Kitchen Vignettes

In keeping with the idea of documenting my home, here's a peek into my kitchen.

Let me just say this:  my kitchen, while not a crazy-tiny room, sucks when it comes to storage.  There are two drawers.  Two cupboards.  Two sets of open shelving, and one small area of usable counter space.  No pantry, no place to store food, and very little space to store the various kitchen equipment that someone who loves to cook (me!) is bound to acquire.

So what have I done?

Created storage, naturally!  The challenge, of course, is to create storage space in a way that is both functional and attractive.  Here's what I've come up with:

This shelving set sits right in between my kitchen table and my back door. 

Top shelf:  cookbooks (most of which were are a second-hand gift from my dear friend/cooking buddy, Alex), lamp-that-I've-had-forever, mixing bowls, and 'love art' (a DIY of mine). 

Middle Shelf: more cookbooks, Junior Mints lunch box (a gift from my mom and sister), gorgeous bamboo salad bowls (Xmas gift from mom and dad).

Bottom shelf: basket of foil, plastic baggies, garbage bags, etc.  

Here's my second answer to kitchen storage: 

Top shelf: bamboo steamer (which holds potatoes, onions, and garlic when not in use), fruit bowl (antique store find), wine glasses (because- literally- my kitchen shelves are not tall enough to fit a wine glass), recipe box (gift from my mom when I graduated high school), owl measuring cups (gift from Luke, from West Elm), and owl tea towl (one of two, from my mom and sister).

Middle Shelf: Tea and vitamins (including vitamin D, because apparently my levels are crazy-low.  What?! I work in an office!)

Bottom Shelf:  My beautiful red Kitchen Aid mixer, Maggie (an appropriately-named gift from my parents for graduating magna cum laude from Cal Poly), IKEA watering "can", and (way in the back) more mixing bowls.

And one more shot: 

My kitchen stays happy as long as I stay organized!