Kitchen Cart

A good neighbor not only invites you over for dinner, but also inspires you to revamp your kitchen organization! You might remember my kitchen curtain post where I first introduced you to the White Elephant's shabby and not-so-chic heart of the home. You know, the post where I pointed out it's abundance of grunge and made the bright graphic curtain panels in an attempt to divert attention from this grunge? If you didn't, no worries, one look at the speckled linoleum tile flooring and you'll get the jist.

In addition, there's this odd little corner space between the dishwasher and back door;

This is actually a pretty "clean" photo. Usually this spot collects a lot of shoes and a hodge podge of other things. But you get the idea, it's a not so pretty little area for trash and miscellaneous items. Or that's what it was resigned to until I saw my neighbors kitchen and noticed that she had a microwave cart here. Not only did it look a lot cleaner and nicer, but what a good use of the space!

So, after perusing thrift stores and Craig's List for a week or two and still coming up empty handed, I finally went to Walmart and bought the least expensive storage cart they carried. As much as I would have liked to find something used, it was $20 well spent. What do you think? 

Not only did that grungy-corner-for-trash-and-junk look go bye-bye once the new cart was up, but a lot of counter space was freed up as well. And counter space is precious real estate in this kitchen.

Welcome to the new home for the coffee maker, microwave, cook books, and the green firebird rooster. He moved down from the windowsill to get a change of scenery.

Speaking of the coffee maker, it's now in close proximity to my coffee containers for maximum convenience. My daily morning coffee routine just got even easier!



Oh and let me point out a project within a project. Remember this tray? It came from a thrift store for about $1.50.

It needed some cleaning and spiffing up, and that's exactly what it got. For a few bucks more, I picked up a can of "Cherry Red" spray paint and gave it a fun new color to match the curtains.

Then I had a small pile of frames that I'd picked up from Rugged Wearhouse on clearance for $1 each. I also had some fun cards that happened to be the perfect size, so in the frames they went! (The other one's sitting on the windowsill where the rooster used to be.) You might have noticed the little yellow-green acorn frame as well. It was also on clearance for a buck, so I got two and then painted them this yellow-green color (they were originally brown, then lime green- the same color as the firebird, which was too much- and now this shade after mixing the original green with some white to lighten it up a little). As you can see, they (the little "acorns") are empty for the time being, but I have an idea for 'em that I'll eventually get around to.

The trash can still sits here, but now it's not the focal point of the space. I've been toying with the idea of spray painting it red... I've never heard of anyone doing this, but hey, I've got to do something with the leftover spray paint, right?

So that's it for now. We're slowly and surely improving our little "character-rich" kitchen. I say "we" not because Thane has any part in the decor aspect of the makeover, but because he's the one that put the shelf together. Thanks honey!

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P.S. See our ranch house kitchen plans here. (And pssst, they won't just be plans for much longer, the cabinets are going up sooner than we can believe!)

P.S.S. Spray paint works wonders; see how to use it to get the exact look you want for your decorative curtain rods here.

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Light. Airy. Blue.

It was hard to know what to do with our blue tiled bathroom when we first moved in. Blue's not really my cup of tea, but we happened to have an old set of navy bath mats so down they went, and that was that.

But they kind of bugged me. And since this is the bathroom our guests use, I thought it could stand a little improvement. So, I did a little switcheroo with our long white rug from the master bath. What an improvement!

I also refilled our little woven basket with T.P. It's funny how toilet paper can look nice with a little bit of arranging.

This framed fabric is worth noting- this was a totally free project when I did it back in the fall. I already owned the frames and the fabric (it was supposed to be a baby quilt but never got there, same story with my bible cover). Oh and the frames used to be gold, but got spray-painted white a couple of years back. And thanks to these lovely windowsills, they've got a nice place to perch.

So anyway, what a refreshingly easy way to improve our blue bathroom! I'm learning that when something's bugging me (like the navy bath mats), I can usually "fix" it by swapping around what I already own. By His grace and longsuffering, Jesus is teaching me to be content with what I have (which is abundantly, abundantly more than I'll ever need).

I remember when we first moved into this home and it took about three weeks to get our furniture shipment. That was three weeks on an air mattress while about seven months pregnant, with nothing but a couple of lawn chairs and cardboard boxes as tables. I was so anxious to get our furniture, but I kept reminding myself of the verse that says "having food and clothing, with these we shall be content" {Luke 3:14}. Along with that, I'm getting better and better about repurposing what we already own rather than buying new things every time I think I want something. It's actually a fun "challenge" to see what I can do with what's around the house. No trip to the store necessary! Not to mention the buyer's remorse that often accompanies.

One more thing about the blue...it's actually growing on me!

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P.S. Here's another good verse to remind us that we have all we need (and more!) in Christ. If, in fact, we do have Him... As well as a good reminder of what our behavior should be Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." {Hebrews 13:5}

P.S.S. See more fabric and frame ideas here and here.

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Hang Curtains for Less

Who's hung curtains lately?

When we moved into our Georgia home last fall, one of the first things I noticed we'd need was curtain rods. And if you've looked lately (or ever) you know that they ain't cheap. Not the decorative ones, at least. And with more than a panel or two to hang, we were looking at hundreds of dollars for standard decorative rods.

Well, you know me. When it comes to cash, I don't drop it like it's hot. I'd much rather hold onto it until it's burned a whole in my pocket. And because we'd need at least nine rods to hang curtains in the main parts of the house (living space and bedrooms), that would add up quickly when you consider that the cost of one rod is about $20-30. The longest ones can even get into the $50 range. But for the sake of the discussion, let's just say they're $20 a piece. $20x9 rods=$180. And that's just way to much to ever conceive spending.

So, I racked my brain for a way to hang our curtains without breaking the bank. And then it hit me; spray-paint!

Well, spray-paint + cheap rods. I can't remember how the idea struck, but Ross- the discount retailer- was the first place I went to make it happen. If anybody was selling rods at a deal, it was them. I'm a bronze fan when it comes to hardware. I like the rich, warm, antiqued feel of it. (You might have noticed that the spray-paint top and the actual rod in the first photo look black, but they're actually a dark metallic brown). Anyway, Ross' big chunky rods weren't much less than the ones at Lowes, but they did have quite a few thinner ones in a variety of finishes- silver, brass, black, etc.

This is where spray paint comes in. These thinner (but still very nice) rods were only $6 a pop. And it didn't matter that four were silver, two were black, and three were brass. With a little Rustoleum spray paint and a couple hours time, they were all bronze and ready for hanging!

So let's talk cost: $6x9= $54. Which admittedly still seems like a lot, (to me at least), but it's much less than $180. And, I have the long-term in mind. I've counted up the number of windows, hence rods, we'll need for the ranch house when we move there. And we almost have enough! These here are definitely going with us, and it's nice to know that we'll get years and years of use out of them.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures from the day of the undertaking, but here's a tip I gleaned from the experience. If you lay the rods out on a large piece of cardboard, you can easily paint the rods and hardware at the same time by poking the screws into the cardboard so that they're standing up. You don't want a silver screw standing out against a bronze rod.

I was so excited to stumble upon this creative way to save money. Have any of you guys had a similar light-bulb-on! moment lately?

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17