One Room at a Time :: Kitchen

I shared with you a few weeks back some of the projects that I wanted to work on around the house. 

The problem is, there is actually about a gazillion projects that we have. Some were started on (but weren't finished). Some were "finished" but needed tweaking. And most of them weren't started at all. 

We moved into our house last year and even though we unpacked a long time ago, we are not really "settled in". Aside from the Family Room and Dining Room, our house basically looks like we just moved in. We have art still waiting to be hung and random objects in need of a home. 

{It's kinda a deep, dark secret}

I think the problem is we are trying to make all the things that worked in our last house, work in this one. 

And they don't. 

When packing up to move here, I sold or donated a lot of items that I felt like we didn't really like anymore. Great idea in theory, but now our house just looks undesigned and naked. We have been waiting to decorate our home until we can really do it the way we want, but at this rate I feel like I just cant wait.

To top it all off (womp womp), I keep rearranging things and moving things (trying to make it all work, people!) that everything is just an insane amount of unorganized. 

I originally got into interior design because I saw the power that our environments have on us. I honestly believe the state of our lives are reflected in the way we live. 

And right now I am feeling like one hot mess.  

During our trip to Wisconsin I really contemplated this whole situation. Jason and I had both agreed a few months back that we wanted to travel more; nothing big - just small weekend trips once a month. (And aside from December we've done awesome at that resolution!). As more of our "extra" money is going towards that, less is being put into this house - a space I am living in all day every day. I knew that something had to give with the house. 

I started thinking of projects I could do, one room at a time, to fix things up and organize them. 

We have boxes of random things (like frames, curtains, etc) from our last home that didn't have a spot here, but I just couldn't part with. I think with a little bit of work I can really pull this ol' space of ours together!

Here's the deal: 

I am giving myself  1-2 weeks to finish one room in our house. This is big for me since I tend to bounce from project to project. I must stick with the one room until it's finished. 

I reeeeally have to utilize things we already own. Some thrifting is fine (duh!) as well as a few small purchases. No major purchases {yet - we are in talks on buying a new television}. 

Each room has to first get a deep clean {think curtain washing, fan dusting - things I don't do ever regularly}

A main objective of mine is organize & DECLUTTER. Once upon a time we were organized. I swear it. 

I'm kinda super excited about this. It really is getting me to think outside of the box and get crafty and creative. The end result should be an organized, clean, pretty cute & pulled together home. Not our dream space, but a good foundation to live in until we can start really fixing up our house. 

So are you ready for some ugly? I mean, pictures of the first space I'm conquering : the hub of the house, the kitchen:

So, not entirely offensive, right? Just really, really boring. (the cabinets, etc will just have to wait until we buy the house)

Here are the things I plan on doing or fixing up for the space:

*Paint the tops of the flour & oatmeal jars (right now they are worn wood)- with paint we already have

*Get a stand to hold all the dish soaps

*Paint the tray I plan on bringing into the space (it's one I already own that currently needs a home)

*Paint the cart (not shown, but you can see it here)

*Add curtains using fabric I already have (I hope). 

*Pretty up the storage container 'drawers'

*Add more modern/clean elements. Sub them out with some of the more rustic ones. Maybe art?

*Add a backing inside the cabinets

*organize the drawers that hold our cooking utensils - build drawer dividers?

So yeah, I have my work cut out for the next week or two :) 

First things first, I needed a little inspiration to put this plan in action, so I bought a few new pretties to get it all started (of course - I mean some habits are hard to break!):

If you follow me on instagram, you saw me post this:

(the jar holding the dishwasher powder was originally unused in our laundry room, and the tray was a Goodwill purchase a few weeks back for a couple of dollars)

Tomorrow, I'll show you how I have conquered our drawer troubles and other cluttered areas so far with some DIY drawer organizers, but for now here is a little sneak peak of a project in progress:

I hope to post every week with a bit of an update. 

Have you ever decided to go through your house room by room? Did you stick with it? 

xo,

Rachel