Framing the Kitchen

Some main room rearrangements left me with 3 unused thrift shop frames.  For months, I tripped over them when I went into my closet. Eventually, I decided to re-donate them and so leaned them against the wall near my kitchen door. I then tripped over them for 3 weeks while procrastinating on dropping them off.  Finally, as I was gathering them up to haul to the car, I looked up at the (not really) blank wall of my kitchen. Hummmmm. 

Here's the result: my effort to make common, oft used things (like keys, broom, dustpan) easily grabbable and yet deliberate.

Let me know if you think it works or if it's just cluttery.


Cheers

The Kitchen Shelf above the Door

I've been trying to streamline my kitchen lately.  I like its quirkiness but don't like how visually cluttered it is. Ironically, I added some things to detract from that clutter.

A shelf above the door is now home to my goblets, the extra spices, reusable grocery bags & that plant that was struggling to survive over the stove.

The McKenzie-Childs bag (home to bulk spices) had been hanging behind the shelves on the fridge. To complete that now empty space, I hung a mirror that had been languishing in my closet. I really like that rich burnt yellow and how it's echoed in the check & stripes of the storage boxes/bags. 

I moved the black crystalline rock from the main room to replace the goblets. The sun now reflects off the pretty facets. 

What do the internets think?

Kitchen Update

I have an ugly little kitchen.


Pros:
3 lovely windows
a gas stove
a double sink


Cons:
the ubiquitous contractor grade wooden cupboards
a cheap linoleum floor
28 inches of counter-top
It measures 5'9"x 11'2". That's a whopping 64.5 square feet.
2 doors (no usable wall space for a shelf or rack)
a landlord's prohibition of paint.

I've spent the last 2 years trying to de-uglify the room while improving its function. I'm a poor student who likes to eat well. This means I cook. A lot.

Here's a photo of the 'before', taken a few months after I moved in.  I had already hung a fruit basket and added a little shelf over the sink. But, hideous, right?

 

This weekend, I finally tackled the cupboards with a roll of white contact paper and a packet of mirror tiles from Ikea.

It's still pretty ugly but much lighter and not so 'wood in your face'. I took the cupboard doors off and stored them in that weird gap to the right. The gap is about 3 inches wide, too narrow for any shelving unit. I jimmy-rigged a sling to hold the sleeves of coffee pods and set the wooden bowls over the gap.

The curtain on top (secured with a tension rod) hides the less used equipment, grandma's punch bowl, extra plateware for parties and my modem/router.

The slate cheese board doubles as a trivet and cutting surface for quick jobs.

 Hanging the pans and lids near the stove freed up an entire bottom cupboard- now holding my blender, casserole dishes and mixing bowls. A shelving unit on the fridge is home to my pie pans, the microwave, cutting boards, bulk spices and the cast iron pans.

Cooking utensils and salt/pepper on the back of the stove. 

Burlap bags on the wall hold tupperware, paper towels, napkins, towels and reusable grocery bags.

Olive oil and Vinegar is stored on the windowsill. The lace in the window belonged to my mother.