the kitchen...

there has been a lot of talk about small spaces on the blogs i've been reading.  and i happen to live in one! it's just a small town home with no garage, but i love that there aren't too many walls to cover, and that every piece of space has it's own use.

our kitchen is one of those spaces.  we have a long, galley kitchen with a small dinette at the end of it--and the laundry is crammed in there too!  when i first moved in, i had a bar height table and two chairs, and that was all that fit.  the builder's grade chandelier wasn't great either.

a few years into that situation, and the space wasn't working.  unfortunately, i don't have any pictures from that era!

so, i threw a few things around in my head....a bench with a built in table....space too small for that.  shelving and a new table....couldn't fit all that....

we concluded that i would design a bar and a desk in one with overhead shelving.  and we LOVE it.  we use some part of this unit every day, and the best part is the floor space is open in the dinette, and we can actually move around in our kitchen.  now this won't work for a large family, but then again, our home wouldn't work!  we eat with little guy in the dining room, and we use the bar for occasional snacks and breakfast.

the sink with a hanging rack from hobby lobby.  it's our coffee station

the right half of the bar--the eating portion

so close to the laundry room door...notice where the stopper is

the barely there clearance, but it opens all the way

the desk side of the bar--i designed the openings in the shelving above to have slots for my papers

chair from world market....last one there, a bit damaged, so of course--asked for discount

button knob to hold my bulletin board

a look at the entire top unit.  my favorite feature is the 360 degree rotating hooks for the mugs

not a fancy stool, but it works

the floor is about to be replaced, since it's pulling away from the baseboards

bubbles in the linoleum

the dinette side of the kitchen

useful containers...that match the decor

little guy's markers live in here

new light--from lowes

other side of galley opposite sink

i'm looking for the perfect vintage art sign to put on the wall by the laundry doors.  something about vegetables, i think.

my towel basket