A Favorite Thing: Open Kitchen Shelving and Cabinets

No matter how hard I try to go for lamps, artwork, chairs, or vases - when I get to the checkout line I always end up with a mixing bowl in one arm, a cast iron skillet in one hand and a fluted cake pan in the other. I just can't get enough of kitchen stuff!

Most kitchen things (especially if you make a point of collecting them) are worthy of display, but so many kitchens don't have enough counter space to have items sitting out and prepare a meal. That's why I love open shelving and cabinets so much; stored items look great and everything remains out of the way. Unfortunately the new apartment I'm moving into (next month!) has standard cabinets with doors, but I wonder if a little do-it-yourself kitchen enhancement would be worth the consequences.

But until I have some open cabinets of my own, I'll just be crushing on the photos below...

via Pinterest

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via Courtney Lane

via Design Sponge

via Apartment Therapy

via My Paradissi

via Etsy

And a few of these kitchens have another feature I lust after: apron sinks. But that will have to wait until another post...

Are you kitchen crazy like me? What things do you tend to gravitate toward?

DIY: Jewelry Organizer

A couple of weekends ago I stumbled upon a $25 gift card to Forever 21 that I'd never used, so I headed to the mall to do a little outfit shopping for a wedding I was going to later that evening. I decided to let myself spend the whole thing on jewelry - guaranteed I'd walk out of that store with multiple options for the night. Well, $52 (obviously not the plan) and about 20 minutes later, I exited the mall with three necklaces, one bracelet, four pairs of earrings and two rings. I was so happy.

When I got home, however, I was disappointed to find my precious jewelry all tangled up in its little yellow plastic bag and I knew it would only get worse after it found its place in my "jewelry pouch." The makeup bag that I use to store my jewelry is where most necklaces, rings and earrings go to die because I forget about them or am too rushed to untangle them before I head out the door. Can you relate? I basically have two pairs of earrings and one bracelet on heavy rotation, but I have lots of other worthy jewelry that deserves its time in the spotlight as well. I'm not trying to go all Toy Story with this post I promise...

The next day I decided to come up with some kind of organization system that would keep my jewelry accessible and out of harm's way. And because I think jewelry is pretty (and my closet is just way too damn packed with stuff to do anything there) I started thinking about ways I could display it attractively in my room. There were many options, but I decided to go with an idea I had seen on Pinterest... perhaps you've seen it?

originally from Better Homes & Gardens

Now, truth be told I don't take on DIYs too often and I pretty much despise anything that involves using a drill, so I will probably never get my own show on HGTV. This particular project came with swearing, sweat, phone calls to my mom, and near give-up moments, but in the end I completed the project and I'm really glad I did. (Don't be scared, keep reading...)

Because I wasn't following any kind of directions and just sort of figured it out as I went along, there are many things I would do differently if I repeated the project (#1 being: make sure you have a drill bit). So, that's the version you'll be getting below. I believe that this is a pretty simple DIY and with a little effort, anyone can do it. If you are good with a drill, this will be a piece of cake.

And please don't get too annoyed with me if I over-explain. I have a degree in Elementary Education and that communication style has unfortunately stuck with me...

First, your materials and tools:

Rectangular piece of plywood - I got mine for $0.51 from Home Depot's wood scraps and it measured 24" by 28" and was a little less than 1" thick.

Sandpaper - (only if the plywood needs to be smoothed down)

Burlap - Enough to fold in half, cover the front side of the board, and staple in the back. I got 2 yards to be on the safe side, and had lots of extra.

Hardware - Drawer knobs, drawer pulls, hooks, etc. that you will be hanging your jewelry on. You might want to draw out what you want the board to look like so you know how many of each kind to get, or you can just lay it out at the hardware store and see what you like. I ended up choosing 5 pulls, 5 knobs, and 2 hooks. If I did it again, I'd get a couple pulls that are pocket shaped, like in the photo from Pinterest, to put stud earrings in.

Staple gun and staples

Power drill

Drill bit - Choose one that is the same size in diameter as the bolts that came with your hardware. This is the one tool that I did not have during this project, and as a result, it became way more complicated than it needed to be.

Screwdriver - You may not end up using it

Ribbons - Two ribbons, one wider than the other and in different colors, long enough to wrap around the front of the board and staple in the back

Picture Hanging Materials - Brackets, hooks, wire to hang the board on the wall

Pencil

And then this is what you're going to do:

1. Use the sandpaper to smooth the plywood edges and corners if necessary. Then, with the board on the ground, lay out where you want to put all of the various pieces of hardware. Keep in mind what you will probably hang from each one (earrings, long necklaces, etc.) and space accordingly. 

2. With the hardware in final place, use your pencil to mark the bolt holes for each piece so you know where to drill. For pieces of hardware that have two bolt holes, mark the two holes but just drill one of them.

3. Wrap the burlap in two layers around the the side of the board that you did not mark and staple gun it to the back (marked side), stapling about every two inches. Pull at the burlap with one hand as you staple with the other so that the material lays smoothly on the front side.

After this photo I was about to throw the drill out the window so I was over taking pictures. Sorry!

4. Take the bolts from the hardware and match them with the correct bolt holes in the board. Use the screwdriver or power drill to screw in the bolts so that they poke through the burlap on the other side. You will need to prop the board up from the ground (I used yoga blocks) so you don't drill into the floor.

5. Flip the board over and carefully push the burlap down around the tips of the bolts so that you can screw the hardware on tightly. Then one by one, twist on your hardware.

6. Finally, wrap the larger ribbon across the top of the board and staple to the back. Then wrap the smaller ribbon around the board so that it lays on top of the larger ribbon and staple to the back. Attach your hanging hardware to the back of the board and hang on the wall.

Finished! Now the fun part is hanging your jewelry...

Do you have a favorite way to organize your jewelry? And more importantly - are you doing anything fun for Labor Day weekend? I'm going camping for two nights with a big group of friends and seriously CANNOT WAIT! :) Have a good one!

Personal Project: Dresser Re-vamp

Well hello there. I hope everyone had a fantastic, summery weekend! I just wrapped up what was by far my busiest week in a looong time, and between sippin' beers at the Oregon BrewFest, gettin' down at both Phantogram and Florence and the Machine, and enjoying a few backyard barbecues - one involving togas, I didn't even have time to watch The Bachelorette finale blogging has been on the back burner. Until now...

One of my best friends, Michelle, is working hard to clean out the was-his, now-theirs home she and her husband share as newlyweds, and since I was smart enough to mention how much I loved a dresser in their basement a while back... it's now going to be mine! The only place it'll fit in my apartment is the kitchen, and I've decided not to question the weirdness of that because I just can't pass up free furniture that has some smidgeon of style.  I will make it work.

what I'm working with

I think the dresser has a lot of potential, so I'm planning on sanding, priming and painting it to create a totally new look. I'm in the brainstorming phase and would love any input on colors, finishes, hardware, and so on and so forth. Thank you in advance :)

A few things I'm trying to keep in mind:

1) Since this piece will be going in my white-walled kitchen, I am leaning towards lighter colors so it'll camouflage itself a bit and not feel like it's taking up the whole space. But maybe it should stand out? Help!

2) I would also like to consider the color palettes throughout my apartment because this dresser may not always be in the kitchen; my "bedroom" is made up of muted florals, my "living room" is a rainbow of colors, heavy on the brights, and my kitchen is so basic that the only thing I might need to consider complementing is the table and chairs which can be seen here. Side note: the blueness of the table is a little intense in that photo - in real life it's much lighter.

3) I already have a lot of paint in the color below (glossy Behr "Malted Milk") and I am obsessed with it, but it happens to be what my bedroom dresser is painted right now and I don't want to walk around with "B-O-R-I-N-G" written on my forehead. Perhaps it could be paired with another color or two?

via

Here are some photos I've rounded up for copying ideas....

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So... what in the world do you think I should do with this dresser?

DIY: Herb Wall in the Kitchen

On my birthday back in February, my mom surprised me with a special delivery at work: a potted herb garden! For the past few months, two rectangular terracotta planters full of mint, thyme and oregano sat on my kitchen table, and I absolutely loved them. I was actually growing herbs indoors! But... they took up a lot of tabletop space.

I eventually decided that I wanted to find a way to hang the herbs on the wall so they would be out of the way but still receiving good sunlight, and guess who saved the day? Ikea. (They got no love on Monday so they're getting some today.) They had several different options for hanging pot-like containers on the wall, and I decided to go with this set-up because I wanted a modern look, and I thought I could paint the pots.

Well, due to my lack of experience with DIY projects and a tendency to follow my intuition over a plan, this project turned out to be a lot more involved than I wanted it to be. I finally gave up on my idea to paint the original plastic containers after my first attempt started chipping off and the second attempt smelled so toxic I've now been suffering from severe allergy-like symptoms for the past three days. (Read that last line in a Revenge of the Nerds voice.) Dear spray paint, you and I are done!

After driving all over town for acceptable replacement containers, Fred Meyer turned out to be my saving grace with their stock of 100% biodegradable bamboo pots. They came in an assortment of colors, cost only $1.99 each and were the perfect fit. I decided to keep it simple and just go with purple since it's what will work best with the other colors in my kitchen.

One of the coolest things about these bamboo pots is that they can be planted directly into the ground in a couple of years. Here's to hoping I have a backyard with a garden by then!

 Over the course of this project, the herbs I already had decided to shrivel up and die (when it rains it pours!) so I went out and got some new ones - the ones I'll cook with most often: mint, parsley, basil, oregano and cilantro! Word to the wise - the guy at Home Depot freaked out when I grabbed regular potting soil for this project ... he said I MUST see vegetables on the bag if I'm planting something I plan on consuming. (Mom, why did you never tell me this!?) So I went with Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix.

After removing the plants from their containers, I broke up the roots a little bit so they weren't as tightly packed. (Gardening 101)

After putting a small handful of dirt at the bottom of the pot, I carefully set the plant inside and gently packed potting mix around it. The base of the plant and soil line were about a 3/4 inch below the top of the pot.

After planting all of the herbs, I removed the outside stickers, watered them, and after the water stopped dripping, hung the pots on the Ikea rack that I had already attached to the wall. (If you decide to get the same rack and set of pots, note that, in my experience, the pot holders do not come with the appropriate screws, so I had to go to the store to get the right size screws, washers and nuts to hold it all together.)

Ta da! First thing I'm making? Guacamole with fresh cilantro. :)

Do you have herbs in your kitchen? If so, which ones do you use the most?

Marble gets Modern

Marble is a material that I have always considered to be way too luxe (ahem, Kelly Wearstler) for my own apartment ... until now. Fun, colorful (and often inexpensive or DIY) marble seems to be showing up everywhere these days, in the most unusual ways and in the most unexpected places. Check out my favorite examples of the trend below!

coffee table, nail polish, dress, shakers & holders, denim jacket, glassware, dress

Is this a trend you're getting into?

design trend 2012: nautical rope accessories

Have you noticed how rope accessories are really "in" right now? I'm not totally sold one the idea, probably because the first example I saw was this $700 mirror from Anthropologie and my initial thought was Regretsy. Oops. Doesn't something just look a little off? Like you're going to have a huge rope unibrow when you're trying to do your makeup? Emperor's New Clothes status, IMHO.

That introduction to the nautical rope craze was a little disappointing, and the feeling has been reinforced by other rope accessories that I feel were only designed for the sake of being on-trend. If rope wasn't in style, would you actually buy this doorstop for $45? My guess is no.

Overall, I think most of the rope accessories that have popped up are a little silly or kind of tacky (hey, just bein' honest!), but there are a few I can get behind. They've managed to make me less of a skeptic.

I give you my favorite nautical rope trends so far (so you don't get lost in the "Mom, look what I made at camp!" chaos):

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Just a handful. Ha!

Gettin' Crafty: Birthday Gifts

This past Friday was my friend Lisa's 28th birthday (we are "birthday sisters" because our birthdays are less than a week apart), so we got the party started by going out for some sassy cocktails, oyster shooters and cajun food at her favorite restaurant, Portland's iconic Le Bistro Montage, tucked under the Morrison Bridge. After having a nice, long dinner we moseyed over to a basement club called The Goodfoot where we got all kinds of hot and shiny while getting down to loud funk music under a sparkly disco ball. Of all the photos snapped over the course of the night, Lisa's favorite was a close-up action shot of her whipping her hair across her face while working it on the dance floor. Everyone really needs a friend like her. <3

Because this girl and I have a very thoughtful, long-lasting, close friendship, I thought I'd do something different this year and create a homemade gift for her birthday. While I love shopping for the perfect birthday present, sometimes it's fun to make a gift instead because it always ends up being super personal. After searching on Pinterest for a new way to decorate a picture frame and finding nothing I liked (been there, done that), I had a completely random, Brownies-era thought pop into my head: I should make her a dreamcatcher. Now this gift might not be appreciated by everyone, because it's a little bit "out there" and a unique kind of decor, but I was pretty sure she'd be into it. And she was.

The basic steps for making a dreamcatcher are pretty simple (I mean we all made them in elementary school, didn't we?) but there's definitely room to get creative with the details, so I support straying from the instructions a little bit and just trying something you think will look good. Picking out unique materials and charms was the most fun part for me; I went to several different shops to get gemstones, beads, silver charms, sea glass and feathers. I felt like a 28-year old Goonie hunting for treasure. My favorite personalization was the addition of amethyst to the catcher because it's the birthstone of February. And what month is the diamond again? Yeah, those are the lucky people! 

I'm not going to give you instructions for creating a dreamcatcher because when I made one I just entered it into Youtube and came up with about a dozen how-to videos. The best instructional video definitely being this one (this is when the existence of sarcasm font would be helpful) - listen for the cats. Instead, I thought I'd take the space to share some of the other cool DIY decor-related gift ideas I came across on the web.

DIY Etched Map Serving Tray from Design*Sponge

Egg Carton Wreath from Homemade Serenity

 DIY Monogrammed Mugs from Design Mom

DIY Clay Jewelry Tray from Fiskars

DIY Sunburst Mirror from K Sarah Designs

Cool, huh? There are some crafty people out there! I would be thrilled to receive any of these. :)