A Kitchen I Love :: A Kitchen I Can Use

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As I have settled into our little newlywed home with all of our registry beauties, I was not completely content with the look and functionality of our kitchen.  The problem was I felt like I was not using the kitchen to it’s fullest potential.  When I would go to cook I would naturally grab my glass or plastic bowls, while my pretty dishes just sat there collecting dust.  I decided I wanted my pretty things to be more accessible which needed to start by getting rid of the non-pretty things.  From now on I am only surrounding myself with things that are both pretty and functional. 
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I repainted my open cabinets green.  The blue I had before was not dark enough for the white dishes to really pop.  Painting something green was definitely a risk for me {similarly to when I started going gold}, but I figured the inside of the cabinets was safe enough to give it a try.  And I am so glad I did because I love it now.  I am even planning on painting the inside of one of my hutches the same color {the paint was from my stash of free Glidden paint :: paint color is prairie sage}.
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Once I allowed myself to embrace green, color came so much more naturally.  I originally wanted an all white kitchen but I am beginning to find the color additions give it so much more life and whimsy, yet still feels airy.
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We do not have a ton of storage space, so finding accessible room for my abundant baking pan collection while still having space for our food is pretty difficult.  So I decided that I would put out my most commonly used kitchen items for easy access and to double as decoration.
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My collection of cookbooks add a little color and accessories like framed scrapbook paper and lamps add brightness to the darker tile.  I used to hate the tile because it is so much darker than the rest of our white decor.  Yet with the mixture of color, I am happy to say I now love it!  My husband is happy about that too!  No need to rip out the tile anytime soon!  And what a lesson on learning to love something about your home that you are not in a time or place to fix!
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I still have a collection of serving dishes on the top of our cabinets, but my more commonly used ones are now down and easy to get to. 
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Instead of one big bouquet of flowers I started placing one or two stems in smaller vases spreading out the flower happiness all throughout the house.
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Our kitchen is now both functional and beautiful.  It makes being in the kitchen so much more enjoyable and the preparation process so much easier.  No more digging through cabinets and no more prep in boring containers.
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With all this reorganizing, I did some heavy cleaning and restructuring of the kitchen.  More about that soon!
What do you need to take out and enjoy in your home?

13 comments

  1. Love your Kitchen!!! I love all the special and wonderful pieces that you have surrounded yourself with to make it a place you want to be. I think you've done a great job to make it your own!

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  2. Love it! It looks great and I really like the cabinets painting that light green to show off your pretty white dishes :) I really love our house but hate my dark kitchen cabinets someday I would love them painted white!

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  3. okay perfect timing! I really needed this inspiration 4 my new kitchen!

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  4. Beautiful, beautiful kitchen!! Love all the pictures...especially your dishes. Would you mind sharing the design/brand of your plates...they appear to have a scalloped edge (the bowls above the plates, on the right and left, are beautiful also). :-)

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  5. I was just thinking about this the other day while I was watering my garden. Sure, I could have just planted plain rows, but it's not enough for something to just be functional. I want to smile when I look at it because it's aesthetically pleasing as well. The extra time and effort pays off. I love your kitchen. I wish I could paint our cupboards white. They're PICKLED. I suppose that is better than oak though. :)

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  6. You have a beautiful kitchen!

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  7. Gorgeous! I never thought about framing scrapbook pages! I'm definitely copying some of your style.

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  8. What a lovely kitchen! Love the colors and all your cute decoration!!
    Happy weekend! xxx

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  9. It looks really nice! I like the hanging fruit basket too :)

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  10. I just want to go there and start baking! :D

    and I am in love with the 'Keep calm and have a cupcake' pic. ♥

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  11. what a lovely kitchen, makes me wants to sit, chat and have a cup of coffee.

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  12. Your kitchen looks both stylish and welcoming -- the perfect combo! Do you keep it that tidy all the time??? Haha.

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