I don't really have a windowsill.

My island faces the windows. My sink area is accessorized with things I need handy by the sink...paper towels, knives, cutting board, liquid dish washing detergent,can opener and an occasional pot or pan. :) Above the sink, I have a pewter dish with a green plant.

Here's what I have for now. I'm satisfied with the windowsill as it is, and I like the pink vintage items on the shelves, but as pretty as they are, not sure if they look right. They also match the transferware on the hutch which is on the opposite wall.

OTOH, anything too bold like red may be overkill. I do have light green vintage items on the other shelf at the end of the cabinets.

The vintage tea towel matches the tray on the windowsill, and the tray holding the coffee pot.

NHB, thanks for sharing! I love the setup you have.

Forgot to add, the light above the sink has a red stripe around it, and as far as the roller shades we decided not to add any fabric curtains on the window. We really like the simplicity and after looking at Country Living's 500 Kitchen's book, it seems others are doing the same. So I feel a bit validated. lol

I love your sink area. So homey and inviting!

If you'll please ignore the post dinner party mess, you can see the $ store planters on our sill. I run a gardening club for kids and we planted bulbs and grass in these planters and it looked really cute. I've got some fresh herbs started in the greenhouse that I'll replace the grass with next week.

I had triple shelves on each side of the window in the old kitchen. Mine were nothing but dust collectors. You've got the right idea keeping them simple and uncluttered.

I keep an assortment of small vases with fresh flowers on my windowsill year round. A $4 bouquet from the grocery store fills 5 or 6 vases easily. And in the summer I cut small bouquets from my yard.

Oakely, also meant to say you've done an amazing job with your kitchen. I love the colours and your shelves look lovely.

The only thing I might suggest is to bring some of the warmth from the floor and ORB hardware onto the shelves. I'm thinking dark wood or dark brown glass ware.

"What makes mine harder to do are the shelves on each side. Trying to accessorize them never stops. "

Those shelves are usually too small to hold anything useful or decorative. What I did was ran a board across them left to right to form a nice shelf for holding plants, resting the board on the little shelves on the side of the cabinets. No need for any nails or any tricky carpentry. Now I have a nice place in the kitchen for growing herbs and even a few unusual succulents. I like this arrangement better than putting the pots on the skinny window ledge. This way I can easily open my window and access the handle without having to push aside plants that might topple.

You can paint or stain to match or contrast. My cabinets are wood but my window trim is white so I painted the board white to blend into the window.

Thank yoy daisy! The color of the floor is rust and cream, more on the reddish side though. Do you mean to add color that would match the red square in the floor?

I did have my mother's 1940's large Franciscan apple patterned teapot up there, but my cat knocked it over and it shattered. It was a perfect match.

Here's a picture of the opposite side of the room, it shows some of my Watt pottery which matches the floor..kind of. :

Natal, these shelves are very easy to dust. I use microfiber dish towels and I just run them over the shelves a couple of times a week.

Dilly, I think a shelf going across would ruin the look I'm going after. I love the single shelves on the side. The plants aren't in the way at all of the window.

My utility room has a very long counter where I keep my succulents and other sun loving plants. And the UR is visiable from the kitchen.

Having a long shelf there would make it impossible to keep the window clean.

I'd sure love to see a picture of your's though! Who knows, I might change my mind after seeing it.

Yikes, I think I worded that wrong, Dilly! lol. I didn't mean to say "ruin", I meant that it may not be the look I want.

I do want to see pictures though. If my window was wider and deeper, it probably would look nice.

It's looking good Oakley but I have a suggestion. I like the deeper color scheme you have used in the kitchen - like are in the tile trim of your backsplash. I don't think the pink pieces are working with that and would remove those. I would also have my soaps down beside the sink rather in the window sill. I like the uncluttered look of your shelves.

I only have two items in my kitchen window sill - a small transferware container that holds a violet for now, and a small cloche with a tiny bird's nest underneath. The herbs I was starting were transplanted just this week. In the sunroom for now but will go outdoors once they are a little bigger.

tina

Hey, no big deal Oak. I was not sure the look you were going after and you had no photos up either. And I do remember your questions in another thread about choosing planters to use in the kitchen.

Tina, I agree about the pink, it looks washed out. I need to find special places for them, because they're very old pieces. And purty. :)

I didn't put my soap stuff on the counter because I'm trying to keep it uncluttered. I keep a red pitcher next to the sink to use when I water my houseplants, plus the fertilizer for them so I'll remember to do it. lol.

Dilly, I found some beautiful old planters, on the left side of the sink you can see them, a dog and a flower thingy. But their openings won't allow even a small plastic pot in them. Ugh! I have quite a few planters though, but I'm using them in other rooms.

Oakley, I don't have much to suggest as I'm the one always sucking up your ideas for my own home. HA! I'll get to that in a minute. The only thing I would say is that the items on the top shelves need to be a little taller maybe. I also think that bolder colors would be better...like the thing (can't quite see what it is) on the bottom right shelf.

You might remember that I copied your floor for my basement area. We just finished it a couple weeks ago and I love it! I knew I would. Would you mind telling me where you got your kitchen rug? I think I eventually want some kind of rug and was worried about what "might go" with the tile. I think your rug looks great!

Thanks for your inspiration. I love your kitchen....and oh, what a dad blame shame your kitty broke the teapot!

Thanks,
pupwhipped

We don't have a window above our sink :( but a friend has put a beautiful glass cruet with soap in it on her sill with her plants. The light coming through the liquid makes it sparkle. Very pretty and convenient.

The $ store pots with the grass look marvelous, too.

Oakley, love your back splash. Curious about the faucet placement on one side of double sink, though. I have never seen that before this.

If I ever get to do the kitchen, I would love to put in a window, but it would look out to the porch (narrow, boring) and garage. Maybe I would be able to slide it over a bit to have a view of the front garden. Wishin' and hopin'...

Anyway, love everyone's pics.

Pup, isnt' that rug a great match? I believe I got it at rugsusa.com. It's made by Capel and it's braided. I have one similar at the back doot. They are sooo easy to clean and come in all sorts of colors.

Cyn, I picked out the sink first and had NO idea when I ordered it online that it had the faucet setup on one side of it. LOL. We didn't have to buy any special faucet, it's just not centered. I really like it though because it reaches to both sinks and doesn't get in the way of the left side deeper sink.

I kind of like it, too, it just surprised me! I can see it being a really practical thing. Anyway, you have a wonderful kitchen.

Thank you so very much Oakley. I appreciate the rugusa recommendation as I need to get several braided rugs for a couple of bedrooms. I just can't seem to run into any braided rugs where I shop. I love the large selection there is online, but it is hard to really get a clear idea of the color. Your rug looks so nice with "our" tile. LOL!

I love all the decorating you have done. Your style is very much to my liking. One of these days...one of these days, I'm gonna get my act together and post pics of my spaces...for better or worse.

Good luck to you with your shelves. As I mentioned earlier, I think more vivid colors would work better. It would balance things more. Kick it up a notch!

Thank you,
pup

Pup, it's impossible to find braided rugs at stores anymore. When we were adding-on I was adament about putting a braided rug in the living room so I called every carpet and furniture store in the City. They all acted like I was a nut for even asking! lol.

We ended up with a Persian in the LR, and I have braided rugs by the sink, backdoor, and two bedrooms. I bought all the braided rugs online. Capal is more expensive than others because I think their colors are a bit richer.

Rugsusa has great sales though and when you get on their mailing list they send you coupon codes. I remember getting a big discount on the rug in the kitchen.

I still want to see pictures of everyone's windowsills! lol. Even if it's not my style, I find that area of the kitchen fascinating because it shows our individuality in decor.

Here are mine from Christmas time. Sorry, no more recent pics.