Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Island of Despair

Having an island in a kitchen seems like such a wonderful idea. My kitchen is laid out perfectly for it's island. It manages to increase the work and cabinet space without being in the way. Sadly, that is where the good points end. Our island is a constant landing place for anything and everything. Check out the before picture.

Most of the stuff on there isn't even kitchen related. There are so many things to pick on here that it is hard to know where to start. I have 2 rolls of paper towels out but neither of them are on the paper towel holder. There is part of a loaf of bread that should have been thrown out last week, but wasn't because somehow the new loaf got placed on top of it. I think my favorite is the shampoo bottle mixed in among the dirty glasses. This is one that truly makes me hang my head in shame.

Well, not any more!
The real work in this room actually went on behind the closed doors. I wish I had shots with the cabinet doors open. I took the time to really think through the work I do in my kitchen and laid it out accordingly. I also scaled down on things. I have a whole big box full of extras and stuff I don't use. I've put it in the garage for a few months to make sure I really don't need 3 cheese grater (still don't know how or why I had 3), 12 dish towels, or any of the mystery lids.
My table cloth experiment in the dining room has paid off big time so I decided to try it on the bar as well. I used a table runner that I had found on clearance at Walmart, got another one of those gold chargers I had hanging around and that is now the place we keep fresh fruit like apples and bananas. It looks pretty, reminds people not to put stuff there, is easy to remove if I need the work space, and as an added bonus, we are eating more fresh fruit.
It has been a few days and it still looks great. People have even started putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher so as to not mess it up. Having family over this weekend is going to be the real test. If it is still even remotely clean on Monday I will be thrilled and amazed.

1 comment:

Debbie said...

Whoa! Huge difference! Looks great Lynn!!!!