A Great Kitchen for Little Money

Ok, not that one above. That one will cost you an arm and a leg.

That kitchen is a kitchen that dreams of made of or in.

I was talking to my Mom the other day about some little things I want to do to my kitchen.

They involve adding molding to the top of the cabinets and crown molding around the room.

Perhaps taking another door or two off the cabinets. 

Taking doors off a couple of the cabinets made the biggest change in my little kitchen.

 It made me not mind the long expanse of cabinets that I have "quite" so much.

Of course I need a new floor in there desperately and new appliances would really make a difference.

But right now...I found some new drawer pulls that I can switch out to freshen up the look.

Mom says...as I'm talking about this...
"Well, the thing to do would be to knock out the back wall of the kitchen and expand it into the backyard about three feet."

Well, yes....that would be awesome. And if I did...I'd put in a wall of windows like that above

and lose all my cabinet space all together. 

I said to Mom...."Yes that would be ideal...but that is not going to happen. Unless I win the lottery

and I have to play the lottery to win."

I have to make do with what I've got...like most of us.

I have to embrace the idiosyncrasies of my kitchen and work with them.

I happened upon this photo of a new kitchen the other day when searching for gray paint colors for a client. 

I adore these cabinets! Love all the moldings. I love the detail of the cabinet above the stove although

I'd have done a hood. The only thing this kitchen needs is a white subway tile backsplash.

And it would be perfect. Love the feet on the cabinets too. 

But that is a major overhaul of a kitchen.

Today, I am thinking about kitchens that are great that did not cost a lot. Like the examples below.

Embrace the Quirkiness!
Ok, so perhaps that marble backsplash cost a pretty penny but it looks like it's been there awhile.

This kitchen is great just cause it's an unexpected color and has quirky styling.

I'm really kind of digging that paper towel holder mounted to the wall vertically.

That's something I could easily and cheaply add to my own kitchen.

Add simple shelves and bins
This kitchen is full of charm and it comes from simple shelves and bins anyone could install.

Use Furniture in your Kitchen
I've posted this kitchen before cause it amazes me in it's ingenuity.

One small free standing counter with a small cabinet above and the rest is 

furniture! Furniture you'd normally not find in a kitchen.

Lesson learned?

Add a piece of furniture to your kitchen.

Of course you have to have the room.

 Add practical and pretty display pieces
 Look at the charm added just by setting a wire plate rack on the counter!

It's all in the details.

 Add a mirror to the kitchen
 I've also shown this kitchen before. 

A very simple shelf and a vintage mirror make this kitchen special.

Ok, so the counter top and the sink are pretty amazing...

but still this idea could be applied to a not so special kitchen.

Use what you've got
This kitchen belongs to Courtney of French Country Cottage.

It's not her main kitchen. (that one is beyond pretty0

No...this one is in her guest house. 

A salvaged cabinet in its original color provides storage.

Small shelves above the stove also provide interest and storage.

I really like that she put a chalkboard above the vintage stove.

 Use salvaged wood pieces...add a skirt
 Upon first glance this kitchen just gives off a very chic look.

But look closely....the things in it are not expensive.

Except for that stove.

Simple raw wood counters with skirts provide support for the sink.

Plank shelves above are an easy install.

The island appears to be a junked work bench.

Add some vintage knick knacks and this kitchen is over the top gorgeous.

 style those shelves
Again...here's a kitchen that is way pretty but its parts are simple.

The most expensive thing  about this kitchen is the wall of large subway tile but you could 

easily do beadboard instead for a similar and less expensive look.

It's the rough wood shelves styled perfecting that make this kitchen sing.

 Add freestanding unmatched thrifted cabinets

This little kitchen is super creative in its cheap ways.

It's made of of all stand alone pieces, open shelving, skirts, and mix and match stuff.

and it is precious! 

Kitchens like these make me wish my kitchen was just a plain room with no cabinets 

and that I could just salvage all that goes in to it.

 Start from scratch and build it all from thrifted items.
Vanessa of Vintage Whites Market ripped out all the cabinets in her house and
filled it will all salvaged pieces. I don't know that I would have had the courage to do that.
But it looks wonderful! I love the vibe of this kitchen.

For my own kitchen....I said taking the doors off two of my cabinets made a huge change.
Covering the black tiles in my backsplash with white vinyl made the biggest transformation.
Adding a skirt over the existing cabinet under the sink...added charm.
And adding vintage knick knacks here and there have made me love it more.

 Add brackets below your upper cabinets
 I added iron painted brackets under portions of my upper cabinets to make this section feel more like a hutch.

 cover up rather than remove tile you hate
 I hated my kitchen before I covered the black tiles with white vinyl.
See how I covered my ugly black tiles with vinyl here.

Add lots of silver stuff
 I have a weird box thing over my stove top. Lately...I'm debating ripping it out.
It's original to the house. A previous homeowner installed the stove hood.
It has a shelf on top that I display things on.
A silver tray is always good as a backsplash behind a stove.

 Style your open cabinets
I tried to use this open cabinet for actual every day storage at first.
That was not for me. I needed some pretty in the room not just stacks
of dishes waiting to be used.
These shelves have had more added to them since this photo was shot, can you believe?
Lots more white china and cutting boards in the basket.
I'll show soon.

A small thing that really made me love my kitchen more was the adding of this
silver spice rack I made.

You can read here how I made it.
Next up?
new drawer pulls, a new faucet, an island, bits of white marble, moldings, paint

all small ways to update your kitchen and make it one you'll love

All these photos from different blogs see my Kitchens Pinterest board for sources.

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Styling Open Shelves

My Kitchen Shelves

Over the summer I've been changing things up in the kitchen.

Last you saw it, my open shelves looked like this.

I love these dishes. My Mom gave them to me but I finally had to just face the fact 

that color does not work in this kitchen with it's black countertops and white backsplash.

I would have never chosen the black countertops but that is what was here

and I needed to embrace it rather than fight it.

I love these seafoamy green dishes but the color just didn't work.

Besides...I never used them when they were all stacked up here.

Come on...does anyone ever really use the dishes stacked on open shelves?

Mine get dusty so they have to be washed every time I go to use them.

So, I put them away inside a closed cupboard and guess what?

I actually use them now. Which is really much better.

So now I have the open shelving for display only.

It really makes the kitchen more interesting.

Here's where I am after a summer of collecting.

Way better....isn't it?

Lots of this I already had and other things were bought on sale.

The inside of the shelves I took stainless steel contact paper and covered

foam core boards cut to fit in back.

It looks so much better than the rough wall that used to be there.

Let's see what I have here. Some of it from Pier 1.

The top left bowls were on clearance at Pier 1, so was that cheese dome with carrerra marble plate.

I want carrerra marble on my kitchen island but this will have to give me my marble fix for now.

The mercury glass pear I got at Marshall's several years ago for $5.

The small fern and white pot have been around the house for quite awhile.

I wanted a nice white teapot. Found this one at Ross for $7.

The cupcake dome behind it also came from Ross and was a birthday gift from a friend.

I was with her when she bought it for me...$10.

You can see in the first photo the new glasses I got at Pier 1 last week for $1.98 each.

I bought twelve of them but displaying all of them...was a bit much.

One of my white china plates creates a backdrop on this shelf.

Someday soon, hopefully I'll have a white platter there.

The basket had Xmas goodies in it last year from a friend.

The backside of that linen liner has a santa embroidered on it.

Shhhhhh...don't tell.

The mercury glass candle holder came from Pier 1. 

We still have them.

I stacked my salad plates and covered with a cake dome I've had truly forever.

I love the domes the most.

Right now we have this great dome at Pier 1.

http://www.pier1.com/Bon-Appetit-Dome/2627730,default,pd.html

I want it pretty badly. I already have a cloche this size...so I keep telling myself no.

But it's pretty grand.

I planned to show you the kitchen island today too.

I finally have a spot for my white enamel kitchen colander that's been put away forever.

It now sits on the island filled with apples from of course....Pier 1.

Anyway, I planned to show more of the kitchen but Violet is not feeling well and 

I have to run her to the vet.

She's had an ongoing bacterial infection in her nose that just will not go away.

I'm very very worried about her.

More on the kitchen later in the week.

Sharing at

Fabulous Creative Friday at Jennifer Rizzo.com

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