rePURPOSING Things: Kitchen Gear

If you have been on your own for awhile you probably have all the kitchen gear and utensils you need. What do you do when someone gives you new ones? 

I love how this home chef used her duplicates to make a lighting statement in her kitchen and honor the giver.

reThinking the Kitchen Cabinets

When the owners of this kitchen moved in, they put things in the cabinets where they thought - at the time - they should go. Food storage in an corner under-counter turntable...

... and the pots and pans next to the stove. 

This certainly seems logical but after months of frustration trying to find small cans in a crowded corner it was time to rethink this arrangement,

Simply swapping the two areas made life easier. The pans and small appliances were easy to the see in the corner cabinet...

...and there was much easier access to the the canned foods now that they are on the pull out shelf.

Vacation Home Straightening

This vacation home on the coast of Maine has hosted generations of the same family and has enough dinnerware to serve dozens. As you can see, the shelves are overflowing. There was no rhyme or reason to what each one held. Gorgeous blue and white china was scattered throughout all the shelves

Because the home is jointly owned by several family members, I was not allowed to toss anything so I simply follwed the  "like with like" rule to clean it up.  See how pleasing it looks with the blue and white china clustered into a focal point on the top shelf? Total straightening time: 40 minutes.

Walk-in Pantry

The owner of this pantry has an eye for art and likes to entertain in style but finding the right serving piece in her jumbled pantry was no fun.

We evaluated, eliminated and integrated her collections, grouping her vases, pitchers, serving bowls and platters by function and color.  Now, not only is her pantry more useful, it is so visually pleasing that just peeking in the door is pleasure. Time to accomplish this: one hour.