Birch + Bird Vintage Home Interiors

I’ve been rather bored in the kitchen lately and I’ve heard from several of my mommy friends that they are feeling the same.  I just haven’t felt inspired to make a 4 course meal for my family.  We all have our preferences and it’s really deflating to hear “yuck” when you put in the effort.  My girls used to eat almost everything I put in front of them.  Sushi, curry, soups and pasta dishes…not anymore.  Any tips?

B L (slow roasted) T by not without salt

A friend of mine makes a kid friendly dinner for her girls and then sits down for an adult friendly version with just her and her husband. Part of me loves this idea but the other part would miss our family meal times even if they’re yucky.  Now, that my husband has officially moved to Florida, he’s left us behind to finish off all the food in the freezer and the pantry.  So, things might start to get interesting when my ingredients start dwindling.  Rice, rice and rice, anyone?  How are you feeling these days in the kitchen?

Holly Farrell via Absolutely Beautiful Things

As much as I love looking through them, I don’t use cookbooks nearly enough.  I think I should stock up on a couple for some new recipes.  If you aren’t that into cookbooks, there is always Pinterest and I’ve also discovered Foodgawker.  It’s a great way to become inspired in the kitchen or at least come away hungry.

 1.  Trader Joe’s  2.  Campfire Cookery  3.  Seasons

Frau Haselmayer via Kitchenisms

1.  My Father’s Daughter  2.  Great Food Fast

Once we’re settled in to our new life in Florida, I’d love to sign up for cooking classes.  It would be fantastic if I could bring along the girls because they LOVE to help me in the kitchen and it would be a fun thing to do together.  I’ve done a couple one day classes before and it’s always tonnes of fun especially if you can drag a friend along.  I’m hoping to find a series of classes that are geared to everyday cooking maybe something along the lines of baking bread, salads, appetizers or comfort food.  Sounds fun, right?  I might even make a friend or two.

Pasta ai Quattro Formaggi by The Pioneer Woman

Better Homes and Gardens

Chicken Tortilla Soup by The Pioneer Woman

 Southern Living

Roasted Tomato Peasant Soup by the little red house

 Viscusi Elson Interior Design via House of Turquoise

All things considering, I can’t have it all that bad, if “what” to make for dinner is one of my problems.  I can’t imagine worrying about “how” I’m going to feed my kids each day.  It’s all the more reason to learn to enjoy it and I think emptying my cupboards and making do might be an exercise in thankfulness.

Hooray! Warm sunshine and summer days have finally arrived to our corner of Canada! It felt so great to sit out and soak up some sun and to finally enjoying a BBQ with friends over the weekend. We also dropped off our son for his first overnight summer camp yesterday and I must admit that I got a little sentimental (as I organized his clothes in his bunk drawer, sniff sniff!) about how grown up he’s becoming and how precious these next few years will be. He’s only 8 but the teen years are fast approaching and soon enough he’ll be busy with sports, school and friends and it will take a lot more effort to enjoy those special family moments. At least he’s only gone for a couple of nights but, my oh my, how they grow!

On a different subject entirely, I seem to have far too many house projects on my to-do list for this summer. So many, that I’m having trouble deciding where to start and I’m struggling to find some motivation to check off at least a couple small projects before July turns to August. I did make the important first step of buying paint and primer the other day but I took the weekend off to enjoy the sunshine. For now, I’m happy enough looking at these inspiring pictures of some gorgeous kitchens with open shelving. I love the idea of having everyday dishes within arms reach, don’t you?

Traditional Home

A Country Farmhouse

Now, we all know that I have a major thing for white kitchens, but I recently came across this rustic space and fell in love. That stone wall, the woodgrain and colour of the wooden cabinets, and the open island shelves make this a modern country kitchen that I would be thrilled to cook in…

Nuevo Estilo via Delight By Design

C Design via Desire To Inspire

Design*Sponge

Everyday dishes, serving ware, collections and even artwork can be displayed and changed with ease on open shelving. Organize items by like colour or style to keep things from looking cluttered. With a neutral background, almost any accent colour can be added to brighten up your space…

Laure Joliet

Better Homes & Gardens

Style At Home

Elle Decor

Cote De Texas

How was your weekend? Have you accomplished any summer projects around your house? I’ll be painting my front door and dining table this week and will be sure to post some before and afters. Happy Monday!

How was your weekend? If you’re a mom, did you get spoiled with breakfast in bed and at least a few moments to yourself? I feel very rested and blessed by my own family. We spent Saturday afternoon with Brad’s family at his brother’s house in White Rock and then he was off to the hockey game with his boss and work crew. My parents had asked to take the kids for a sleepover (they’d planned one last weekend but it was rudely interrupted by the stomach flu) so I enjoyed the rare occurrence of having the house to myself…all night! That was definitely a first as we only book overnighters with the grandparents when we’re heading out and it’s very rare to be in our home alone. First things first, I gave my house a quick clean because I’m kind of crazy like that and can’t relax if there are dust bunnies rolling across the floor! Then I took the dog for a long run and picked up sushi and The King’s Speech on the way back to my silent home. Pure bliss! A long Mother’s Day morning sleep in, then the hubby rolled in and we headed off to lunch with family and a royal welcome from the kids. Finished the day with an impromptu drop-in with some dear friends, a mommies-only trip to our favourite junk barn (got some great finds for the market!), and a last minute pizza party. Busy but oh so perfect!

Susan Gilmore via Desire To Inspire

Now, it’s no secret that Rachel and I share a love of white kitchens. I’ve featured several here, Rachel’s own renovation is here, and she’s collected some other great ones here. When working at my last job as a kitchen designer, I would often lay awake at night fitting the puzzle pieces of client kitchens together in my mind. It’s been over a year since I worked at Generation Cabinets but I still often lay awake piecing kitchens together only now they’re not for clients, they’re for my friends. Some have asked me for suggestions and advice while others haven’t but I’ve cheekily offered anyway! The kitchen is truly the heart of the home and is the one space that really must function well to keep family life moving smoothly. From cooking and making lunches, to homework and craft projects spread out on the table or island, the kitchen needs to meet many needs and functions in every family home. Here are a few examples of well designed and well functioning white kitchens to dream about….

Red Online

Suzanne Kasler via Everything Fabulous

Kriste Michelini via Cococozy

Style At Home

Canadian House & Home

Muse Interiors via Cococozy

Do you lean towards white kitchens too or do you prefer wood or colour in your cooking space? While white kitchens can be sparse and cold, I prefer them mixed with warm wood floors and a with some vintage or industrial accents thrown in for good measure. Crave colour? Seasonal flowers and fruit are inexpensive and easy to change at whim. Have a kitchen you’re dreaming of renovating? Please share! We’d love to see any of your finished projects as well…

If you were inspired to take control of your kitchen from my last domestically inspired post, I have a few kitchens to share that I hope will keep the momentum going for you…and me.  The forecast is for another glorious Spring day so it’s quite possible that I’ll be able to tidy at least one more cupboard while my kids are outside making mud pies in the sandbox.  The kitchen is the workhorse of the home, so in reality they can’t be perfectly styled every day but there are ways to make the effects of every day living a little more attractive.

photographed by Per Gunnarsson for Sköna hem

I try to have my kitchen all neat and pretty before I go to bed just so I can start the day off right.  But by 11am, my counter tops are covered with all sorts of non-pretty things like papers and my day planner, dishes, toys and who knows what else.  It’s just a fact of life I guess.  But it does help to have the things you use frequently out in the open and ready to go.  Like everything to make your hot cup of coffee in the morning, that’s important.  Right?  My life’s motto…everything in it’s right place.

1. sugar tin 2. mug 3. canisters 4. crock 5. crate 6. metal bin

When we remodeled our kitchen, I left out a bank of cabinets and we added a couple open shelves.  I got a lot of flack for that but I’m glad I stuck to my guns.  It looks more open and airy plus it’s nice to have dishes and glasses right at my fingertips.  The only downside is that I feel a little pressure to keep it neat and tidy or maybe that’s a bonus?

House to Home via Kitchenisms

1. chalkboard 2. wooden bowl 3. canning jars 4. linen towels 5. spice jars 6. tin

I can’t get enough of this industrially chic kitchen.  I dream of a kitchen like this.  I love all the quirky details, the red Smeg fridge, the car on the wall, the mix of materials, and of course, all the vintage finds.

images by Stuart McIntyre

I know most of us don’t have large expansive kitchens like these but we can take design cues from them for the kitchen you are living with right now.  Rethink items you already have around the house for storage needs and when things need to be out in the open, if you group them by type or colour, it will look like you did it on purpose.  On your thrift hunts, seek out items that can be repurposed for storage to make your home more organized and stylish too.

1. basket 2. tin 3. milk crate 4. canning jar 5. box 6. crock

These lovely food book covers were featured on Design*Sponge and I think they would add a great splash of colour to any kitchen.  There were designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith who also had a hand in those charming cloth-bound classic books you see at Anthropologie.  I’d love to have this whole collection displayed in my neat and tidy kitchen.

Design*Sponge

That’s all for today,  I must get outside to enjoy the sunshine.  Enjoy your day.

Looking back now, it actually doesn’t seem that long ago that the weather turned cold for Winter, so I guess it wasn’t as bad as “they” warned, at least in our neck of the woods.  I’ve been looking forward to Spring and in the past couple weeks, I’ve been picking away at some of the messy piles that developed in our house over the Winter.  It feels so good to purge, doesn’t it?  To look into a cupboard or closet to see it all neatly organized and to find exactly what you were looking for, in it’s place,  just waiting for you.  I know you’ve probably heard this all before but it’s always good to have a little reminder or at least a little motivation to be organized and ready.  And this post is just as much for me as it is for you…maybe more for me.

Let’s start in the kitchen, then.

Country Living

Martha Stewart

Sit down with a pen and paper and maybe a cup of coffee and make some notes.  Think about what is and what isn’t working for you in your kitchen.  Do you enjoy cooking?  Do you love to bake?  Do you store a lot of food in your pantry?  Or do you cook mostly with fresh ingredients?  Do you have budding chefs that love to join you in the kitchen?  Figuring out how you use your kitchen can help you determine your work stations or even just how to store items more efficiently.  You might even take a look in each cabinet to see what you have and to evaluate your actual storage capacity and needs.  Using a post-it note to label each cabinet door with the work zone and items that will be stored there, will help you reach your goal of a high functioning kitchen.

1. &  2.  Martha Stewart 3. Real Simple

I usually have 2 little girls at my ankles so taking apart my kitchen to reorganize it in a day, let alone an afternoon, just isn’t feasible.   I would suggest that you pick one cupboard or drawer and go from there.  Set a timer for 15-30 minutes, keep it small.  Have 3 boxes on hand  to help you sort the contents.  One for the second hand store, one for garbage or recycling and the last one for items that belong somewhere else.  As you empty the cupboard, put items that don’t belong in the appropriate box and set the items that do, off to the side.  Purge the items that you don’t use.

1. & 2. Daily Memorandum 3. Ikea 4. The Container Store

Have you purged as much as you could?  Give the cupboard a good, clean wipe and sort.  Take a look at everything that needs to go back into the cupboard and refer back to your zones.  I try to keep my kitchen is organized into baking, cooking, washing and dining zones.  Keep similar items together and evaluate any storage needs, like a bin to keep loose items together or a tray for oils and vinegars.  Keep track of what the cupboard needs on the post-it note.

1. Martha Stewart 2. Real Simple 3. Martha Stewart

Now put everything back.  Be sure everything is accessible and you can see it.  If you can’t see it, it’s already lost.  Remember to include the items that you set aside from other cupboards and drawers.  Remove the post-it note when you are happy with the results.  If that wasn’t as hard as you expected, move on to the next cupboard.

Whether or not you love to cook, you have to admit that being in a kitchen that functions makes life a lot easier. I reorganize my kitchen a little bit at a time all throughout the year because things are always changing.  The item that I just couldn’t part with during the last purge, I might the next.  The process gets easier and easier over time because you realize what you really need and use.

The other day, I dug into a 3 ring binder that I had filled with recipes, some I use regularly but most I only drooled over and never tried.  I did a big purge of that too.  I now have a pile of recipes that I use and hope to copy onto recipe cards to file away in a vintage file drawer like the one below.  I hope that might bring my joy of cooking back to life.

1. Bright Wall Vintage 2. & 3. Real Simple 4. Martha Stewart

If you put things back where they belong, give a little wipe here and there, your kitchen will stay neat and tidy.  And considering all the time, you already spend in the kitchen, it’s worth it to stay on top of it.