Want my kitchen to be practical but at the same time beautiful.....

[bizzymomof5]

my daughter is on a special diet for crohn's disease so we use our appliances a lot. I would love to have clean, simple looking counter tops and still be able to have the appliances out where they are easy to get to. How do you do this? Anyone have any pics or ideas? We have a Bosch mixer w/ a blender, a vita-mix, and a food processor. I currently use the vita-mix daily. I think i would use my Bosch more in cooking for the rest of the family if it was out on the counter. the vita-mix and food processor I keep under the counter and just pull them out when i use them. Not so big of a deal, I guess.

just wondered if anyone had any ideas. maybe I just need to let go of the whole cleared off/less is more look on my counter tops at this season in our lives. :) Praise God I even get to have a family to cook for, right? Yea, for cluttered counter tops!:D

tracy

ps would still love to see pics of kitchens if you want to share.

[LibraryLover]

While I do like a clean and tidy look, I've never understood the need to hide appliances that we use daily. A kitchen is a work area...not a museum. Keep what you need at hand. Not all glossy mags show kitchens without tools on the counter...that's really more when you have your house on the market. lol

 

Use you work space. Keep the counters clear of papers and ugly things, but leave the raw materials out. A bread machine, a nice mixer, a Vitamix-- these do not need to be hidden, imo.

Edited June 28, 2010 by LibraryLover

[Perry]

I don't like my appliances out, mainly because they get dirty and collect animal hair. I *hate* pulling my bagel out of the toaster and finding cat hair on it. Gag.

 

So I had my dh build a wooden appliance cover. It looks similar to this:

 

but the front is plain with one metal handle that matches the cupboard handles. It's painted off white to match the kitchen cabinets. The back is open, so it just slides forward when I want to use the toaster.

 

My old house had a built in appliance cover on the counter, similar to this:

 

 

It wouldn't work in my current kitchen, but I want this in my next house.

[Satori]

Well, we are kinda on a special diet - just trying to eat healthy with raw foods more. So I have appliances I need to use all the time too - the powerful blender, food processor, juicer, dehydrator. I just set them all out on the counter. I use one of the juicers almost everyday, so I have a special towel it sits on to protect the countertop. You can even see my tray of wheatgrass when I thought I would start doing wheatgrass shots, lol.

 

I don't mind that it all sits out. It makes me use them more often, and that means my family is healthier.

 

Click to see a larger version.

 

[iquilt]

I believe in keeping out what gets used daily, but I also like the clutter free look, so I struggle with this as well. My kitchenaid has never been anywhere but on the counter, but I do have it in a corner and pull it forward when I'm actually going to use it, thereby keeping the counter space in front usable for other things like chopping or other messy activities. I hate my toaster, but everyone else loves using it so it is out all the time, right next to the bread box. I don't like coffee but dh does so the coffee maker is out all the time, along with my tea pot and a fruit bowl. With this house I have enjoyed a bigger pantry, so there is no food out on my counters except the fruit bowl and breadbox; all else has a shelf in the pantry so when the door is closed to the pantry the kitchen looks fairly nice.