Before & After: Kitchen Decluttering

I was busy the other day making over the top of our cabinets and countertops. It was started too look a little too cluttered. Here's the before:

And here's the after:

Little things like this can make such a difference!

Checking Things Off Our Rezi List

Remember our Rezi List?  We are working hard at crossing things off it as quickly as we can.  This weekend, we tackled the kitchen sink.  Here's what it looked like before we started.

See the tainted faucet?  I got a little over zealous in cleaning the faucet by using a harsh cleaner (that was after this cleaning).  It not only ruined the faucet, but it left our stainless steel sink looking streaky.  As if the sink weren't hard enough to keep looking clean!  So we decided to get a new sink that was bigger and better than what we had.

Then, before we even started looking, my parents redid their entire kitchen.  Top to bottom.  They had a great looking sink that was in mint condition that they wanted to get rid of.  We told them we could easily take it off their hands.  And that's just what we did.  All we had to do was switch out the drains and we were good to go.  {Side note: my parents are not fans of having a garbage disposal so we had to swap out one of their drains for our existing garbage disposal.}

So my husband and brother-in-law worked as hard as they could to loosen the existing drains.  After using about every special tool in their bucket, and a trip into town later, this is what we were left with.

It broke right in half.  Unfortunately the stubborn drain wouldn't come free.  We're not quite sure why as our stainless steel sink was a piece of cake to work on.  So, another "quick" trip into town to pick out a sink and this is the end result.

A beautiful deep sink with a nice new faucet.  Did you notice the matching soap dispenser too?  We love our new sink.... even if things didn't quite go as expected!

Storage Container DIY

I've had these little clear storage containers for my main baking ingredients forever.  (Well, not quite forever, but at least 6 years.)  I decided it was either time to replace them entirely or try to spruce them up.  I washed them all down so they were sparkly clean and then got to work cutting some adhesive backed vinyl with my Cricut.  Here's the finished product:





Now every time I open my cupboards I smile just a little.  If you don't have a Cricut, use some stickers or rub-ons to add a little something special to your boring storage containers.  I promise, you'll like it!  (You'll have to forgive the low amount of sugar...I was busy making these Chocolate Surprise Cookies.)



Happy Weekend everyone!

How to Remove Hard Water Stains

I grew up with a spotless home.  My mother was very good about keeping everything in tip-top shape.  I picked up quite a few pointers from her, but dealing with hard water stains was something I didn't know anything about.

If you have hard water, you've more than likely have seen stains appear in your bathroom or kitchen where there is a water source.  The minerals from the hard water build up over time, and are not easily scrubbed off.  I've found the best cleaner at attacking hard water stains is vinegar.

Here is my kitchen sink faucet before I started cleaning.

Yikes, huh?!

Here are the steps I took to treating this baby.

1.  I took a few paper towels,  soaked them in white vinegar and wrapped them around the faucet.

2.  I'd pop in with a toothbrush every 6 hours or so and scrub away the hard water stains and then reapply the paper towels.  After 1 day of letting the faucet soak, it looked like this.

It was looking much better already.  But it still wasn't clean enough so I reapplied the paper towels, added a little vinegar and let it soak for about 3 more days, still popping in with a tooth brush every once and a while.  Here's what it looks like now.

It looks much better.  Although, it's still not completely back to new, I couldn't deal with the vinegar smell anymore.  I've heard that you can mix a little lemon juice in with the vinegar to help it along.  Has anyone tried this?  If you have any pointers, I'd love to hear them.

Before & After: Bathroom & Kitchen

Totty and Dave sent over their most recent transformations of their home.  It all started out in the bathroom.  They purchased the house about 5 years ago, and remodeled the bathroom shortly after moving in.  Unfortunately, they hired a bad tile worker, and ended up having to redo the entire bathroom a couple years later.  Here is a before picture of the bathroom- this is what it looked like when they moved in.

And the after pictures:

Lovely, right?  I especially like the benched seating, the sinks and the wallpaper.  You can find more details and pictures of the transformation on their blog.

As if tackling the bathroom wasn't enough, Totty and Dave moved right along to the kitchen.  And just like the bathroom, they redid it shortly after moving in.  This is their second time redoing it in 5 years!  Oh, the patience they must have for dust!!  Here is what the kitchen looked like when they moved in.

And the after pictures:

I love the shelving underneath the cabinets, and the beautiful wood floors.  Isn't it an amazing transformation?  You can view more pictures and details over on their blog.  Thanks so much for sharing, Totty and Dave!

Kitchen Utinsel Organizer DIY

I've been in the process of de-cluttering my kitchen.  I wanted to try to keep my counter top clean, since our current kitchen has no counter space.  I decided I needed to get rid of the huge container that had been sitting on my counter that held pretty much every utensil I had.  Whisks of various sizes, pasta forks, spatulas, stirring spoons, and everything else all shared the same container.  It was getting super crowded and I don't use those things all the time so I dumped the entire contents into one of the drawers... better already.  Only problem was, a few of the items I use at almost every meal.  I decided I needed a smaller container that I could leave out that would just hold a couple of items.  The problem with a smaller container is that when I put the utensils in, the entire container would tip over.  After some trial and error my solution was that I needed a medium sized container with some type of filler to keep my utensils from tipping and falling out.  My solution?

Combine a $1 decorative ceramic pot from IKEA:



A bag of nice decorative rocks:



Add the few utensils I use all the time:



Much better!  Nice, clean, and organized!

Inspiration Kitchens

Kitchens play a major part in every house.  Plenty of time is spent in the kitchen, and many memories are made there too.  Here are some of my favorite kitchens, all of them calm, serene, and inviting:

{Click on the images to take you to the source.}

Fireplace in your Kitchen?

This is something that's always been on my list of When we Build A house I want this:

This is the CookCook fireplace from Reugg

A woodburning fireplace in the kitchen!  There's nothing more delicious to me than flat breads and pizzas cooked directly over the flame!  Plus it's just so inviting and comfortable!  What do you think?  A little too much, or great if you have the space?  I'd still have a standard oven but would love the ability to light up the fireplace for some real cooking!  Are there any things on YOUR wish list?

Before & After Kitchen

We loving receiving before and after in our inbox.  They are so fun and inspiring.  Scott and his wife, Leyla have been busy remodeling their 1910 Victorian home since 2006.  Can you imagine the dust now?!  I think the transformation is so wonderful! It's so clean and crisp!  I don't think I would have a problem baking in this kitchen.

Do you have a project you're working on that you'd like to share?  Send them over to us at admin AT freshnestdesign DOT com.

Katie's Kitchen Remodel

Katie and her husband are in Germany.  They have an apartment and a 36 sq. ft. kitchen that they finished the remodel on last year.  Can you believe how different it looks now?

And did you know that they built all those cabinets themselves?!?  Amazing!

Tips for Small Spaces

Small spaces can seem challenging to design so I'd like to give a few general tips today that might help you expand your small space.

General tips:

• Make your rooms comfortable, yet functional.  Everything should serve a purpose in a small space.


• In addition to functional, make sure everything has a spot.  You may need to focus on the items you really need, and pitch things that you sort of need, or love.  A clean and non-cluttered space will always seem larger and open.


• Use color to your advantage.  The use of white and cool colors can make a space feel larger than it actually is.

{via Apartment Therapy}

Kitchen:

• If you have a lot of party serving platters, consider using these as artwork somewhere in the home so you aren't taking up valuable cupboard space.


• Be creative- Use spices as decor, hang your knives on a magnetic wall rack.


• If you have soffits, make sure your cupboards go all the way to the top- as high as possible and make sure they are the same width as the soffit so they blend in and don't stick out.  You may have to get out a step stool to get all the way to the top if you have tall ceilings, but it will be nice storage.

{via Apartment Therapy}

Bedroom:

• If you live in a studio/efficiency, try to separate your bedroom area from the main living area.  We promise you will be so much happier.  {See the picture above- the bookshelf serves as a divider - and storage!}


• Hopefully you have a closet close by, but if not, you can purchase one.  The Hosle from IKEA is a reasonable solution at $79.99.  If you have the room for something a little bigger, try the Kullen for $149.00.


• An easy storage solution is found under the bed.  The Container Store has great products that will fit right under your bed and make things easily accessible.

Do you live in a small space?  If so, how are you using your space to your advantage?

Kitchen Love

Image from xJavierx

Don't you just love how clean and bright this kitchen feels.  And I love how the cabinets are painted green inside!  What a nice surprise.  (And I bet you didn't even realize that the kitchen floor is painted too.)

Image from SarahLeeab

Love the mixture of the blue and red.  Looks fabulous!

Before & After: Kitchen Cabinets

Whitney is someone with a very fresh style.  It shows through in both her graphics work and her home!  Recently she did a little project with some yard sale fabric she got.  (You can read more about her project here.)

Her Before Picture.

You can see here that her upper cabinets have fabric, but it's green and no longer matches the lovely blue she painted her kitchen.

Her After Picture.

It matches now!  She made some new ones from inexpensive fabric she got at a yard sale.  I love that not only does it coordinate now, but the pattern provides some visual interest to the kitchen!

Awesome job Whitney!