Open Shelves in the Kitchen

My parents have been talking about redoing their kitchen, which has got me really excited.  There are so many fabulous possibilities in kitchens. I've been keeping my eyes peeled for ideas to give them when they decide to start the renovation. One trend I am really liking right now is adding open shelves. It is a great way to store and display items you use every day, as long as you can keep it organized, which would be my problem. It also adds an extra place in the kitchen to accessorize and add some of your own personality. Check out the open shelving in these pretties!

Sources {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Brass Love

I, along with everyone else, am totally smitten with Brass right now. I used to hate it and wanted nothing to do with it, but I am now loving the look. I especially love brass hardware when it contrasted against dark gray or black cabinets. So Pretty! I love the way the hardware really pops against the cabinets in this kitchen.

via

In case you are in the market for some new kitchen or bathroom hardware, here are few of my faves right now.

1 // 2  // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 // 7 // 8 // 9 // 10

Black and White Kitchen

via

I found my new dream kitchen the other day. I love everything about this kitchen from the dark floors to the white cabinets to the black trim. Gorgeous I tell ya, all of it! And I love the girly glam that is added through those fabulous pendants. I could definitely cook in here.

A quick DIY

If you ask my husband how good my memory is he will probably say, "what memory, I don't think she has one." It's true, and quite sad really. I don't know how many times I've gone to the store only to realize that I have no clue what I went there for. Or what's even worse is when I pull into the Target parking lot and then think, "wait a second I was supposed to be going to the bank", but I think that shows more of my love of Target then my forgetfulness. My husband is always telling me to write things down, or make a list. So I try, but then I leave my list home, or I forget to write things on my list (My goodness, I am sounding more and more pathetic as I write this, please tell me I am not the only one who does this!) 

So I was trying to think of some way to help me be a little less forgetful, and that is when I decided to make a chalk board and put it right by the garage door so I couldn't miss it on my way out. Our kitchen cabinets end right next to the door so there was a two foot wide empty space that I was trying to fill anyway. Perfect!

(as a side note, I painted the cabinets a couple months ago but have yet to post about it because I still need to put the hardware on the doors. And I am saving up all my moneys to one day replace all that beige tile. And yes, donations are welcome!)

It was really quite simple to make. First I found some chalkboard contact paper on Amazon. This stuff is so cool, I'm slightly obsessed! I simply cut the chalkboard paper the size I needed and stuck it to the wall. Next I put up a frame around it. I used the frame of an old $5 full length mirror that was out of commission because it got stepped on...oops. I just painted it with come craft paint from Michaels. I then nailed it in all four corners and bam, done!

Now I don't have a bare wall anymore, and I don't forget the apples when I go to the store... as long as I remember where I put the chalk.