Good morning, friends!
I’ve been looking forward to sharing today’s post for ages! I’m sharing how we simplified and organized our English coutry style kitchen for ultimate efficiency and charming style. And as with any kitchen, there was a bit of storage problem-solving going on, too… this is a longer post so get ready for lots of pictures!
In the fall of 2022, Matt & I began remodeling our 1963 honey oak kitchen to the one you see in the photo above. We began with painting the cabinets. Before painting, we emptied each cabinet and drawer and evaluated it all. After a good hard purge, we kept only the items we used and enjoyed – at that time…since then we’ve gone even deeper to highly simplify our kitchen.
The following pictures will give you an idea of where we started from. Some cabinets had room. Others were full. More importantly, few were truly functional. Many items were simply living in the cabinet because that was where we’d put them when we moved in. Get ready for some fun before & afters!
For example, this cabinet by the microwave and stove was holding the dinner plates & bowls. I suppose the thought was that this would be convenient for plating food right off the stove, but it sure isn’t handy for doing dishes!
This is the main wall in the kitchen. By today’s standard, this is a small kitchen, but Matt & I were convinced that it is perfect for us! It just needed purging/simplifying, some storage problems solved, and efficient organization into work zones.
We have relocated the baking zone to the cabinets by the stove. The cabinets nearest the stove hold the spices. We like to buy our spices fresh and in bulk. Then, we pour them into pretty jelly jars with a quilted pattern on the sides. Then, I write the spice name with a Sharpie. This way, we can easily change the spice name if we need to and don’t have to mess with peeling labels. We like the jars to be visible at once without moving other jars, so we store them on a bamboo turntable.
The cabinets directly over the stove are difficult to access and we don’t need the storage, so they remain beautifully empty! The seasonal transfer ware dishes are stored over the refrigerator. They fit perfectly and are placed in the order they will be used throughout the year. Also, the tiny size of this cabinet is a good checkpoint to keep my collections small!
Next to the spice cabinet is the baking cabinet. Here you will find the flours, baking powder & soda, vanilla, chocolate chips, and oils. The middle shelf has a section for bag tea and coffee filters, as well as sweeteners and supplements.
Under the sink wasn’t too bad, but we wanted a bit more functionality, and I wanted something prettier than a grocery sack to store the dishwasher soap, etc! The cabinet beside the stove extends far back to the wall into a deep abyss we call “the cave.”
We added a basket to the left side to hold our dish soap and cleaners. To the right, we have a brass paper towel holder and a wire basket to hold our scrub brushes and sponges.
This cabinet to the left of the sink is above the dishwasher and is a perfect example of “move-in-and-put-stuff-somewhere-without-thinking.” For some odd reason, the everyday plates, bowls, and drinking glasses are by the stove and not by the dishwasher. How is that functional? Funny how we make decisions when we move into a house and then live with them for years without rethinking them. In another post, I talked about how we can become “house blind.” Living with dysfunction and disrepair without noticing… Now, we were noticing!
The everyday plates, bowls, and drinking glasses were relocated to the cabinet above the dishwasher. This has been so nice and so much easier when doing dishes! It has also been great for serving guests a drink or setting up a drink station on the countertop below when entertaining. Another goal was to minimize “visual noise.” By upgrading our bowls to the lovely English Countryside pattern, getting matching mugs and simple drinking glasses, we found using the kitchen to be calming and satisfying. I highly recommend having your kitchen items in a cohesive color palette. I’d always admired the ribbed clear drinking glasses and found a set at the thrift store for .50 each. I also found them online at Macy’s. Opening this cabinet every day to set the table or to put dishes away is pleasurable! Matt & I have found that once we think through the function of space and then beautify it, it stays that way!
Also, I’m not a fan of shelf liners, and this kitchen had three or four different patterns! Not only were the shelf liners grimy, but they were also adding to a busy feeling in the kitchen that I wanted to eliminate.
We began with the obvious and got rid of everything broken, unused, and even items that weren’t in the color palette for the new kitchen. Once the “noise” of the extra stuff was gone, we evaluated what was left and began placing it into zones for how we like to use our kitchen. Knowing how we used the kitchen helped us create functional work zones for cooking, baking, and serving for our family and guests.
The goal was for our kitchen to be ridiculously easy for us (or our guests) to use and clean. Lastly, if we were going through all this effort, I wanted the kitchen to be attractive inside and out!
Under the island, we’d set up a baking area since there was more counter space. This was functioning ok, but there were things behind the front items that were difficult to access. Plus, I knew that the new kitchen accent colors would be a soft blue, so the red needed to go…
The island (technically, it is a peninsula, but that just sounds a bit pretentious for our small kitchen) is much lighter in terms of the things it stores. In the two drawers, there are the large mixing bowls, serving bowls, and storage containers for leftovers. Everything is easy to reach and in colors that compliment our kitchen.
From top to bottom, the bank of drawers on the left holds silverware, hand towels and oven mitts, food wraps and ziplock bags, large serving pieces, and the hand mixer. The top center drawer holds the measuring cups and spoons. The final drawer on the top right is what we call the command center. There you’ll find pens, Sharpies, chargers, matches, Scotch tape, etc… In several of the drawers, I have used the bamboo organizers. Not only do they work well, but I love how they look!
Here was round one for the junk drawer. I don’t have the original photo, but still, I hope this will encourage you as you work through the purging process.
Round two: The way the “junk drawer” looks today. I love how little there is in here!
These two drawers are the utinsil drawer and the miscellaneous baking tool drawer. Again, these drawers are so light they are easy to use and maintain. These are the simple things that make me love our home even more!
That wraps up the kitchen organization! I hope you picked up some good ideas, and inspiration for ways to better enjoy using your kitchen. Until next time,
Take care,
Rachel
