24 Organized Entertaining Cabinets & Drawers

When I have a series of projects to work on, I always start with the smallest/easiest first. Then as my momentum builds I take on the more intense areas. This month I hope to tackle four different areas of our home and our messy dining drawers were the least intimidating of the four. Our son is receiving a whole new closet, my husband has hours of tool sorting ahead of him (with my help of course), and under our laundry room sink is a blank slate that needs some thought out storage.

Just as I predicted it, I started emptying the messy drawers and impulsively decided to tackle the two cabinets below at the same time. Wait, if I predicted it then I guess I really wasn't all that impulsive. Or else I just know myself that well. Anyway, all of the drawers and cabinets serve similar functions in storing items for entertaining, parties, outdoor dining and specialty food dishes/utensils. The last cabinet also holds our pitchers and decorative vases, so I also tossed that one into the mix. The cabinets themselves weren't really all that bad (still wish I would have taken a couple before shots of them), but needed a small amount of help to add in some order and categorize all that was happening in this area of our dining room. 

With each of the spaces we are focusing on this month, I want to walk through what the process looks like as I go.

The very first thing I did with these drawers and cabinets is empty every last item out onto the nearby table. Knowing that the cabinets here are quite shallow, I was shocked at how much I was actually storing inside of them! My Jenga-Tetris-esque skills are strong. Shield your eyes friends!

Do you like my abundant fruit filled bowl? Ha! #thegrocerystoreiscalling

Messes like the one above excite me! Not in a want to keep it all scattered out on the table forever kind of way, but more of a can't wait to categorize and purge sort of way!

So, that is exactly what I did. I broke out my handy laminated labels and started picking through the entire pile and sorting things down accordingly. 

I touched every last thing and really forced myself to make note of the when each item was last used. Some things were hard to put into the donate bin, but anything that I wasn't putting to use frequently, that was a duplicate, that was broken, etc... went bye bye. It is such a freeing feeling! Everything else was placed into loose piles with similar item types.

With the cabinets and drawers emptied out, I took exact measurements of both (L x W x H). I then looked at the categorized piles on the table and counter and made a shopping list of storage ideas that would best handle the items. I knew I wanted one drawer to be lined with organizers to prevent another jumbled mess from forming, while the other was purged enough to offer some looser flexibility. I also told myself that just because something lived in a drawer for the last year, doesn't mean that is where it makes the most sense long term. I ultimately decided to put some of the party items below into a cabinet and move some of the entertaining pieces up from the cabinet to a drawer. To do so, I would need to find some boxes or bins to now hold the smaller loose party items inside of the cabinet. 

However, before heading out to the store in search of storage pieces, I grabbed some matting board I had on hand and painted it to match the other cabinet interiors in our kitchen (like the charging station and coffee cabinets). By painting the board (foam core also works quite well), I can put a temporary bold backing in and give the cabinets a more polished look and feel. To do this I just cut the board to size, grab a mini-roller and apply a couple coats of paint. Once the board is dry, the cabinet shelves hold it in place in the back of the cabinet.

I also cut a couple pieces of gift wrap to add to the bottom of the two drawers. It was trying to curl a little, but once items were placed on top it flattened out. #details

Both of these upgrades were inexpensive and easy using materials I already use and keep on hand, and always make a noticeable difference with my projects. 

I found a couple of organizers at Target (wide & thin); some light weight lidded bins for the party supplies and drawer dividers for my cloth napkins and utensils.

The napkins previously took up an entire drawer on their own. I took the time to neatly fold them all and place them inside of a couple of bins and now they only take up a half of a drawer!

They are also easy to see and pull from when the wine and dine mood strikes!

Some napkin rings, seafood tools, and chopsticks are sorted in the remaining organizers.

I reused a couple organizers I found in the jumbled mess and paired them with a couple of other small serving pieces. The best part is there is room to spare and also a bit of flexibility!

Worlds better! I can't wait to open these drawers the next time we have guests or serve up our Sunday brunch! Oh! And those Table Grace cards were the most special gift from my friend, Grace. They are so beautiful, you can read all about them here.

Onto the cabinets below! 

Everything in here is pretty straight forward. The lidded bins are the ideal depth, lightweight and semi-transparent. 

I began by sorting down items on the table that we use for parties and for when the boys have their friends over. The categories are pretty basic and everything should be quick and easy to find.

I made the labels by combining some old Martha Stewart labels I purchased at Staples a couple years ago, with my gold font and clear label tape printed by my label maker (these labels also coordinate to the labels in the electronic cabinet next door).

The rest of the cabinet holds our ice cream dishes, specialty barware, cake stand, popsicle molds, ceramic egg crates and our cocoa mugs.

And the white metal bins are the caddies we utilize when entertaining outdoors or hosting a party.

The final cabinet is very basic and a fine place for all of my oversized pitchers, cloches, and vases.

I super wish I had taken a cabinet "before" picture too because it would have been almost as good as the drawers. Oh well, the afters are still reason for a little celebration! And I will also celebrate that I did a little more than I initially planned. Even if I sort of planned it.

Alright, Parker's new closet is halfway installed and I am already absolutely thrilled with how that project is moving along! More before and afters to come!

18 New Art in our Dining Room!

We very recently made a small update that made a huge difference in our dining area. And although I still have more plans for this hot spot, I am just too excited about our recent addition not to share.

In fact, the art just went on the wall a couple of days ago, and as I was setting up for a little holiday happy hour, it all was just too pretty not to whip out my camera and snap some photos.

But before I start gushing about the beautiful new artwork, let's take a step back for a minute.

When we installed our kitchen cabinets, we decided to also add cabinets to our dining area to match. We loved having a hutch in our previous layout, so we wanted to do something similar, but also wanted to do something that was more space saving and offered a better flow around our dining table. My eyes were bigger than our space, and I selected some glass door beauties to pair with a combo of lower doors and drawers. As soon as they were up, I started second guessing the install. We did in fact double the storage of the hutch while taking up less floor space, but because we did full height upper cabinets, they were very visually heavy. Beautiful, but overwhelming at the same time. I shared some of those thoughts in this post last year.

Although I wasn't sold on the setup, I didn't want to make any impulsive decisions. Heck, that is what tends to get me into these binds in the first place. So, I decided to wait. I waited a year! I thought about every option... how could I make them work? Tile? Find a way to attach the uppers to the lowers? Bring the lowers further out into the dining room to make a heavier bottom to balance the top? What I did know is that I was madly in love with those glass door cabinets, so losing them was a hard pill to swallow.

For the last year, I didn't use those upper cabinets for much other than holding overflow glassware and a few entertaining pieces. They sat 80% empty, so I knew I would be OK removing them from a storage aspect. Knowing that, I decided as long as I could find a way to reuse one or both of those glass doored cabinets, I would be OK removing them from this space. You may have noticed that one of those cabinets now lives in our laundry room.

The solution? We decided to remove the cabinets and replace them with an oversized piece of art flanked with sconces. Not only would it visually open up the entire space, it would also provide a blank slate for some needed personality and color.

The minute those cabinets came down, the dining area felt twice as big. And the nice thing about IKEA cabinets is that they are installed on a simple rail system, leaving only a couple of really small holes to patch.

I haven't picked out the sconces yet, and I just hung the art a few days ago. I don't even know how the entire space will come together or how we will accessorize this area after the holidays. So today it is all about that art!

Picking art can be a tricky thing; everything from figuring out scale to colors and style to the right frame. For me, picking the art for this space was actually pretty easy. I have been a long time fan of Parima Studio, I have some of her art in our main bathroom, in my dressing room and also download her desktop wallpapers to my computer each month. I just love her style and the colors she paints with, so I knew it would be a good place to start my art search. After some scrolling and looking, I was sold on her art for our dining room, and continued to go back and forth between a couple of different options that had all of the colors I was hoping to incorporate. I knew I really couldn't go wrong with any of the final few I had narrowed down to, and finally landed on Ruthie.

I selected a large 36" x 36" size to really fill the wall and make a statement. The size had to be big enough for impact and scale, but also needed to leave room for sconce lighting on either side. The colors are incredible! Right up our color-loving alley, and I am head-over-heals happy with every last detail and brushstroke. I really love that it is a combo of softer colors and some boldness through the navy and black shades. It really is just so freakin' good.

When it came to the frame, I searched high and low. This was not as easy as selecting the art. I was certain I would be able to find a decently priced frame, but that proved to be much more challenging than I anticipated. After talking to quite a few local framing companies, I was told that because of the size of the art, that the frame would have to be at least a few inches thick to hold the weight of the glass, matting and the art itself. I didn't want a large frame, I wanted a very simple frame so the art would be the star of the show. I also didn't want to spend $500-$1000, which is was I was being quoted time and time again.

Even searching online, most framing websites wouldn't accommodate the oversized art size. I finally stumbled across Level Frames and their site not only allowed me to input my art measurements without receiving a size error (yay!), it also offered simple framing and matting options. They don't have a plethora of styles to select from, but I was going for basic after all. The best part is that I was able to order the frame with a non-glare UV protected plexi, keeping it light enough to work with the thinner frame, while also reducing any glare we would have on the art from the windows in our living room and dining room. The cost was about half of what I had been quoted locally, so I decided to pull the trigger.

The frame arrived in just over a week, and came ready to hang. The quality is great, and I really can't recommend the option of a non-glare plexi enough. I think that is my favorite part! And nope, they are not sponsoring this project/post, I just wanted to share the experience since it is definitely an investment. The overall size of the frame is 41.25" x 41.25", I went with a 1" natural frame with a 2" matting in off-white. Mission accomplished of getting the art up on the wall, and letting it remain the star of the show!

For now, the sideboard will be used for holiday entertaining, which is how you see it pictured above. Removing the upper cabinets also made the serving area much more accessible and open, which has been really wonderful.

To prep for this tiny gathering, I kept things really simple (which is how I plan to approach all of our holiday decorating this year). A few ornaments sprinkled throughout and some pine greens added to basic grocery store flowers.

I set out a temporary frame with a foil print that says, "Eat, Drink and Be Merry", and used a vase filled with ice as a wine bucket (a tip from a super smart gal pal).

I can't wait to pick out some sconces to really finish off this wall. We don't have too many more things to do in this space before we reveal it, the art really is the shining moment!

Cheers to having a lively place to eat, drink and be merry!

156 Hooked on Navy!

That is right!  I am so hooked on navy, that I brought it into our main living spaces!

As you may remember, we recently painted our living room to bring more flow to our upper level.  I know it was a shock to many, but we have been so impressed with the difference the gallon of paint made.  Wall to wall space for our kitchen, dining room and living room is about 24 feet wide.  By painting the rooms the same light color, it felt like our space doubled!  Although, after the painting update there was one thing that made it all feel a little lack-luster to me....

The creamy curtains seemed to just disappear into the windows and no longer supported the wall color.  With the green walls they offered a neutral balance, however, with the grey walls their impact was minimal.

Being a deer in headlights with my studio, I ordered a few fabric samples to bring in some color, pattern and softness to the space.  When I received the navy ikat pattern in the mail, I instantly placed it up against the wall in our living room and my gut said, "DO IT!"  I wasn't even really looking for fabric {I actually planned to just paint/stencil our previous curtains}, but it was just so right.  So I ordered twelve yards of the Premier Prints Raji Slub Premier Navy Fabric.  I always get nervous at this point, but I love that fabric.com offers coupon codes, free shipping and the ability to return your fabric if it doesn't work out {not paid to say that, just where I shop for fabric}.

When it arrived, we took a good week to measure, cut and sew up the new panels.  The process was pretty simple for a sewing rookie, however, I will say that a huge table and extra hands were helpful at times.  Four basic sewn rectangles later and we were able to use drapery ring clips to hang the new panels.

We used our previous curtain rods and hung the panels from ceiling to floor.  It makes such a dramatic statement and also gives the appearance of taller ceilings.

We also opted to do the same panels in both the living room and adjoining dining space to unify the feeling and flow between the two areas.

The updated panels brought in SO much warmth!  I can't get over the dramatic impact that the single change made to both spaces.

My favorite view...

The navy seemed to work well with the tealy blues and other accent colors we already had within the two spaces.  And although I was initially more giddy for the curtains to make a statement within the so-light-so-much-white living room, I was a little surprised at how much I loved them in the dining room as well.

And because no post is complete without a before and after, not only does paint make a statement, but apparently curtains do as well!

This morning when I walked up the stairs and entered the living room, my heart literally fluttered.  The room impacts my mood and I am giddy about how it is evolving!

The overall goal for the space was to only make a few minor changes to get a big impact.  We started with a gallon of paint, now added the curtains and the final stage is to address the white built-in with the addition of doors and a rustic wooden top.  Can't wait to see how that warms things up even more!

Navy is my current color crush, what is yours?  What one change have you recently made to a space that completely changed the entire feeling?

45 Our Thanksgiving Table & a Printable!

Helloooo friends!  I love this time of year as I feel I have endless reasons to be grateful and thankful.  Not to mention, we are about to fill our home with family, and that is what it is all about.  Home.  Family.  Fun.

We haven't hosted Thanksgiving for a few years, so I feel a little nervous, but heck, family loves you unconditionally right?  I just keep picturing that Christmas Vacation moment when Clark Griswold cuts into the turkey...

I have been wanting to create a special table this year, to really celebrate coming together.  My grandmother, who is in her 90's, is coming!  She is pretty much one of my most favorite people in the whole world, so having her at my table this year means more to me than words can express.

This table is for the adults.  I will be setting up a separate table for the kiddos nearby, which I am looking forward to doing maybe even more since it is less fussy and typically filled with activities and crayons.

Not that this table is really that fussy.  As many of you know, I don't always stick with uber traditional anything, and love to inject my spaces with color.

My favorite part of the whole process was playing off of our newly painted hutch.  Gold and teal was going to be the theme on the table as well.

Everything used to create the table setting, were items we already had floating around, paired with a few quick DIY projects.

First up, the runner.  I already had the natural runner, but wanted to create layers and inject a little black to ground things.  I took some already owned fabric and because I don't sew, I "no sewed" the runner with some hem tape.

Using my Silhouette, I cut some letters out of chipboard and gold foil, and attached the two to give myself a sturdy Thanksgiving banner.

For the place card holders, I went straight to the laundry room and scooped up a handful of clothespins.  Which of course received a gorgeous coat of gold spray paint.

And as an added bonus for when we gaze at the place cards across the way, I embellished the backs with a "Thank You" stamp.

My father-in-law is the best.  He helps us with so many things and one day he overheard Bryan and I chatting about heading out to the woods to find a dead tree to chop up to create some chargers.  A few days later, he showed up at our door with a stack in hand.  He really has a heart of gold.

The centerpiece is one of those tree trunk chargers, topped with a glass cloche.  Inside is a jar filled with rustic pencils {found at World Market}...

...along with some Thankful cards I created.

These cards could be used in a variety of ways, however, we plan to make a fun game out of it.  We will all take a small stack of cards, and fill in the blank with what we are personally thankful for.  Then all cards will be placed in a bowl, and drawn one by one and read out loud.  Then it is our job to guess who wrote that specific Thankful card, based on the answer.  Basically, a Thanksgiving version of Loaded Questions.  So fun that even the kids can play along!  {free printable at the end of the post}

Nearby, we hung up some artwork to correlate with the nearby table.  You must check out Nest of Posies blog for some amazing free printables!

And that my friends, is our happy little Thanksgiving table.

And here is the "Thankful For" freebie, because I am also very thankful for YOU!

{click HERE to download your free Thankful For cards}

The kiddos will be home from school for the next couple of days, and our home will begin filling up with our guests, so I am going to take the rest of the week to relax and cherish this heart filled home we work so hard on.  I will be stopping in on Thursday to give a special thank you shout out to those that sponsor all we do, as well as share a few Black Friday deals, so stay tuned for that goodness.

Cheers to a happy and safe Thanksgiving to all of you!  I hope that it is full of love, laughter, traditions, family and good eats... and that you get to take a little time off from work, house projects and even organizing, to enjoy what truly matters.