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It’s Coming Together

October
23 32
comments

The details for the kitchen update are starting to come together.

I still haven’t picked a paint color, but I have everything else down. The white cabinets, dark brown quartz countertops, and stainless steel appliances that Brandon and I put in five years ago will form the backdrop. Then we have the floral backdrop that will become curtains, a couple of white and coral striped tea towels, a pretty turquoise tray, and a set of vintage brown and white ceramic canisters that I picked up at the Renegade Craft Fair.

The cabinets have green ceramic knobs, and my vintage breadbox (that I love) is green too. They don’t really match the greens in the fabric, but I don’t think they’ll be jarring either. If they are, I suppose I’ll hunt on eBay for a new breadbox and sell the old one (money-wise, that should equal out), and then replace the green knobs. With black and white ones, perhaps? I like the combination of black, white, and brown as a foundation. I’m even considering white walls, but it’s hard to pull that look off without beautiful architecture. What do you think?

link    Kitchen  •  32 Comments  •  October 23, 2012

Put the Kitchen Door to Work

September
27 24
comments

Here’s a little storage trick that works for us. I added hooks to the back of our kitchen door to keep all of our bibs, reusable shopping bags, and a couple of aprons. We also keep one tote there to act as a laundry bag for the bibs and dish towels that need to be washed. We almost always keep the door to the kitchen open, which means the side with the hooks is up against the wall. Everything is accessible, but we don’t have to see it all the time.

Back of the Kitchen Door Storage Ideas

  1. Series One Peg Rail
    So minimal and lovely! So not like the hooks I actually have!

  2. Cotton Canvas Tote
    We keep one large tote to store dirty bibs and dish towels until laundry day. Ours is a grocery store bag that’s not nearly as pretty as this one.

  3. Reusable Shopping Bag
    I keep a few reusable bags in my purse at all times, and store the extras in a pouch on a hook. I like the ones from Envirosax and Baggu.

  4. Woodland Tumble Embroidered Bib
    Bibs are still handy for the kids when we’re having a messy meal.

  5. Dryer-Activated Fabric Softener
    We used to use dryer sheets, but I was pretty excited when Method sent over some of their new softener. It’s good stuff (but we do keep this in the laundry room, not the kitchen!).

  6. Kitchen Apron
    I’m kind of over cutesy aprons, but I love this simple one. Works for men and women.

Of course, that was the magazine-perfect fantasy version. Since owning a single beautiful bib isn’t actually practical, our door really looks like this.

Put that kitchen door to work!

(Trivia: That shabby chic bird hook was the first thing I ever bought from eBay.)

link    Kitchen, Laundry Room, Organization  •  24 Comments  •  September 27, 2012

Deciding on New Kitchen Curtains

September
19 50
comments

I now present to you a series of awkward photos in which I stand on my countertops, holding up fabric to the window in approximation of curtains. Ready?

BHLDN Rifle Paper Photo Backdrop
(the photo backdrop)

BHLDN Rifle Paper Tablecloth
(the tablecloth)

That’s a photo backdrop and a tablecloth, both by Rifle Paper Co. for BHLDN. I bought them to use in a baby shower theme photo shoot, and as I was falling asleep the other night, I realized they would make awesome kitchen curtains.

The backdrop’s pattern is larger and I thought it might be too overwhelming, but now I think I like it better. Which is good, because the tablecloth is no longer available and it was going to break my heart a little to cut the fabric up. (I’d been searching eBay for another, but no luck.) Which one do you prefer? Wait, don’t answer yet… there’s more.
Continue Reading…

link    'F' for Fabric, Kitchen  •  50 Comments  •  September 19, 2012

It’s Alive!

September
18 22
comments

Huzzah, I’ve managed to check off another of my Lovely Life List items.

Keep a House Plant Alive for At Least a Year

The dinosaur planter in the windowsill is new, but the rest of the succulents had been hanging out for a while. I thought, ‘hmmm, these have maybe been alive for a year now, right?’ I scrolled back through the archives to check. A year and a half! Boom.

Succulents

So I’ve replanted them, and they’ll probably die now because I don’t know what I’m doing and didn’t look up instructions. Armed with the vague knowledge that succulents will reroot, I snipped them all down and plunked them in some citrus/cactus soil. If they don’t make it, I’m not too worried. They were getting overgrown and gangly, and they’ll cost all of $3 to replace if need be. For now, they look cute and I had a project to work on with the kids.

Can't Reach!

And hey, I no longer think of myself as someone with a black thumb! Maybe it’s not fully green, but I can at least remember to water some plants and put them in the right lighting conditions.

link    Kitchen  •  22 Comments  •  September 18, 2012

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