After reading
this post about our house tour on
Houzz, a few readers emailed to ask why I never show certain rooms in our house. What does our kitchen and our bathroom look like? Our bedroom, Kicky's room, etc? Almost every person who lives without oodles of cash, lives with rooms/decor in her (or his) house that she doesn't really like. This is particularly true for renters who, in addition, may not have permission to make changes. We rent this
house from my grandmother, so there are things that we can't change (
that said, my grandma was very kind and let me paint our front door red and swap out some wall sconces, as long as I saved the old ones to change them back when we move). You all seemed to enjoyed my dose of reality
last week, so I thought I'd step forward with images of our kitchen that I've never shown before. There are things I like about this kitchen and things I'm not crazy about. So, making every effort to not sound like an ungrateful, jerk granddaughter (thank you for letting us live
here, Grandma!), let's start the kitchen tour. The door on the right is our pantry closet, which I totally love. It genuinely makes my life so much easier, especially when the bottom shelf isn't being taken up by a carboy of brewing beer (PRH...it was an IPA last week). The other door goes to the garage, which is also convenient. What's not to love? Prepare yourselves for my anal retentiveness to rear it's ugly head: the doors don't match and, up until last week, the window to the garage was clear, so you could see all of the cluttery garage stuff while standing in the kitchen. We can't change the door and it was making me insane, so PRH picked up window cling film for $1 a yard at our local hardware store. It took about an hour to put up, it looks SO much better, and it's removable. I'm also not in love with how the metal cabinet juts out into the room, but it holds all of our utensils and miscellany, so it's a necessary evil.
The two bowls on the counter hold recyclables. One holds plastic caps, an inordinate number of wine corks, and other bit and bobs that could be repurposed for found art projects. The other bowl holds food scraps on their way to the compost bin. I'd probably change the floors.
When the house was remodeled about five years ago, my dad and brother (the contractors who handled the remodel) were really great about listening to the needs of my aunt (the person who rented before us) and my grandmother, should she ever want to move back into this house. They raised the ceilings in the kitchen (love that), but then intentionally hung the cabinets really low (don't love that) because both my aunt and my grandmother are very short. I'm 5'8" and PRH is almost 6', so low cabinets don't really work for us, particularly when trying to use the stove.
A few of my cutting boards...I'm a cutting board freak. Do you see Spiderman on the floor? Story of my life. The drawers next to the stove are great. A word on the countertops: they are very functional. I think this pattern was designed to hide grime really well and it works...too well.
Cookbooks live on top of the cabinets, the ceiling fan does come in handy even though I'm not a fan (ha!), and a little broom lives on the side of the metal cabinet for quick clean-ups...
Toys that are taken away from little people who misbehave live on top of the fridge. Yesterday it was legos. The print is by our friend Rachael of
Pistachio Press.
So, that's the end of the tour. I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, this kitchen is nice. We've lived with some horrible kitchens in the past and this is
by far the best. I like to think that it's teaching me what I'll want in the kitchen of my dreams (a backsplash behind the stove and sink, hardwood floors, more counter space by the stove, a designated spot for garbage and recycling, and tall cabinets). Tomorrow...the bathroom.
The sink is a Kohler and I only know that because we had to replace it. I opened the medicine cabinet one day and a porcelain cup toppled into the basin. The cup was perfectly fine, but the basin shattered. Ouch.
Here's something to consider if you ever remodel a bathroom. Put the toilet by a wall, so you have a designated spot to hang toilet paper. We bought a t.p. holder that hangs on the side of the toilet, but it's not easy for the kids to use. Storage is key (our linen closet is just outside the bathroom door). And no, I'm not trying to kill that plant, but I'm clearly not doing a good job with it. The print is by our friend Jim and was a gift from our friend Kris. 
PRH put up a hook for EZ E's (and now Kicky's) toilet seat because I hate it when stuff is on the floor. Add pee or poop to that equation and I'm done for. Yuck. 
Did you happen to notice that the ceiling is painted a different color than the walls? Yup, I've been meaning to get to that...for over a year. Someday soon. 
The two bowls on the counter hold recyclables. One holds plastic caps, an inordinate number of wine corks, and other bit and bobs that could be repurposed for found art projects. The other bowl holds food scraps on their way to the compost bin. I'd probably change the floors. 
A few of my cutting boards...I'm a cutting board freak. Do you see Spiderman on the floor? Story of my life. The drawers next to the stove are great. A word on the countertops: they are very functional. I think this pattern was designed to hide grime really well and it works...too well. 
Cookbooks live on top of the cabinets, the ceiling fan does come in handy even though I'm not a fan (ha!), and a little broom lives on the side of the metal cabinet for quick clean-ups... 
Toys that are taken away from little people who misbehave live on top of the fridge. Yesterday it was legos. The print is by our friend Rachael of Pistachio Press. 
So, that's the end of the tour. I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, this kitchen is nice. We've lived with some horrible kitchens in the past and this is by far the best. I like to think that it's teaching me what I'll want in the kitchen of my dreams (a backsplash behind the stove and sink, hardwood floors, more counter space by the stove, a designated spot for garbage and recycling, and tall cabinets). Tomorrow...the bathroom.
