Kitchen Archives

HOW TO UPDATE A KITCHEN ISLAND IN MINUTES

June 1, 2022

My kitchen was on the waitlist for a renovation for years.

Every month she moved her way up the list patiently waiting to get her measurements taken, her drawers evaluated and her cooktop lifted and replaced.

But, until the kitchen moved to the top of the waitlist, I found a simple kitchen island update in an hour.

When my family gets wind of a mom project they get nervous.

I think my husband had visions of me adding under cabinet lighting with Christmas lights.

But I played it safe with a quart of paint and a roller.

That’s it. Do not overthink an island update.

KITCHEN ISLAND UPDATE

In the time it took to watch an episode of Frasier, minus the commercials, the kitchen island was updated. Here is how I did it.

STEPS TO UPDATE A KITCHEN ISLAND

quart of paint and a roller brush and a small pan
kitchen island updates do not require a ladder
choose a shade darker than the paint color you think you want

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WHY NOT PAINT THE ENTIRE KITCHEN?

A kitchen island is less of a commitment. It’s why I prefer to grab coffee with friends and not lunch. It is just as much fun but less time and expense. And it does not interrupt my daily workflow.

If I don’t like the paint color or finished look I can repaint it in the time it takes to get through the Starbucks drive-thru on the first mid-day afternoon of a new school year.

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The kitchen island originally was painted with Revere Pewter. The transformation to Kendall Charcoal was in minutes.

Elliott is sitting in front of the cabinets. They look lighter or darker depending on the time of day.

All of a sudden, my baseboards popped against the new paint color. Even my dulled floors look a little less scuffed.

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A coat of Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal transformed the space.

I love this color because it works seamlessly with colors like Revere Pewter and Hale Navy.

A big part of the kitchen renovation includes the removal and replacement of a larger kitchen island.

So my decision to paint the island was a low risk, low effort to just give her a little tweak.

I love the look!

The unexpected find in this one hour project was it was a great way to “hold me over” until we could update our kitchen.

When we finished our kitchen renovation my lower cabinets and island were almost identical to what I painted them a few years ago.

If you blinked you might have missed the subtle update. The boys in my house missed it… for weeks.

What do you think? Do you have ideas for inexpensive updates that make a huge impact in a space?

5 Simple Ideas to Keep the Kitchen Sink Pretty

March 25, 2022

This is my busy season and the Denver real estate market is crazy! At my house, the first room to show distress is the kitchen. And, the sink is the workhorse in the kitchen. And, with my college-age son home for the summer, and his newfound love of cooking, my kitchen sink looks like a food truck after a night serving 150 burgers … with all the fixings. So in an attempt to take control of my kitchen, here are 5 simple ideas to keep the kitchen sink pretty.

IDEAS TO KEEP KITCHEN SINK PRETTY

These ideas work well in my kitchen because they are … simple.

I pulled a few key elements and switch it out for a new mood or season.

IDEAS

1. PLANT

I love real plants next to the sink because it’s near a water source. The plant’s chance of survival increases dramatically if in close proximity to the sink. I prefer small, easy to maintain (real) plants, but it is your sink, your rules. Adding a plant next to the sink is an unexpected pop of color. And, yes I am growing (real)grass in one of these jars.

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2. CONTAINMENT

Taking a cue from Pinterest, I propped the cleaning products on a cake plate from the Target dollar section. I usually have a hodgepodge of brands. But, I loved how pretty the sink looked with matching cleaning products.

Dish soaps and cleaning products made my HomeGoods favorite finds list.

3. HANDTOWELS

If there is one thing a sink needs it is towels. I found these cute Turkish towels at one of my favorite online stores here. The towel hooks are from a Pottery Barn outlet years ago. The towel hooks are actually on my island, located behind my sink so they are hidden from most of the kitchen’s angles.

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Of course, this little guy found the hand towels. He is so stinkin’ cute I just took his photo.

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4. CANDLE

I love candles. But, I love a candle by the sink because it keeps the surrounding area (garbage disposal) smelling seasonally fresh.

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5. OUT OF SIGHT

I buy a few cleaning products in bulk like baking soda and vinegar. Both products are stain and odor-fighting agents for puppy accidents. But I don’t like to drag them out from under the sink because they tend to stay on the counter. So I repurposed empty cleaning bottles and keep them near the sink-where they hide in plain sight.

Speaking of under the sink. This is my go-to staple for under the sinks in my house.

The sink and the surrounding area stays clean because all the essentials are on display and within reach. Not excuses. What tricks do you have to keep the kitchen sink clean?

DONE

MY FAVORITE KITCHEN REMODEL IDEAS

June 29, 2021

Sharing my favorite kitchen remodel ideas that are not budget breakers.

Growing up my sister and I turned our Barbie Dream House into a ranch floor plan. We used Lincoln Logs to landscape the “yard” and driveway.

And we may have borrowed the Nativity Scene for legit barnyard animals.

It’s no surprise I tackled our kitchen remodel with the same concept of reimagining walls and a corner pantry.

KITCHEN REMODEL IDEAS

For a couple that can argue over how to load the dishwasher- we agreed on most remodel projects. You know, the big stuff.

We did this DIY a few years earlier when we removed 1/2 a wall between the kitchen and dining room. If you are not ready to knock out walls- try this idea to open up the kitchen.

Here are our favorite kitchen remodel ideas and decisions we made.

FAVORITE KITCHEN REMODEL IDEAS

1. Kitchen Island Design

My husband came up with this idea and I loved it. He wanted the kitchen island to look like a free-standing piece of furniture.

2. Move the cooktop out of the island

This was on my really, really want list. I wanted uninterrupted real estate on my kitchen island. To do this, we moved the stove to the kitchen’s perimeter, an exterior wall, to access the gas line.

We were surprised that this move from the island to the wall was not as expensive as anticipated.

Tip: Explore your options. My husband was adamant that an oven moved to the exterior wall was going to be thousands of additional dollars with the gas line.

It costs us around $350.00 to move/extend the gas line.

3. Trash and Recycle Bins

In hindsight, we could have added bins without a remodel, but I love the recycle and trash bins together.

4. Pull out cabinet bin for the dog food

(just like the trash/recycle bins)

Okay, this dog food bin is the most talked about feature in our kitchen. My friends love the idea too.

We placed this on one end of the kitchen island so it is two steps away from Chloe and Elliott’s dog bowls.

Of all the decisions we made to our kitchen remodeling ideas this is a top conversation with friends.

5. POT FILLER

This stepped up our kitchen without that much money. I think the Kohler pot filler faucet cost more than the plumber.

My boys and husband use this faucet to get his water.

6. Removed the corner pantry and created a beverage bar

This decision was fairly last minute. We had a corner pantry that had so much wasted space.

The question was could we fit the contents of the pantry (small appliances, serving trays, etc) into other cabinets?

Here is the corner pantry before (and the half wall and my old blog before I did this):

Where there is a will there is a way

7. Dedicated broom storage

Where to put the broom? When we lost our corner pantry we lost our broom storage.

At one point my husband suggested we store it under the couch.

Our cabinet install guy loved this idea too.

There was no room between the refrigerator and the wall because of the baseboards.

But there was room to the right of the pull-out shelves of the new vertical pantry.

8. Ordered additional pull-out shelves for the pantry.

If you like to arrange cabinets you will want to order additional shelves. I could account for height and adjust the shelves in the future. Those dang cereal boxes and Quaker Oats old-fashioned oats.

9. Created additional storage under the island.

Our island is larger than the original. It includes a quartz slab with a microwave on one side, two deep drawers on another side, the dog food cabinet and this hidden cabinet underneath the island.

It’s under these two barstools and are surprisingly comfortable).

I store out-of-season baking stuff like my favorite sugar cookie supplies.

The depth of the cabinet shelves is only 8″ but I can out of season mugs and plates under there too. Love it!

My husband wanted to create as much storage as possible and still maintain seating for 3-4 people. To keep the recommended leg room under the island we had enough space for narrow shelves behind two cabinet fronts.

It essentially is hiding in plain sight because the bar stools sit in front of the cabinets.

10. Appliance Garage

I rotate small appliances through this cabinet based on demand. My kitchen designer (Teresa from here) saw me post my Kitchenaid in the appliance cabinet and she was like, “get it on the counter!”

#firstworldprobs

Finally, if you are not ready for a kitchen remodel start with this idea to update the kitchen. It’s how I knew I wanted a grey island!

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WEEKLY IDEAS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Simple Spring Kitchen Decor

April 27, 2021

Sharing simple spring kitchen decor ideas

It’s happening! It’s time for this month’s Pinterest Challenge! Cindy from CountyRoad 407 found this month’s inspiration from this kitchen on Marly’s blog.

These challenges are great for everyone to borrow a few ideas for our own kitchens.

If you are stopping by Niky’s spring kitchen welcome to Everyday Edits. My name is Laura. Here’s a peek at my spring kitchen. Hard to believe we had snow last week.

Here is Marly’s inspirational kitchen for this month’s Pinterest Challenge.

ELEMENTS

Let’s take a look at what Marly has on her kitchen counters:

serving boards
floral stems
stacked plates
a cake plate for accessories
fresh fruit & flowers
dish towel

I love the simple elements she has on her counters. Like I said I make too many messes to have to clean up the kitchen decor. My husband rarely weighs in on my decor choices (smart man), but he does believe in less is more on the kitchen counters.

I tend to agree with him except my addiction to Homegoods tends to derail my plans for simple.

SIMPLE SPRING KITCHEN DECOR

I start with my favorites. This little lemon tree plant (from Target two summers ago) gets the most comments from friends. It is up from April through August.

But after snapping this photo behind the kitchen sink I moved the lemon tree to the kitchen island. Oh and that charger I found at my favorite decor store in Knoxville.

This is as close as I will get to stacked plates. ;0)

And it was that move that I decided to focus on the space behind our new cast iron sink for this month’s Pinterest Challenge. If you have a corner sink you know how valuable the counter space is behind the sink.

I switched the lemon tree for longer stems in the corner between these two windows. The height of the stems draws your eye to the windows and the backyard (and on some days bear cubs, coyotes and bobcats. Oh my!

I ordered these petite potted plants. At first, I thought they were too small, but it turns out they are perfect for my kitchen. With a north-facing kitchen, I love a faux plant for some much-needed greenery. I shared this little guy on Instagram last week.

I ordered five so there are a few popping up in my kitchen.

That cookbook is my favorite. You may know her husband, it’s under $16 now and I use it more than any other cookbook.

Thanks for stopping by today. Please pin for later!

FALL KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS IN AN HOUR

October 2, 2020

It has been almost a year since we remodeled our kitchen. This time last year we returned from dropping our son off at college. We packed the contents of the kitchen and moved everything to the pool table to the basement. My coffee station was in the bathroom and the toaster was on a ping pong table. What a difference a year makes. Very excited to share a little fall kitchen decor ideas with you. And, if you only have an hour… then let’s roll!

And, now this year? I am so excited to share my fall kitchen decor ideas. These are easy and affordable ideas. I made a commitment this year to invest in pumpkins. I love real pumpkins, but by the end of September, the squirrels have had a buffet on my front porch. And, the bears.

FALL KITCHEN DECOR IDEAS

Sink Space

If you have a corner kitchen sink you have valuable real estate around the faucet. I snagged a few stems from Hobby Lobby and used this hack to add some height around the sink.

Counters & Ledges

There is no such thing as too many pumpkins this time of year. I plan to add a few extra pumpkins to the windows to make them their own little corner pumpkin patch.

If you have a small window above your sink plop a pumpkin on the windows sill.

Instant smiles.

Quiet Corners

I love these glass pumpkins. Yes, these white pumpkins are glass. I painted them a few years ago and never looked back.

Glass makes me nervous so I tucked this into a quiet corner next to the pantry.

It’s not as busy so the pumpkins should be safe.

Kitchen Island or Mobile Cart

No matter how big or small your kitchen, islands, or a mobile “island” cart takes center stage in the kitchen.

I go back and forth with really tall arrangements and shorter ones. Right now I have something that is smaller to take advantage of the views into the backyard.

Add a Pumpkin

The simplicity and cost of a pumpkin is the easiest thing to do to celebrate the season.

Last year on a trip to Minnesota to visit our son at college we made a stop to leave pumpkins at their rental house.

Wreath

Add a wreath to the interior side of a back door. I shared this post on how to dress up the backside of the front door.

Why should the squirrels and bears get the benefit of the wreath on the outside of the door?

Bring the wreath inside! This HomeGoods find added some attention and pop of color to our Dutch door.

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If you want some fall decor for the season here is a little eye candy.

If you purchase from thefollowing links I may earn a few cents.

How to Add Vertical Mason Jars to a Wall

November 26, 2019

I finally jumped into mason jars and plumbing parts. That’s what happens when you have a Hallmark movie marathon and need a project during the commercials. Until this mason jar project I had never ventured into the plumbing section at Home Depot. And I am so excited to share how to make vertical mason jars for a wall!

It was an empowering experience.

Vertical Mason Jars Supply List

The best part of these vertical mason jars was the supply list. It required just a few parts from the plumbing aisle. And, they were easily identifiable and in clearly marked bins. The only thing you need to decide before you get to the plumbing aisle is what size mason jars you want to use for your vertical mason jars for the wall. That’s it!

Mason jars
scrap lumber (pine)
plumbing clamps
and a drill

The scrap lumber is literally the anchor of this project. I had the mason jars and the scrap piece of lumber (the vertical part) on hand.

I used a scrap piece of wood that fit the intended wall in my kitchen. Followed, by this stain.

I eyeballed the spacing between the mason jars and attached the clamps to the scrap lumber with small screws.

The only power tool needed was a drill to tighten the clamps to the mason jars. I bet a screwdriver would work too!

This was such a fun, easy project.

The trickiest part was I added the empty mason jars and tightened the clamp BEFORE I added the gravel,.

I suggest adding the soil or filler before securing the jars to the board. Trust me!

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Here’s the supply list needed to add vertical mason jars to a wall.

The ideas are limitless and I might add something to my home office.

I added greenery for Christmas and it’s a fun pop of color along a wall that looks down on the dog bowls!

And, I love the contrast between the blue curtains in the background.

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Thank you for stopping by today!

5 IDEAS BEFORE A KITCHEN RENOVATION

September 18, 2019

I was ready to divorce my husband over the decision about the stove in our kitchen remodel. the new stove in our kitchen renovation. Is that normal? We saw our “life coach” a few days later and he said, “You know, the argument was not about the stove.” He was correct because this week it was about the sink. It may have something to do with our youngest child leaving for college. Truth? It has been a relatively smooth process. I attribute much of this to my patient husband and to five ideas.

5 IDEAS BEFORE A KITCHEN RENOVATION

We joked about the decisions surrounding the addition of a farmhouse sink and the relocation of a gas stove. But it was a relatively smooth process. but it has been a smooth process. And, I attribute it to the fact we completed these 5 ideas before we dived into a remodel.

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1. PAINT THE ISLAND

Islands are the epicenter of the kitchen. They can be the best thing and the most aggravating. Kitchen Islands can be the focal point for conversation or the biggest obstacle to the sink when navigating an open jar of salsa that tipped over on the counter.

We joked about the decisions around a stove and a sink, but it has been a smooth process. And, I attribute it to the fact that we created a mini kitchen makeover as a test-run for our kitchen makeover.

2. ADD OPEN SHELVING

Where do you stand on open shelving? My thoughts on open shelving is; be careful what you wish for. Open shelving can trick you into thinking you want your plates on a shelf. Until you decide you don’t want everyone to see your plates on a shelf. But where ever you sit (hang) on this #firstworld debate, shelves like these cost under $50.00 and are a great alternative to committing to a cabinet demo and electrical obstacles.

3. PAINT CABINETS

Painted cabinets are an option if you have the skills, space and patience to form an assembly line of cabinet door fronts. It may work to commit halfway and paint only the bottom cabinets or the kitchen island. Elliott thought I was taking photos of him.

4. CLEAR OUT SELECT CABINETS

Our architect suggested we clear out select cabinets before we commit to a kitchen remodel. Her rationale? We may not need all the cabinet space we think we need. Or, if we decide to reconfigure the kitchen layout we should have a trial run of where we want storage.

Does that make sense?

It was great advice for us. It forced us to evaluate the need for 14 medium size glass storage containers with 8 lids. And, it made us rethink if we really need to store our glass beverage dispenser in the kitchen when we only use it 2-3 times a year.

When my pseudo contractor (husband) dragged his feet on removing this wall (because we would lose a few upper-level cabinets) I moved the conversation forward. How? I removed all the dishes and the microwave in the upper cabinets to make my point.

The half wall between the kitchen and dining room came down that weekend.

5. TEST OUT TILE WITH PEEL & STICK Tile

I thought my husband was going to lose his mind when he saw the faux white brick stones on the kitchen backsplash. Surprise! The truth is he was more afraid that this was a permanent solution for our kitchen backsplash. #suburbanmomprobs

I purchased faux white brick stones similar to these. I knew what I wanted for my kitchen counters, but I did not know what color or style I wanted for a backsplash. So I purchased a roll of faux brick peel and stick wallpaper. It gave me time to stick it and forget about it as I puttered around the kitchen.

I did not realize how these 5 ideas before the kitchen renovation would come into play when we actually made the financial commitment to update our 20 year old kitchen cabinets and counters.