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For every space we decide to make our home a compromise was made.  And if countless hours of HGTV have taught me anything it is that we are not alone in the eventual need to compromise on one of those needs as it is found to be slightly less of a priority given the options at hand.  For an outdoor space, garage parking, and dogs allowed, I will sacrifice square footage and apparently even the amount of kitchen cabinets.

As a couple that enjoys cooking and does it often, we have accumulated a relatively large amount of kitchen tools and gadgets.  So with a fraction of the cabinets that we need and not a pantry in sight, I have been in search of inspiration on how to maximize the storage space.  If you can be open to exposing your pantry in full view, there are some very pretty shelves that are perfect when renovating to build new cabinets is not an option.

{Source: Pottery Barn}

{Source: Cottage Living via Remodelista}

{Source: Flickr}

And if you have the counter space but open wall above, simply adding shelves is always a good option in my book!

{Source: Domino magazine}

{Source: Modern in MN}

I have always had a bit of hesitation with open shelving in the kitchen as I like everything tucked away out of sight.  But the never ending quest for more storage has this Type A gal embracing the full disclosure style of kitchen shelving.  Any tips on how to keep that open shelving from looking like clutter!?

As you may recall from my post about beach inspired interior decor, we were asked to be in Florida for an interview the week before last. Mr. D has been talking to this company off and on for the last year about this job position – it was supposed to be the meeting that determined whether or not we were going to stay put in New York City, or relocate to Southern Florida. Par for the course, the interview was never scheduled. We’re still waiting with baited breath.

We’ve been living without a cocktail table in front of our sofa since early December. Finally, we broke down and requested time at our storage facility in the Bronx. This past Friday morning, we liberated our glass table from storage. Hooray!! The addition of one simple piece has kicked me into nesting mode! I am totally dying to fill this spot on the wall over our Ballard Designs Terrific Table.

I’d like to put the Eagan Mirror from Pottery Barn in the empty spot on the wall to the right in the photo above.

source

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For the time being, I’m working out of a home office that also doubles as a guest bedroom. It makes the most sense to do so given the logistics of my current job, and to be honest… I’d rather work in sweats with NPR droning on all day long anyway. I’ll post about home office decor soon (hint: some of it might look familiar), but for now, I’d love some advice from my fellow telecommuters about time management. Particularly when our apartment is still full of unpacked boxes and a never-ending To Do list, I’m finding it really difficult to ignore the chores and focus on what I get paid to do for eight hours a day.

I have made one smart decision for my working self: driving my husband to work each day. It sounds silly, but waking up earlier than I might like to in order to get him to his office by 7:00 a.m. is the sort of routine that helps frame my work day, even if I’m the only one who knows it. By the time I get back to our apartment, I’m awake and ready for coffee – and much less likely to climb back into that cozy bed.

But oh, the distractions! Here’s what I have trouble with:

Unpacking and organizing. While our apartment is livable right now, there’s still so much that needs to be done. Working in the midst of boxes, it’s impossible to ignore them or feel like I can put them off until later. They’re right there. Just one box! And then I’ve unpacked ten of them. (And don’t even get me started on “just one quick Ikea assembly…”)

Daytime errands. It’s so much easier to run errands in the middle of the day than after normal work hours, when the rest of the world is running errands. More times than I can count, I’ve told myself how much more effective I’ll be doing that thing that needs doing in the mid-morning, and then I’ve justified it with the ease of city parking during the daytime. But as we know, one errand can so easily lead to an afternoon of them.

Service scheduling. “I work from home, so come at any time.” I’ve said it to cable guys, maintenance folks, building management, etc. And it’s true, I do work from home and I can receive them at any time… but if I’m on the clock should I really be assisting the building manager as he climbs behind our washer/dryer to fix the wiring?

Evening realities. Telling myself that I’ll make up for lost daytime hours by working at night has become a complete joke. When T gets home for the day, I want to be with him, not shut away in the home office. So if making up for lost time then isn’t a reality… when is it?

So tell me… what tips help you shut away the world while working from home (or at least quiet it a little)? Is it silly for me to expect so much of myself when our life is still in cardboard-boxed chaos? Should I get my apartment in order, then work my days away… or set my work rules now and early, when the best habits will stick?

(image source)

Back in the day I subscribed to the now-defunct design magazine, Domino. I religiously tore out inspirational pages and glued them into scrapbooks or slid them into clear plastic binder sleeves; I never saved the entire issue. Then I got lazy. I stopped cataloging my favorites and just started stacking past issues on my bookshelves. In retrospect, I’m glad I decided to keep a year’s worth of Domino. It’s fun to flip through them to see what strikes my fancy now.

It’s not practical, however, to keep every single magazine I’ve received, and I receive quite a few of them: Real Simple, Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, Glamour, Lucky and Body + Soul. I also buy several on occasion, including Women’s Health and Psychology Today. When an article piques my interest, I end up setting aside the magazine to return to at a later time… which rarely happens. I’m wondering if I should start saving specific articles again, and, if so, how. I could paste them inside a notebook, file them in folders, store them in binders or scan them into the computer, as this post from Unclutterer recommends.

Do you save magazine articles for future reference? If so, what strategies do you employ to keep everything neat and organized?

{source}

The week before Christmas Mr. D got a call from a guy who is hiring in Florida. (He has been talking to this guy off and on since last March!) With this revelation in the job search, I’ve put settling into our new little NYC pad on hold until further notice. It’s kind of a drag because we don’t even want to bother going back to the storage facility ~ until we know if we are staying in NYC or not. I have a lot of bare spots on the floors and walls that I am dying to decorate!

{source}

I have been biting my tongue as I watch Mr. D sift through Florida real estate listings. Finally the other day he said “I think it’s against the law to have good decorating in Florida.” It gave me a chuckle. But then it put me on a mission to sooth my nerves and find good beach design. Look no further than The Daily Basics who posted this lovely Miami home. It’s a little fruit punch for my color palette, but completely modern. I love the white, glossy floors and those gold lamps on either side of the bed are dynamite!

{source}

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My New Year’s resolution is to just do – no more procrastinating, putting things off or wavering with my decisions. It is time to get things done – in our house, at work, with my blogs, etc. Another incentive for getting our house in shape, is my mother-in-law and sister-in-law upcoming visit. It is crunch time to get our house organized and looking fantastic. The last time Nick’s mother visited we’d only been here a month so it was half painted and barely decorated.

Our “Home Sweet Home” was introduced in this post, and has changed a bit since those photos, but we still have a lot to do to make it truly “sweet.” We can’t afford to do everything I want all at once, so I’ve selected a few less expensive projects to complete before they arrive. The first room to tackle is the dining and living room. This room opens up into the entry and is the first room you see when you walk into the house. These photos show some views as of November, hence, the Halloween/Thanksgiving decor. Sorry for the terrible photos; they were taken at night before a dinner party.

Please ignore that beautiful plaid, hand-me down sofa peeking out in the corner and pretend it is a fabulous tan or green sofa from Pottery Barn. For now, it stays. I try to ignore it. Also, pretend you don’t notice the horrifying vertical blinds. For now, the blinds provide privacy and a break from the constant sun. Those will be dealt with during their visit. I might not have mentioned that my MIL is an interior designer.* During her visit, she is planning to help me choose, purchase or order and possibly hang curtains.

My short term to-do list for this space includes:

1. Find chairs. I know exactly what dining table chairs I want. However, they are relatively expensive, so I’m hoping to find some cheap yet attractive chairs to paint black and hold me over until I save up for the ones I really want. The black folding chairs aren’t doing it for me!
2. Get a gallery wall up. To the right of the dining table, I really want to do a wall filled with black frames showcasing old family photos, wedding photos, etc. This is one of those things I’ve been putting off pulling the trigger on for the past few months. Now is the time.
3. Organize and style the bookcases. I threw the books and magazines in the shelves right after I put them together, so I want things to be a bit more styled and edited.
4. Remove and repaint chandelier. The light fixture is brown speckled with black. A quick swash of black spray paint and one other small touch should do the trick to make it look more fantastic.

The long-term to-do list includes so many more items, but these will get me to a place where I actually like this space and finally feel at home. Plus, they are somewhat easy to accomplish in a short amount of time. I am looking forward to checking these to-dos off my list all the while sharing the process with EAD Living readers!

Do you have any tips or recommendations for completing my to-dos? Are any of your New Year’s resolutions decor-based? What are your goals for your home in the new year?

*Could this be why I am so freaking out about our house looking nice? Why, yes it is! She and I have different, yet similar tastes and are both very opinionated, so the curtain process should be interesting.

Remember when I blogged about reusing your glass jars? Check out this simple, eco-chic, sparkly centerpiece.  Great for holidays or just dinner at home with the hubs.

{photo by me}

Fill mason jars with some soy candles and you’re done! What’s your go-to centerpiece?

Much love,

-B

In my family, we still delight in crowding around my mother’s kitchen for Thanksgiving dinner. I swear, my mom is the best cook in the entire world. (And no, there is not a chance I’m even slightly biased.) Somewhere along the way over the last few years, it became my job to make sure to show up with dessert and a bottle (or three) of good wine. I’m more than happy to oblige. I love baking, but it’s simply not something I take the time to do often enough, so I always look forward to baking around the holidays. I’m the type who doesn’t just show up with a pumpkin pie and call it a day. I like to make at least 3 or 4 things and try at least 2 new recipes every year.

With that in mind, I spent this past weekend researching ideas of this year’s spread of desserts, which proved to be incredibly fun given my massive sweet tooth. I thought I’d share some of my favorite must-try ideas with you in the event you are also working on your ideas for Thanksgiving sweets…

{Cranberry upside down cake on Kitchenography}

{Maple Syrup Scones on 101 Cookbooks}

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With Thanksgiving coming  up, there will be lots of family, friends, and food.  From elaborate to simple, you can create a pretty table to enjoy it aound!

Oranges with clove initials for placeholders are pretty and smell wonderful!

Cream colored pumpkins with cute placecards attached are easy to do and a nod to the traditional.

For centerpieces, something as simple and easy as candlelight is made a little more special with the addition of some dried citrus slices glued to the bases of the candles.

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Welcome back to A Well-Stocked Kitchen, my ongoing series about the tools and gadgets that have helped me become a better cook and baker! This week, I’m sharing my cookware (i.e. pots and pans) collection with you.

Pots and pans were the area where I felt the most lost when registering for wedding gifts. How was I supposed to know whether I needed a 9″ or 10″ skillet?  Is Le Creuset all it’s cracked up to be? Did I really need an omelette pan? The answers: doesn’t matter, yes (drooool), and nope!

So here’s where I stand on the debate about non-stick vs. stainless steel: I have a strange aversion to metallic things, I don’t like the way some of them feel or sound. I also really wanted clear glass lids for my pots. So, for me, the nonstick was a clear choice, since it makes my skin crawl the least. But there are lots of pros in the stainless steel column too. Here’s an interesting thread on Chowhound about the differences (Zoolander anyone?).

The only thing missing from my collection at the moment is a stock pot, which I don’t have the space (or need) for at the moment. Someday, when I’m a real grown-up, I’ll be making matzo ball soup for 25 people at family holiday gatherings. In my stock pot that I have plenty of space to store.  A girl can dream, right?!

So, my friends, what’s your pick? Nonstick? Stainless Steel? Cast Iron? Mix and match?

You can find previous editions of A Well-Stocked Kitchen here:

Utensil Crock Edition
Baking Edition
Small Appliance Edition
Drawer Edition

My picks:

10″ Frying Pan

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