Above the kitchen cabinets- brainstorming stage

 

This is current view above my kitchen cabinets.  There are lots of things that I would change about my kitchen if money was no problem.  I feel like I can improve this look fairly easily though.  Here are some things I notice about it.  

* I really like the green butterfly that is in the center.  It makes me happy.  

*I just created the other butterfly.  It has buttons.  I like that it is also green but I thought it would match better.  

*The shelf is actually very narrow, which makes it hard to find things that fit.  

*My husband collects frogs.  

*He is against putting nailholes to hang anything though.  

*My mom painted the birdhouse and I think it is pretty.  

*My daughter likes looking at and talking about all the different objects.  

*The red bird doesn't match anything else. Neither does my Strawberry Shortcake lunchbox.

So I looked on Pinterest for some ideas and found contradictory advice.  Some places said to keep everything the same color while other places said to use a variety.  Haha.  Well I guess I will try different things and see what I like.  

Here are some Pinterest inspiration ideas:  

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I like the different shapes of the vases/ pictures.  I also like how the globe creates a focal point.  

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 I like the "stacked" look.  Maybe I could incorporate some pictures?  I really like this article also.  It talks about creating a horizontal band of color.  I think maybe that's what I am going for with the repeats of green. Maybe I need to be more intentional about it and more of a solid band.  

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 Okay, this fun, whimsical look is my style!  What about a large printed word above my cabinets?  

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This is from the same page as the last image.  It's not about decorating above cabinets but I still think I should follow this 1-2-3 rule.  Basically one tall, one medium, and one short item in each area/cluster.

What do you think?  What should be above my cabinets? 

I'm linking this up to Not Very Fancy in 1st for her Teacher in the Kitchen link-up. 

Update:  Here is what I did to this space!