I do not show a lot of pictures of our kitchen, let alone the sink, here on the blog. But when we recently installed a new kitchen faucet and I went to take pictures of it, I realized I never really styled my kitchen sink before.
There is no specific reason why I rarely blog about our kitchen besides the fact that it is pretty much exactly the same since the last time I shared about it and styling shelves last summer. It gets used probably more than any other room in our house so I usually try to keep it as simple as possible so I have plenty of counter space to use to prepare meals. As a result, I have found a setup I like and have kept it that way ever since.
The new faucet I received was part of my trip to visit the HGTV Dream Home with Delta Faucet. I ended up picking the Cassidy Faucet with Touch20 Technology in arctic stainless. I did a little research on chrome finish versus stainless as well as based my decision on a chrome faucet we have in our bathroom. I decided to go with stainless to match our existing sink and kitchen appliances along with the fact that I think stainless is a little easier in upkeep.
I love the look of chrome but I did not want to constantly have to worry about keeping it shine. I am really happy with the design and finish I chose. I'll admit I was a little drawn to some of their more modern faucets that I see online and on other blogs but decided to stick with a style that fit well with the existing decor in our home.
As for styling, after taking a few not very "blog worthy" photos I decided to go to Pinterest to find inspiration on how to better style my kitchen sink. I found a lot of beautiful empty counters and sinks that looked way too perfect to actually do dishes in.
How do I have a well styled sink but still have it accessible to use multiple times a day? I did not want to put away or take out decor to create a certain look just because guests were coming over. I wanted things to be accessible but still look nice on a day to day basis.
The main thing I found in my "research" was that there were never sponges or dish brushes sitting out and there usually was some sort of pretty soap dispenser. Along with that, having a live plant and some fruit out were very popular. While tackling the plant and fruit was extremely simple, I had no place for my sponge and brush.
In a perfect world I would have a drawer under my sink to store my cleaning supplies. But I don't. So instead I went online to search for pretty wooden brushes I could leave out. But after a lengthy search I just felt discouraged that I needed to start investing in new wooden cleaning brushes that would ultimately get gross.
I wanted to keep my old green and pink brush that is on it's last leg but still works fine. I didn't want to buy expensive new pretty sponges. It felt unnecessary.
So while wandering around Marshall's I stumbled upon an over the cabinet storage piece. For $7.99 it was a simple solution to my problem. I could keep my old ratty cleaning supplies but hide it away when not in use.
Besides hiding my cleaning supplies, sometime last year I started using the Fly Lady's sink shining routine. I went through the main process of bleaching and scrubbing the sink. I do not stay up on her upkeep (I will occasionally dry and windex to prevent water spots but not regularly) but the sink continues to look much shinier and cleaner than it ever did. A friend of mine recently asked if we got a new sink because it looked so shiny! If your sink could use a good facial, I highly encourage at least giving it a good clean based on the Fly Lady's directions. I could see myself doing it once a year or so.
As for soap, I really like the look of this hand soap dispenser I found at Target. It has been my replacement for the old Bath and Body Works pumps I used to use. I used their metal decorative soap dispenser cover but over time the water caused them to rust leaving rust stains on our counters. Since then I have been on a search to find a foam soap dispenser that I thought was pretty. I landed on these pumps that have been working out well.
Even though it says hand soap, in the kitchen I refill the bottles with about 1/3 dish soap and 2/3 warm water. Without the pump on, I cover the mouth with my hand and shake it up. I have found that getting it foamy before placing the pump back on keeps the pump from clogging. I also refill the bottle before it gets too low as pumping up too much air will also clog the pump. As you can see, I am very serious about my soap pumps! But finally finding a routine that works helps save money on foam soap as well as looks great by the sink. I have the same pumps in our bathrooms with hand soap as well.
Thanks to a new kitchen faucet, I finally got my sink styled in a way that is both functional and pretty. Besides having a pretty sink, the faucet is a dream. Being able to simply touch any part of the faucet to turn it on is such a luxury. The pull down head is so much smoother than our old one and the high faucet allows more room for dishes. For a place that I spend way more time in front of than I would like to, having a pretty place to do dishes makes it just slightly more enjoyable!
Thanks to Delta Faucet for providing this faucet! This is not a sponsored post nor a requirement for receiving the faucet. I was just inspired by my new pretty sink and how I keep it clean that I wanted to share it with you all today!
