Get Organized!

I am here to tell you that a single drawer in a state of chaos can actually drive one crazy. It's true. We have one ginormous drawer in our kitchen that holds all of our normal kitchen utensils (like the pizza cutter and spatulas) in addition to all of the odds and ends cooking tools that don't get used so much. To really understand the chaos of it all you should know that this drawer is approximately 2 feet by 2 feet! It's a HUGE drawer. We are constantly digging in here while food is boiling, popping and crackling on the stove; and every time we we risk getting poked stabbed or cut. It's no good, I tell you! Look at this madness:

So I finally bought three small trays from Target to put in the drawer. It's still not exactly the picture of organization but at least now the stuff that we never use can stay buried and the good stuff can can rest on top and when we open the drawer everything stays put, instead of flying all over the pace. This makes my life feel better, more manageable and less chaotic. Maybe that is a lot of credit to give to a drawer but sometimes eliminating the small annoyances in life allows you to see the good stuff a little more clearly. Like where that damn pizza cutter is: front and center off to the left. 

Kitchen in Progress

Sometimes it's just one small addition that can make a room. Take for instance, our kitchen. I have really been struggling to like our kitchen. Perhaps a bit unfairly, as we have already made some nice changes to this room, but it still felt off to me. It's so WHITE! I know white is all the rage in kitchens right now, but not on the floor. Kitchen floors should not be white! It makes it feel dirty all the time. Also, our counter tops are white and stain easily and our cabinets are white and have been "touched up" with a different white and therefore look all splotchy. I dream of all the big changes we will make to this space one day, but in the meantime I am constantly seeking out small (read inexpensive) changes that will make it not just likeable, but lovable in the meantime. With that said, here is our kitchen:

And then a light bulb turned on in my head! Obviously I just needed to break up the white a bit. I needed a rug! In the kitchen! But not just any rug, something that could handle the traffic of a much used kitchen. Turns out, the fates were on my side, and after a bit of hunting I saw this rug for sale on One Kings Lane.

I read the description and was sold. (The bolded words are my own emphasis). 

What do we love about Fab Habitat rugs? For starters, the rugs render earth-friendly utterly chic, with vibrant designs woven from recycled materials and then finished by hand. They're reversible (for an easy style switch-up) and durable enough for the outdoors yet refined enough for inside the house. Lastly, the rugs are lightweight, meaning you can take them with you on picnics or camping. Redefine your concept of earth-friendly with an indoor-outdoor rug from Fab Habitat. The rugs are made using sustainable practices and rendered in vivid colors to effortlessly combine respect for the earth with a love of high design.

It took a few weeks from the rug to finally arrive, but it turned out to be worth the wait if you ask me. I went from hating our kitchen to feeling like it was a warm, friendly and inviting space that was begging for me to do a little cooking in it:

But, that's not all folks! See the color of the door? Well, when we moved in, our whole kitchen was that color. And it was INTENSE! And by intense I mean, dark and oppressive and it made the room feel really small! See what I'm talking about...

So yes, we have come a long way, but there is, as always, more to be done.

Here is what we have done "in the meantime":

-Painted the walls (the color turned out a little more intense than I wanted, and will probably get repainted again in the future, perhaps with this color)

-Added back splash above sink

-Replace unmatched light switch covers

-Replace overhead boob light fixture with ceiling fan

Here is a working list of what I would still like to do:

-remove the linoleum flooring and refinish wood floor if possible (if not, add new flooring)

-repaint all the cabinetry a crisp fresh white

-put in lower cabinetry on both sides of free standing stove - for cohesion's sake

-put a microwave vented range above stove that goes to the ceiling

-add open shelving in place of upper cabinets on either side of stove

-replace the counter tops - probably with butcher block

Obviously, if you have any suggestions/ideas for improvements, I would love to hear them!