When you enter Donna’s kitchen, it feels like you’ve come home to an ideal time and place, where homemade pies cool on the counter and hand-stitched pillows brighten a corner nook. Credit her Scandinavian ancestry, vibrant personality, or love of tradition, Donna has created a warm, happy space that that suits her utterly and pays homage to her past and her passions.
Donna loves baking, poultry, and clear, bright colors, and mingles these elements in the kitchen of her 1926 bungalow. She remodeled the kitchen a number of years ago, choosing white cabinets and woodwork, accented with a pretty floral wallpaper. Her choices have aged gracefully, and she keeps the space fresh with the addition of new fabrics and decor.
Meet the Austen Girls
“The girls,” as Donna calls her hens, are named for various Jane Austen characters. They supply Donna with an abundance of eggs, which she uses for baking and shares with neighbors.
The hens also provide inspiration for kitchen decor, from lamp shades, ceramics, and pillows, to wall art.
Scandinavian Inspiration
Swedish country colors inspire the palette in the kitchen. Red, blue, green, and yellow ceramics and textiles keep the atmosphere cheery even on the bleakest days.
Donna changes the linens in the built-in kitchen nook seasonally, and sews many of the pillow covers herself. The nook doubles as a cozy reading spot in the winter months.
Flour sack towels embroidered for each day of the week have been potted up and stand ready for use. Donna stitched these herself. Her needlework can be seen elsewhere around her house in pillow cases and cushions.
This delightful old-fashioned kitchen stands as an antidote to the modern world, in the very best way. Donna has filled her home with what she loves best, and the result is pure charm.
All images courtesy of Donna Dermond.
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