Organizing the Kitchen

This kitchen does not a have dedicated pantry. Our first kitchen had more space than we ever needed and our second barely had any at all. This kitchen is the perfect in between. When we first moved in I put all our white dishes behind the glass and the so called pantry was just a few cabinets that deemed not practical. At first I was hesitant to put all our food in sight, but in the end it doesn't bother me at all. Now this whole area acts as a pantry wall. 

All my baking flours, oats, nuts, etc all live in glass jars from ikea and World Market. I bought a few wood trays to keep medicine and a few can goods corralled throughout.

The new cereal keepers have been amazing! No more throwing away stale cereal because apparently it is really hard to push the plastic bag back down. Plus they are really easy to use and minimize kiddo spillage. These fit a full family size bag.

I have always dreamed of having a spice drawer. No idea why, but they always seem so organized to me rather than having to go one by one trying to find that eluding cinnamon that made its way to the back of a cabinet. Most drawer organizer were to deep for this shallow drawer, but I came across these and they were exactly what we needed. they were cheap and work well. A win in my book. Now when I ask the kiddos for a spice it is an ease for them to pick out the right one. With my Dr. ordered diet I have to be really careful with what I put in my body. Love my spices from Primal Palate, because I know they are safe and I love what they do for a dish!

The two bottom cabinets are dedicated to kid snacks. It helps them and their friends to know exactly where they can grab from. Again the new canister are amazing. I did quite a bit of research on what type and brand to buy and these seemed to be winners on so many lists. They were a bit of an investment, but when figuring how many boxes of things we had to throw away because they grew stale I feel less guilt.

Here you can see our laundry nook.. The washer and dryer are completely open to the kitchen and it's something I am hoping we can tackle later this year. Anyhow the hooks were here when we moved in and they have been so practical. The wicker basket holds things like potatoes, avocados, and onions. It keeps them off the counter and keeps them fresher longer due to lack of sun.

This is the shelf we added when we we did a bit of a refresh in the kitchen. Since we rarely have littles in the kitchen anymore this ended up being the perfect spot to house all our cups and mugs. Easy for the kids to reach and easy for them to put them away when unloading the dishwasher. We will see what happens when my friends with toddlers come over. Ha.

The cabinets in this kitchen are high. Perfect for my 6'6" husband not so much for my petite self. I found this ladder at ikea and I loved the simplicity of it. It hangs in the laundry nook when not needed. The upper upper cabinets hold things we don't use often like the crock-pot, Christmas cookie cutters, and my over abundance of glass baking dishes.

Here you can see a peek of the washer. The glass in this house still amazes me. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE to cook in this kitchen now? It's far from perfect, but it is perfect for us.

CREATING A KITCHEN

This is our third kitchen to re-do in some shape or form. I thought it would be fun to share how each kitchen stays true to our aesthetic over the years yet feel a bit different from each other. Part of it is my style evolving into something a bit more minimal and the other part is I try to honor the style of house in which we dwell. 

This house is a new brick craftsman. It is in a neighborhood where all the houses are similar to each other. It was a sweet home to raise toddlers as it was an all open floor plan with one level and afenced in yard. It was somewhat more out in the country. I am actually proud of this little house. I once overheard a magazine editor state they would never shoot a home in a neighborhood like that yet it was published twice. Never say never. This kitchen had cherry cabinets that we painted with a sprayer. Obviously this house represented a time when more was better. Funny how age changes you or at least me. You can see more of this kitchen here.

This was our rental house, a 1931 craftsman closer to the city, that I was allowed to tweak. It was sweet for a season. This home actually made us downsize and I could not have been more thrilled. It was the push I needed. It also got me used to having the laundry in the kitchen. Funny how it didn't bother me as much then as it does in this house. Maybe it's because I can actually change it in our current house when the funds allow and the funds are just not allowing currently. Ha. You can see more here.

This is our kitchen today. We bought this mid-century modern after we fell in love with the school system of our rental. Prices are higher here so in order to buy in we had to buy a fixer upper. A major one at that. The bones are good though so it made it perfect for us. As for the kitchen, will it be like this forever? Probably not. We are planning a future remodel, but for now I LOVE it. It functions well and is way bigger than our last kitchen. I do like the charm of it. I personally think the gallons of makeup applied to her made all the difference. You can see the reveal here.

Can you tell so many of the pieces from the first kitchen are still being used today? I have had quite a few bad buys over the years, but thankfully I have also had some really good ones. Simple changes as using a bolder paint color adds more of the modern touch our current house needed to go back to its roots. The softer colors in the first kitchen worked for such an open floor plan in the country. Black would have been too much. I have continually leaned towards simple pieces that have an organic feel. The texture of pretty baskets, the warmth of wood, the feel of natural stone, and an abundance of plants unify all the spaces. They are pieces that may forever speak to me. Below are some staples that can lend it self to an organic and simple kitchen space. As you can see depending on how it's all paired together you can go either modern or a little bit softer. All items are from the amazing Nordstrom sale. Found some great items for both Ellie and KJ for school too!

kitchen re-do on a budget...

I can not even believe that this post is actually happening. When we bought this house I knew that the kitchen had potential for a quick and budget friendly fix. In the end it ended up not being so quick, but it was budget friendly. It took us about 6 months to get this far and I am actually glad that we took it a little slower so I had time to mull it all over. You can see where it started here and the second phase here, and then the third.

This West Elm table used to serve as our desk in our old house. The black and wood chairs are still a favorite of mine from Industry West. the legs are just oh so pretty. The cesca chairs were a craigslist find for our old dining room. The floors still need to be refinished or changed all together, but that fits into a not so budget friendly future project.

Can you believe I almost painted the hutch Alabaster white to blend it in with the walls? This is where taking our time really paid off. I am pretty much obsessed with the way the inky black paint shows off the copper. The original rippled glass is a favorite of mine.

The knobs and hinges are original to the house. I changed them out for copper bin pulls that I found for $2.00 a piece on amazon. Unfortunately they haven't been restocked in months. You can see the old laminate here. From a distance it just looks white, but up close it has swirls. Ack. Part of me wants to try the concrete over lay that I first saw here, but wonder about longevity. Anyone try it before?

This used to be all closed storage and once we had it painted out I realized I like it better without the doors. It shows off our everyday plate set and my grandmothers ironstone. The bottom to cabinets we ended up closing off for the kiddos snacks. I added two bin pulls here to mimic big drawers. To the left is our open laundry room area. That is for a whole other post though.

The green floors don't bother me as much now that everything is dark. We may do something with them this fall, but then again maybe not. So many projects and so little time and it all adds up financially pretty quickly.

The appliances are new. Our fridge went out and then the panel on the front of the dishwasher fell off all in the same week. It was Memorial Day weekend so we shopped around a bit. Kitchenaid was having a huge sale at Lowe's plus we had a 10% off coupon so we went ahead and bit the bullet. They really were the catalyst on finishing off the kitchen. I wish I had somewhere else for the microwave and blender, but for now we do not. We use them everyday so I prefer to have them both in plain sight. I also want to add either art or a collection of stag horn ferns to the left of the fridge. Still mulling that one over though. I would also love to add either this or this for our knives to get a little bit more off the counter. Again still mulling.

If you recall the original stove was huge and once we switched it out it left a huge gap. We had this made by the same friend who made our modern firepit. I love the extra storage it provided, helped make the kitchen look more finished, and provides safety from the stove.

Of course our cow print made it into this kitchen too. Our original plan for this kitchen is to make it good enough for a few years then re-do it completely. Currently I am so happy with this space I am so tempted to change out the counters to a stone and call it a day. Can't tell if it's my slight project burn out talking though.

SOURCES: wall color sherwin williams alabaster | cabinet color farrow and ball railings matched by SW in an oil base | overhead lights | sink light {similar} | slipcover on restoration hardware sofa | black chair in dining room | table {similar} | cesca chair {similar} | copper bin pulls {similar} | everyday plates | rug | cow print | glass canisters | black canister {similar, similar, similar} | towel holder | blender | tote bag | chemex | mason jars  | mugs | serving bowl on fridge