A Cleaning Project in My Pantry at Skylands
Spring cleaning is now underway, especially at Skylands my home in Maine - it is growing busier there as we prepare for the coming season of entertaining.
Cheryl and Gretchen, who help me care for Skylands, are in the process of cleaning the shelves and washing all the precious crystal and china I store in my butler’s pantry - beautiful pieces left there when I bought the home, as well as my own antique and vintage collections. It’s a tedious chore, but an important one that's done every year around this time - I host a lot of gatherings during the summer months. I can't wait until my next visit.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Off the kitchen is my butler’s pantry, where I store many of my formal and special dishes, glasses, serving platters, etc. Each shelf is emptied one by one and each piece is washed by hand in this room. Do you remember my Wedgewood Drabware? On the counter are some of my cups and saucers in the distinctive olive-colored glazed earthenware. Also ready to wash – antique brown transferware and pieces from two Ginori sets left at Skylands by the Leede Family.
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- Gretchen measures a fresh piece of freezer paper to line the shelf. She also uses natural rocks to weigh it down. Gretchen is wearing my Quilted Down Short Sleeve Puffer Jacket in tide water blue – available from my collection on QVC.
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- Each column of four shelves is slightly different in size, so Gretchen measures for one shelf and then cuts four pieces to the same dimensions. She’s also using my Martha Stewart All-Purpose scissors available at Michaels.
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- The shelves are well-dusted.
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- And then covered with the freezer paper.
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- Each piece is perfectly cut to fit.
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- This is Ginori china in the Amalfi pattern. Richard Ginori Amalfi or antique rose is an example of the classic Ginori rosebud design that was originally commissioned by the House of Savoy in 1830. The roses are all hand painted.
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- These are Ginori salad plates ready to be washed.
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- Gretchen places a smaller bin in the sink and then carefully washes each bread plate by hand using warm water and a gentle dish soap.
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- Then they are placed in the drying rack.
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- Cheryl is on the other side of the sink hand drying each plate with a soft tea towel. Cheryl is wearing my puffer jacket in olive.
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- These Ginori sets are complete because we take such good care of the pieces. We keep a service for 14 in the pantry, but the entire set is a service for 24.
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- Here, Cheryl begins to put the plates back into the cabinet. It’s a good idea to also take quick snapshots of how the plates and platters were positioned on the shelves before they were removed, so you know exactly how to put them back.
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- Next to be washed – antique Theodore Haviland Limoge plates, platters, gravy boats, and terrines that were left here by Mrs. Eleanor Ford – every piece, still in perfect condition.
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- Here’s Gretchen preparing another shelf – this entire process takes several days, but it is nice to know everything will be ready for this summer of dinner parties.
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- More Ginori Amalfi on the bottom, and on the top, Ginori Italian Fruit. Italian Fruit is another hand-painted porcelain, in continuous production since 1750. Delicate fruits and flowers adorn this lovely collection, with gold borders and handle trims.
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- This is Chinese Export Armorial Orange Fitzhugh – very rare. It is one of the most expensive examples of porcelain exported from China from 1775 to 1850. This collection was also left here by Mrs. Ford.
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- Cheryl and Gretchen also tackled my large collection of Baccarat cut crystal glasses.
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- My Baccarat collection includes many glasses, goblets, decanters, pitchers, and more. They are all hand washed and returned to their shelves.
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- On the lower shelves of this cabinet – Venetian glass. These glasses have such a beautiful tint of yellow.
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- When storing plates in stacks, you can also use protective felt rounds to place in between each piece, so they don’t scuff each other.
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- On the counter are also my vintage blue, green and black Spode Bar Harbor dinner and lunch plates. I purchased them from a little housewares store right in town. They include different scenes of the area. These plates are quite fragile, but I love using them.
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- Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Leede left a lot of plates, and glassware here at Skylands, but I have also added my share to the collections – it is certainly a lot of dishes to keep clean. I hope this inspires you to do a little spring cleaning this weekend. Let me know your projects in the comments section below.
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