Little Things

This post is about two very small and simple projects I did last week, with a little inspiration from Pinterest (of course). These are two projects that I am a total idiot for not thinking of myself and for not doing them sooner.

Thanks to Pinterest I came across this really awesome blog: I Heart Organizing. Thanks to the husband subjecting me to too many episodes of Hoarders, and our house being a bit disheveled after the power outage from Tropical Storm Irene, I went a little bonkers. So with a little inspiration here and here, I got to work. So this is our fridge and freezer right after the power came back on. It's more than a wreck. It's a disaster. It's probably the worst it has ever been. It looks like my mother's fridge!!!!!!!!  Nooooo!!!!!

I ran to Target at lunch and found these bins, which are similar to the ones on the I Heart Organizing blog (she got hers at The Container Store...and I don't have time to wait for shipping...did you see that mess in those two previous photos???????)

I made some little labels to tape on the front of the bins. Nothing fancy.

And then I made it happen. All that stuff in the earlier photo is still in the freezer. I didn't throw out anything. And those little bins just slide right out, like a drawer. I LOOOOVE them.

GORGEOUS!

I grabbed two more of the large bins and two smaller ones for the fridge. Since we have a recurring ant problem, I've resigned myself to keeping all of the sugar in the fridge. I can't fight it any longer. So I used one of the bins for sugar (all varieties....cane, dark brown, light brown, agave, powdered, etc.), and the other for the random collection I have going of pasta sauce and other simmering sauces.

I used the two smaller trays up top for small jars. One for jelly and peanut butter, one for things like salsa. And I must say, this whole system is awesome! You pull those bins or trays out just like you would a drawer, which means you can see what is behind something with minimal effort. This is a HUGE development. It could be an end to MALE REFRIGERATOR BLINDNESS!!!!!

Now, on to the other small project...

I have been wanting to paint this bookcase in my living room forever. And then, thanks to Pinterest, I keep seeing cute projects where you paint the bookcase one color and inside another color. Or you add fabric or wallpaper to the inside. My only hold up on this project has been the fact that I think I may end up using this bookcase in Henry's room in the near future and I'm thinking that I need it to retain the wood stain. So just to play around, I thought I'd just play around with the inside of the bookcase and not mess with painting until I know for sure what the future of Henry's room may hold.

It's that bookcase in the corner on the left. Nothing exciting really.

I was at Joann's recently and saw this decorative paper (it's the same as contact paper but a better print).

And I'm loving the chevron-esque/herringbone pattern.

So I measured the back of the bookcase, for each shelf, and cut the paper with scissors. Then you just peel off the backing and stick it right on. Pretty simple. Way less complicated than the fabric idea I tossed around for the back of the shelves.

Can you see it? It's nearly impossible to get a good indoor photo when it's dark outside and raining. 

It would look so cute painted a fun color!

 So, once I decide whether it's staying this way, or getting painted, I'll rearrange all the stuff on the shelves. Maybe ditch all that clunky stuff on top too.

As the Kitchen Turns...

After I managed to get the dining room squared away, I finally got back to my bigger problem...the kitchen. I painted it a bright yellow two years ago, about the time I ordered new living room furniture. I intended to attempt a bit more of a "mod" or Crate and Barrel style, and a little less Pottery Barn style. Those plans didn't quite work out, due to lack of money to some extent and the fact, that at heart, I think I'm a Pottery Barn girl after all. So here is the kitchen in all of it's before lemon yellow glory. With the white cabinets and white tile floor I kept things simple and just added in black (in addition to all the rest of the mess here and there. Despite all my efforts to clean beforehand, I thought the BEFORE photo would look so much more icky if I took photos of the place looking like something on the Hoarders tv show. For those who haven't been to my house, I have a 1940s rowhouse with a TINY kitchen. It's like a dollhouse kitchen. There are few cabinets, even less counterspace, and a tiny space between the fridge and pantry to squeeze through to even get into the space. On top of that, between the size and the tile floor (that white tile, cabinets, countertop, etc. were not my idea...they were here  when we bought the place) make for a very hot room in the summer when I turn on the stove or oven. Nice in the winter, but not so much in the summer.

Oooo. All gross and messy.

You can start to see the paint samples on the wall as I was starting to test out colors. 

So, here is the AFTER. The color, of course, reads in these photos more orange than it is. The paint is Behr Morrocan Sky. I wanted to bring in some of the persimmon color from the living room and this color matched the closest. I found lots of earthy inspiration at Anthropologie and Terrain earlier this summer and was inspired by the mix of colors like persimmon and terra cotta with natural colors and textures like slate and wood and white.

On this wall, I added some open shelves (very popular right now). I originally had just two shelves in this location so I added one more. I found some fun art online that I framed. Most of the other items such as the bowls and white dishes I already had. I inherited a nice set of never used French linen kitchen towels from the 1940s  (in basket on top shelf) that tie in quite nicely.

Even though I loved it, I got rid of the black and white print rug. It was fairly dirty and I didn't feel like it was adding anything to the room (other than something else for me to clean). I found the cool wire piece, hanging next to the window, at the summer tag sale at Terrain. I just stuck a few recipes I've been recently using up there for the moment.

I love my little peel and stick chalkboard so that went back up after repainting. I use it as a calendar.

This view still isn't the best but not much I can do about that. I just have to hope people never look up. Also, this photo is not crooked. My house is crooked. The floor slopes from the front of the fridge back toward the sink.

I added the press tin backsplash when we first moved in. You can get the panels at Home Depot or Lowes and they come with really strong tape. The original backsplash is white laminate like the countertops . It has been up for about 7 years with no problem.