Design
My Sister Surprised Me With A Post! Here Are The 5 Things In Her New Kitchen She Didn’t Expect To Love
What an absolute fun project my sister’s kitchen was (and thank you so much for all the love). Out of the blue, she sent me a blog post with some of her thoughts about it, and we thought it would be fun to share her perspective. I loved hearing it myself:)
When you’ve been in remodel mode for a long time, one of the things that abates the insanity is picturing the finished product and chanting that mantra, “it will all be worth it when…” Of course, if a remodel takes long enough, the picture in your head can change over time. Dark cabinets? No, wait; white cabinets. Patterned tile floor? No, wait; hardwoods. And so on and so on, until I was sure I had considered every possibility for the room- all the way down to décor and storage. Which is why when Emily came in and shared her plans for the color palette and the open shelves, I’d seen enough ideas to imagine just how incredible it would be. Finally I was able to stop playing the game of “what about__?” and shift into “holycowthisisireallyhappening!” mode. And now the kitchen is done; I can say that I love it even more than I thought I would. I was pretty sure this would be the case, but a few things caught me by surprise.
The Brass Upgrade On The Appliance Hardware
Left: Electric Range + Brass Knobs | Right: Knobs + Pulls
Every time I walk into the kitchen, I’m struck by how warm and pretty it is. Every single time. The gold tones all around the room resonate as luxe and timeless, and the tie-in between the cabinet hardware and the appliance handles feels very personalized. It’s like the space is a great outfit and the brass accents are the perfect accent jewelry. This upgrade turned out to be a banner bang for the buck, and I am so glad it happened.
The Instahot
Yes, the hot water faucet adds more of the brass accent, and yes, it is great for hot tea and instant oatmeal. But I was surprised to find that I use it multiple times a day and in ways I never expected. Like adding hot water to wet cat food for instant “cat soup.” (Gross, I know, but soo helpful in keeping an old cat hydrated.) Or taking a bowl with stuck-on yogurt and running it under the Instahot for just a couple of seconds- now I don’t have to scrub it. And today I was able to save a favorite white shirt from an aggressive coffee stain because I could run near-boiling water over the spot. I can’t believe how much I love and use that little spigot.
The French Door Refrigerator
I’ve always found the French-door look to be very pleasing aesthetically, but I liked having freezer items on multiple shelves, so until now I’d always had a side-by-side fridge/freezer combo. Now that I’ve lived with the BEAUTIFUL new GE fridge for a few weeks, I’ve decided that going wider and shallower is so much more functional for day-to-day use that it is absolutely worth the shift for frozen foods. I’ll never go back. (Plus, all of the lights inside the fridge, I mean…)
Interior Lazy Susans
Speaking of the fridge, putting lazy susans (do we still call them that?) inside. Where have these been all my life? On my top shelf, there is one that holds three different flavors of jam, two different cream cheese flavors, two different nut butters, and a couple of other things. Instead of pulling jar after jar out to get to the one I want and then having to put them all back, I give it a little spin and voila! I can grab just the one. The shelf below that has a spinner with containers of leftovers. Instead of something getting buried in the back until I forget about it, I give it a little spin and -voila I am easily considering all of my options. So simple, but what a game changer! This may sound silly, but it’s actually fun to find what I want in my pretty new fridge.
Purposeful Storage Containers
And finally, purposeful storage containers. Over the years, I have really examined Emily’s house to suss out why I am always able to feel so calm while I’m there. I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the biggest factors is in the way that everything you see feels chosen. Not expensive, just intentional. There really is something about seeing purposeful creations like baskets and wood and glass instead of cereal boxes and plastic tubs that makes a space feel more grounded. Plus, it’s just plain less to look at! Emily’s work to make sure everything in view is something to be appreciated rather than assimilated has freed up much more emotional and mental space than I expected. I knew this would be nice, but I was truly surprised by the level of effect it had on me.
Now, I don’t know how professional it is to thank your sister on her own blog, but thank you, thank you to Emily and team! What an amazing reward after such a long wait. And special thanks to Lowe’s- the whole process was very streamlined. I can’t believe how much I love the new kitchen. Dinner at my house next time!
*Photos by Kaitlin Green
This is so sweet! It’s incredible how much better it feels to cook in a kitchen designed properly for practicality as well as beauty. My favourite practical part of my new (now three years old) kitchen is the pull-out drawer beside the cooker for oils and sauces like yours – so much more convenient than having them in a cupboard and I can put the oil straight back in instead of leaving it beside the cooker looking less than aesthetic (I’m sure everyone here decants theirs into a beautiful vessel, but mine is the bottle from the supermarket with the label starting to peel off and fingerprints all over it). I want a lazy Susan for my fridge too now!
I couldn’t love this post more!
I basically have the same comment as Elle–so sweet of Michele to write this, and I definitely have to consider a lazy susan in the fridge now too!
For some reason I’m used to the idea of a countertop hot water dispenser but not one that’s built-in. I guess because I’m not sure how you make sure the plumbing for it stays clean? Is it only filtered water that goes to the dispenser, maybe? We’re planning on putting in a filtered water dispenser but something about cold vs hot is snagging in my brain.
I use my hot water faucet for cat soup too! And instant coffee and tea! It’s the best! Mine filters water for cold and hot. We used a pre-existing hole in our counter that was for a sink sprayer and then switched out our faucet for one that had a sprayer in its neck. Easy upgrade! 😹💕