Wall mounted Kraft paper holder...

Because of the way our kitchen is designed, and the fact that we don't have a freezer, I am at the grocery store every day to every other day.  It's a lifestyle change, and working from home makes this easy for me to do.  I am a list maker by nature, but this kitchen has turned me into a bit of a list monster!  I was constantly searching for my grocer post it notes or list that I had started, put down, and forgot where I put it.

The solution was to put a wall mounted kraft paper holder on the wall next to the kitchen.  At least that was the solution until I started pricing them!  I found one company that offered one, but at $240 plus $60 to ship, um, no.   So we decided to build one ourselves, and by "us" I mean Travis.  I pointed a lot and cheered him on ;)

We started out with a few things from the hardware store, including this roll of painter's paper found for $3.98, a fraction of the cost of Kraft paper...

It's thinner than traditional Kraft paper, but it was perfect for this project and the cost can't be beat.

Travis began by cutting the board backing.  Since it is mounted on the wall and I will be using a sharpie, I didn't want bleed through onto the wall....

He then took small square pieces and used the skill saw to cut out a slide in and holder notch for the dowel that will hold the paper roll....

Here you can see how he designed the dowel to slide in and sit inside the L shape.  Once the side square pieces were glued and nailed to the backer board, he placed another piece of wood to create the top of the board...

So the finished construction looked like this...

Then he painted the entire piece in Iron Ore by Sherwin Williams.  This is the same colour as our interior doors and I just love it's smoky black with a touch of grey...

Travis used four anchor bolts to attach it to the wall...

On the bottom of the board he attached a strip of metal to hold the paper down at the bottom...

We screwed an eye hook into the board and attached a string to hold the sharpie marker.  And VIOLA!  our wall mounted Kraft paper holder was completed for just $40 in material.  A much better alternative to the inspiration piece priced at $240...

We used our first list just yesterday at the store.  Sara goes with me to shop and reads out the list.  Because the paper (and writing) were much bigger it was so much easier for her to use the list.  Win-win in my book!

Tiny Tudor Kitchen Tour...

One of the things I love about our little town home community is that it was built in the English style with all of the houses facing in toward each other overlooking a shared courtyard.  Another vintage English feature is the oh so tiny kitchens.  This is not an open concept type home, instead the kitchen is closed off- a mere 9x12 room.  By Texas standards, that is a micro-kitchen, but I have to say it is my very favourite kitchen we've had so far.  It's simple utilitarian style makes it a breeze to cook in and clean up.

You begin by entering the door where the dishwasher is immediately on the left...

And the sink area...

 Travis built the open shelving.  What I use daily is on the lower shelf, and things I use occasionally are up top.  Yes, I dust it, no, it's not a pain to do...

The refrigerator is a fridge only counter-depth.  I like that we eat fresh food and nothing frozen.  I plan meals daily and visits to the grocer are about every other day.  This keeps me from buying more than we need for the week, and I am very strict about sticking to my list for that day...

This is where I keep pots, pans, knives, cutting boards and the microwave oven...

The stove is an electric drop-in.  There is not a gas hook up in our community- everything is electric. It was a bit of an adjustment at first with cooking, but I am getting used to the electric oven pretty well.  I designed the entire kitchen with a space in mind for the vintage butcher scale.  I love using it to keep all of my oil & spices as well as cooking utensils on...

This is our pantry that I designed to be tall and narrow in depth.  I didn't want to have a huge cavernous pantry, because I know from past experience that we tend to just shove things to the back and never use them.  This design keeps me accountable for anything that is in there...

As you can see to the right of the above picture, after turning around the room we are back at the doorway.   Small, but efficient- and simple in design.


Room Sources:
Wall Paint- White Duck by Sherwin Williams
Cabinets- Kraftmaid in Mushroom
Countertops- Honed Cararra Marble
Appliances- Dishwasher LG, Stove GE, Fridge Frigidaire
Open shelving- built by Travis (go here to read about how he made these)
Sink- Shaws purchased from Overstock
Faucet- Wayfair
Rangehood- Project Beautify
Wall Pot Rack and Knife Holder- Bed, Bath & Beyond
Rug- Dash & Albert
Dishes- Emma Bridgewater

Priority organization...

I adore our open shelving in the kitchen, but I really had to rethink the area where I store our glasses.  I am 5' tall, and at 46 years old I am probably already starting to shrink.  Reaching anything in a kitchen has always been an issue for me.  Why I thought putting the wine glasses on the highest shelf was a good idea is completely beyond me.  I'm sure my neighbors have had a good laugh watching me try to coax one of those glasses down using my wooden spoon while hoping it didn't come crashing down on my head.  Every. Night.

Today I decided to do something about it.  I moved the glasses down off that upper shelf and bought a wine glass holder.  I drink one glass of wine a night- I work hard all day and I shouldn't have to work that hard for a wine glass.  Priority organizing at it's finest.

We started by hanging the coffee cups up on the underside of the top shelf.  Then added the wine glass holder to the bottom side of the lower shelf.  This increased our shelf space by two times! And look at those easily accessible wine glasses!

Since we were in the giant store-of-organize-everything, I decided to do something about our knives in a drawer situation.  In the last house I kept them in a drawer and that worked fine.  I've actually read that wood blocks dull knives, so putting them in a block and taking up valuable counter space wasn't an option.  Instead I went with a magnetic strip that we mounted on the side of the fridge near the stove...

I do most of my cutting on this side of the kitchen and my butcher blocks are to the right along side the stove.  Also, why is it that when you finally realize that everyone in your house wants bananas, and so you go buy more bananas, and then nobody seems to be interested in the bananas?  It's bananas.

While I was photographing the organizational upgrades to our tiny kitchen, I decided to snap some better pictures of the television console we bought off Etsy for our living room...

Hope everyone is enjoying their pumpkin lattes, sweaters and changing leaves.  It's 90 degrees here today with a matching number for humidity.  Festive. Not.

Seeing the possibilities...

I never really thought much about the ability to look at a space and envision what it would look like differently.  Even as a kid I could see something and just picture it a different colour or configuration.  Honestly, I thought everyone could do that.  Like breathing.  Then I got older and realized that not everyone can do what I do in the same way that I am seriously lacking in math skills.

This kitchen was no different.  I could see the cabinets, countertops, tile and the coveted range hood before we ever tore any of it out.  I knew that with the right design this 9x12 kitchen could bring it.

Here are a few shots of where we started:

The original cabinetry was actually in very good shape.  The construction was solid and they were built on site...back in 1970.  I toyed with the idea of keeping the lowers, but the configuration of them on the right side included a built in oven, and there was no way to convert that into anything usable.  Along with Travis' crazy work schedule and us having to be moved in by August, we opted to purchase new cabinets.

Then came the demolition part.  Funny tidbit, we started ripping the kitchen out before it was funded through the lender.  I think our real estate agent had a small heart attack when he called and could hear hammering in the background.  It all worked out fine, house funded just as we were pulling out the last cabinet ;)

Here is what the kitchen looks like today.  It was a complete gut job, but well worth it in the end.  We still have a smidge of trim work to finish up, but I am calling this kitchen "finished"...

Range hood by the talented Tuesdays with Dorie stove is a GE drop in...

Cabinets are Kraftmaid in Mushroom...

Light from Kenroy Home

Open shelving designed and built by Travis...

Fridge only by Frigidaire...

Molasses man sat in my Grandmother's kitchen...

I get asked a lot about how I am liking the marble.  I love it, as in sometimes I sneak downstairs at night, pet it and softly sing to it.  Yes, it scratches- we already have a few, and yes, it stains- those are coming I'm sure, but I find beauty in the imperfections.

Hope y'all are having a lovely week so far.  I am still sorting through things in the garage and slowly, but surely thinning it all out.  Downsizing has been a process, but I feel 100 pounds lighter for it!

Building open shelving...

When we originally designed our kitchen we thought that the open shelves would have corbels.  Until we started pricing them.  Honestly, we knew how expensive they were because when we were renovating the kitchen in one of our other homes we opted to build them ourselves because of the price.

Since we couldn't find ones we liked, and time was an issue- we opted to do freestanding shelves without the support of corbels.  Now I've shared many times how when Travis designs and builds something it is usually to the standard of being able to withstand a hurricane- or a typhoon.  These are  no different.

He began by purchasing long metal plates and lag bolts and attaching them to the walls in the center of what would eventually be the shelf.  Levels are important here!

He then attached them to the wall using the lag bolts.

Then he attached L brackets to the ends of the metal plates...

Using panels of wood he made what I kept calling a "shelf sammich"...

Holes were drilled to attach the wood shelves to the metal...

Then the bottom half of the sammich was put up and bolted onto the metal pieces...

The two pieces were then trimmed out using 1x3's in pine, pookied, and sanded...

A few coats of oil based paint ensures that they will hold up to dishes being placed and removed from the shelves without harm.  This construction ensured that they wouldn't bow and would hold up to the weight of heavy glassware.

And quite possibly a hurricane...