Our Kitchen {Tour}

It seems like it wasn't very long ago that I was sharing with you our kitchen in our rental house in Ohio. It was a white kitchen and I added a chalkboard wall and backsplash which made it very photogenic. This kitchen is not. Not white, not photogenic, but it's a functioning kitchen with sufficient storage.

Here she is!

I really like the layout of a U-shaped kitchen. It could be a little wider U, but other than some strategic "dancing" in the morning when both Gary and I are making breakfast, it functions just fine. Let's back up and give you a real tour, starting with the breakfast nook, for lack of a better term.

This space is very narrow, so our table is pushed up against the wall. It works fine, like the kitchen, but I'm constantly wondering how to do it differently.

The chair on the left end sticks out into the walkway while the chair on the right is against the window wall. The table can't be pulled out from the wall or there wouldn't be room to walk around the table to get to the back door or the kitchen. The back door also prohibits the table from being in the corner. So against the wall it is!

Just for some perspective, this is how the dining area looks from the living room. Usually with the ruins of Ancient Egypt in the foreground.

On the left is the back door, the one our family uses most. I've created a spot to catch our mail and corral our keys and things by hanging the white organizer on the front of the cabinet.

After I took these pictures, I vowed to find a better place to hang the ever more prolific work of our resident artist. The fridge just looks messy!

You'll recognize several things on my counters if you've been around awhile. The calendar will be elaborated on soon, while I babbled about the silverware storage here. I try to keep up with making granola as it's so simple and good for you and filling, not to mention an easy breakfast to make! We don't eat any cold cereal anymore except for home made granola (which I was able to make gluten free and is sweetened with honey!).

I used some double-sized tape to hang the silver platter on the wall, while the African spoon knife and fork are artifacts from Gary's dad's time there in the 60s.

Does anyone else think it's ironic that I won't keep every-day appliances on the counter, but I make room for things like picture frames or pretty containers of fruit? As much as I love my food processor, it's just not pretty! Nor my blender...

This long angle makes the counter look huge! It's not, but it is nice to have this much counter for, say, making granola!

I've actually been updating my menu board lately! Amazing! I love the texture of the two wooden cutting boards. They're the only ones we have and we use them a lot! I almost got rid of my cake stand but told myself I could find a use for it, so it stayed. The bananas are grateful.

Next to the sink is our probiotic station. And dish soap. I used a shallow white serving platter to define the area and keep the counter clean. We make both milk kefir and water kefir.

On the other side of the sink is a tight little corner which I find great for prepping veggies before I cook them. Despite that large work zone on the left side of the kitchen, I'm usually crammed in the corner with my cutting board and veggies. :)

So that is where the magic happens! I'll share with you some of the ways I've organized this kitchen in another post. I'd also like to share some ideas for what I'd do if the space was ours to renovate. It's not--this is a rental--but our landlord plans to completely re-do the kitchen after our lease and before she signs another one. The irony is not lost on me!

What's in your kitchen?