In the kitchen

Anyone that has ever been to our house is likely well aware of the fact that I have a strong love-hate relationship with our kitchen. I'm still insanely proud of how big of a transformation we made on a teeny tiny budget, and I looooove our stainless steel appliances and the fact that we have a dishwasher. But, the room itself is extremely tiny and the only place for the fridge to go results in the one and only base cabinet and drawer we have to be covered up.

As a refresher, here's a picture from right after we finished our kitchen makeover -

We've since made little changes - like getting a paper towel holder that mounts to the wall instead of having them take up precious counter space, and putting up hooks for kitchen towels so Louie Louie doesn't use them as toys - but for the most part the room still looks just like this picture. 

While my absolute dream is to knock a big hole in the wall opposite everything you see above (which separates the kitchen from the dining room) and add in a countertop with a couple of base cabinets below it, Dan has consistently reminded me over the years that since said wall is load-bearing, we'd have to hire someone to do the work... and it would be even MORE expensive because there is plumbing and electrical work running straight through that same wall. (Insert sad trombone here).

So since we can't exactly afford a remodel, we've recently been kicking around the much more affordable idea of getting a little kitchen cart to put on that same wall for a bit of extra storage AND additional counter space. 

Always major cheapskates (or frugal, to put it a little nicer), we didn't want to actually have to spend any money on this project, since it was more of a "nice to have" than a "have to have". So even though we found and liked this nice and simple option at Ikea, we didn't bite the bullet and spend the $100 on it last time we were there -

And now I'm thankful that we decided to wait on the purchase, because just this last weekend I found the exact same cart, in perfect condition, barely a mile from our house, on craigslist for $45. I, of course, sent over a lower offer, and within a few hours we were on our way home with our "new" kitchen cart for a measly $30!

The cart looks awesome on the open wall and is shallow enough that it doesn't even really feel like it crowds the space. And thankfully, our ridiculously expensive wedding present garbage can just fits next to it, so we didn't have to try and relocate that somewhere else. I have big plans to paint the cart a nice rich navy, and from there we'll be able to load it up with some things that are currently kind of displaced. I'm particularly excited to get my (wedding shower gift from my mom) bright and colorful mixing bowls on one of the shelves and out of the pantry where there isn't room for them. We also received a gorgeous end-grain chopping board as a wedding gift from some of my coworkers, and I can't wait to actually be able to "display" it on top of the cart rather than having it shoved in a corner like it is now. And, perhaps the most exciting thing of all - the cart has two whole drawers (!!!!) where things like the can opener and citrus zester will live, rather than having them in the drawer that is behind the fridge, which I can assure you is SUPER inconvenient.

I'm committed to keeping the cart clutter-free overall, but already know that just being able to store a few items on the open shelving will be a huge help, and the additional counter space will be great for when we host guests or are both trying to do something in the kitchen at the same time! Pictures to come once the painting is done!...