Hey friends! I hope your’re all keeping safe and healthy during this COVID-19 pandemic. My husband and I are both considered essential workers so we’re traveling to and from work every day. To help ease the stress of everything going on, we’ve been tackling some projects that have been on our to-do list for a while. First up, a mini kitchen makeover!
When we bought our house, the first thing we did was gut the very 70s style kitchen. We loved the finished product with the white cabinets and stone countertops. The one thing it still lacked was some additional storage space. Our kitchen isn’t huge and we had struggled to find a layout that worked for us. For years, we’d talked about adding more upper cabinets where the TV is located but I was never totally sold on the idea.
About a month ago, I decided I wanted to do open shelving above the lower cabinets that would be both functional and decorative. After all the woodworking projects we’ve done here, we always go back to our tried and true stain, Early American by either Varathane or Minwax. It’s a classic colored stain that works well with our design aesthetic.
Some water hyacinth baskets from Marshalls were added to store dry goods like pasta and rice. They tie right in with some larger water hyacinth baskets and placemats we have in the kitchen.
I sprinkled in some of my favorite functional and decorative kitchen pieces. The jadeite rooster came home with us after a trip to Little Havana in Miami last year. It’s one of my favorite souvenirs from our trips.
Some faux greenery, a vintage copper kettle and a Massachusetts themed candle smelling of sea salt and lemon make up this little shelf.
Just below, I added a little recipe book that contains a collection of our favorite things to make along with a juicer and mortar and pestle that my dad gave me. I love when functional pieces doubles as decor.
There are so many sentimental pieces that I curated for these shelves. The meat grinder was purchased by my grandparents before my dad was born. He remembers my Gramp grinding up ham in it and my Gram mixing it with mashed potatoes. That’s my kind of meal!
Just below are some of my great-grandmother’s handwritten recipes. I asked my dad to pick 2 that he liked, then I blew them up to frame. He selected Angel Pie, now known as Pavlova, and Thimble Cookies. I plan on trying these recipes very soon!
Just above one of the top shelves is a sentimental painting my dad got for me after one of our father-daughter days out doing all things British. It’s not typical kitchen art but I think it goes just perfectly with the theme.
A few more angles of the finished product. Please ignore the dog food on the floor. He’s a messy eater!
I’m so in love with this new look and how it’s transformed the kitchen. I find myself spending so much more time in here. I don’t know if it’s the kitchen or the quarantine, but I enjoy cooking and baking so much more now.
Today, I made this quick and easy stove top potpourri. Add 3 cups of water, 2 sliced lemons, 2 tablespoons of vanilla and a few sprigs of rosemary. Bring to a boil, then simmer and enjoy the aroma that fills your kitchen!
xo,
