Kitchen Decorating

With drywall in the works, granite being cut and cabinet painting happening in the next few days, I'm starting to be able to really envision what our finished updated kitchen is going to look like. Of course, this means I'm already starting to think about how I'll fit everything in it's place and more importantly - how I'll decorate. I'm certainly going to work as much as possible with what I have, but there's obviously a few little things I'd love to add to the mix!

1. Pot rack with bookshelf ($99.95) - I've seen pot racks at Ikea for much less and am hoping they still sell them, but couldn't find any on their website. Either way, we're thinking we'll need something like this over the kitchen cart for added storage and easy access to the few pots and pans we use regularly.

2. Cabinet & drawer hardware ($4.99/$7.99) - Can you believe it? I'm going to have two whole drawers!! This calls for a celebration... and some sleek knobs for the fronts. I haven't quite settled on a finish for hardware yet, and Dan couldn't care less (something I genuinely love and appreciate about him when it comes to decorating, because I have such strong opinions about it!) A friend told me they did lots of shopping around for their kitchen and found that Ikea was the best price and quality is great, so no reason not to go the route that calls for a trip to one of my favorite stores!

3. Chalkboard (DIY!) - There's going to be a weird little alcove where the pantry was knocked out and the soffit for the stairs juts out. It's hard to explain but the tall pantry cabinet will end up half under the soffit and half not. I'm hoping a large vase on top of the cabinet will help balance it out, and I think a nice tall and skinny chalkboard with a simple frame next to the cabinet will make the space look more intentional. We'll see once everything is installed!

4. Decorative bowls ($8.00) - I've had my eye on these for awhile and love the idea of a stack of them out on a shelf somewhere for a pop of color and pattern in our mostly-neutral kitchen. Obviously, these are on the "nice to have" list and not the "necessary to have" list :).

5. Wire storage baskets ($12.95-$15.95) - We found out last night that the glide-out shelves we wanted for the pantry cabinet cost $50 EACH, instead of $50 for four like the regular standing shelves. Regular shelves it is!! So, we'll need to get creative about utilizing that space without making it impossible to get to things at the back of each shelf. We're thinking some kind of baskets or bins that will help organize and control clutter, while being easy to pull out from the pantry will be helpful.

6. Waverly fabric ($39.99/yd) - There's a dirty old plastic blind on the one kitchen window that I will definitely be replacing... hopefully with a fun patterned fabric and a DIY curtain panel!

7. Striped floor mat runner ($36.95) - We actually already have a green runner from Crate & Barrel that I'm ready to move from the hallway, but if we don't find something new we love for there, this one would be great in the kitchen and promises cushioning for standing chores like doing the dishes!