Kitchen Decor Challenge

My friend Kara made the observation that her kitchen sink area says a lot about who she is and thought it would be interesting to see other people's as well.

I haven't been much of a decorator in the past because we never really stayed in one place long enough to warrant it.... plus Cliff is a minimalist, so I obliged and didn't do much to my shelves and walls. But as 2 years stretched to 3 that stretched to 4 and 5 of our current place, I started to think it would be nice to come up with a "feel" of my own to make it more homey :)

At my kitchen sink area I had a nice wide space, so I thought I would put a few plants there. Almost all of these plants were from garage sales over the years, which would say about me that I try to be frugal.... or it could say I kill plants very easily and if one died, at least it was from a garage sale :)

Plants relax me. I read an article once that said a group of astronauts up in the space station were starting to get depressed only seeing white and black so much that when it came time to tend to the science experiments involving plants, their depression dramatically lessened and their mood improved! I think I understand how they felt.


Attached to the plant stand is a tiny chalkboard that has the last date of when the plants were watered... which says that I am also very forgetful and totally need this visual reminder that the plants may in fact be thirsty. Yeah. It's been more than a week. Time to go water!

I also have a little magnet board for the kids current art or whatever I feel like pinning up at the time. Here's a look at the whole area:


To the side of the sink is a menu board (from my friend who sold it to me at her garage sale... thanks Anne-Marie!) hanging next to the sink that is mostly just for fun, but the kids actually love looking to see what they are having each night... when I remember to update it and actually make a menu... which reminds me again that I am very forgetful! I think I'm seeing a theme here.


On the other side of my sink I have a little magnet scrapbook thing hanging to which I can attach verses to memorize or notes or shopping lists, etc. I guess this says I like to do crafts. 'Cause I do. A lot of them. The kids love to help too :)


On and around the stuff behind the sink I have a few tea light candle holders. I really love candles. I love the smell, the ambiance, the flicker... the glow when everything else is dark. I have also been learning that I love bright colors. I don't like the pottery barn perfection of everything matching. It does look lovely, just not real. So I've recently added colorful beads to the wire on the candle holders. They reflect nicely when lit. I burn them during the day too. Just because I can... and it makes me happy. Beads have been rising on my craft list. Does that tell me I'm becoming a hippie?

What else lifts my mood is the outdoor lights I put up last summer. I just left them up all winter because they look so pretty at night when I'm doing my post dinner dishes. They look really nice shining off of the thunder egg rock wind chime my dad made for me that is hanging right outside the kitchen window.


The other part of the challenge was to describe some special significant areas of the home. I don't have anything super sentimental or special... I'm working on making some of my photography of the kids, people special to us, and nature more prominent in the house, but haven't done much. I do know that I have quite the affinity for soft white lights. I found some branches with white lights on the tips and added some branches and red flowers to the rocks and moss. With these on it's like a little bit of Christmas all year. Now I don't feel so sad putting away all of the pretty Christmas decorations and lights.


And keeping with the white light/candle theme I also put up some lanterns for another area of the backyard and outside the front window. Cliff loves seeing those lit when he comes home from work in the dark.


I'm not sure what these things says about me except that I think it's relaxing to look at colorful, lit up, imperfectly arranged things. So I guess what you decorate with does say some things about you! I'm kind of still in the figuring it out stage.

So according to my kitchen area:

I go to a lot of garage sales.
I like crafting/scrapbooking things.
I tend to neglect stuff without reminders and even sometimes with reminders.
I am forgetful.
I may be turning into a hippie.
My mood is down without things that are pleasing to my eyes/nose.
Plants, bright colors, and soft white lights make me happy.

I most definitely would not have scrapbooked this, so thanks Kara for the idea. I'm sure my ideas of decoration will change in the future and it will be fun to look back on the way it used to be. :)