If you're a habitual reader of my other blog you know that when I have writer's block I do a "Ten Things I Love" list, citing stuff that makes me happy; sometimes they're themed lists, most of the time not.
Last week I redecorated my kitchen. It needed a change, and I was sick of looking at all the cobalt blue, so I gave all my dishes away to a friend and started from scratch (extremely cheap Ikea scratch). I bought a quart of paint and went to town.
As I've said and written many times, the home is the most vital sacred space we have (next to our bodies, of course), and if your home doesn't inspire you, it's hard to live an inspired life. I wanted my kitchen to reflect my beliefs about the sanctity of food and cooking--but also to rekindle my enthusiasm for both of those things. The process of cleaning, reorganizing, and changing so many things about such a small space did the trick, and now I love spending time there.
Rather than simply showing photos, I thought I'd list ten things that I love about my newly redesigned kitchen (with photos and links where appropriate). This is a link-heavy post, but I thought that would be easier on everyone than loading up your screen with pics. Click on any link to see what I'm talking about or find out more about a particular product I'm gushing over. Links should open in new windows.
First, here's a quick look:
Now to the details:
1 ~ I love the paint. (Here's a closeup of the design.) It's a bit wobbly in places because those were some awkward angles to hold my arm at, but overall it turned out fabulously. The wall color is called "Garden of Paradise," a low-VOC satin from Lowe's, and the vines are done in regular old craft paint like you'd buy from Hobby Lobby. I did the design freehand both behind the stove and over the sink. The green tones down the pink stain over the cabinetry, which my apartment management seemed to think was a great idea to match the "Texas pink granite" of the countertops (which looks nothing like Texas pink granite, just FYI). As someone pointed out to me, green and red are opposite one another on the color wheel, so it makes sense that the pink would be balanced by green.
2 ~ I love the cabinets now that the doors are off. I saw the idea here on Apartment Therapy and thought, "Eureka! There's something I can do that won't get me in trouble with the landlord!" I took the doors off their hinges and stashed them in my storage closet so I can put them back up when I move. The whole kitchen looks bigger and brighter now.
3 ~ I love my cheap-ass dishes. The white set is from Ikea, called Faldspar or Fenugreek or Fragnarok or something like that, and they were $25 for the set of 18 pieces. They feel wonderful in my hands, and food looks fabulous on them. That's the problem with blue dishes--blue just doesn't make food appetizing. The green bowls came from Bloodbath & Beyond, and they're hand painted (most likely by indentured four year olds in Indonesia or something). The red bowl is a Buddha Bowl, a birthday gift from my BFF, which also has a wonderful feel in the hands. Switching to white dishes made a huge difference in how I feel about eating at home, silly as it may seem.
4 ~ I love my big spoon! It was three dollars at Fiesta, a local Hispanic grocery chain, and came unfinished. It's enormous--far too large for me to use in any practical sense, but I just loved the look of it and thought it would make a great talismanic piece hanging in the kitchen. That was a year ago; it's been hanging there plain for a long time, but I decided to paint it to match the walls of the new kitchen, to bring some of the green color to that side of the room. It came out beautifully, in my opinion.
5 ~ I love my pot rack. I've spoken about it before, but it's one thing I didn't change because I was already thrilled with it. I put it up a couple of years ago; it's simply a curtain rod from Lowe's with some S-hooks, hung with some hardcore wall anchors. It freed up a lot of cabinet space and looks great. The print above it is another favorite of mine, and is new; it, too, came from Ikea, and was on sale for five dollars, already framed and ready to hang.
6 ~ I love my bizarre plastic corner shelves. Remember these? A few years ago they were on some infomercial, and of course my mom had to buy some, so now I have two. They're plastic, but can hang in any corner--you press them against the wall and twist the knob, and little blades shoot out from the corners that hold the shelf in place. They're not exactly fine home decor, and I wouldn't put any serious weight on them, but they were free. They really jazz up that particular corner and let me make use of some wasted space. One is a sort of simplified kitchen altar, and the other holds a vase I've had forever that just happens to go with the new color scheme.
(Both #5 and #6 can be seen in this image, along with the border version of my paint design.)
7 ~ I love my Pushmi-Pullyu. No, it's not a wacky Dr. Doolittle animal, it's a baking tool that the aforementioned BFF made for me in her Workshop of Mass Construction. You may have seen similar in culinary stores: a notched stick with a hook on one end that pulls out the oven rack, while the notch pushes it back in so that you don't have to use a potholder and risk burning yourself (or bend over, if you have a bad back) checking on baked goods. It's handmade and hand painted, even with my name, if you look closely.
8 ~ I love the salt cellar I ordered--one of the splurges for the new decor--from the Food Network. It's the same design as the one Alton Brown uses on Good Eats, and it's a joy to use; the silicone seal keeps the salt dust-free, and the hinged lid stays open so you can pinch, spoon, and scoop whatever variety of salt you prefer. Mine's full of kosher salt and I keep it right by the stove. It even comes apart for easy cleaning. I call it a splurge because it's a small device for twenty dollars, but I love it so much it was worth every penny.
9 ~ I love the print of Curlin Reed Sullivan's Kelley Nirvana that I won in the Spring Goddessfest raffle several years ago. When I got her she was problematically framed, so I took her apart and reframed her in wood that matches my apartment. She could really be at home anywhere in the house, but for some reason she always struck me as a kitchen wench, and now that the kitchen's all done up in green, she looks much happier. (You can see her hanging in the first pic of the kitchen above, to the left of the stove.)
10 ~ I love this wee bell that my darling friend Laurie (BFF, Overseas Division) gave me a while back from her current home, the Czech Republic. The bell hangs over my stove, depicting the Sun holding a coffee cup and announcing, "Good Morning, Dear!" It has a sweet little ring, and tapping it makes me think of my long-missed and much-loved friend. Laurie also gifted me with my spice toaster, a handy gadget for the blends of seeds that I often grind up for soups and curries.
Most of all, I love that my new kitchen is made up of my own creativity as well as that of my friends and other artists I admire. My grandmother's wood trivet hangs above the Harvest Goddess I sculpted last year. The tile trivet my father made for me sits alongside my spice collection. Laurie's bell, S1ren's Pushmi-Pullyu, and the handmade blue apron my dear Lorrie (I know a lot of people with similar names) made me for my last birthday are all reminders of my friends, and the two heart-shaped plaques (and most of my cookware) remind me that my mother loves me.
My next project is to get my Book of Feasts organized, and after that...I'm moving on to the bathroom! Muahaha!
All in all, I'm so happy I decided to repaint and reorganize--it's given my little apartment kitchen a new lease on life, and has me more inclined both to cook and to clean up after myself.
Any questions about the pictures, or stuff I used, or anything? Just comment and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner.
The dishes are called "Färgrik", wich means colourful. Just so you now.
Greetings from Sweden, btw!
Posted by: Pyrola | April 16, 2009 at 02:17 PM
That pushmi/pullyu device is ingenious! I have to make one for myself.
Everything looks great. It's nice to be able to rejuvenate everything with a few simple adjustments.
Happy vegan cooking in your new kitchen.
Posted by: Michelle | April 16, 2009 at 03:40 PM
warmth, welcome and cheeriness are now the decriptors for your newly decorated kitchen. Congratulations on having a lovely space in which to work, and thank you for sharing. I've taken away some excellent ideas to help with my own remodel project!
Posted by: stellans | April 23, 2009 at 01:18 PM
how very pretty. i love the paint. and those corner shelves are awesome. it looks great and i am sure you will have many good times in this kitchen!
Posted by: Renee | April 23, 2009 at 11:51 PM
Färgrik means colourful, and your kitchen looks GREAT!
Posted by: Syltegeek | May 23, 2009 at 10:49 PM