With most before and afters you can kind of guess what the after will look like before you see the finished product. For us, we didn't see this beauty coming. An unattractive spice rack from a local op-shop transformed into something inspiring- take a look after the jump.
Normally we are unimpressed by the approach of painting everything white, however in this case we think it's perfect. The white highlights the vintage gold spice labels as well as giving a great base for the flowers [that were picked from the side of the road!]. The ladies at Mondo Cherry are behind this makeover and whilst simple, be sure to check out their range of simply beautiful designs on their blog and website.
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Oh, it's so lovely!
very nice.
I liked it way better before...
I'm growing tired of painting everything white and saying it's a makeover. The 'after' is more attractive than the 'before' but they should have done something unexpected to really make it pop.
Cluttery!
I liked it better before, too.
I prefer the before better.
I like the before better too. The after looks quite tacky.
Well, I think the "after" is more attractive; the "before" looked awfully 70s kitschy. And the wood might not have made sense with the poster's decor.
In any case, why respond to a post with something negative?
I understand the design...white picket fence w/flowers...etc...but I dislike that it went from being useful and decorative to merely decorative and not very at that. I think that is why others will also dislike it. I think they could have kept the concept but also kept it useful by
1. painting it white but keeping the upholstery tacks unpainted for contrast.
2. hand painting the tops of the spice jars to look like real white mushrooms...not the psychedelic ones.
3. glued green moss around jar areas to look like grass and have some draping through over the edge of the "fence"
Put some spices in your mushroom patch and you are ready to go.
Eh...I like "before" and "after." I think it depends on how the rest of the place looks and what the individual prefers--like everything else. I also like the sound of the butterfryby's idea.
why post something negative, you ask, laura in la? good question! here's my take on it: as long as it's honest and not motivated by malice, it's worthwhile to share a genuine opinion or reaction, whether positive or negative. it helps us all to consider a range of perspectives that will inform our own aesthetic sense.
one's sense of aesthetic doesn't necessarily affect only oneself. people cohabit, have guests, share space, give gifts, etc., so it's good to keep developing a realistic sense of what others may or may not like as much as you do.
also, i don't know how much attention the editors pay to the comments, but one might hope that they factor in some way or other into future editorial decisions of the blog, and it benefits all the readers if the editors refine their sense of taste by taking contrary perspectives into account.
for what it's worth, i'm underwhelmed by both before and after in this case, but prefer before. also very let down by the "after the jump" reveal, since the difference is honestly not that dramatic. and that makes me less likely to click on "after the jump"s in the future.
Usually not a fan of the "paint the wood white and call it a makeover." However, I do like this. I think it looks lovely, nice, bright, and I love the pink flowers.
Lovely.
thanks le_sacre. You put it much nicer than I would have.
The white doesn’t bother me, but I think other colors could have worked well too (like a nice sage or robin egg blue). What bothers me is its lack of purpose. It takes up a lot of room to just hold a few flowers. I think it could be very useful in a craft room, where the jars could hold buttons, ribbons, and other small crafty things you wouldn’t want to lose. Of course, that’s just me and who am I to say anything? I don’t even have a craft room!
"Whilst simple"? I don't mind the paint job, but why not actually use it for something?
There's a difference between doing something that actually changes the object for a purpose and changing it for the sake of nice photo.
Thank you le_sacre!
no goose!
The before has so much more character!
I'm with le_sacre too
i thought the before picture was from 1960 and that you picked this up at a "junk" store, as I call thrift stores. Hope you didn't pay much for it to begin with and then have to do all that work. White is definitely better.
I dunno about LA, but it's illegal to pick wild orchids around here...
failjolesfail: I thought they were orchids at first, but they look like some kind of bleeding heart; however, I'm no gardner. Maybe someone else can positively identify them because I would love to know.
The flowers are sweetpeas.