Open Shelves Decorating, Organizing and Rethinking in my Kitchen

This week I’m teaming up with my link party partner Chas from Chas’ Crazy Creations with a kitchen project! (Don’t miss her Under the Sink Organization!) When I completed my kitchen renovation a few months ago I decorated my new open shelves above my kitchen sink but I’ve been thinking about changing things up a little bit.

The whole kitchen remodel started with my idea of bringing the hutch my grandparents’ made in here so I could actually USE it. The hutches current job is holding all of my plates, bowls, glasses, cups and mugs. Its a tight squeeze…

… and what I mean by that is I haven’t broken any falling glasses yet only because my reflexes have been experiencing a shot of luck lately that is guaranteed not to last much longer.

I had been thinking about trying to add some more shelves to my hutch but that would only get me so far and I have several mugs that are stashed elsewhere that still wouldn’t fit regardless.

It was time to take out some of my pretty decorations and give the shelves above my kitchen sink some real USE and give my poor hutch a break!

First thing was first. THE BIG QUESTION. What do I use here CONSTANTLY that is not here that I have to BRING to the kitchen sink?

Glasses, cups and mugs. Obviously.

My first urge (which is the exact opposite of what I was attempting to do here) was to bring out all the stuff in my hutch that I never use to free up space in there for everything else. Bad Tarah – get focused!

So out came my set of glasses and the half of my every day coffee mugs. This opened up my hutch enough at that point where I could fit everything in it now from my traveling cups to also some of the decorations that had to come off of my shelves!

So much better already!!

Salt and pepper shakers and the other two little spice jars really didn’t need to stay here (or the gravy boat I use once a year) so they got new homes.

I had to keep chastising myself and REALLY focus on practical and not just pretty. I kept having the urge to add things here that are literally of no use to me on a day to day basis.

Second thing I thought of that I use here all the time is towels so I made a spot in the wicker basket under my sink to stash several. (SO silly that I hadn’t done at least that sooner. I was literally walking across the room for a clean towel! I would have put them up on the shelves but underneath the sink made more sense.)

Thirdly I have been fighting with the need to always have a pitcher out for plant watering and dog water bowl filling.

Its been going like this: Fill the bowl, water the plants and be really lazy and just flip said pitcher over to dry in the sink. This happens ALL THE TIME. It drives me crazy cause its just AROUND with absolutely no home. Or, if I put it away, it drives me even more crazy because I’m constantly getting it out again to use it.

But even for this practical gal my plastic beer mug pitcher is not pretty enough that I could bare it hanging out in the open on my shelves.

Then it occurred to me that I had just the thing…

We lost my great great aunt this last summer and one of the lovely things I inherited from her was a pretty porcelain pitcher. But I didn’t have any room for it so I had stuck it into a cabinet hoping someday I would have a place for it.

It was the perfect solution!

Like at most kitchen sinks I also have a sponge thing for cleaning stuff. Lodi was washing dishes one day and, in all seriousness, he asked me, “Do you have a scrubby scrub scrubber?”

It was just the sweetest thing ever and it was all I could do to keep a straight face, “Do I have a scrubby scrub scrubber? Why yes I do! Here let me get you my scrubby scrub scrubber!”

He’ll never live it down. It is officially the name of any scrubby in my house now.

I have a couple of spoon rests for keeping beside the stove. I really don’t need two of them so I realized one of them would work perfect on the shelves for a place to keep the scrubby scrub scrubber.

The one I’m using here now is just the prettiest little mason jar spoon rest!

Having the paper towel rack my grandparents’ made up on the top shelf has been great for limiting paper towel usage. But I have some short people in my family and, to be fair, even I have to practically go on tippy toe to reach them so I decided to mount it up to the bottom of the cabinet beside my sink instead.

I like that the way I built the cabinets actually recessed the base of the holder up so its more hidden than before. And I still think its far enough away to be inconvenient enough that it will still encourage all of us (mostly me) to use the dang kitchen towel instead.

The top shelf I still designated for decorations and things I don’t often need because anything up there is a stretch for me. I brought my vase of my Grandma’s buttons and silk peonies over to help give some height and I think it looks nice up there!

All in, this is SO much more practical!

Not spending a dime, just rethinking and moving things around really improved my kitchen life!

Under the Kitchen Sink Organization from Chas at Chas’ Crazy Creations!

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