How to Create a Kitchen Eating Nook

I’ve created kitchen nooks in my last three homes. I love the cozy feeling a kitchen nook creates.

Move the Overhead Light

One thing you might have to do when you create a kitchen eating nook is move the overhead light fixture. In this home I moved the light fixture over so it hangs over the nook. I had an electrician help me with this. But an easier and less expensive option is to “swag” the light fixture cord with a hook. That is what I did at my home a few years ago. You can see it in this picture below.

Add a Bench

To make your kitchen nook even cozier you can add a padded bench. In one of my homes I ordered two benches from Ballard Designs and fit them in the nook.

It became a favorite place for my kids to do their homework or draw in the kitchen while I cooked. And you would be amazed at how many people you can fit into benches as opposed to chairs.

In my cottage I had a padded bench in our little kitchen nook there.

In this home I added a plain bench in front of the window and chairs around the rest of the table.

Pillows

Add pillows to make your nook soft. I love making pillow covers for holidays. It’s an inexpensive way to change up the look of your nook. For Valentine’s Day I added a heart pillow and a red kitted cozy pillow. You can make pillow covers in 10 minutes! Check out my 10 Minute Pillow Covers for the tutorial!

Hang Shelves

We added a buffet at the end of the room to store bigger serving pieces and holiday plates. Above the buffet we hung these modern floating shelves. They were under $20 each and are so wide and deep! I keep my pitchers and cutting boards on them. For the different seasons I love adding special pieces to them. For Valentine’s Day I added some wooden hearts, some jars with red lids and little wreaths I made with holiday paper. You can make these wreaths so easily. If you want to find out how to make them — click over to my Floating Heart Conversation Wreath Valentine tutorial.

Reasons to Create a Kitchen Eating Nook

Creating a kitchen nook creates a cozy, comfortable space for your friends and family to gather and eat, converse and even makes a great place to work on projects or homework. If you add bench seating to you kitchen eating nook you also create a space that can accommodate more people than can fit at a traditional table and chairs.

What’s YOUR favorite space in your home?

Share YOUR ideas with us in the comments!!

xoxo

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9 Ways to Add Charm to a Kitchen

I love houses. New, old, remodeled, fixer-uppers. I will always treasure the time I spent fixing up the #1905Cottage. I loved that little home the first moment I went past it. I loved learning about the history and I loved the process of remodeling it and seeing it transform into a modern home that retained it’s vintage charm. Now that we have moved into a brand-new home, I also love bringing in charming accents that warm up a new home’s interior to reflect our family story.

The #1905Cottage before

9 Ways to Add Charm to a Kitchen

The #1905Cottage after

9 Ways to Add Charm to a Kitchen 

As we have been working on our brand-new home, I’ve loved seeing inspiration from many different sources. A couple of years ago I was introduced to Cindy Ambuehl Lifestyle, a wonderful source for high end decorating inspiration.  I love the homes she has shared on her site. Most of which have a modern California vibe and many are also older homes that have been remodeled.

As we work on adding charm to our new-construction home, I thought it would be fun to share 9 ways to add modern charm to a kitchen! These are beautiful, high-end homes, but the gorgeous kitchen ideas that follow can be used to add charm to any home.

source 1,2,3

1. Add vintage elements. 

This island is made out of an antique table. I love the warmth that the wood island top brings to the clean, modern kitchen.

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2. Consider adding butcher-block countertops.

Instead of granite, think about warming up the space with wood countertops. Not only do wood countertops bring color into a room, they are less expensive than granite or marble countertops.

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Instead of just tiling under the countertops, tile an entire wall to the ceiling. It will make the room seem larger.

3. Tile is an inexpensive way to bring in texture and color to a room.

Source

4. Add specialty windows or doors. 

We added a dutch door at the #1905Cottage and it ended up being one of my favorite elements in the home. Another idea is a tilting window like the one above. It makes a wonderful architectural element in the room.

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5. Add clean-lined planked ceilings.

The wood brings in warmth and texture to a modern kitchen space.

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6. Bring in more light with multiple light fixtures and skylights.

Instead of recessed lights, add a few chandeliers or vintage-looking light fixtures to bring in character. And if your kitchen is still dark, consider adding a skylight or two. I added skylights in my bedroom at the #1905Cottage and I loved the natural light they provided.

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7. Install an unexpected ceiling.

Planked or wood ceiling have been increasingly popular, but how charming would a reproduction tin ceiling be? I love that idea, especially when paired with ultra modern counters and tile backsplash in a new kitchen or kitchen remodel.

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8. Add some rustic charm with a log ceiling.

The texture and color of the wood planks and beams would be a beautiful contrast with a new builder-grade home.

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9. Add glass fronts to cabinet doors or add built-in furniture instead of builder-grade cabinets.

9 Ways to Add Charm to a Kitchen

For more beautiful homes and design inspiration, be sure to head over to Cindy’s site. I also love following Cindy on Instagram.

Yesterday, Cindy and her real estate company The Agency were sponsors at the annual Express Yourself fundraiser hosted by P.S. Arts. P.S. Arts is a non-profit Los Angeles based organization that brings dance, music, visual & theater arts to underserved public schools. Each November, celebrities and their families attend this awesome fundraiser to raise money and awareness for arts education in public schools. This year the booth’s theme was “Home is Where the Art is” and was staged to look like a living room with a football game going. Celebrities like Mark Feuersteing and Adam Scott stopped by with their kiddos and made Duck Tape crafts. So amazing.

As a mom of four, and PTA committee member, I am a huge believer in encouraging the arts in schools! My kids love expressing themselves through art, and I am a huge proponent that all kids should be given that opportunity. Cindy and Duck Brand spent yesterday creating Duck Tape crafts for the kids at her Express Yourself booth. I love seeing celebrities and their children giving back to their community and supporting the arts! Awesome!! You can find out more about the fun event on Cindy’s blog!

xoxo

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Turn a $10 garden trellis into a kitchen pot rack!

Turning the 1905 Cottage into our home has been a dream come true. I am so in love with this little home. The kitchen turned out great but when I designed it I was thinking of it in terms of a studio or a house for 2 people.

So it really has 4 drawers and a few cupboards. And when we moved in permanently, I discovered that I have quite a few pots and pans. I had a garage sale and pared down my kitchen items, but I still had too many pots and pans for one cupboard.

My friend suggested that maybe I should put a pot rack in the big pantry. The pantry area used to be the laundry room, which you entered from the front porch.

We cut out a doorway through the exterior brick and created a much-needed pantry space. And I love the industrial pipe shelves that we installed. I put in another side of the pipe shelves a couple of weeks ago. So I have been thinking about adding a pot rack for a while.

So when I was a Lowes the other day, I was looking for ideas that I could use to make a pot rack. I went past some very inexpensive unfinished garden trellises. And I thought – maybe that would work?

Here’s how I created this $10 pot rack:

Supplies:

Garden Trellis

Spray Paint

Chain

12 Cup Hooks

S Hooks

Directions:

• First I trimmed off the sharp points on the trellis that were meant to go into the ground.
• Then I painted the trellis
• The next thing I did was I attached the cup books to each end of the trellis and in the middle of the trellis.
• NOTE: Drill pilot holes in the wood first to prevent splitting!
• Then I held up the trellis to the ceiling and decided how many links I needed.
• I trimmed the links and attached them to the cup hooks.
• Then I marked where the cuphooks would go in the ceiling and drilled pilot holes.
• I attached the cupbooks in the ceiling.
• Then I opened the links at the ends of the chain and attached the chain to the cuphooks in the ceiling, to the potrack.
• I hung the S hooks and hung up my pans.

Such an easy project. And it frees up SO much space in my kitchen!! I figured this project cost under $20. Yay!!

Have you been working on any projects at YOUR house?

Let me know in the comments!!

I would love to see what YOU have been working on!!

xox

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What is it about the pantry? I think mine attracts disaster – it can never stay organized. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for storage that is stylish and useful.

I love the industrial/rustic decor trend right now. I loved all of these storage options in the Better Homes and Gardens line available through Walmart.

So while I’m starting my spring cleaning and organizing a bit early, I’ll show you some of how I organized the industrial pantry at the #1905Cottage, share some organizational printables, and show you how you can enter to win a $100 Walmart gift card!

 The galvanized and wood look great together.

I picked up some packs of 2-inch, flat wood circles. I trimmed my labels (you can print your own from the free printables below) and glued the labels to the circles. Then, in turn, I glued the wood circles to my BHG at Walmart containers.

You’ll notice the labels resemble the ones I made for my spices!

And here are the printables!

Just right-click this link or the image below to download the printable PDF. I’ve included some white, blank tags you can use for anything you like! As always, these are for personal use only.

And here’s how to enter to win the $100 Walmart gift card!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I am so excited for spring organizing!! 

 Better Homes and Gardens and BHG Live Better have so many amazing decorating, food and lifestyle ideas.

You can follow along with them here:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BHGLiveBetter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BHGLiveBetter

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/bhglivebetter/ and

 Instagram: http://instagram.com/bhglivebetter_

How are YOU getting your house organized??

Let me know YOUR ideas in the comments!!

xoxo

This post sponsored by BHG at Walmart. Regardless, all content, opinions and decorating ideas are mine. See my disclosures.

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This month one of the themes we could choose from was Kitchen Organization. I knew I wanted to make a spice rack that goes along with the industrial feel of the shelves.

As I’ve spent more time there, I’ve realized that I need some different storage solutions in this space … but I wanted to keep the industrial look. I searched for options and none fit exactly what I had in mind — so after trial and error I created this Easy Industrial Spice Rack.

And today I’m sharing with you this super easy industrial spice rack.

You’ll love the look, and you can modify this to work with your shelves and your spices!

Here’s your Lowe’s shopping list:

• 16-spice kit from somewhere like Target or Wal-Mart – inexpensive!
• 3-in-1 oil or other general purpose oil
• wood stain (whatever color you prefer; I used the same walnut stain I used on the pantry shelves)
• shop rags or brush for stain
• wood glue
• hot glue gun (tool of the professionals!)
• mini finish molding (about 6 feet long total) – I chose some shaped like an L, 1/4″ x 1/4″. You may want to use another shape, even a basic square. You’ll be placing this at the back of the shelves to keep jars from sliding off the back.
• craft wood (by the molding)
  • 1 piece 1/2 x 3 x 2 poplar (1/2″ thick, 3″ wide (actually about 2 1/2″ finished), and 2 feet long)
  • 1 piece 1/2 x 3 x 4 poplar (1/2″ thick, 3″ wide (actually about 2 1/2″ finished), and 4 feet long)
• (here’s where you can find the craft wood: this is what it looks like in my Lowe’s:)

• 3/4″ one-hole conduit straps (electrical section) [I bought the 20-pack because I also built another project I’ll show you later]

•  1/2″ threaded galvanized pipe and fittings (plumbing section) in these lengths and sizes:
  • 2 of  1.5″ long “nipple fitting” [yes, they’re really called that] [Lowe’s #24025]
  • 4 of 3.5″ long “nipple fitting” [Lowe’s 24029]
  • 2 of 4″ long “nipple fitting”(or you can just buy 6 of the 3.5”) [Lowe’s 24030]
  • 1 of 10″ long “nipple fitting” [Lowe’s #24035]
  • 6 threaded caps [Lowe’s #22460]
  • 4 tee connectors [Lowe’s #22210]
  • 4 L (“elbow” or “L”) connectors [Lowe’s #21970]

(for the pipe, look in the plumbing section of your Lowe’s for this:)

Prep tip: after you’ve unwrapped all of the pipe and fittings, put a few drops of 3-in-1 oil inside each of the threaded fittings along the threads. Use a shop rag to evenly distribute and remove excess oil. Trust me on this one; you’ll be grateful later you did; they will go together and come apart much easier.

Let’s get started!

 1. Lay out your pipe fittings and make sure you have everything ready.

These images are for a four-shelf version: yours will have one shelf less (as does mine!), but I left them in to show you that you can modify this idea to fit any storage need!

Next, arrange your pipe in the shape you expect to assemble it:

(Again, this version has one shelf more than you’ll need, but you get the idea.)

2. Assemble your pipe shelf, tightening the connections just enough to hold them fast, no more. You’ll be making adjustments as you go, so don’t over tighten. Even oiled, the connections like to hold fast.

 (one extra shelf in this image!)

3. measure the length of your shelves. I made mine all the same length, measuring about an inch longer on both sides of the bottom shelf. Mine was 20″.

4. Using a handsaw, chop saw or cut wood and molding into three 20″ lengths each – or whatever your proper shelf length was; sand edges

5. Glue (with wood glue) molding to the rear side of each shelf so the back edge is flush with the back edge of the shelf. If you have them, use clamps to hold the there shelves as they dry.

6. Once the glue has dried, use your wood stain and rags or brush to stain the wood. Let dry.

7. Lay the shelves on the pipe frame; place one-hole straps underneath and affix with hot glue. (Why hot glue? It’s hard to find a screw shallow enough to work in the 1/4″ poplar, and even when you do, this craft wood has a tendency to split even if you pre-drill.)

8. Place your spice jars on the shelves and enjoy!

Yes – I made custom labels for the spice jars, and I’ll be sharing the free printables soon!!

One of the things I love about this project is that you can make it to fit any shelf or storage need. I tried about three or four different ideas for building the pipe frame, and this was the only one that worked well. I have thought of a few other ways to do it … but I think this works the best!

* * * * *

You can also follow  Lowe’s on Facebook for more great ideas and sign up for their FREE Creative Ideas Magazine with TONS of great DIY  ideas and instructions!!

Easiest industrial shelf project ever, right? How could you do it — or adapt it for your kitchen?

 xoxo

I received materials from Lowe’s to create this project; however, the ideas, instructions and contents are all mine. See my disclosures.

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Have you ever remodeled a kitchen? Or a bathroom? ‘Cause I’m doing both, and throwing a second bathroom in for good measure and I’m beginning to think I’m a bit on the crazy side. I’m sharing the design plans for my gray and white kitchen today, and wait til you see the “before” shots – well actually they are “now” shots. The 1960s called and they want their kitchen back! Anyway…I am so excited to finally be able to make my dream kitchen happen and I can’t wait to be able to share it all when it’s finished. It’s an emotional journey, and I hope you’ll stop by and be a part of it.

As I was planning my kitchen, I knew I wanted to personalize it with some artwork that I created. I have always loved the “Whip it Good” printables with the whisk, and thought I’d create a set of printables that were music inspired for my kitchen. I am a huge fan of music, so I knew these prints wold be a perfect fit. I know that just looking at them in my kitchen will make me want to dance! And the vintage color scheme will be the perfect compliment to the gray and white. The first two in the set are yours! You can grab them by clicking the images below.

I hope you enjoy the free kitchen printables, and I hope you’ll come by and take a look at the plans I’ve got for my kitchen!

*********

Thanks Kritsin! Aren’t her printables always so cute? She is so talented, and I know all about remodeling a kitchen. It’s definitely a labor of love. Kristin has such great things going on over at Yellow Bliss Road right now (as usual). Here are a few projects of hers that I think you’ll love:

Are you itching for some fall crafts yet? How cute are these Canning Jar Ring Pumpkins? So simple, but so cute too!! 

The first day of school is seriously so close. Here are some fun Chalkboard Printables you can use for those first day pictures!!

And her back to school All About Me Printables are just so fun!!  Make sure to follow Yellow Bliss Road and

xoxo

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I’ve had so many emails and comments on the #1905Cottage remodel kitchen. I thought it might be fun to show some different ways that we used design and planning to make the space seem bigger.     1. Use open shelving to maximize storage but also keep the room as open as possible. We used custom-made shelving that we added before the tile was laid; it was custom-made to match the cabinetry and the odd shape of the room. But you can use premade open shelving inexpensively and just as attractively! 2. Use shallow shelving to accommodate awkward spaces. When we worked on the cottage, we learned of a cinderblock chimney that rose from the basement into the attic — and that we could not remove without causing major damage. So instead we had to work around it. With our kitchen shelving, we designed a shallow set of shelves on each side of this awkward chimney to provide storage but turn a negative into a positive: what was a pain to work around became a feature of the room.

3. Don’t be afraid to open up spaces. We discovered a hidden window in the kitchen wall … which made us think: why not turn the narrow doorway into an open wall? We had to modify our original kitchen plan to do it, but it has become one of our favorite features in the cottage. We had an engineer specify how we should add a “header” to manage the structural stress.

4. Add small touches to your decor to add interest and surprise. Just like a great movie, a great room should reveal details you missed the first time you saw it. In this kitchen, I wanted to add details that didn’t add clutter but did add interest and character. So I chose things like the seeded glass in the cabinets and the feet in the cabinets near the disguised chimney. I chose knobs with character (see the reveal post), too!

5. If you’re remodeling, think outside the walls. When we remodeled the entryway, we “stole” back some space (about 14″, if I remember right), from the former closet to create a special space where we could put in a full-size refrigerator but still have it not extend past the cabinets. This was kind of tricky, but we knew that the space wouldn’t be missed in the entryway but would give us a lot more options for standard-sized refrigerators.

6. Choose very clean lines. We chose very clean lines for the molding, choosing simple (yet tall) molding for all of the base and crown molding. These clean lines help a small room seem bigger. And we added decorative molding to the bottom of the cabinets that give the cabinets a little something special and make them seem more true to the age of the home.

7. Where you can, open up the space as much as possible; even giving up a bit of counter space to enlarge a window. When we bought the house, the kitchen window was somewhat odd; it was awkwardly sized with a row of glass block underneath.

8. Raise the ceiling. We ripped out the suspended ceiling and planked the original, higher ceiling. You can read all of the details here from the original project.

9. Choose a bright, monochrome color palette and stick to it. I chose all white to help brighten and enlarge the room. Accent colors really pop in the space and it’s completely neutral when I’m ready to change the decor or try something bold like Pantone’s color of the year, Radiant Orchid.

10. Don’t be afraid to change things around. For example, while we ended up keeping the fridge about where the original one was, we demolished a well-intentioned but awkwardly placed drywall “box” in the middle of the room to open up the space further. And while we kept the sink in roughly the same spot, we shifted it a bit and we did move the stove and oven  to new spots. And I’ve already talked about how we knocked out a former window and turned it into a door so we could have a pantry/laundry instead of a laundry room you entered via the porch! For more details on the kitchen remodel, check out the sneak peek post!

Those are some of the things we did to make the #1905Cottage’s kitchen stay true to it’s roots and give it a much needed remodel

Thanks for stopping by!

Have a HAPPY day! 

xoxo

The post 10 Ways to Make A Small Kitchen Seem Larger!! appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.

I love Candy Corn! The colors seem so FALL.  So here is a super easy idea for lunch, party food for an event or even a side-dish for dinner. We love making it as a side dish to go along with our Pumpkin Chili!!

Triple Cheese Candy Corn-Colored Quesadillas!! 

Here’s how to make these deightful treats: 

Ingredients: 

Three different kinds of cheese. I tried to find the orangest, the yellowest and the whitest mixtures of cheese.

Torillas – 2 per quesadilla

1 cup of cheese for the inside of the cheese quesadilla

1 cup total of each of the three cheeses for the top of the quesadilla

Directions: 

Take the two torillas and add 1 cup of cheese, in between, like a sandwich.

Spray a big non-stick pan with cooking spray.

Put the cooktop burner on LOW until it gets heated up.

Add the double layered cheese quesadilla and then add the top layers of cheese to the top.

The white layer goes in the middle of the tortilla, with a ring of orange cheese and then a ring or yellow cheese at the outside.

Now the tricky part of this recipe is that you want the whole quesadilla to be evenly cooked. So once you have the cheese layers on your quesadila, put a lid on the pan to distribute the heat evenly. The low setting is the key to this step.

Check the torilla as it cooks and remove it from the pan as soon as the top layers of cheese have melted. This took about 10 minutes.

It is so good because the bottom of the quesadilla will be a little crunchy and the middle and top will be warm and the cheese will be all melty. YUM!

Serve — and voilà— a new family favorite!!! 

I love that it’s EASY and delicious!! And here are a couple more CANDY CORN projects: 

Reversible Candy Corn Fabric Garland:

And 20 Candy Corn Projects!!

What have YOU made for Fall? 

Let me know in the comments – I would love to come over and see YOUR idea!! 

Have a Creative Day!! 

xoxo

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Hello Tatertots & Jello readers! It feels like it has been forever since I’ve been here because this summer was filled with traveling and moving for my family and I. We are finally getting settled into our new house but there is SO MUCH that will need to be made over in the upcoming years. One of the things that drives me crazy is the refrigerator in our kitchen. Its original to 1991, when the house was built, and it’s -no joke- real wood, oak paneled. I’m sure it was “high class” back in the early 90’s!

The big bummer is that not only is it ugly, but it also isn’t magnetic, which means I can’t hang any of my daughter’s art work on it. I’m not one for having a bunch of stuff cluttering the front of my fridge, but when my daughter comes home with something she’s really proud of, I like to display it on the fridge for a few days. I knew I needed to create something magnetic for the kitchen, and I just happened to have an old window that I love, and that fits perfectly on the wall next to the pantry. I had, what I thought was a genius idea, to use Rust-Oleum’s magnetic paint to paint the window, and then use chalk paint over it to make it a magnetic chalkboard for the kitchen. Genius, right?

I started by cleaning the window with rubbing alcohol to get the glass perfectly clean. There are lots of ways to clean windows but rubbing alcohol is an easy way to remove any/all residue, and not leave any streaks.

Next I painted on 3 coats of magnetic paint, as per the instructions on the box.

I let the window dry over night and then the next morning I sprayed it with a couple coats of Rust-Oleum’s chalkboard spray paint. After the chalkboard paint was dry I brought it back in the house and hung it up and then I got out the magnets. I put the first magnet up… it fell off. I tried an even stronger magnet… it fell off! I quickly realized that my genius idea and become a project FAIL, and one that I was super bummed about!

So now I have a cool chalkboard window in my kitchen, but still nowhere to hang my daughter’s artwork. {Insert BIG sad face} I racked my brain trying to think of a way I could still make it work. I happened to have a sheet of steel in the garage so I tried duct taping that to the back, but the glass was too thick so the magnets still wouldn’t hold.

I was finally able to come up with a solution, and though it wasn’t my first choice, I think it turned out pretty cute. I ended up taking the steel off the back of the window and had my husband cut it to fit the lower portion of the window. I spray painted the piece of steel with the remainder of my chalkboard paint and then I used 3M foam mounting tape to secure the steel to the front of the window.

To cover the seam between the steel and the window glass I used teal washi tape, which gives the chalkboard a pop of color. I used my Silhouette to cut out the “my Materpieces” and then hung the clips with with magnets so my daughter can hang her artwork with the clips.

Overall I’m please with the way it turned out but I’m still bummed the magnetic paint didn’t work.

Have any of you ever used the Rust-Oleum Magnetic Paint? I would love to hear about your experience with it, and if/how you were able to get it to work! Please share your wisdom with me so next time this can be a project success!

Thanks for letting me hang out today!

So cute Anna!! 

I love that you turned a project that could have been a project fail, and turned it into something you love!!

That happens to make ALL the time LOL!!

Anna is amazing — here are a few other awesome ideas from Ask Anna: 

Linen Closet Organization

How to Hang a Wreath on a Glass Door

How to Organize a Kids Room 

Be sure to follow along with Ask Anna for even more amazing Home Organizing and Cleaning Ideas!! 

Have a Beautiful Day! 

xoxo

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While most of the major work is done — and there’s a lot to share with you — the biggest unfinished piece has been the kitchen.

The people who had lived in this cottage before loved it and took good care of it. But it was time to update it.

It wasn’t bad, but we knew there was something magical underneath. But we had to do some serious digging and rebuilding to get there.

Here’s what it looked like after we removed all of the walls and flooring:

Compare that to the previous picture — there’s a door there now!

Of course, we finished the walls and refinished the floor when we did the rest of the house. I’ll talk more about how we rebuilt the inside another time.

(I love the floor. It’s all 15-foot, knotless pine boards — longer than anyone can find now. I don’t think they let trees grown for floors grow that tall anymore!) But even though the floor was done and the walls were done, and the house looked like a real house, we hadn’t finished much more in the kitchen. When we rewired the whole house we put wiring where we thought we’d need it, so there were random plugs all around the room too.

As you can tell, we had some design challenges in planning this room.

Picture this: the East wall is almost entirely open. It used to be an exterior wall, and when we tore off the old (thin) drywall in the old kitchen, we discovered an old exterior window!

Of course it was single pane and unusable, but it made us think … why not take this whole wall out and open up the kitchen to the small family room behind? We consulted an engineer and our contractor and did just that, adding a header and a nice arch.

But back to my description: that meant there’s no counter space on the East wall because we removed it!

The South wall has two doorways and a cinderblock chimney — which, of course, we drywalled over. But that left no room for counters.

The West wall includes a place where we stole a bit of the thick wall and old entry closet to allow some more room for a fridge, and then a bit of space before the door we created to allow access to the laundry room.

The North wall is the only wall that is unbroken by doors, and it includes a large window in the center. And about four feet in the Northwest are right next to the pantry door — so I couldn’t put full-depth cabinets there.

See the picture of the kitchen above? There’s very little room for counters. So as we planned the room, we had to try a lot of different configurations to see how we could fit everything.

I think one of the best ways to get a handle on a project is to create an Inspiration Board.

I also created an inspiration board to guide me in my design choices.

I have a whole Pinterest board devoted to the 1905 Cottage and I printed off these pictures and taped them onto the kitchen to help visualize my options. You can find all of the original links to these pictures on the 1905 Cottage Pinterest Page.

(sources – Remodelista, Margot Austin, Decorology, BHG, Creed, Flea Market Trixie, House of Turquoise, The Inspired Room)

Cabinet planning

And in our planning we knew we had to start with the cabinets.

I knew I wanted to go with a very neutral palette. I wanted to modernize the house a bit — but in a classic way that respects its heritage and history.

We looked at buying IKEA cabinets, and prefab cabinets from Lowe’s and Home Depot. We finally decided to get some bids on custom cabinets — and that’s the way we decided to go. The custom cabinets were about 10-20% more than the IKEA cabinets — which we loved — but we could not get the IKEA cabinets to fit well in this hundred-year-old space, and then we would have had to put them together.

Because we had so little counter space — only about 10 total feet along the North wall — we decided to find an island that would work for us. We found a clearance marble kitchen island and put that in the center of the room as a work area. We’re going to be painting the island and adding a big shelf to better accomodate pots and pans and large baskets.

I’ll show you the cabinets when everything’s all done, but here’s a sneak peek:

(From my Instagram pic on installation day. )

Choosing and placing appliances

I’ll share the full pictures in a later post. Until then, imagine this: by the time we had to fit all of the appliances in what worked out to be only about 15-18 feet of deep cabinets.

You may have run into similar issues with a small space. Here’s what we learned: the way I sketched it a year ago is not how we ended up doing it. I expected to put the fridge on the East wall along with a stacked microwave and oven. The fridge is there (not least because we created an indented wall space for it), but we made space for the microwave and decided to move the oven.

The North wall will have the appliances in this order: dishwasher, sink/disposal, and oven with gas cooktop on top (not a range). We have to stick with a 30″ cooktop.

When we had the cabinets built, we chose specific appliances that fit in standard measurements … but turns out some of them still didn’t quite work out, so we have had to swap around some specific appliances.  I’ll talk about why I chose what I chose later, but my guiding principle was this: the design should not look overly modern, but not super “retro,” either. I went with a classic stainless look, and for me, it’s important to strike a balance between quality, capability and price. The appliances I’ve ordered are a mix of IKEA and Bosch.

Smart color choices for small spaces

While the room is fairly large, the workspaces are amazingly small. Some of the principles I applied in this room are perfect for small spaces. For example, the walls, ceiling and cabinets are all white.

Using one color helped bring out textures in the decor and also make the colors I have used stand out more. The seeded glass I chose for the cabinets shows up better, and when I choose colored plates they will also be better showcased.

For example, I painted a thrifted chandelier bright yellow (like the door!) — and it stands out in the space.

(From my Instagram pic — yes, I hung it in one of the big pine trees to paint it)

(I was so excited I made a Vine video!)

More things we still have to do

I’m planning to cover the remaining North wall with a subway tile — I’m still deciding on the shape! It might be regular subway tile or possibly hexagon. (I used octagon tile on the bathroom floor and I love it.)

I had my husband wire the whole house for speakers — and the kitchen now has nice wall-mounted speakers. He has set it up so that I can play music or Pandora from my iPhone while I’m in the house. I still need to repaint the frames and grilles of the speakers to match the walls.

And while I have a couple of the appliances in place, I still have to figure out the counters and get the other appliances delivered … and installed!

Here are a few pictures of the space so far:

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What are your great ideas for a kitchen remodel … in a small or awkward space?

xoxo

The post Planning a Kitchen Remodel For A Small Space … and 1905 Cottage Kitchen Sneak Peek! appeared first on Tatertots and Jello.