Ever see a "Mini" kitchen? .....welcome to my Apartment!

So, after a lot of thought and a lot of time spent in the kitchen since purchasing my KitchenAid Mixer...and some color inspiration from a gal pal that just moved..I decided it was time to updo my little..very little..kitchen.Unfortunetly,I do not have any before and after photos on hand so... I can just tell ya what i've done and how i've done it... Lets start with a "this is good as its going to get" Photo of the kitchen intself.

We have lived in this Apartment for going onto 3 years now. My husband,brother and myself..needless to say..can you see 3 people in this kitchen? Imagine one getting a cup of coffee, one making a sandwich and another at the oven frying an egg....get it??? Its really not fun! This kitchen is maybe 4 feet wide and 8 feet long.no joke. This photo was taken by me with my back against the "fake" wall (just a wall that stands to block the kitchen from the living room-which is large for an apartment) We have a total of 5 cupboards for storage. I put the shelf over the sink which originally I had a canvas print ..a coffee cafe motif ..I loved coffee so much I wanted my kitchen to be all coffee like..since we have these ugly press-board "wood" cupboards and brown lanolium...you need to improvise right?

I store my dry baking ingredients in 1 gallon vintage ball jars (I collect). I had ceramic canisters that were terribly hard to get clean, they were white. . Boring...white... meh... I used chalkboard vynel on the lids with a metallic paint marker to write what was in the jars..obviously sugar and flour are different in color in texture but.....ya know... OCD...

The wire wracks with hanging baskets are from IKEA...that store.... pshhh... Ive actually used them for the past 4 years now in this apartment and our last when things on the counter was just too much clutter. I pop these bad boys into the dishwasher and tada..good as new!

I was cooking breakfast this AM as I was snapping these photos. I hung the marigold tea towel and the tangerine towel on the bar of the oven to add a pop of color. I've asked "the boys" to not use them ..I pop them into the washer when I wash the rest of the kitchen towels. I am a lover of cast iron and vintage Wagner ware..they normally hang out on the stove :)

The wood tray on top of the microwave is from Ross. I paid $10.99 for it. I tried to thrift one or DIY one myself but..the price was cheaper and the style was a bit more me. I wanted to create a cleaner line rather than the stuff thrown on top of the microwave. This also helps from items sliding or falling off the microwave.
..if you store on your microwave like I do..counter space is very limited.

 

And theres my French Toast I was making..I use an electric skillet often for breakfast so it gets done quicker and I can use the stove for other things like bacon and potatoes.. 

I shoved my pink Kitchen aid mixer into the corner..I have plans of making a cover for it but...time.. 

Yes,we have two coffee pots. One is mine and one is my brothers..I am very protective and particular of my coffee...and my coffee pot.. My little 5 cupper.. My husband doesn't drink coffee from home...he's too good for that..Pinkies up... bwahahaha! 

Do you see what I mean by counter space? this is what it looks like on a typical morning but,it is what it is..

It is a surface and it is available...so ta da! top of the fridge storage! A $2.99 Thrifted black storage box hides all the pans that get used routinely..because my brother has his own and my husband and I have our own set our main cupboard is FULL to the brim with pans. . . that is another DIY storage for another time.

 

Pardon my overfilled recycling bag... but, it tis OreyGon and we have to pay a deposit on cans..adds up..

This roller cart has 3 shelves and it is SUPER handy! my brother stores his rice cooker ..see the wire? on this cart and we collect our "go backs", store our plastic bags in a handy dandy IKEA Plastic Bag collector.. 

I like to DIY my own coffee and the syrups were taking space up on the counter so this nice basket now homes them..I have had this basket for YEARS.

 

These are my very own hand painted DIY wall art. Acrylic on canvas and sealed with varnish except the one on the far right.. I had wanted to try out chalkboard paint and tada! Memo Board..BAM there it be! I used masking tape to create the designs and goggled and researched trends. I didn't want to create a floral kitchen because I have a husband and a brother..my husband does not care because I am the cook of our marriage but,my brother may wine a bit.... I purchased the large matching frames from IKEA..oh THAT STORE!!! I decided on the sprig design simply because it could be considered a flower or an herb...cooky like.





After many-a-seaches on Pinterest... yeah addiction... and a little idea

The baskets came from Target and range from $$2.99-$9.99. But Online they come in 4 packs. I suggest the Med. Size those are the ones on the top two shelves.
I don't really have an organizing method here other than the top one is my dairy products and they all get frequently used..Especially my Coffee creamer that just so happens tom come in "Coffee Lovers" size bwahahaha! I love my ceramic Egg crate Cost Plus World Market..Gotta LOVE it $5.99

I DIY'd my shelf liners because they are easy to clean, decorative and make all those wobbly items not fall over. The oil cloth was $7.12  a yard  at Fabric Depot

The first item for my small kitchen update was this rug......... $5.99 at Ross.. its more of a utility like texture so it is super durable for the kitchen..yippie skippie..

 

I tried to pull colors out of the rug since it is a bit of a focal point for my kitchen...
 So, all and all the kitchen looks messy but,the very limited space makes it a bit cluttered.. little by little progress is happening!

Here is my tutorial on how to make the WIRE rack covers..you can do this with plastic too BUT you don't need the snaps. Just trace your refrigerator racks and you can use double sided tape to keep the oilcloth down.

Plastic Snap kit. The tool comes separate. I purchased mine at Joann Fabrics The snaps come in rad colors I highly recommend for the frugal minded such as myself to wait until you get a few good coupons to purchase these as you'll end up becoming addicted. I ended up paying $10 for the pliers and $4 for the snaps (50% off coupons woot woot)

A super Duper Sharpie any color just make sure it does not bleed threw your oil cloth or seep.

Sharp Scissors

One of your fridge racks IF they are the same size. 

1 yard of Oil Cloth for two shelves and the inside of your shelves if yours are completely closed in without a bar.

 So...here we go kids!!!!!!!
.......

1) Trace your shelves of your fridge. If you have ..we will call them trays for now..
if you have wire trays like I do.. you will need to trace 6- no larger than the width of your rack flaps to attach your eyelets to that will fold over and hook to the underside of your racks to keep the oil cloth from moving off the rack. ...see photo below. then begin to cut after you've traced out some flaps. Mine were not perfect AT ALL I just "winged" it for it being my first time and not looking at anyone's instructions.

Chop chop chop...

2) Once you have cut it all out we will now begin applying the snaps. Be careful, read the directions that come with the pliers because if you do not you will end up ruining your piece of oil cloth because once these are put into the hole and "crunched" down they are VERY hard to remove. The pointed tips of the flat backs will go easily into the oil cloth so go ahead.. Push them threw closest but,not too far away from the end of the flap..The flat back is always on the printed side of the oil cloth.

The center pointed piece is the center of the flat sided snap. and the part that squishes as you use the clamp.

Make sure the snaps are opposite..one flat piece

on each side of the snap per the instructions for general application.

See how my cuts aren't perfect..meh..no one is judging.  See how the snaps are opposite? one male one female..I hate that term! but... is what it is! Continue doing this until your all done. then place your fridge liners over your wire racks and bam! DONE!

Welp...thats what I got for now folks! more ideas to come later!