Welcome to my little kitchen!
I’d give you a tour, but this is pretty much it! However, I dressed up to match so I may as well go into detail about every little thing because well, that’s what bloggers do, right? Well that’s what I’m going to do, with links to what you see, in case you’re interested, and if not, you can just scroll through the photos and maybe they’ll inspire you if you have a little kitchen you want to make a little more special.
The thing about a small kitchen (or any small living space) is that you really have to be creative and intentional with every inch and nook and cranny to make sure you fit in everything you need and also find it visually pleasing to the eye. I, for one, cannot live in a space that I do not find beautiful, so it becomes a fun challenge for me to work on it until it makes me smile. I’m pretty much there as it is now, but I’m sure I’ll make little changes in the next months as I live here longer.
As I mentioned in my DIY Pink Critter Refrigerator Magnets post last week, the inspiration for my little townhouse kitchen came from a vase of dried flowers filled with soft pink roses and muted green eucalyptus leaves and the faded and washed out hues kind of made this little space come to life in a way I loved. It also reflects my love of nature and how I celebrate it in, out and around my home… And so I went with it!
In case you missed my original floral inspiration, here it is for reference…
Because my kitchen is part of the main living space, the dining room and living room, the high ceilings and large windows and sliding glass doors allow the environment to sort of become part of my interior, which is another reason I LOVE this house. You can’t tell as much right now because it’s winter and many of the leaves on the surrounding trees are dormant at the moment, but to quote Phoebe from Friends, it was very important for me to find a place that was “LEAFY… leafy“.
I moved in the middle of fall when all the leaves were still surviving in brilliant yellows and oranges and even lime greens, and they all contributed to my overall interior experience in a way that truly makes me feel ALIVE. It might sound strange, but to try to duplicate it in the winter (as well as give me a little more privacy from the neighbors) I bought tall and LEAFY ivy vines and placed them around my deck to fill in the blank spaces and give me that leafy vibe. I also covered most of the wrought iron areas in faux boxwood panels for the safety of the dogs and for more visual greenery. I can’t WAIT til spring when all the leaves return and it’s truly going to me magical!
Anyway, back to my kitchen, it’s relatively basic and slightly outdated with darker stained wood cabinets and a pretty busy granite countertop in contrasting brown tones. The cabinets match the dark accents in the house like the doors and baseboards and stair rails, and the paneled walls tie in with the lighter brown tones, so I’m not offended by it like I was by the double hanging ceiling fans…
NOTE: I left the fan in the kitchen and gave the one over the dining room a lampshade hack to make it look like a pendant without re-wiring!
This is all to say that I don’t mind the kitchen and since I can’t make any permanent changes I thought the pinks and greens would add a bit of fun organic life to it that it was lacking. I hung my large dripping flowers canvas painting at the first stair landing because it felt like it was an extension of the kitchen, however no pink goes into the dining room or living room (which for some odd reason I haven’t shared yet!).
Pink Accents…
I have to say, it didn’t take much to create a pretty in pink look I loved but that wasn’t TOO MUCH in a way that it drew your eye when you walked in. It’s easy to go overboard but I still wanted to keep it relatively subtle so that it wouldn’t stand out from the the rest of the space but would flow with it instead.
I started by switching my blue dish soap to pink soap (pS I always try to match my soap to my kitchen accent colors if I can – it’s the little things that make a big impact 😊 ). I was actually GIDDY when I found light pink dish soap at the market. And in fact, there were two different shades of pink! I went with Dawn Gentle Clean Dishwashing Liquid, Pomegranate & Rose Water and not only is it pretty, it smells amazing and feels great too!
I always use a cute pump dispenser for my dish soap (this one is actually ancient and from another soap, I’ve been using it forever) not only because it’s cuter than seeing the HUGE BOTTLE of soap on the counter, but also, it’s more convenient to just pump out the soap on a sponge or your hands for any task.
All this talk about dish soap, you’d think I was sponsored, but NO, I just am still reeling over my adorable pink soap.
I actually really like this backsplash tile mixed with everything else… it gives it a European feel, which I love because it feels romantic in some way, and along with the dried flowers and leaves and touch of real plants dripping from above, it all adds to the romance of it.
Also, my pink Himalayan salt shaker was a bit of the inspo as well simply because I set it on my electric stovetop (something I am STILL getting used to, I might add) and it mirrored the dried pink roses in the black vase and both together were the true inspiration.
Then came the pink hand towels and the pink magnets and my mom and stepdad gave me the pink tea kettle and pink cooking utensils for Christmas. I normally do NOT enjoy my utensils on the countertop (because they look cluttered and get dusty) but I truly don’t have the room, so I used this grey and pink terrazzo concrete pot I used to have in my office on my desk with paper flowers to house my cooking utensils.
I’m seriously debating this set of pink marbled dishes. I have a blue marbled mug from the same set I randomly bought down at Bed Bath & Beyond a few months ago and it’s my favorite! I might need these 😬
I bought a pink oval mat for the dog’s water bowl, which is green and I’ve had since Bebop and LeRoy, that worked out perfectly as well.
Finding a rug has been the most challenging part.
I bought a runner, which looked lighter shades of blush pink and beige online, but when I rolled it out, it felt far too busy competing with the countertops so I threw this old faux cowhide down. This one used to be under the dining room table and prior in my master bedroom and then in my A-frame office sitting area… it’s definitely seen better days, so I figured if it gets ruined in the kitchen (as rugs do) it wouldn’t be too much of a loss. So I layered it over the narrow runner so the runner sticks out just a bit by the dog bowl and for now, I like it.
See the area to the left of the sink? There used to be a wine refrigerator in that space but since I didn’t need it, I pulled it out and used that space for my trash. It’s deep enough to have a recycle bin in the back and then I found a near-perfect sized stainless steal can to fit the space in front and still it sits back enough to give me a little leg room when I want to sit at the counter with my morning coffee.
I also bought a little folding bar counter stool, which lives on the side of my fridge until it’s in use.
My little coffee corner in which I hide my coffee can in that cute little basket and hide the filters in the silver vessel. Again… normally, this would all be in cupboards as I don’t like clutter, but I don’t have space so I had to make it cute and intentional and I love it.
Well, that about sums it up.. I think. I THINK I covered everything, but probably not. Hopefully I can shoot the other side of this space you can’t see in the photos, which is my little living room. However, I might just have to wait until spring when all the leaves are back on the trees to give you a full picture of just why I love this space so much. Until then, at least I have a little view of the lake from the far window, which might disappear in spring. We’ll just have to wait and see I guess 🙂
What I’m Wearing…
* pink and white gingham dress I bought last summer
* Sparkly silver platform puma sneakers I don’t think I’ve ever actually worn but have had for at least 4 years now I think.
* Pink mug with lip kisses is from Starbucks a few years ago
Happy Tuesday Lovecats!
* Find all my Lake Arrowhead Townhouse posts here
* Find all my Home and Decor posts here
* Find all my Kitchen posts here
And if the Wind is Right you Can Find the Joy Of Innocence again
