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21 Easy kitchen updates

This is long overdue post but on my way to Paris, I bought Elle Decoration and only managed to go through it recently. One of their articles was on 21 Easy Kitchen updates and I was really thrilled to see they had used my kitchen cupboard from our house in France (where I'm right now to celebrate my Dad's 65th B'day) as example no 9!

If you haven't got a copy, I've just listed these easy updates for you because I think a lot of do are easy and also inexpensive.
1 Show your cupboards some love by adding new fronts or wallpaper them with the scrapwood wallpaper by Piet Hein Eek
2 Cheer your ears with a whistling kettle
3 Treat yourself to proper tools
4 If you can, position your sink station by a sunny window (or add one of our cool roller blinds!)
5 Add some character to your kitchen with quirky tea towels
6 Look for imaginative ways to organize your space
7 Decant cutlery into large glass tumblers for instant deli-style chic (I have been doing this at home since I saw it done at Story Deli in Bricklane)
8 Take the plunge with a colourful tap and inject a jolt of fun

9 Give the inside of cupboards a lick of paint (which is honestly the easiest thing to do! I bought a second-hand cupboard for 15 Euros in France, painted the inside in blue grey and the outside in white and then add white crockery). I really like this B&W version too.

Norrgavel via Emma's Design blog

10 Swap standard cupboard handles for something more unusual
11 Raise the heat with a sexy new oven
12 Add some pizzazz to your walls with patterned tiles
13 Make an impact with colourful storage
14 Commission glassworker to make you a decorative splash-back
15 Store spices in magnetic mini containers on the side of your fridge
16 Create a dynamic display with pots and pans
17 Transform shelves by covering with patterned oilcloth (you can use these large blind fabric samples too to achieve the same result)
18 Grow a herb garden and keep it near the hob so you can add straight to the cooking pot
19 Make recycling your New Year's resolution!
20 Enjoy eye-catching crockery every day
21 Collect colourful cookbooks

En allant a Paris, j'ai achete Elle Decoration et il n'y a seulement quelques jours que j'ai pu enfin lire. Un de leurs articles etait sur 21 facons faciles de renover une cuisine et j'etais super contente de voir qu'ils avaient utilise le placard de ma cuisine de notre maison en France (ou je suis actuellement pour feter les 65 ans de mon pere) en exemple no 9!
Si vous n'avez pas une copie du Elle Deco, je les ai liste ci-dessous parce que je pense que la plupart sont faciles et faire et pas trop cher.
1 Montrez un peu d'amour a vos placards de cuisine en remplacant les portes ou en les couvrant de papier peint comme le papier peint Bois de Recup de Piet Hein Eek
2 Ajoutez une jolie bouilloire qui siffle ou en couleur
3 Equipez-vous avec de vrais outils
4 Si vous pouvez, positionez votre evier pres d'une fenetre ensoleillee (ou ajoutez un de super cool stores!)
5 Ajoutez du charactere a votre cuisine avec quelques torchons un peu funky
6 Essayez de trouver des facons imaginatives d'organiser l'espace
7 Mettez vos couteaux et fourchettes dans des gros pots en verre comme dans les cafes our Delicatessen (je fais ca a la maison depuis que je l'ai vu a Story Deli a Bricklane)
8 Ajoutez un peu de fun avec un robinet en couleur
9 Peignez l'interieur de votre placard de cuisine (ce qui est honnetement super facile a faire! J'ai achete un placard d'occasion pour 15 Euros in France et peint l'interieur en bleu-gris et l'exterieur en blanc en une weekend et ensuite je les remplie avec de la vaisselle blanche). J'aime bien aussi cette version N&B.

10 Changez les poignets de vos placards pour quelque de different
11 Ajoutez un nouveau four aux lignes sexy
12 Ajoutez un peu de vavavroum a vos murs avec des carreaux a motifs
13 Creez un impact avec des meubles de rangement haut en couleur
14 Commissionnez un artisan pour creer une plaque
15 Rangez vos epices dans des petits containers magnetiques sur le cote de votre frigo
16 Creez un mur dynamique en exposant votre batterie de cuisine
17 Transformez vos etageres en les recouvrant de tissu impermeable (vous pouvez egalement utiliser ces larges echantillons de tissu pour arriver au meme resultat)
18 Faire pousser des herbes et gardez les pres de la gasiniere pour les ajouter a votre casserole lorsque vous cuisinez
19 Faites du recyclage votre nouvelle resolution pour l'annee!
20 Faites vous plaisir avec de la jolie vaisselle

21 Collectionnez des livres de cuisine qui vous font faire envie

Now that the B'day Boy party is over, we're off to Andorra for a few days of skiiing with Lily and Mila. Have a great week!

Neutral Nelly

I'm not one to shy away from color, but every now and then I have a project where sticking to a neutral palette just feels right. There is something fresh and calm feeling about each of these tonal spaces.

  How about the window behind the cabinet above? Pretty creative use of existing space.

 What about you? Do you crave color or are you a neutral nelly?

images Traditional Home

Cool Kitchens

Compact but oh so cool !!!

More Christmas...

Beautiful !

Kitchens That Make Me Want to Cook a Turkey

from Lady Antebellum to Lady Gaga...

This last one may still be a bit subtle for Miss Gaga.
images: Traditional Home, George Interior Design, Dwell

Rustic, elegant kitchens

 

Living in Argentina, from Taschen

   

 from House & Garden, 2004 

 

The kitchen of set designer, Eugénie Collet. Photo by S. Anton in Brussels Style from Taschen

via Topsy Turvy

photo: Seaside Style, from Taschen

Though completely varied in their location and space, these kitchens all seem warm and charming- and despite some being quite elegant, I can imagine actually cooking in them. I'm always falling under the spell of rustic or old-world kitchens! (photos, from top: Taschen, Elle Decor, Living Etc; last photo from Marie Claire)

More Homes from my Readers

I have received so many pictures from my readers ! I'm so amazed at all the great looking small spaces you all have !! Here are some fantastic rooms from my readers (from top to bottom) Laurie Marie, Heather Brady, and Shani Ring. I love all three of these spaces ! Keep those photos coming, I will be featuring some more homes soon !

How about this...

Uneven cabinets, opt for a table instead of a island, open and close storage, use a odd wall to your advantage !

Nice.....

So sorry for the lack of post...hit with the flu bug, but all is well now, just not well enough to have a point to my post. So here are some pretty pictures in the mean time :) I have had tons of readers sending in photos, I can't promise I will be able to put all of them up, but I will try ! I'm so impressed with all of your homes ! Hope your having a good weekend !