House Re-Vision: the Kitchen

 

Throughout the year, I’ve been working hard on seeing different parts of our home with fresh vision, trying to make sure everything is working for us the best that it can, and making minor adjustments where possible. Re-seeing what we have and how we use it, if you will.

            I spend more time every day in our kitchen than any other room. Part of that is because my main desk is in the corner of the kitchen, so my work day is spent here. And then, of course: food! 😊

            We have some multi-year plans for this kitchen. Nothing that we’ve fully nailed down, but some tweaks we’d like to make over time. But here are a few things I’ve done in the short term to make it more functional and aesthetically pleasing!

            Earlier this year I used part of a TJ Maxx gift card to purchase these two oversized canning jars to hold our wheat berries. You might remember that last year, we started milling our own wheat and making our own bread. We order ours from Unsifted, and we keep on hand the basic blend, which we use for nearly everything, and the dessert blend, too. These had been in big bags in our pantry, and we do still keep the bulk of them there. But it’s so handy to have a short-term supply at hand on the counter for the regular baking. I love how it looks and how much easier it is to not have to lug the giant bag from the pantry every time we bake! I made labels on Canva and this has been a great addition to the space.

            When we cleaned out our garage this summer, I found several baskets that were just sitting in a tub, so I pulled them out. Last week I went through the cabinets and bundled small bags of ingredients and food into these baskets to make a cleaner look inside the cabinet. Ryan’s oatmeal packets, little bags of cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes, quinoa, etc. now live hidden in these baskets. I realize no one sees it but the two of us, but it makes our Type-A selves much happier.

            The newest change happened just this week. You might remember that earlier this year, we receive Mom and Dad’s kitchen island that they’ve had (according to the date on the bottom) since 2000. Their friend Harold designed and built it for Mom – to hold her butcher block cutting board, her candy-making marble slab, and drawers and cabinets for more supplies. He also built it for her height, but she is shorter than I am by several inches.

            We love the sentimentality of owning this piece, but it sat so low. I asked Ryan if it would be possible to remove the wheels on the bottom and add some sort of block to give height. We decided to get riser blocks designed for a bed and put them on the four corners. I don’t know if it will be the permanent solution, but it was quick, easy, and affordable, and I can’t believe what a difference the extra half-foot of height made in the functionality of this piece!

            Before the fall ends, I want to paint this little shelf that holds our water filter. We have leftover navy blue paint from when we did the renovations on the house, and I want to freshen this piece up with some paint. For now, I think that is the only remaining update I want to make to this room. We’ll see, down the road, what else we do to make it reflect our style even more!