Decorate: Kitchen Whisks Worth Taking

Kitchens serve, in my opinion, as the most versatile room of the house. In our kitchen, friends gather with glasses of wine to chat, celebratory sweets are baked, breakfasts are made, and dinners are both hastily and leisurely crafted. When we bought our first home I knew that the kitchen had to be nothing short of functional and balanced. I spent time mulling over how I would make it even more organized and functional. Also, being a half-link [or something near that] I knew that my tall cabinets were potentially going to be my biggest enemy, more so than the ceiling fan cord. 

While planning a wedding, one of my friends shared that there should be one item that you splurge on and feel guiltless for adding to the big day. For this project I kept the same thing in mind and splurged. I’ll delve, but also give some budget friendly alternatives. So with that, here are my kitchen modifications. 

Let's get the elephant out of the room and address my splurge item, the pantry closet. Before the makeover, the closet wasn't BAD but it really wasn't functional. Did I mention that after setting a box of cereal down one day that the entire shelf came out of the wall? That aside, we visited The Container Store and invested in a custom Elfa configuration for our space. It was EASY. Like A,B,C & 1,2,3; seriously. We measured our space, took the numbers with us to the store and had a designer help us built a closet. If you consider this, MAKE AN APPOINTMENT or you may have wait around a couple of inconvenient hours like we did. I mentioned that this was my splurge, but Elfa has a huge sale at the beginning of the year for 30% off. Naturally we took advantage.. I won't bore you to death with the awesomeness of Elfa, but just know that if you take time to learn about a closet system that is designed to hang on your wall rather than pulling out of it when weight is added, you'll love it too. As far as pantry prep, I bought some basic drywall putty from Home Depot and patched the walls. I repainted them because the putty had to be concealed. For this, I found some ‘oops paint’ as Home Depot calls it. It was a neutral so I was safe using it in such close proximity to our tan kitchen walls. Since, I've found the variation in color is actually quite nice. It took about ¾ of a 1 qt. can to cover the walls of this pantry. All in all, this patch and paint project cost me about $8.

Before

After

Next up, the floor. My honey, sweet as he is, was a little careless when putting in our waterline and managed to use the refrigerator much like a Ditch Witch and dug a trench in our beautiful hardwood floor. To help cover up his mistake and create a little color interest, I went searching for some rugs that had a hint of vintage appeal. I landed at Garden Ridge and paid $5 per rug. Here's a HUGE explanation of the store's offering by Thrifty Decor Chick. Now with rugs, you get what you pay for. I washed one of these little gems and threw it in the dryer after spilling some dinner remnants. It shrank by nearly one-third! I managed to snag one more before the store sold out and replaced the boo-boo. I’ll resort to washing and hang-drying in the future. Here they are preventing more blemishes during the next home project...

Following the rugs were my salt & pepper shakers. I've seen LOTS of pairs floating around antique and thrift stores. My first set was a Bass fish cut in half with a tail for salt and a head for pepper. I then got some quaint little birds from a reward program but they were really meant to be on the table and not for serious seasoning. Recently, my grandparents were cleaning out their breezeway and gifted me a whole box of vintage alcohol in travel sized bottles. Ironically these two glass Cohodas Vineyards old glass dogs once held alcohol, but they’re serving their purpose far better on my stove top. Last weekend I saw the same pair in an antique store for $11 each. Not a bad find and they certainly have a resale value! 

 Last up is this vintage-inspired key holder. Our kitchen, being right next to our garage, not only has lots of cooking utensils and food, but shoes, keys, mail and whatever else is unloaded from the cars. I ended up getting this cake stand from my Grandma last fall but it didn't have a dome lid. So, I use it as a key drop. It’s practical, fancy, accessible, and matches my decor. Be warned that it isn't shatter-proof so if you have a key lanyard, be sure that you don’t move the cake stand with the keys! The cake stand and dome at an antique store or yard sale can be expensive. I've noticed the milky white patterns or clear-colored glass also being more pricey, especially if they’re a reputable brand. If you’re searching you should be able to find one for $10 or less, especially if it doesn't have a lid or a fancy collectible name. For a list of names to avoid [or pursue if you want this to be your splurge item] check out the cake stands on  Ruby Lane.

Thanks for stopping by the Humble Hammock and looking around; do come back!

Cara