few measly bowls... and they were never as delicate as yours look! I hope you show us some full room photos when you're done!

Anonymous said...

I love your blog! I just had to say: I have that silverware! I found it at a thrift store for $16, and found out later that it was around $180 worth. One of my best finds ever; I love how they age and the way they feel in your hand. I just wish I could find some dishes worthy of them.

Dianna said...

please tell me where to find that silverware!!! what's it called?

tamerajane said...

uhhhh, i hate that all my comments are "omg, me too." but it's a fact, we are magic mind twins. i have all these images either in books or saved on my laptop.

i have taken a bunch of photos of the pages of the collection of handmade house books i have (about 8 books) and am slowly adding them here:

http://flickr.com/photos/verhext/sets/72157603677679615/

now that i have fancy-camera, i should do more! or, you know, just get a scanner.

i want my own house so badly - i hate settling into an apartment i am not super fond of. sigh. maybe someday.