Sometimes you just need a little kitchen refresh and ours came in the form of new counter stools from Kathy Kuo Home, in addition to a rustic styling overhaul of the entire space. Gone are the days of white linen chairs – not the most toddler friendly material regardless of their “high-performance” stature. You may remember those counter stools from our Manhattan apartment! While they served us in that space, I never truly felt like the look of them translated into what I envisioned for our brownstone home. Even looking at the before and after shots, they feel heavy and clunky in comparison to the new ones.
I was on the hunt for counter stool chairs that felt natural and fluid in the space. I already had an idea of what the style would be but couldn’t seem to find the exact style I was looking for until I discovered these on Kathy Kuo Home. The wishbone back and woven seat of these Zhuri Coastal Beach Woven Wishbone counter stools was exactly what I had been looking for. They make the space feel light and airy, rustic and refined. They feel like an extension of our style and personality.
And just as the chairs feel like an extension of our personality, we wanted to inject more of that warmth and layered texture throughout the space by styling the kitchen with timeless copper accents and a mix of antiques from different times and places. Antique artwork is usually not the first thing that comes to mind when decorating your kitchen but an oil painting can instantly evoke a sense of feeling welcome and gives an old world appeal. Keep an eye out while you’re thrifting or check out Etsy for some beautiful antique oil paintings. I personally was drawn to the contrast of the yellow lemons on the black back drop. It’s food, so it also feels like it’s there to tell a story.
Another lovely old world design element I’ve always dreamed of having in the kitchen is a wrought iron pot rack hanging over the island. While our space doesn’t fully support that design element, I brought in the pot rack to hang above the stove which is also great for practicality purposes. This is another piece I found on Etsy using the search term “Vintage French Wrought Iron Wall Hanging Rod.” I found that this one fit perfectly in the space and simply used two “S” hooks to hand it from the hood.
The rack became the perfect place to display our growing collection of copper cookware – these pots and pans are meant to be displayed, not tucked away! While some may feel like it’s a fussy material to cook with, Freddie and I both prefer our copper cookware because they’re great conductors of heat! And unlike a lot of cookware available, copper wears its age well. You can find 200 year old copper pans that look better than the new things sometimes! They cook good, they look good and certainly worth the investment because of those reasons. They’re also very easy to clean but I prefer the look of wear on them.
For me, styling a space comes down to layering textures and materials to give it a warm and rustic feel so if you’re looking to warm up your space and give it a refresh, I thought I’d share a roundup of some pieces below that will get you started in the right direction.
And because I know you will ask, my silk Kaftan is by Sue Sartor and you can use the code JENNY15 through 2/28 for 15% off sitewide.
