Love Your Kitchen &#9829

This is our kitchen on a day when we must have been having people over good day. I LOVE my kitchen. Sure, there are things I don’t like about it: the 1 drawer that is unfinished. The water that really needs a water softener hooked up to it so that my dishes won’t be spotty. The drawer faces that keep needing to be screwed back on. The island that accumulates junk (how dare it?!). 😉 The flies. I hate the flies (I said the “d” word, according to my 4 year old–hate!). Stainless steel appliances (and a counter to boot) are pretty to look at when they’re nice and polished, but most of the time they’re just a streaky mess.

BUT. After all of those “complaints,”  I LOVE my kitchen. I really do. I think it’s important that we love our kitchen, because if we’re cooking healthy food, we will be spending a lot of time there. You don’t need to do a major remodel to love your kitchen. Here are some quick tips to help you:

1. Put a yummy smelling candle in your kitchen. Make sure it’s natural. You don’t want to be breathing in chemical fumes while you detox your body with good food. 🙂
2. Make sure you like the smell of your hand soap. Even your dishwashing soap. I told my husband, I think smell is my love language (if there is such a thing!).
3. Set up your utensils and tools in the places that you will most use them. It’s a waste of time to walk to one end of the kitchen to get the blender, and the other end to get the glasseswhen your smoothie is done.
4. Put a cute rugin front of your sink. Add an anti-slip pad underneath it or the cute rug will become annoying!
5. Hang up a cute signor curtainsabove your window. As you can see, I’ve yet to do that!
6. Add basketsto your kitchen for some extra dimension. I put winter squash and onions in baskets.
7. Set the table with a table clothevery now and then. No need to iron, just fluff in the dryer. We’re not looking for perfection here, just a touch of beauty!
8. Gather dishes that you love. Note that they don’t have to match and this doesn’t have to be expensive! You can get dishes at antique stores and consignment shops pretty inexpensively. I’ve opted for a Fiesta Ware collection in my home, and I LOVE my dishes. One mom I know of said that she uses a particular color for each kid–and each kid is responsible for washing his or her own dishes. If one is left out, you know whose it is! Brilliant!
9. Use washcloths and towels that please the eye. My two favorites are bright blue and bright red.
10. Keep your kitchen sink clean. Check out Fly Lady for more tips about this!
11. Paint your kitchen cabinets. Ok, this is a big deal and takes some time, but it’s worth it. My island is painted with Devine paint in the color Current.
12. Add extra lights. Even if that just means a small lamp on the counter, do it! You want your kitchen to be bright and beautiful.

This post was shared at Works for me Wednesday.

Do you have any ideas about how to love your kitchen?