Kitchen Mini-makeover

I used to have plaid curtains in my kitchen and family room. I never really liked them, but they were the right colors, so I decided they'd work until I found something I liked better. Well, I finally did.  Jo-Ann had a sale on home decorator fabric a while back, and I found a fabric I really liked --and got 70% off--so I decided to redo my curtains.  I used the old curtains as a pattern to make the new ones:

I also recovered the valances over the patio door and in the family room (and recovered the pillows that had formerly been made with the leftover plaid fabric).

I also had been looking for something cute for over the doorway for the last 5 and a half years.  I got these cute plates from Target for Christmas and thought they'd look great there. 

When I first decorated, my house looked a little more country than I wanted, so I've been trying to give it more of a modern-vintage sort of vibe.  I exchanged a "mom's diner" distressed red-painted wooden clock with this retro-style one.  I also got a cute yellow timer of a similar style for Christmas that's now on the fridge. 

The bird plates are new, too.  Aren't they adorable?  I went looking for some new plates for over my sink, since the new bolder red in the curtains made the red in the plates (that had matched the red in the plaid) now look more pink.  I found these cute bird plates at Pier 1, but was sad that they didn't fit in the plate rack over the sink (too small).  I couldn't get rid of them, though, (they were just too cute!) so I hung them over the pantry door instead. 

I feel a little sheepish that my kitchen and family room have so many plates displayed.  I didn't set out to decorate with plates, but I was given the plate rack above the sink and I found a lot of cute plates while setting out to fill it up.  Plates are cheap, and if they look cute, why not decorate with them, right?

So, it's not a drastic change to my kitchen, just a bunch of little ones.  But, I feel like it helps de-countrify my decor.  It's got a little more of my personality in it now.  :)