I have been working on this post for months now, well not the writing of it, the doing of it.
First I inherited a large pine china cabinet from my MIL. She had two other china cabinets but we chose this one for the ranch back porch.
The first difficulty was transporting it to the ranch. I had asked to borrow a friend’s truck to bring it out to the ranch and had asked another friend who moves furniture professionally to do the work for us. Well, there was a mis-communication about the truck; it was on the fritz. And my professional mover friend showed up alone without help. We had this large china cabinet to move, and a refrigerator/freezer. We definitely needed two people to do the work. Well, to make a long story short, my mover friend called around and finally found someone to help him, and meanwhile I went at the last minute over to U-Haul to rent a truck.
Don’t ask me what it cost between the movers and the truck, not because I don’t know, but because I really don’t want to think about it. The guys did a great job and I was happy to pay them, but it’s just that if I looked at the cost, it might have been cheaper to buy a new china cabinet!!
Once that was all straightened out they picked up some furniture we didn’t want and took load 1 over to the MIL house. My friend Peggy met the guys there and showed them what to load. There they unloaded load 1, and picked up load 2 which included the frig and the china cabinet. The guys don’t really speak much English and Peggy was showing them what I wanted picked up. Somehow they thought the house was hers.
Yes, we both tried to tell them otherwise, but communication was limited. That was pretty funny to me, because the house was a wreck. We had taken things out of closets, cabinets and dressers to sort through things, so beds were covered with clothes, purses, jewelry, etc. And there were boxes and packing paper everywhere. (The estate sale lady told me not to throw anything out, that led to an even bigger mess.) Peggy is still telling me to explain to him that she doesn’t live like that. I nod my head in an understanding fashion, then tell her if she would just clean her house, she wouldn’t have this problem. (I’m glad she has such a good sense of humor.)
Then once the truck was loaded with load 2, the guys drove back to our city house to unload the frig. At our city house, they also loaded some new outdoor furniture I purchased for the creekside deck and drove load 3 out to the ranch. I drove my car out there with the guys (and my friend Caroline) to make sure that they found the right house and put the china cabinet where I wanted it. I don’t know how many times I have explained to workmen about the front and back porch, but they have a hard time understanding which is the front porch and which is the back. In their defense, the driveway comes to the side of the house, not the front or back. But really, we have a walkway that goes to what we call the front door, doesn’t that clarify it? Oh well. We got a lot done that day, but I was exhausted when Caroline and I got home.
Here is what this end of the porch looked like before the china cabinet.
Here is the china cabinet on the back porch.
Those boxes on the porch are full of dishes. Which brings me to the other complication, what dishes to put in the cabinet.
I have been playing musical dishes lately. I boxed up a bunch of dishes from my MIL’s house and brought them to our city house. Then I boxed up the excess dishes from my city house. The unwanted dishes went back to the MIL house for a big estate sale yet to come. Then the “keep pile” at my house were divided between city dishes and ranch dishes.
These Stratford Blue dishes were at our city house. I got them for wedding presents when we got married.
But when I bought the Desert Rose dishes, I moved the Stratford Blue dishes to the country. There’s a back story about these dishes you can read if you like (A Tale of Two Dishes) by clicking here.
Then I inherited the Johnson Bros. white dishes from my MIL, and they came to live at the ranch, click here.
The white dishes went in our kitchen cabinets. So the Stratford Blue dishes went back into boxes, that is UNTIL the china cabinet came to our back porch. Now they are in the china cabinet,
along with many other goodies.
Above, you can see the Stratford Blue dishes, along with some pink vintage dishes and a new funky-shaped purple and green bowl.
I inherited several of these pressed glass bowls.
The blue mason jars are vintage, the pink cups and saucers are more of the American-made vintage pink dishes. And the little Mary Englebreit covered dish and the hand-painted cake stand are both less than 10 years old.
See that green cookie jar? That vintage piece came from my MIL’s house. Yes, it is embarassing that this cabinet is full of LEFTOVER stuff. Is that sick or what? But my friend Peggy can vouch for me that I am getting rid of a few of my dishes and 5 sets of my MIL’s dishes (we kept 5 sets). I have enough MIL stuff to do posts from now to the end of the year, so I save most of that for later. (I don’t want to overwhelm you.)
Notice how you can see the trees in the mirrored back of the china cabinet? I love that. So the cabinet came to me in it’s natural unpainted, stained state.
Had it been an old antique piece, I would not have painted it, but since it looked so new next to our very antique table, I decided paint would be the best option.
The glass in the sides tells you this piece is clearly not an antique, but it does make it easier to see the dishes. It also has a light in the top, but you can’t see that since I didn’t get any night shots for you. This is painted with homemade chalky paint, that I will talk about in another post. And I do plan to add a coat of wax to antique it a bit more. I will take some better photos later, but I felt it was such an accomplishment to get to this point that I had to share it with you
Anita, I love your new hutch! What a great hutch and I love it painted white. You’re going to enjoy having so dishes so close for dining. Enjoyed the story about your friend and “her” messy house. 😉
Anita, Your determination paid off…your porch is wonderful.
Audrey
It’s perfect! I love my china hutch, it holds everything, they’re wonderful pieces and I love that yours is a style that marries so well with any kind of furniture. Beautiful! And painting it white was the right thing to do!
It’s perfect for the back porch! And what a “fun” day getting it all sorted out! But I’m sure you’re glad you did. There’s family history there, with a twist since you painted it. Love the white. And wish I had your porch!
xoxo
Kathleen
The original color was great too. Why did you change it to white?
What a beautiful china cabinet! Painting it white really does look pretty, such a wonderful addition to your porch!
Love the look of some of your MIL’s pieces! The strawberry pot and the white dishware with the pink flower gorgeous! I love it that you took the cabinet to the back porch What a way to enjoy a meal outside.
It may have taken a lot to bring it to your ranch, but so worth it. It’s beautiful and the dishes are gorgeous!! Love all the room you have to play around with furniture and dishes.. I wish I had a 1/4 of your room… how beautiful. You did a great job and again, the outcome is worth it!!!
Not only do I like the hutch, but that table looks great, too.
I love your newly painted hutch! It looks great on your back porch.
Wow! I want that thing~! I am on the hunt for the very same thing for our covered deck and am so inspired to keep up the search after seeing yours! Love the white too. I won’t be able to put such delicate lovelies in mine because of the Kansas wind, but I can’t wait to try to find one…thanks for the inspiration!
Wonderful!! I love furniture (even painted!) dishes (all kinds) and porches!! A very special place!!
Blessings
Anita, this looks fabulous! Your collection of dishes is perfect! They are displayed beautifully! I love the homemade chalk paint too. You made this piece even more special by painting it! I know it will be cherished for years! Love it!
This is so pretty! You’re not afraid of something happening to the glass or the stuff inside? I’d be afraid someone would either steal it or a wind gust would toss something into the glass!
I love your home. The 3rd.pic. from the bottom/ the brown table…my gr.aunt had one like it but hers had a ball and a crow’s feet on it. I love that table when I was a little girl visiting her. Blessings.
Wow, I’m exhausted just reading about the day and all the moving. I LOVE the cabinet painted white…will it have protection from the elements? I guess that’s a stupid question…just that everything looks so open and you have beautiful dishes in there. I will be anxious to hear about your homemade chalk paint too!
xo
Pat
The story about the “friends house” is a HOOT!!! You are so lucky to have a PORCH, then with the hutch; I am green with envy:):) It looks beautiful painted. Love it. I sure could use an extra hutch to store dishes too!!! XO, Pinky
Makes your back porch even better!
You are so lucky to have such a great friend with a good sense of humor to boot! Loved the story! I like the cabinet painted. It really brings it out. It looks so drab unpainted. I can’t believe all the dishes! Yikes! I’m a pack rat, I cant throw anything away!
Wow! I am tired after all that moving you did! I think I am about caught up with moving — after clearing out my mother’s house over a decade ago, and then we moved ourselves about 4 and 1/ 2 years ago !!! Tiring. That’s a really nice piece you have inherited, and I am on the hunt for something like that myself. We plan to add a sunroom next year, and a dish cabinet is a “must-have” because the area will become our main everyday eating spot.
BTW my mother had those desert rose dishes. I passed them to a cousin who also collected them. Can’t wait to see all your other “new” dishes, as one dishaholic to another!
Hi lovely lady.
The dish cabinet is Gorgeous!! I love the redo you have done by painting it white Beautiful!! The dishes need to come my way. I know NO WAY !!!!
I hope you have a great week.
XXOO Diane
What a great piece for your porch-and a funny story about all the moving about of furniture and dishes.
Wow, Anita – that looks awesome – even better than I thought it would. I can’t wait to find out your paint “recipe.” Well, I’m off to clean MY house (ok, just pick it up) – your mover friend would really think I am the ultimate slob if he saw my little home after my being under the weather the last 3 days (and on vacation last week). Love the cabinet, love the dishes, love the display and most of all, love you dear friend!
P.S. – I am soooo glad you kept that vintage cookie jar. It looks darling in the cabinet.
Oh, this is SO gorgeous! I love your porch even more, and I didn’t think that was possible.
Looks great! Love it when one can use furniture on a porch.
Love this! Can’t imagine a climate temperate enough to be able to do this with the dishes or the cabinet. I hope you spend many happy hours out there!
It looks lovely!! So cozy on your back porch too! I am your newest follower. Hope you can visit me sometime:)
I love hutches. We have 2 in our finished basement that we can’t fit in our upstairs of our new house. I miss seeing them. I have 5 sets of dishes, including Haviland (120 pieces) inherited from my MIL. I laughed at your moving jaunt. I missed seeing your Stafford blue dishes.
I love the look and the white paint. Looks very farmhouse to me. But question: how will it weather out there and are you concerned about theft when you’re not there? Did you do something else to protect the wood or will it go inside at some point? Just asking.
So much fun to see and read about. The Porch looks great with the addition of the hutch. I was given a 2 piece dark brown stained hutch 20 years ago from my sister that my father built in 1975 . (Super heavy but, 2 pieces are much easier to move lol) Made from thick plywood. My sister said she didn’t want it because it didn’t go with her victorian home. Which is true, but my Dad made it, so you just find a place for it no matter what. About 2 years ago I decided to get brave and paint it white! Best decision I ever made. It is beautiful, fun to decorate for the different holidays and looks so good with any decor!!! So lucky she got rid of it. Thanks for sharing your hutch story. Wish I could post a picture for you!
Love what you do….I think you have more dishes than I do!
How did it hold up to being outdoors in the humidity, wanting to do something similar with an old piece, but afraid it wont hold up!
It did pretty well!