The kitchen is one area of my house that I don’t feel is particularly minimal. But minimalism isn’t meant to define our spaces, minimalism is a way of evaluating the items in our homes so our home can function for us the way we need it to.
In our case, we have a big family and we eat real food.
We have six children, the older three are out on their own but the two that live nearby come over at least once a week to share a meal with us.
On a daily basis, we have just five of us now, but my kids eat a LOT.
I enjoy baking bread, experimenting with pastry, yeasted bread and traditional sourdough.
So as we take an in-depth look inside our kitchen cupboards and drawers, know that these items were picked out with intention, based on how we live and what is important to our family.
The “messy” counter
You can see in the image below that we have things on the counter. We tend to leave our supplements out, but I am working on an organization system so they will be more out of the way.
Regardless, that counter tends to be the messy one through the day as we leave cups and water bottles there to use throughout the day.
First, let’s check out these cupboards here:
The main work area
I try to keep these counters clear through the day as they are my main work areas.
But let’s look inside the cupboards around the main sink.
Left: Pull out drawers (from amazon): garbage bags, rubber gloves, scrub & throw sponges
Middle: Vases, seven of various sizes
Right: Dish soap, (affiliate link) Dropps dishwasher detergent (Use code NM25 for 25% off for new customers), containder of infrequently-used utensils.
Corner cupboard
The Hutch
Top shelf L – R: 4 stainless steel mixing bowls, various sizes, 2 large stock pots.
Middle: 2-gallon jars with Sushi rice, rolled oats & jasmine rice.
Counter: Basket for bread, open chips/crackers, etc. salt lamp, coffee pot, six coffee cups.
Top L – R: plastic wrap, box with aprons, 3 table cloths, & Eithopian spices, candy jar, crepe griddle, alcohol.
Bottom L – R: Cereal, granola bars, cloth napkins, tivets, extra ziplock bags, kid’s lunch boxes.
The Island
Silverware, 8 settings.
Knives: chef knife, bread knife, 2 serrated knives, paring knife, tomato knife.
Art & things
Minimalist Living Room Tour
Because our home is small (1132 sq. ft.), it can be challenging to really capture the essence of it, but this morning I decided to buckle down and give it my best shot. Welcome, friends, to our living room!
Our home is old, 1882, but was definitely a hard working house with very little bells and whistles. The kitchen is the only area that we have remodeled, which means that all the walls are currently lathe and plaster. It certainly gives me grief when I want to rearrange wall decor!
The wood floors are painted white. When we purchased the house, the floor was covered with very old tan carpet, which we tore out as soon as Titus (pictured playing on the rug) was walking. The floors had been painted a variety of colors and were in horrible shape. Painting them white was a rather crazy notion, and though I knew I LOVED white painted wood floors, I didn’t know how I much I would love it with 6 children and a dog.
Turns out, painted floors are so much easier to keep clean than the worn out scuffed floor we had been living with for several years. I got a great dust mop and the kids love using it too, so that helps. I end up sweeping & mopping the floors once a week and I’m very happy with it.
The rug was purchased online, and is made from scraps of fabric. I love the craziness and bright colors.
At one end of the living room is a very sentimental bench. The corners are now worn and the top is stained, but I’m not quite ready to recover it.
This bench sat at my maternal grandparent’s home, normally near the large fireplace. Each year at Christmas Grandma would set the bench in front of the Christmas tree and each family took turns sitting and having their picture taken.
I fondly remember looking through Grandma’s Christmas albums and seeing how I (and all my cousins) had grown and changed from year to year.
When Grandma passed away, this was requested by almost everyone in the family. We ended up putting all our names in a hat and mine was drawn.
The couch was given to us by a lovely couple who were moving and had to let it go. The bright colors in the rug pull out the bright floral pattern. I love the detail put into the couch. (I very much avoid over-stuffed furniture.)
On the other side of the couch we have an old fruit crate that we use as an end table. It houses a few books that the kids have left out (the rest are stored in “George” in the dining room).
On the other side of the room, we have our TV cabinet. It’s an antique cabinet we found at a tiny antique store that is about 5 blocks away from us. We had to remove a shelf and cut a hole in the back for cords.
After we purchased the cabinet, we went and bought a TV to fit it. It’s smaller, I think 25″. We are used to a small screen and prefer not to have a huge TV as a focal point to the room.
Our DVDs and Blu Rays fit because we store them in wallets. This is also where my husband stores his chainmail supplies.
The 3 framed pictures are the hinged frames that hold the kid’s current artwork. They hold about 20 pictures and when they get full, we spread them out, have the child sit by them and take a digital photo. This way I can keep track of what they did without keeping so many physical papers.
You can view the rest of the room in the dining room tour.
Minimalism is going to look different for everyone. Some people enjoy blank walls or only black and white pieces, and some want intricate detail and only a few pieces, others prefer large collections on the walls and very little furniture. Whatever way you prefer to live, is perfect! Never change your style for the sake of “being a minimalist.”
Remember that there is no perfect way. Find your own expression of minimalism and enjoy your space.
What does your minimalist home look like?
Still in the decluttering phase? I’ve got you! Check out this free 30-day decluttering challenge:
This looks beautiful and serene 😊 I absolutely love the birds and plants behind the sink.
And I loved this post!
Minimalism is different for everyone. It’s not about having nothing or depriving ourselves. It’s about deciding carefully and intentionally about what we acquire.
It’s also about environmental stewardship. Endless consumption of stuff we don’t need harms the environment every step of the way.
Ok now how do you do about the same thing in a kitchen half that sized? ugh nice to have that large closet. What do you do if you dont have that and no island and half the floor space? I have a 8x 8 eating area but have to have a walk through in the middle of it to get to the washer dryer. I hate the layout of my house. Never pick a floor plan by closing your eyes and just picking one.