Happy Labor Day Weekend!
I don’t know where you live, but here in the Midwest the weather is HOT, HOT, HOT!
I thought today I would give you a peek into my kitchen! I love decorating and seeing what other people do with their kitchens so I thought I’d share a few favorite things about mine with you!
We live in a 100 year old home and I love it! The only part of the house that I was unsure about was the kitchen.
The kitchen is small…
Small…
Small.
BUT, I am learning to LOVE a small kitchen!
Here are my TOP 5 THINGS I love about having a small kitchen
1. It takes less time to clean.
Seriously. There is less space for dishes to clutter and sit (and my hubby is pretty awesome at making sure they don’t sit there too long!) so they get done sooner! There is not as much floor space to sweep or mop and not as many cabinets to wash down.
2. I am only a few steps away from the fridge, stove, sink, shelves and pantry.
I don’t know about you, but in the kitchen I like things close by. I like to have a little baking corner all set up with everything I need within reach. I like having my oils next to the stove and my dishes being put away right above the dish washer. This just makes sense… right? You don’t have to have a small kitchen to accomplish those things, but it is nice to be so close to the sink, dishwasher, stove, fridge and shelves within a matter of steps. It does make a difference!
3. People don’t tend to congregate while I am cooking.
Now don’t get me wrong I like having my family in the kitchen AT TIMES. my girls help me out PLENTY and they are learning to love to cook, but there are many days when I am thankful that it’s me all by myself with my recipe so that I can focus on the task at hand!
4. It helps me keep kitchen items to a minimum because I simply don’t have the space to store it all!
Do you struggle with minimizing “necessities” in the kitchen like I do? When we first moved in I thought, where am I going to put all my kitchen stuff?! Some of the big things that I don’t use regularly go down in the basement on a shelf, but having less space to put things REALLY made me consider what to keep. What do I really use? Do I need this tool when I could as easily use a knife? And do I really need 4 sets of mixing bowls just because they are cute?
5. It didn’t cost a fortune to redecorate!
When we moved in the kitchen was green with tan trim and there were 2 cabinets above the counters. When flipping through decorating magazines or pinterest I was always drawn to open shelving. I really debated whether this was practical or not… but I love it! It kind of goes with reasons 1, 2 and 4 of SMALL KITCHEN LOVE.
I used to stuff so much in my cabinets that things would fall out when I opened them. I never knew where spices landed in the cabinet as they were stacked on top of each other. It was a headache. Now I have one less step- I don’t have to open a cabinet door. Trust me, It makes a difference. I also can visually see where everything is. Last, but not least- I had to minimize to make it look nice. This was a very good thing. Less cups to wash, less spices to stack and less gadgets I really never used.
So here you see the shelves above my oven. When we moved to this house this wall was blank wasted space. I love these shelves. They hold my cookbooks, tea pot, tea bags, coffee and my growing pitcher collection!
I told you I love cookbooks! I try to reign it in and not collect too many, but they are just so fun!
My open shelves.
I debated for quite some time before taking down the only two above the counter cabinets that I had in the kitchen. I am so glad that I made the switch! I will write a post soon about the benefits of open shelving, but for now just enjoy the view!
Don’t you love blue ball jars? I do! I do!
My spice jar drawer. I will go into more detail in a later post about how I made these and why it is so much easier to have a spice drawer than a spice cabinet!
Oh the character of an old house! Friends, meet my butler’s pantry. I heart this space!
Just a little teacup to bring beauty to the space.
We installed this antique towel bar on our island and it is so handy! A towel that doesn’t move around the kitchen is amazing… I don’t know about you guys, but my towels always seem to grow legs and I can’t find one when I need it!
Lastly, here is my work space for today. I decided to use my kitchen to blog today for inspiration but also because of #3 on my TOP 5 THINGS I love about a small kitchen!
I hope you enjoyed the quick tour of my small, but lovely kitchen.
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