Friday, January 28, 2011

Kitchen Solutioning

I have the worst kitchen. Don't judge, I'm already doing enough of that myself. I rent, and considering the situation (this is technically a barn, so my horse lives downstairs), the kitchen is definitely not something worth complaining about (my hostile landlord, on the other hand...).

The cabinet fronts are completely unadorned... golden oak, no trim other than some beveling on the edges, simple brass hardware. Not worth trying to paint. My countertop is this hideous laminate that I guess is supposed to look like butcher block. Which I guess could be made to work, if I felt like painting the boring cabinets something that would actually CONTRAST. The tile is the only thing I actually like, but again, it fails to add contrast. Brown, brown, brown, brown. The walls and floor are in on it too. I mean, I like neutral, but this is ridiculous.

But the thing that has definitely bothered me since moving in is the shelf space. The cabinets on the bottom are super deep... but the shelves are 12 and 8 inches tall. Stuff gets lost back there unless you like regularly getting on your knees and digging. And those corners are completely open, so more stuff gets lost in there.

Why yes, a man did design my kitchen.

Oh, and have I mentioned that my landlord never completely finished moving his old crap out? Oh yes. I'm storing it for him. It has been relegated to these dark recesses.

Since I moved in, I've removed the shelf from the isolated cabinet on the right of the oven so I could finally hang my pans from the sides and stack my taller pots and such in the middle. It was a HUGE improvement. I mean MONUMENTAL. Have you ever tried to store your pots and pans and strainers and such in a tiny shelf that's 12 inches tall and mindlessly deep? Ridiculous.

But the cabinet sandwiched between the corner and the oven was hopeless. It was like a black void that disappeared to the back and one side.

Enter Brilliant Idea.

Remember the Christmas present cabinet? Remember how I removed the hideous middle drawers? Well, said drawers have been sitting around my and my man's apartments. I felt bad for thinking about throwing away such sturdy, albeit hideous drawers. I figured that at some point, a Brilliant Idea would hit and I'd know what to do with them. The one that's here with me has been functioning as a kind of tote for my artwork supplies or tools, or as a catchall for my passenger seat (my tiny Tundra has a bench seat and NO back seat – or room for that matter. But I love it even so).

Brilliant Idea time! Said drawer/tote has been sitting on my kitchen table (which is guilty of being rarely used) full of art supplies, and one corner had come loose. I finally got tired of looking at it , put away the art supplies, and glued the corner back together. In my kitchen. In front of the cabinet. And BAM! There may have been a comical doubletake moment.

There was a cabinet/black hole, begging to be reined in.

Here was a drawer.

Would it fit? Yes it would!

And now I have a breakfast drawer. It's not a very polished solution, but maybe at some point I'll yank off that ridiculous trim and downsize the drawer overlap. And add color and a more sensible handle.

When I get the other drawers back from Jackson, I'll be able to tackle the lower shelf.

I'm excited! I love organizing and solutioning!

Now if only there was some way to salvage that skinny cabinet... it's completely open too, and just falls off into the under-sink space. There's nothing there to protect things from disappearing into the void of the corner or falling into the mess that is my under-sink space (again with the storing my landlord's stuff, and there's a LOT of it in here).


ALSO. I may be sewing. A circle skirt. With a lovely wintery fabric that my noobish self is going to call a knit. Which could be wrong. But the skirt will be lovely, and that's what counts. I'll post that later :)

Linking!






2 comments:

  1. Thank so much for visiting my blog! I can't wait to see your "new" shelves after your revamp them!

    I love that dresser you received for Christmas! And I have a hard time throwing things out as well. Great use of storage with the "extra drawers"!

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  2. Oh, I actually gave that dresser away for Christmas. I LOVE gifting perfect presents! I hope you saw the after :)

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