5 Ways To Keep Excitement In Your Kitchen!

And you thought I was going to say "...in your marriage" didn't you??

Even the most perfectly designed, fully functional kitchen can feel just a bit tired at times. That's my theory. Doesn't matter how beautiful, how state-of-the-art it is, that feeling can sneak into anyone's thoughts in any kitchen, anywhere at anytime. BOREDOM!

How can we fight boredom so that our kitchens give us back new experiences, new joy? Here are some ideas on reigniting the flame of desire for our kitchens every once in awhile. A kitchen recharge may be just what the therapist ordered if you:

are cheating on your kitchen and order take-out a bit too frequently

allow disarray and disorganization to build up over time

use certain tools/small appliances until they are at death's door and barely functioning

do not use 50% of the equipment you have stored in your cabinetry

have other dysfunctional behavior not noted herein:

 I strongly recommend a renewed perspective. After all, it's spring! So, here are some tips to getting things cooking in the kitchen again, literally speaking! I will say that this post was totally inspired by two Mothers' Day gifts I received: a blender and a Le Crueset oven.

1. Buy a new piece or type of cookware. As I just mentioned, I was given a gift of a Le Crueset oven for Mother's Day. After the festivities ended, I began my online research, never having had a piece and feeling like a total Le Crueset virgin, wanting to find out what is so great about it.

After my incredible, restaurant quality bistro chicken with fresh herbs and many garlic cloves last night (which ended up spread on french bread), two cookbooks were ordered and I'm ALL OVER the Le Creuset recipes. I'm SO excited about cooking in an entirely new way! If it works for me, I believe it will work for you. Buy a piece of cookware you are unfamiliar with but curious about. Very simply, your cooking experience in your kitchen will be transformed, I promise.

2. Change a meal "habit." And this one is also about my own experience. I also received a blender (a classic Mother's Day gift no doubt). For decades, my breakfast of choice has been cereal, perhaps with fruit. My life has changed as of Monday morning when I made myself a smoothie! I'm ecstatic over breakfast now! It's a change, and in my world, change is usually good. Change a habit in the kitchen surrounding a meal, and the fun begins!

 3. Clean the clutter! This happens to all of us. Take a few hours and do not even attempt to restore order to the whole kitchen. Take it in pieces. Choose one or two cabinets at a time and clean them out...as if you were moving to a new home. Remove the items, clean the cabinet, consider alternative storage places for less used items and then put back the items, perhaps adding other items from another cabinet if the use is related, and arrange the items for easy access and in locations near appropriate appliances or work stations, which may snowball into moving items out of another cabinet. But, start slow, with one cabinet or one section. You will be surprised at how great it feels to have functional storage and easy access. Feels nice.

 

4. More about cooking - buy a new cookbook or 3! Experiment with another type of cooking or just catch up on the latest cooking trends. Read it as a novel and use it. I know it is hard to find the time, but, if one recipe is worked into the week, you know what? Dinner can become an event, and that's enjoyable.

5. Change your collections/artwork/decorative items/curtains! I've said it before and I'll say it again. I believe in change! Change is good. Change breeds creativity, excitement, fun, and more. Change something decorative. Anything. Several things. Whatever you've looked at for way too long. Move it, store it, get rid of it, but make a creative and decorative change. Bring something in from the living room that "shouldn't" be in the kitchen. Mix it up, change it up, creative something new. If you feel uncomfortable about it or are second guessing yourself, you're probably on the right track.

These are five ways, and as time goes on, I'll add more, as there are many more ways to get that old flame reignited in your kitchen! How about you? What do you do to mix things up a little?

2009 Kitchen Design Trends

Looking Into the Latest Kitchen Design Trends

By Paige Thomas

Thanks to Susan for so graciously letting me write a guest post on her blog. As a writer for my own home improvement blog I spend a good deal of my days in the office looking at Susan’s kitchen posts, and everything else I bookmark from my seemingly infinite roll of design and home improvement blogs.

When you spend lots of time looking at picture after picture of freshly remodeled kitchens, you start to pick up patterns. There are certain elements which keep popping up again and again, illuminating the trickle down popularity of certain trends in the design world.

Here are three trends that seem to be everywhere in kitchens these days. Take a peak and maybe find some inspiration for your own home:

Open Shelving in the Kitchen

The new chic way to create storage in the kitchen isn’t by refinishing your cabinets, it’s by getting rid of them all together. Open shelving in the kitchen encompasses cabinets with no fronts, or simple long shelves for stacking your kitchen gear.

I’ve heard lots of pros and cons on this kitchen design option. Some people love it, some people hate it. I think if you have great dishware, and you’re organized, why not try it? But I know for me, and my yet to be replaced collection of secondhand college dishes, I couldn’t bear to put anything on display. I might consider a combination of both: some open shelving to display my pretty pieces, and some cabinet type options to tuck away my strictly utilitarian ware. Having open shelving as a focal feature over the sink could be a good option for trying out this trend.

Farmhouse Kitchen Sinks

I grew up with a stainless steel double basin sink. To me, this was the perfect kind of sink: one side for washing dishes, and another side for rinsing. It was the epitome of practical. That sink wasn’t a big focal point of my parent’s kitchen. It was just there to do its duty, to get the dishes clean.

These days, however, choosing a kitchen sink is just as important as any other part of a new kitchen design. While the stainless steel sink is still around, it’s no longer the sink of choice for homeowners. While the choices are endless – ultra modern sinks with space age faucets, concrete sinks, aerodynamically thin looking prep sinks – the ultimate trend these days is the farmhouse sink.

Large white, farmhouse basins are practical. They are big and heavy, and give your kitchen a rustic, cottage charm. Plus, their size makes it perfect for washing big dishes easily. If you entertain regularly, or have a large family, these large sinks will likely be on your shortlist of options. Farmhouse sinks offer more charm than other stainless steel or modern options. And one cannot argue that the look and feel they create will truly make your kitchen feel like the heart of the home.

Buy Locally

I love handmade things, and I love being able to support businesses and people from my own community. Luckily I’m not the only one. The popularity, and economic success, of handmade shopping sites like Etsy are proving that people want to support local artists and craftsman. You can easily be a part of this trend by simply taking some time to research your local options for different aspects of your kitchen remodel. Looking into local options may surprise you with the range of talent in your city, or even in your own neighborhood. Plus, you’ll be helping the local economy and supporting a local business that you know will put the money back into your community.

One of the other great things about this trend is that it’s affordable for anyone’s budget. You can buy something as small as a print or poster from a local artist to hang on your wall. There is always something, whether a big-ticket item for the renovation or some small decorative or functional objects, that can be sourced relatively near one's home.

Whether you love or hate these trends, designing a kitchen is ultimately about what works for you. Use the trends to guide you, not define you. When you’re designing your own kitchen, worry less about the trends, and more about making your kitchen a reflection of your own personality.

About the Author: Paige oversees all things Editorial at ReliableRemodeler.com a nationwide contractor matching service bringing together homeowners with area contractors for free estimates on home improvement projects. She writes regularly for the company’s home remodeling blog posting on a wide range of topics including the newest home improvement trends, the latest in remodeling news, and the growing green building movement.