Fast forward to the 80's & 90's when the cooler motor died and the current owners did not want to fix or replace it. FTD relaxed their rules about the display cooler, luckily. And small town shops don't sell enough fresh flowers to walk in customers to justify the expense of a cooler in the front room in addition to the big walk-in in the workroom.
Now jump to 2006 when I inherited that cooler. I've been trying to figure out what to do with that white elephant for the last almost seven years. I tore the doors off of it first and opened up the space, but that didn't satisfy me. Later on, I painted it a happy, buttery yellow color. That was okay for a while.
Last month I started to wage war on that poor old cooler again. This time I pulled and tugged, and ripped every single piece off of that thing that I could. I ended up with it as open as I could make it without tearing it and the office completely down. The covering was stripped off the walls, revealing black walls covered in creosote or something water resistant, that was rough painted & very textured. With inspiration from my pal, Keith, I got out the bucket of antique white paint and a dry brush and I slapped a sparse layer of white over those rough black walls and the picture tells the rest of the story!! A coat of black paint on the floor finished it off and I am tickled to death and have to tell everybody about it!!
I was going to put some white shelves in there, but I just got those beautiful Billy Jacobs canvasses in so I hung them in there, instead. I think the galvanized bucket, cabinet, and pitcher look great with the shabby walls, along with a couple of other wood pieces we have painted. I am in love with this little corner of my little flower and gift shop!
