Butlers Pantry Gets Reborn
Of all the changes made to Briarcliffe the kitchen and butlers pantry area were the most dramatic. All the walls were covered in that 1960's dark brown imitation wood panelling. We decided that all walls needed to be lighted so we painted them a 1/2 tone of a creamy yellow colour called Weston Flax (HC5). The cabinets were primed several times and then painted with a 1/4 tone of Weston Flax in a Aqua Velvet latex eggshell enamel. The upper cabinet doors were taken off and left off to create a open display area for our many collections.

We recreated a french country look by removing the doors and cutting out a rectangler opening in them. This opening was then covered with chicken wire from the inside then a sheer drapery panel was hung behind..... everything was complete when the final addition of new glass knobs and pulls was made.

The butlers pantry went from a dark, dreary area with no life to a bright, vibrant space which is a joy to be in. A new Corian counter top and built in seamless country sink also helped to complete that french country look we were after.

A New Look for Antique Cast Iron Headboards
Renovation is a great adventure into the unknown. You are always running into new problems which need to be solved. One of those problems was creating a french country look for the bed but also allowing us to have the ease in being able to changes linens. We knew that the cast iron beds was the look we were after but the footboards presented a problem.

Problem solved...we designed a new headboard using the double cast iron beds but adapted it to fill a queen size mattress. How did we do that...you ask? Well we had the footboard cut into three pieces....the two end pieces were then welded on to the original headboard at a lower angle creating a queen size headboard with definite style. The remaining piece of the footboard was then bent and used as a matching towel rack in the ensuite bathroom. Living by the proverb "Waste NOT Want NOT".