5 Kitchen Essentials

These everyday items are useful and will add a designer touch to any kitchen.  Every kitchen has its staples and from the viewpoint of design, these are mine.


1.  Wood Cutting Board - It will add a warm wood element to your kitchen especially if you have painted cabinets.  Plus, all the cool chefs have one.  Put some mineral oil on it every once in a while so it doesn't dry out and the oil keeps all the icky germs from taking up residence.

 

2.  Flour Sack Towels - An everyday must have.  I have a drawer full of kitchen towels but these are my favorites.  They don't leave lint all over your dishes and they dry almost instantly.  You can get plain white ones just about anywhere or you can splurge and get cute ones like this.  Available HERE.

3.  Wood Spoons - I love wooden spoons!  I use them everyday.  Not only do they look good but they are great to cook with.  They won't scratch your cookware and, like the cutting board, you can oil them up and they will last forever.

4.  Greenery - Plants add life to a space.  I know your kitchen is probably full of "life" but seriously try putting some herbs in the window or a little vase of flowers by the sink.  My mom always had an aloe plant in the kitchen.  Since plants quake in their roots at the thought of me taking care of them, I have some very nice fauxliage that I picked up from Ikea.  I can't kill it and it looks nice.  Nuf said.

5.  Large Basket or Bowl - These are a very nice way to keep things like onions, potatoes or any other veggies or fruits reined in.  No matter what you fill it with it will instantly become a decorative and practical fixture.

~ Andrea

Tour My House

My House - 1987 Ranch

1700 sf :: 3 bedroom :: 2 bath

I would like to say up front that everything is still a work in progress.  Currently the progress is very slow, since I don't have the same disposable income as I did a year ago, but I'm working on it.

Living Room

note all of the white swatches?  what do you think?



view from front door



view from back door



across the room to front door

standing in hallway view into kitchen

Guest Room/Future Nursery

the green is not my favorite, it was existing.  i'm waiting for baby #2 to repaint it.

Claire's Room

view from doorway



view from closet

nursery furniture

Hall Bath

it's an odd little bathroom in the center of the house so it has no windows

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

this bathroom has so many problems and the only way to fix it is to gut everything and start over.  one day my dream will come true.

Dining Room

when you walk into the kitchen from the living room this is to the right

Kitchen

and this is to the left

Laundry Room

off the other side of the kitchen

I fell in love with this house mainly because of it's location.  It's in an older, quiet neighborhood in town.  Claire's future primary school is right around the corner (seriously, it's a 2 minute walk).  It backs up to a pond and on the other side is a wooded area that surrounds the school so no backyard neighbors.  We have an in-ground saltwater pool, which rocks.  But my favorite part is that it is a blank slate.  It has so much potential.  Since we plan on being here for a good while I can take my time and  make it just the way I want it.

~ Andrea

Kitchen Redo: from Fugly to Awesome

When we bought our house last year it was obvious that the kitchen was in desperate need of an update.  The previous owners had renovated the rest of the house but stopped with the kitchen.  I don't blame them, kitchens are expensive, but I couldn't live with it.  It made my heart sad.

Does it make you want to cry?  Needless to say, we went to work renovating almost immediately.  We replaced the appliances a week after we moved in and the rest followed over the next two months.  It's been just over a year and I am still in love with my kitchen.  Despite its appearance, I do cook and there are usually dishes in the sink and stuff on the counters.  We also eat at the table almost every night so it's not just for looks.

Now that it finally looks finished, I find that it is really easy to keep the kitchen clean because I want it to look pretty all the time.  This seems to be the consensus with most people who have a designer work with them.  Once they know how to make it look nice they like to keep it that way.

Cabinets: Sherwin Williams - Grassland SW6163
Walls: Benjamin Moore - Monterey White HC-27
Countertops: Cambria quartz
I made the window treatments, chair cushions and the basket chandelier.