Today I’m joining a few friends in a Lifestyle of Love hop.  If you’re new here, the ladies in this group share a love for all things antique/vintage, repurposed, thrifted, and found.  We choose a theme and share how we use it in our everyday lives at home.  This month, the theme is kitchen storage ideas, and I’m sharing 5 Beautiful Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen Counter Storage.

Have you found your way here via Lora Bloomquist’s?  Yay!  I’m excited you’re here.  Do you love everything Lora does?  One of these days I’m going to visit her and get the grand tour, and we’ll sit out on her porch and chat the day away – if we don’t stop to decorate something instead.

 

Do you enjoy being in the kitchen?  So many people I know love it.  I like it if I don’t have to cook.  And that goes for baking as well.  Neither of those things is on my list of fun times.  

But a small amount of that has changed.  We got new countertops and a backsplash.  I cannot believe the difference it’s made.  Not only did it change the entire look of the kitchen, but it looks so much brighter, and the cabinets look like they’ve been repainted, but they haven’t.  We kept the same sink and the same stovetop.  I intend to replace the hardware when I find some I like.

5 Beautiful Ways to Upgrade Your Kitchen Counter Storage

All that said, I couldn’t just leave the old things out, so I’ve created new vignettes and elevated what sits on the counters.

It’s so much prettier in real life.

We use everything that sits out – from the lamps and cookbooks to the dishes and silverware, so why not make it extra pretty?  

Kitchen Storage Idea #1:

Because I’m vertically challenged, I prefer to keep dishes handy.  Sure, I could keep them in the cabinet with everything else, but could we make things easier for me?  I put the dishes straight from the dishwasher into this woven tray.  It’s probably the most used item in the kitchen.  I store everything we need for a quick grab-and-serve situation.  Even the silverware is handy and stored in a cute pitcher.

Storage Idea #2:

Something else we use every day and need to keep handy is the dog treats.  We used to keep them in a clear canister with a metal lid.  There wasn’t anything ugly about it, but when I found this vintage green apple canister, I knew exactly what to do with it.  

Storage Idea #3:

Of course, most cookbooks are charming on their own, but I like the look of storing them in a vintage planter I picked up recently.  Originally, I was going to store kitchen towels inside, but my towels aren’t pretty, so back into the drawer they went. 

Storage Idea #4: 

This is our miscellaneous corner.  Everything I don’t want to keep in the pantry or refrigerator goes here.  If the fruit is out of sight, it rots.

This way, I can keep an eye on it and reach for it instead of the cookies that are stored in the pantry.

BTW, have you ever had fresh peaches drizzled with honey?  I tried it for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and my oh my, it is delicious!

This isn’t technically a storage idea, unless you count just using the bag, but the Mister loves his peanuts.  I make it pretty with a vintage teacup instead of a metal scoop. 

If you love to repurpose things and you need extra space on your counters, look for a vintage child’s seat.  I guess it could be a small step stool too.  Whichever, when I found it at a market fair, I thought it was perfect for the coffee cups and all that goes with it.  I was wrong.

When I gathered all the Misters’ coffee stuff, it looked cluttered and took up even more space.  Now, it’s almost purely decorative, but still handy.  The stack of vintage bowls holds the vitamins I need to take each day.  I’ve also used it as a mail drop.  But the ginormous coupons for oil changes were too big and looked ugly.  So the mail we keep is stored in a basket inside the cabinet.  That’s a bonus idea.  😉

Kitchen Storage Idea #5:

The storage idea from the photo above is the green pottery dish underneath.  It holds our car keys.  I don’t like clutter and try to corral everything.  Using a piece of my pottery collection is perfect.

BONUS Storage Idea #6:

I’ve always had a thing for plates, so this last idea is my absolute favorite.  I don’t want my plate collection stored in a cabinet.  Using a vintage dish rack to show them off has turned into a must-have.  I switch the dishes seasonally (and sometimes weekly) and use them weekly when my friends come over to play Mahjong.

I’ll confess, when we have strawberry cake, I put out the pink flowery plates.  If we have something lemony, I use the blue and white plates.  If we have chocolate cake, I use the green plates because everything goes with chocolate.  Anyway else do that?  I could probably match every dessert out there with a cute set.  One day, I hope to come across a small dish holder that’s not rusty-looking.  

Well, those are my 5 beautiful ways to upgrade your kitchen counter storage.  I hope you’ve seen something you want to change in your kitchen or have been inspired to upgrade something you’ve been tired of looking at.

Next up is my friend Ann at Dabbling and Decorating.  She lives up north and has such an adorable style.  If you haven’t seen her blog, you are in for a treat!