A New Kitchen Vignette

After bringing home some more Pyrex, I decided I needed a spot to display my growing vintage Pyrex collection. I'd already picked up two dishes at an antique store earlier this year, and they'd sat on our sideboard along with a few other decorative kitchen items. But the table was already too cluttered, and my two new bowls would've made it look even messier:

Plus I had a growing collection of milk glass pieces to consider--a few recent purchases and a few older ones from previous antiquing adventures. 

So plan B was in order. I decided to rearrange the area above our island cabinets. We live on the top floor of our apartment complex, so we not only have an air conditioning unit,but also so fabulous vaulted ceilings! Thus, there's this kinda awkward space above the island. Previously, my awesome mother had arranged a makeshift tableau there--our picnic basket and margarita pitcher & glasses:

I'd previously added to the vignette by placing my baby shower pinwheel bouquets up there:

But the picnic basket and margarita set weren't really doing it for me. The two sides of the tableau weren't jiving together, and I knew by removing the existing items, I could make room for my new treasures! So that I did.

I ended up placing all of the decorative items from the sideboard--except the bowl of faux lemons, which I placed in the corner of our kitchen counters--to the above-island cubby. That left just our alcohol on the sideboard--a much more polished look, I think. I also added a tension rod with fabric draped over the top to conceal our recycling. I don't know how to sew, so the fabric is by no means a real curtain, but I like that it hides what's underneath while still keeping everything accessible!

And our cake stands, vintage spice tins, and Pyrex bowls, along with some bouquets, look great on one side of the cubby:

I simply placed an old (rinsed out--ew, imagine the smell otherwise!) sour cream container inside the large bowl so that the smaller one could fit in it while still showing its design.

On the opposite side of the cubby, just above the memo station, I arranged my collection of milk glass pedestal bowls, my Pyrex butterprint pattern dishes, and more pinwheel bouquets! I love how the colors of the dishes and pinwheels play off of those in the scrapbook paper pennants and Martha Stewart folders.

Here's a close-up of the milk glass dishes--the left one was a Goodwill find ($0.99!) and the other two came from an antique store ($4 for the middle one, $5 for the other). I love the subtle leafy pattern on the rightmost piece--it actually almost looks like it's knit onto the bowl--a very cool texture!

And some close-ups of the Pyrex pieces. I love the Butterprint pattern, but I plan on collecting any bright pieces! I have my eyes out for pinks and oranges.

So that's how a few simple swaps brightened up our kitchen a little more--and lightened up the sideboard, too! It's funny--I'm so used to seeing such dramatic transformations on design shows and blogs, and I've done them, too, but sometimes the simplest or smallest tweaks really can impact a space! Try moving around some objects in your home--maybe you'll see the same results.