My Second Kitchen
It's Not Easy Being Green, but I did it anyway. Specifically, Benjamin Moore Essex Green painted everywhere in My Second Kitchen. Foundationally, I wanted to let go of the practical backroom that had visually let me down all these years. Beige countertops and lackluster cabinets set the tone upon entering. A sole double-hung broken screen window and a single support beam stuck out like sore thumbs. Along with shoddy craftsmanship, the functional space was depressing. Now it’s time to give this workhorse the recognition it deserves while warming up the room with a color that makes me feel hugged and wowed simultaneously.
I was inspired by the Great Interior Design Challenge TV episode when Designer Charlotte dared to paint the ceiling green, only to have the client hold back. The judges noted that she should have painted the entire space green. Charlotte was disappointed that her client stopped her mid-stream. I have to admit that painting the ceiling green was intimidating too, but what the heck? The darker the room, the more it felt like an experience, a yearning for new possibilities. I became alive and excited as I covered the dull, lifeless greyish white walls. To feel something is the fundamental reason I decorate, for the experience. I feel energized and content in a space I have created in my home. Visually, the juxtaposing, friction-filled textures, and deep color satisfy my soul. It’s hard to imagine that a few gallons of paint could do this to a person. Well, there you go!
My Second Kitchen is a separate, functional food service prep and storage area, complete with three major home appliances that support the household—the added space makes entertaining for 40 people a breeze while keeping the primary kitchen clean and neat. My husband moved and re-installed twin cherry cabinets establishing a dry and canned goods pantry on the solid wall. I had to get used to going back and forth, but it became second nature after a short period.
The Paint
I initially chose the burgundy trellis patterned carpet with green and cream running through it for its Victorian-ish look. Still in good shape and good-looking, I was not ready to pull it up, so I decided to play off the subtle greenline. I selected several green samples from the Benjamin Moore Affinity Collection and painted them directly on the wall. I lived with Lapland, Agave, Anjou Pear, Wasabi, Azores, and Tranquility, but none pleased me. Pretty on the chart, they were soft and blah in this room. I could imagine they would look similar to the light gray Wish color already there. My instincts told me to go dark, and from there, I looked for the darkest green that I could find, including Vintage Vogue and Hunter Green. Finally, I purchased one gallon of Essex Green Aura with a matte finish and sat on it for one year. Then immediately after the busy holiday in January 2022, I decided it was time to do it.
Two gallons for the ceiling and two for the walls and cabinets did the trick. I researched painted radiator safety for use with a forced hot water system. The deep green covers looked stately and contrasted beautifully with the burgundy carpet. I removed the cabinet doors and hardware and painted the entire area, unifying the disparate parts of the original design. I kept the modern brushed chrome hardware that coordinated with the kitchen appliances and cocktail shaker set.
The Drapes
The way I fussed over the drapes, you would think the Queen of England was coming for a visit. I spent days and hours searching for hooks, modifying hardware, hand-tacking hems, ironing, folding, and attempting twice to hang them perpendicular to the floor while standing on a tall step ladder. I chose stationary pleated panels that hang at the sides, never covering the window. Removed from my dad's house to storage, I knew the red and white checked pattern from my old bedroom next door would make the window come alive. I noticed that the curtains were still in good shape with only minor fading on one edge. When I saw them, I thought they would work with the deep tone of the carpet. My sister discarded the rusty old hooks, so I set out to find new ones at JoAnne Fabric. The sales team was helpful, and I found them right away, grateful that I could quickly get in and out of the store during the pandemic.
I never used pleater tape before, always sewing from scratch with buckram. At first, I inserted the hooks incorrectly and only made a ruffle. I realized my mistake and counted the necessary tabs to get seven beautifully shaped pleats for each panel. Inserting clips into pleater tape is not an easy task. It took me a couple of hours to get the pleats evenly spaced and uniform. In the meantime, my husband installed the rod and wooden bracket, repurposed from other rooms. I hid the soft edge, hand-tacked the hemline, and placed the drapes on curtain clips only to have them fall. The drapes were lined and heavy, and the curtain hardware would not hold the weight. I could not find 1 1/2 inch eyelet rings in our local stores, so my husband cleverly removed the spring, leaving a small, circular eyelet.
Pressed and wrinkle-free, I hung them up, and they held up beautifully. To shape, it’s necessary to tie the pleats in a few spots with fabric strips for a couple of weeks. Re-working the drapes tested my patience. It’s precise and detailed work, worth it to see them cascade down and pool on the floor. I am now ready for the Queen’s visit.
Speaking of the Queen, I decorated the window wreath with my own “crown jewelry” that I never wore. Pleased that I thought of this, I inserted green wire through the chunky red and silver beads and wrapped them around the brown bramble from the Berle Farm Store.
The Desk
My hand-carved cherry desk welcomed customers at my parents’ 15 John Street Gallery. Closed now, the gallery featured local artists. The drawer pulls are handsome. Inside is an unusual wooden one-piece storage container with six deeply-carved indentations for my sewing notions and office supplies.
The desktop, worn from years of customer service, needed an uplift. I happened to look through my scarf drawer and noticed a designer Harve Benard houndstooth silk of red, green, and black. The green was as dark as the walls, and I immediately thought it would go nicely in my room. I push-pinned it on the wall but discovered that it fit perfectly on top of the desk. All I needed was a piece of glass to hold it in place. CL White in Bennington, VT, provided the 41 by 29 3/4 inch piece. It’s thick and robust with transparent, polished smooth edges. It supports my sewing machine, which fits on top nicely and provides smooth sewing.
Five Home Decorating Institute sewing instruction books, are on my desk. Tried and true, I often reference them before searching online for how-to videos. A Waterford crystal clock retrieved from basement storage keeps time with a new Lithium battery. A few of my favorite books are right there, ready to re-read, including Coming to My Senses, by Alice Waters Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle A red fabric jewelry pouch with a delicate black bow is pretty and reminds me of a gift from my mom and Aunt Harriet. I filled another Waterford vase with a bouquet of sharpened pencils, a line from a favorite movie, You’ve Got Mail.
The Birds
I rescued two magnificent Audubon Bird prints shoved behind a metal rack from neglected storage that now uplifts the walls to remind me that nature is just outside my window. Colorful and elegantly framed in charcoal, marbling the Pileated Woodpeckers with their flaming crests and Baltimore Orioles, golden with the basket-like hanging nest, are a beautiful pairing that finally has a good home.
The Appliances
The Whirlpool bottom-mount second refrigerator is 30 years old, highly rated, and energy-efficient. I painted the rust spots in Benjamin Moore Cloud Cover, and now it looks brand new. I did not dare move it for fear that it would quit. I touched up several worn spots on the lip of the KitchenAid glass stovetop and oven, used mainly as a warmer. The portable dishwasher with its wooden laminate top is an ideal prep counter. Numerous portable appliances free up counter space in one of the cabinets. I love small appliances, a holdover from our family-owned Ruditis Home Appliances store, which closed in 2006. Along with my passion for food and entertaining, I will never part from my Kitchenaid mixer, ice cream maker, pasta machine, meat grinder, tortilla maker, waffle iron, cheesecake pans, and jello molds.
The top of the refrigerator was always cluttered and unkempt, so I hung two wide-framed dark wooden mirrors above the fridge to reflect the flower arrangement and hide the electrical box. They add elegance to this often neglected area.
The Home Goods
In reality, My Second Kitchen is a multipurpose mix filled with shelves for everyday necessities and niceties. It serves as a bar for entertainment, storage for dry goods, seeds, water bottles, staging pots and pans, housing for cleaning supplies, favorite sports team memorabilia, ceramics, and silk floral display. It’s a convenient catch-all with cubbies for pie and muffin pans, bottle openers, cling wrap, and hardware. Large Dansk hunter-green roasting pans are on the open-topped shelves that blend right into the wall. On the other side are red and white checkered beverage bins used for seed storage, chrome-handled red bins for water bottles, and a handsome woven basket. Between the stationary drapes is a vintage magazine rack, nearby a similar black tray flower motif, velcroed to the side of the stove.
Worth a mention are a pair of Bennington Pottery trigger mugs, the tall ones, a mid-century modern design. Artist Jackie Sedlow, Pownal, Vermont, makes the green pottery teapot. The backsplash above the sink hangs a Grandma Moses Plate with the poem Out For The Christmas Tree inscribed on the back. I love the local artists in my house.
I am glad that I chose being green to create a cozy room with so many home goods. It’s an ever-busy passway that requires constant upkeep. Still, it’s rewarding because the dark, elegant color with warm lighting calms me, balancing the energy and excitement I was looking for at the beginning of this transformative decorating project. Something tells me that Kermit the Frog would be pleased.