Open Shelving – Making the Most of your Small Kitchen
Our home is sweet and it is also pretty small. The more I learn about decorating and make changes to our home the more I learn about making it work for us and not the other way around. Our kitchen itself is a tiny square and we have two areas with open shelving. My dad (aka home designer) helped me decorate the open shelving above, using what we had. I was always too afraid to change it (even though I loved it this way) for fear that he knew best and I couldn’t do something on my own. Even though my dad would encourage me to do whatever I would like best, I didn’t want to mess it up. I have let those feelings govern some of the decor or design decisions in our house until this last year.
I knew it was time to give it a go and actually make the space something we would use while it looked pretty. Because let’s face it, we don’t have a lot of space just for decorating – it needs using too! Ha!
I have been inspired by so many people and continue to learn so much. Speaking of inspired, I love how some of these talented ladies think about/use thier shelves or open shelving, like Lucy from Craftberry Bush, Emily from Jones Design Company, and Myquillen from The Nester. So I went ahead and took the China down…
(Copper Tray from Painted Fox – affiliate link in sidebar)
As I began to redecorate the shelves I tried to think about the function.
(This copper wire shelf is from Axel Co.)
Again, with such a small space I wanted to make it versatile.
To put out pieces that were pleasing to my eye, a balanced composition and things we use on a regular basis. I kept it simple and warmed up the bright white with some wooden tones. Glasses and bowls are spread out ready for use instead of stacked or hidden away.
Before, I had our wedding china displayed and it was lovely. But it sure did it get dusty. Plus I NEVER touched it. I felt it had a better place in our China Hutch here…
It’s all still a work in progress but I am having fun with the change. One, because I did it myself ; I was reminded to trust my abilities and just go for things sometimes. P.S. it’s just decorating – I can always chnge it again. Two, it actually serves a purpose for more than just being pretty! I am slowly understanding that that is the key here in this whole house design thing (winky face).
But truly, when living in a smaller space this is so very helpful! I can’t wait to continue the process of making our house our home. I hope you’ll stay with me as I share our stories and I appreciate you being here.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Annie, this may seem like an odd question, but I am curious what, if anything, is the purpose of the jar of used lemons next to your sink in one of the above shots. Do you have a disposal that you freshen by grinding up the lemon? Not something I see every day in blogs. Hope that’s not a silly question… P.S. I am really enjoying your blog!
Hi Jeanne, thanks so much and not an odd question at all! It is actually a diy cleaner (I have the recipe on the blog too) we make with vinegar and lemons. We later transfer the sautrated vinegar to a spray bottle and use it in place of store bought cleaner. I store it in the kitchen and it ends up in all my pictures. This batch is at the end though so the lemons are kinda just hanging out – ha! I’m glad you asked and really appreciate you stopping by!