Our Kitchen Space

Our move is quickly approaching--we are now talking in terms of days, rather than months--so I'm frantically trying to photograph our home before tearing it apart. Inevitably, now that I feel like I've finally (mostly) finished decorating, it's time to move! But we simply can't let things get boring. :)

Here's the first room up in the Great Home Tour that I have planned: the kitchen! It's my favorite room of the house and the place where I spend most of my time. 

I've included a little collage of "before" photos, two of which are from the home listing. The previous owners did a wonderful job updating many aspects of the kitchen; it was already a really nice space when we moved in. So, rather than being a dramatic blow-by-blow of a major kitchen overhaul, this is more a story of small upgrades and touches that transformed the space into my ideal cooking domain and family workstation. For me, decorating is all about personalization, functionality, and hospitality, and that's what I've worked for in our kitchen.

Adding barstools and pendant lights gave the kitchen more shape and turned the counter area into more of a hangout space. I do most of my work at that counter with a big, steaming mug of coffee next to me. It makes me feel like I'm working at a coffee shop bar...in my house. :)

The biggest upgrade we undertook was the subway tile backsplash. I spent more than a year agonizing over whether it would look silly to install subway tile in such a small area. Finally, we went for it, and I felt like I had a brand-new kitchen! I chose light gray grout and then painted the (previously dark beige) walls of the kitchen area a matching gray. (Here I must pause to applaud our handyman, Gary, who did an absolutely perfect job on the tiles and trim. Jordan did his share of work, too.) The tile makes everything feel brighter, and it helps the cabinet color to make more sense. 

Let's talk about those green cabinets for a minute. The previous owners had added trim to the old cabinet doors (brilliant!) and then painted everything this interesting shade of green. Honestly, it's been on my list for three years to paint the cabinets a glossy white, but that's just a really annoying job. I may tackle it when we move back, but the green has grown on me. And it's a good thing, too, because guess what color the cabinets in our California house are? YOU GUESSED IT. Apparently green cabinets are my destiny. I might as well embrace it.

One of the first projects we tackled in the kitchen was the Julia Child-esque chalkboard pegboard for cookware. It's a priority for me to have my most reached-for tools easily accessible; plus, it made sense to utilize the vertical space for storage. And I actually enjoy putting away the pots and pans, purely because it's fun to hang them where they belong! 

The rugs are strategically placed to hide a LOT of ugly cracks in the tile floor. Someday, those tiles just need to go (hardwoods, pretty please!), but in the meantime, an oversized jute rug is the perfect cheap/comfortable solution.

The antique table was a family hand-me-down, but on a typical day you can't see it because it's covered in mail and miscellaneous junk. The mail organizer on the wall has helped a bit with my paper pile problem, though. A bit.

We also added the over-the-door shelf for handy cookbook storage (and to feature my beloved winking owl cookie jar, which belonged to my great-grandfather), as well as the shelf in the coffee station. Speaking of which, it's a major priority for us to have coffee close at hand ALL THE TIME. Yes, we like coffee. And tea. And local honey of many varieties. Mmmm.The numbers over the bay window are to help us remember our anniversary. ;)

Adding hardware to the cabinets and drawers was another simple upgrade that made everything feel fresher. (If you're in the mood for a change, try adding/switching up hardware...you won't regret it!) Strategically-placed hooks help to save counter/drawer space and keep essentials within reach. (Pro tip: Hobby Lobby has half-price hardware sales every other week, and they source from the same places as Anthro!)

So, that's it: the place where I spend 90% of my waking hours at home. Take a close look, because you'll never see my kitchen this neat again! (I'll go ahead and tell you that the top secret weapon that makes photos of ANY space look decent is actually one simple task: move the piles and all the random junk to the next room before snapping away. There, now you know the truth. :))

SOURCE LIST
Towels, plants, plant pots, pot holders: Ikea
Hardware: Lowe's
Pottery mugs: various artists (but I have to give a shoutout to Forman Pottery for making my favorite mugs and the baby mug for Sam, which was gifted to us)
Soap dispenser, clock: Target
Pitchers: Home Goods
Bar stools, metal chairs, jute rug, metal cart, pendants: World Market
Bookshelf, stainless brackets: Home Depot
Hooks, oven mitts: Anthropologie
Horse head hook, metal numbers: Hobby Lobby
White wall organizer: Ballard Designs Backroom
Wooden bench: Handmade by my brother
Everything else: Thrifted

The Perils and Perks of Traveling with Sam to Find a House

So, we did it: we took our first of many cross-country flights with a very small companion in tow. We spent ten hours on planes, seven nights in hotel/guest rooms, and approximately twenty four hours in cars. The long and the short of it is that traveling with a baby is no joke, but it is totally do-able. Provided you're willing to laugh at critical moments.

The Peril: Airport diaper blowout. I live to tell about it. However, those automatic airport sinks, which dispense water in teaspoonful increments, are not so great for doing emergency wash. So, a onesie bites the dust.

The Perk: Getting to use the wheelchair line to go through security.

The Peril: Removing a sleeping baby from his stroller to carry him through the metal detector and waiting forever while his formula bottles are scanned in a fancy microscope thingy.

The Perk: Pre-boarding. It doesn't matter what cheap-o seat you book, passengers with small children get to board first. Take that, First Class Diamond Traveler Who Paid $200 Extra for Free Drinks!

The Perk: Benevolent smiles from kind strangers. Also, Sam behaves perfectly on the plane. Although he is not amused when I make him try on my hat (see iPhone photos below). 

The Peril: Arriving in San Francisco at midnight and realizing that the infant insert of our car seat somehow has been completely ripped off the seat. Luckily, Sam is too big for it anyway, but I stand in the complaint line nonetheless.

The Perk: Convincing Delta to write us a check for $150 to cover the cost of a whole new car seat.

The Peril: Trying to check out at the rental car place and realizing the car reservation is booked in the wrong name. We sit in the parking deck in the dark for 30 minutes while it gets sorted out.

The Peril: Arriving at our hotel at 2 am to find that it looks like a seedy motel. Also, asking for the crib we had reserved and hearing the guy say, "Hm, let me see if I can find it. Do you need it tonight?" Then, he drags a HUGE metal hospital-style crib into our room, teaches himself how to build it, and throws a queen bedsheet into it.

The Perk: Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Also, the Persian restaurant a half mile from our hotel. One word: Falafel. Also, coffee.

The Peril: Monday morning phone call from our real estate agent. She broke her foot and is off the job.

The Perk: We get a new agent, British, fabulous accent, hilarious personality. When we hit traffic or red lights, which she knows Sam does not tolerate, she says things like "fffff....fiddlesticks," "oh poo poo poo," and "oopsie daisies."

The Peril: Two out of three days of house hunting, the new agent forgets all of her papers on her kitchen counter. She lives an hour away. She doesn't have a smartphone. She navigates the Bay area with an atlas. So I help navigate with my iPhone while frantically entertaining Sam with my foot and anything else that could possibly be interesting to a four month old.

The Peril: Our agent rolls through every single stop sign. Finally, on the third day, she gets a ticket. She is mortified. She continues rolling through every single stop sign.

The Perk: Also on the third day, we find our dream house.

The Peril: The dream house is only available for a nine month lease.

The Perk: We find another house. It's beautiful. We take it. (Sneak peek photos coming soon.)

The Peril: Jordan's work computer decides to kick the bucket.

The Peril: Sam really needs a bath. So, we stuff a towel in the hotel sink and plop him in. Works great.

The Perk: Everything we eat is gold. Thank you, California, for having amazing food on every corner. Also, Sam sees the Pacific Ocean. He is not impressed.

The Peril: On the trip home, Sam's formula bottles throw a false positive for dangerous chemicals in the special scanner thingy. Jordan has to get a full-body pat down.
The Peril: Airplane diaper blowout. My worst fear comes to pass, but it isn't as big a deal as I imagined. Another onesie bites the dust. Also, Sam has a random crying fit in the middle of the flight. The emergency supply of earplugs I had packed for my fellow passengers are buried out of reach. (Luckily, he is only inconsolable for a little while, and the noise of the plane is so loud that the crying isn't terribly disruptive.)

The Perk: An extraordinarily overpriced airplane margarita. Never in my life have I ordered a drink on an airplane, but this time I feel that I quite deserve it. And it is delicious.

The Peril: Back in Atlanta claiming our baggage, and Sam's car seat base is nowhere to be found. I trudge back to the Delta complaint line. I get my turn to complain, only to be told that "car seat parts are always sent to the oversized baggage claim section." The base is tiny, I tell you. But, sure enough, there it is, hiding pitifully among the golf clubs and mammoth sound systems. 

To sum up, what are the lessons I learned about traveling with a small companion? Roll with the punches. Forget about what the people around you think, and just do what needs to be done. Buy yourself a drink. And it really won't be so bad. :)