kitchen & dining
Table Topics, part 2: Dining Space Layout Dilemmas
Monday, when I shared my update on the hunt for a perfect dining table, I loved how so many of you were quick to chime in with great ideas and advice! Seriously, it’s one of the things I love most about the blogging community – the way we’re able to share ideas and collaborate.
The funny thing was, once I asked for ideas, and as I responded to the comments – I realized just how set I’d become on the idea of going to a store and buying a table just to get it over with.
So I’d like to briefly apologize to all of you who went to the effort to share ideas. Because I feel bad that I’d already made up my mind – I just didn’t realize it at the time. :/ Oops!
Several of you suggested using that we build our table to suit our space and our needs. Ryan and I had tossed that idea around a while back, because we do love the fact that we can create just what we need if we want to. But we decided against building for a few reasons:
- We’ve got several pieces of furniture that we really, really want to build – simply because there is no other perfectly customized option out there. I won’t spill the beans on what they are just yet, though. Suffice to say that we just don’t have the bandwidth to add another building project to our list, especially between now and our wedding in 2012.
- If we built a table, I’d really want to have the top as one huge solid piece of wood . . . and a piece that size would be very expensive.
Anyway, I think we’re going to buy a table, and buy it new no less. But that means we’ve go to figure out how to make it work in this somewhat awkward, small, and narrow dining space:
To figure out which table sizes would work in the space, and where they’d work, I grabbed my painter’s tape and tried out a few options: Read the rest of this entry »
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Mistake-Turned-Great: Kitchen Update
Can you spot the change in our kitchen?
What’s that? Oh, we’ve accidentally added an 8×10 rug to the space!
Yes, you read that right. Accidentally.
Did I just fall into a store and have money tumble out of my wallet? Not exactly. Although I should have tried to convince Ryan that’s what happened.
This rug is a perfect example of the old Jane style of decorating. Impulse purchases, not well thought-out. Thought I’d kicked that habit.
*Rambling story alert*
A few weeks ago I wandered into the Crate and Barrel Outlet. I’ve gotta stay away from that store. It is to me what Ikea or Target is to others . . . I can’t get out without spending money. So I wandered in, “just to look,” and spied the recycled rag rugs on sale. Only $50 for an 8×10. Now if you’ve EVER done rug shopping, you know that $50 for an 8×10 rug is A HUGE FREAKIN’ STEAL. Once I saw that price tag, I was determined to get one for the living room. Because I’d been eyeing a teal / green one anyway. They didn’t have the green or teal one, so I chose this.
Long story short, after living with it for a few days, it drove us both crazy in the living room. By then it was totally dog-ified, and thus un-returnable. I was so annoyed at myself for the impulse buy that I decided to try and make it work somewhere else in the house before cutting my losses and selling it on CL.
We moved it into the kitchen, where the cold tiled floor begged for a covering. It fit perfectly! I was a bit relieved. Because I have chosen C&B rugs several times, only to have them sell out of the size I need before I can purchase them.
Now how about a little before-n-after action for this gorgeous Friday?
This is how the kitchen looked shortly after moving in:
Now, with the simple addition of the rag rug, the thrifted window valance, and some coordinating dish towels, it’s much more cozy without being cluttered!
A decorator might tell me that the orange tones in the rug aren’t ideal because they accentuate the orange tones of the wood cabinetry, whereas a cool color would have complemented it while keeping it toned down. But I like it. And so does Ryan (a big plus).
So in conclusion, the impulse purchase has worked out ok after all. I wasn’t going to force myself to live with it, because I’ve learned that sometimes you should cut your losses and move on, but in this case it worked out.
Have you had any mistakes turn out for the better lately?
PS: Want to know more about my kitchen? See the introduction, then peek at how I hide my dish rack, and how I faked a custom valance.
{Kitchen Storage} How to hide a dish rack
I can’t stand having clutter on kitchen counters. Maybe it’s because I make a mess when I cook, or maybe it’s because I grew up in a home where the counters cluttered. I think kitchen tools and utensils should be stored away, which is why even my wooden spoons and spatulas are stashed in a drawer by the stove – not in a counter-top caddy. The clearer the counters, the easier to clean up after cooking.
Before Ryan, I never had a dish drainer. In my first DC condo money was tight – why waste it on that! I’d hand-wash my dishes and set them on a towel to dry. My kitchen was so small that I had to put them away ASAP, or I’d be out of counter space. I quickly realized that I really didn’t need one, no matter the size of my kitchen. Fast-forward to this year. Ryan wanted a dish drainer. I compromised, buying a very tiny one. It holds the little things – like my reusable glass straw, icing bag tips, knives, etc – that we hand wash.
With that in mind, I told Ryan that I absolutely could not stand to have it on the counter. Even if we had a double sink, I wouldn’t want it in there. It just invites clutter and grime. So we made a space for it under the kitchen sink. That way things are tucked out of sight. And when we have large dishes to dry, we just use the old towel-on-counter trick. Once done, we just hang the towel to dry. Much more space-efficient than a huge dish drainer.
Oh – and to protect the bottom of the undersink cabinet from water damage, I use a little plastic tray under the dish rack.
Behind the dish rack we have some recycling and cleaner storage. An old glass jar holds used batteries, and a plastic take-out container collects wine corks (for recycling at Whole Foods). (Did you know that cork is quickly becoming a depleted resource?) Next to that I have my granite countertop polish and the ceramic stovetop cleaner. You can see that I’m using the end of a Pepsi can box to store them. I told you organizing doesn’t have to cost, if you use trash! Oh, and by pulling from my stash of old jars and containers, I was able to customize the solution to fit perfectly. That rarely happens with fancy containers from the store!
On the other side of the cabinet I installed a plastic-bag holder. It was a bit tricky to insert it up high behind the sink basin, but I wanted to make use of that upper space. It’s not the easiest to insert the bags in the top, so we just shove them in the bottom. It works. This is one organizing item I heartily recommend buying. Below it you see we have a fire extinguisher. Which we haven’t needed yet – but with the frequency that I manage to set off smoke alarms when cooking, it’s a miracle it hasn’t had to be used. Please, if you don’t have one in your kitchen, get one. Now. And read up on how to use it. Even if you’re a less-smoky cook than me.
We keep the tiny trash can on an old placemat, along with our semi-eco-friendly dishwasher detergent. (Am I the only one having trouble finding a truly eco-friendly detergent that really works?) This trashcan is another holdover from my first condo – it’s made specifically to hold plastic grocery bags, with notches in the sides that you loop the handles over. Even though we try to use reusable bags for groceries, we inevitably end up with the plastic baggies now and then. The small size works (usually) because we recycle almost everything – our town collects plastics of all numbers (1-7), all metals, papers, etc. And you can never end up with a huge heavy bag of old stinky garbage, because the small size has you emptying it more frequently.
Finally, I just added a little Command hook (you know I love them!) on the inside of the cabinet door to hold some fun rubber gloves. I’m hoping that using them will help keep my hands from getting all dry and worn out like they do every winter. How do the gloves hang from the hook? Easy – I clip a little binder clip to them, which has a convenient metal loop on the end.
So that’s a very-in-depth look at what’s going on under our sink. Am I the only one who can’t stand having a dish drainer out? And please, if you have found a great eco-friendly dishwasher detergent, let me know!
PS: Thanks to Jen at IHeart Organizing for inspiring this close-up of some of my kitchen storage tricks. I totally blog stalk her for constant organizing inspiration. I’ve never seen someone so addicted to organizing – it’s fabulous! Be sure to check out her kitchen details, from the way she organized her fridge, to her perfectly organized drawers, and everything else.
Shared at Organize Your Stuff Now!
PS: If you’d like some free help with a decorating challenge posed by your rented home, please hop over here!
Faking It: Custom window valance
There are times in life where you just have to fake it. Like when you find the almost-perfect valance curtain at the thrift store.
In case you don’t remember, my kitchen window originally looked like this:
The empty space between the cabinets bugged me. I tried some floating wall vases from CB2, but wasn’t thrilled with the result. After that disaster, I planned to make a valance for the window . . . but hadn’t gotten around to it.
Then I found three green and white handmade valances at the Goodwill, for only $2 a pop. Knowing that my kitchen colors were supposed to be citrus (orange, yellow, green) – how could I resist? It wasn’t exactly the pattern I’d have chosen, but frankly I was happy to find something already made. I have enough sewing projects on my hands right now.
Valances usually hang on rods that come out from the wall and then across the front, creating a boxy shape. However, the wall surrounding my kitchen window was tiled, and since I rent, I didn’t want to drill any holes in it. Also, the curtain was much wider than the window. It’s a bit tricky to explain, so I’ll make a step-by-step list of how I created the custom-fitted look for the window. Here’s how I took the super easy way out:
- I found a spring-loaded curtain rod in the basement and adjusted it so that it was exactly the width of the opening between the two cabinets.
- I centered the rod into the pocket of the curtain, so that there was an equal amount of excess curtain on either end of it.
- Holding tight to the curtain & rod, so that the rod didn’t move in the pocket, I sprung the curtain into place in the opening.
- The curtain looked great, stretched taught across the opening, but the excess fabric on the ends hung down behind it, looking all shabby.
- I contemplated cutting the ends off, and re-hemming the curtain. But I liked the custom look created by the fabric wrapping around on either side.
- Enter the painter’s tape. (See, I told you I took the super easy way out!) I taped that sucker to the side of each cabinet. I also taped up each bottom corner (see below) so that you couldn’t see my cheat unless you bent your head and looked directly up at the curtain.
Ta-dah! A $2, super-easy-lazy-style kitchen window update. I am so happy with the result. And because I used painter’s tape, there’s no worry about messing up the finish on the cabinet.
I have two more valances (I bought the whole batch) and was going to put them on the other kitchen window, but I think that it would be a bit too classic for my modern taste. What do you think?
Easy Kitchen & Bathroom Upgrade
Impulse shopping? I thought I’d kicked the habit. Then I went to Target for the first time in over a month. When I rolled my cart past those glorious home decor and housewares aisles, I was strong. Until I saw the little chrome caddy that could.
I’d already upgraded my dish soap but putting it in a recycled glass bottle that sat in a little white dish, but I’d been wanting a chrome caddy that could make the space look a bit more coordinated. I’d held off, though, as the nice ones at Williams-Sonoma were over $30. Insane.
But this Caldrea caddy, filled with hand soap, dish soap, and counter cleaner, was $20. I weighed my options: I could stick strong to my guns about not purchasing it because it probably wasn’t manufactured in fair labor conditions (most Target items aren’t), or I could give in and get it. I decided to get it because I knew it would provide me much happiness. Organization solutions always do.
When I brought it home, Ryan then proceeded to mock me for a good 30 minutes when I shared my excitement. I informed him that I would be using it forever, because even if I find out Caldrea’s not so great for the planet, when the bottles run out I’ll just refill them with my brand of choice.
I wasn’t content to leave well-enough alone, though. Why bother having hand soap AND dish soap? We can just wash our hands with the dish soap, or walk the 20 steps to the bathroom if we really want hand soap, right?
So I removed the hand soap from the caddy, filling the spot with a glass full of flowers:
Then I trotted the hand soap and the lotion to the nearby bathroom, so that guests and us alike would be able to use lotion after washing hands. As a guest at others’ homes I always appreciate when there is lotion handy at the bathroom sink.
Take a closer look and you’ll see that I set them on a little old tray I had in the basement. Sure, the tray makes it look a bit fancier, but it also protects the counter top from the soap drips. Our old hand soap bottle we’d been using had started to stain the counter top, or so it seemed. Have any of you had that problem? I’m not sure if it’s a marble or granite or faux stone surface, but it’s pretty sensitive to soap stains.
And that’s the end of the story of the little chrome caddy that could. Am I the only one who finds great joy in having things such as dish soap neatly tucked away in caddies by the sink?
New Abode, Part 2: Kitchen & Dining
Do you mind if I ramble on about my fabulous kitchen today? I certainly don’t mean to brag, but I do feel quite spoiled in here.
The kitchen just might be the reason I fell in love with our new house. The beautiful new cabinets, the easy-to-clean granite countertops, and the recessed pantry and fridge just had me at hello.
Almost every night after work you can find me whipping up a not-so-quick dinner, as I love to cook. Quick-n-easy premade meals have never been my thing; on any given night I may whip up a batch of Panang Curry, Seared Sesame Tuna, Ceviche, or a tofu stir-fry. And having my spice drawer next to the stove just makes that cooking a little bit more convenient.
Regardless of the night’s menu, my cat Doctor supervises me from his perch on the window sill by the stove. It’s the perfect compromise for a nosy cat, allowing him to supervise from counter-height without breaking the “no-cats-on-the-counter” rule. And yes, I totally talk to him as I cook.
That vintage floral dish towel hanging on the oven shows the citrus-y color palette for the space. The stone tiles are gorgeous but hard on the feet, so I plan to bring in a large spring green rug to provide some cheerful and functional cushioning.
The small scale of the dining space (the tiled area between the kitchen and living room) presents a bit of a challenge. I’d like to paint the ceiling to better define the space and also accentuate the crown molding. And then there’s the matter of finding a table and chairs that work with the space. But I’ve lived in enough small and tricky spaces to know that there’s a good solution out there; I just have to find it.
See that little vintage pyrex dish on the floor? That’s currently the pups’ water bowl, but I’d love to build a wooden tray table to hold a water bowl under the counter in a more stylish and streamlined way. A skinny but deep rectangular trough would be awesome . . .
Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed the second part of my new house tour! And if you didn’t see it yesterday, you can check out part 1 right here.
I feel so incredibly blessed to have this beautiful rented space to call my own, even it if only for the next few years. Have a great weekend!
Click here for Part 3: Master Bath
