I live in a small bungalow built in 1917. This is the third part of my home tour….as I said in my first post HERE…..” I don’t have a glamorous house with soaring ceilings and a large to-die-for kitchen or anything!
Oh no ( smile ) ……..this is about a LITTLE house and TINY kitchen and how to deal with storage etc.
This little bungalow has some charm and it also has alot of things that I’d like to change and don’t like. So this will also be about constraints…. of money, time, and capability.”
Part One was the Upstairs, Part Two was the Living Room, and this is Kitchen, Dining, and Storage.
I have a tiny galley kitchen.
The way to deal with that is to have storage elsewhere.
In this view of the dining room, several of the pieces in the room help me to survive the tiny kitchen.
The tall cabinet prior to entering the kitchen holds canned goods, cereals, pasta, soups, plastic wraps and foil, etc. It has three shelves on the top, two on the bottom, and two deep drawers in the middle. When I first moved here I had a very cheap cabinet from Lowes that served the same purpose. One year with an income tax refund, I went ahead and replaced that with this good wooden piece.
The narrow green open shelved unit next to the built-in was a purchase from Pier One. It’s a junk catch-all …recipe books and magazines, a basket that holds pens and keys and the calculator, dog leashes, vitamins…what-have-you is stored here.
This hutch was another income tax refund splurge. I’d had an older piece that my grandfather had made for me but I replaced it with this, and that older piece now has its home at my niece’s apartment.
Checkbooks, papers, junk, toys, tablecloths, puzzles, craft supplies for the children…..there’s alot jammed into this hutch!
I bought this little dry sink a year or two ago. If you open the doors, tupperware and chiildrens puzzles and what-have-you will most likely tumble out. ( smile ) This is where the daily Tupperware is stored…the kind you want on hand to grab quickly to throw some leftovers in to take to the office for lunch. I do have a small cupboard below the kitchen, on the landing as you make your way down to the basement…and larger tupperware is stored there, along with crockpots, a blender, and a few other items.
The picnic basket was a bargain that I picked up at a yard sale. It held full picnic supplies too…I have a post about that HERE. I really got a bargain that day!
Back to the red hutch corner. There’s a bit of space between it and the wall and that is where the accordian file that holds bills and this years papers is stored. This little country bench is tucked in by the steam radiator and holds some toys and crayons…a bin beneath holds some toy train tracks. Often the dining room table becomes the place-to-play in the cold weather. You’ll find dog toys not only in this corner but in most corners around the house ( smile )
In Part Two of the Tour, I’d mentioned having to break up the computer desk sections to make room for the piano in the living room. Here is one of the sections tucked into the dining room. From an aesthetic viewpoint I should have a smaller desk there, but from a monetary standpoint, this one is going to stay for awhile…..
Now back to that galley kitchen! Tiny and hard to photograph….
The flooring was very old. I replaced that. The cabinet under the sink was the old metal kind and I used that for a few years and replaced it with this wooden piece from Lowe’s one year. Everything has been little by little over the years ( just a LITTLE extra money for such things each year but that’s the way it is and I am content )
With a doorway leading into the kitchen, one to the basement, and one to the back porch, space is quite limited here! This little wooden cabinet holds my daily dishes and cups, casserole dishes and mixing bowls.
Stove and microwave area: there was a door leading down to the cellar and I had it taken off so I could run up and down the steps easily.
This stove was purchased one Christmas Eve. YES on Christmas EVE my old white stove stopped working. WHAT an emergency. UGH. By the way, I’ll never buy a black stove again…it shows the dirt too much. AND when you clean it it shows the lint. Can’t win ( smile )
Well, that’s it, folks…I hope that you enjoyed the tour. If you live in a small house, I hope my small one resonates with the challenges that you face in regards to storage, etc. If you live in a large house, count your blessings ( smile )
I do like my little bungalow, though. Here’s wishing you a wonderful day in whatever home you live in!
For part two : visit HERE
For part one: visit HERE
For more information on this community of older homes and some other home pictures in the area visit HERE
For more information on kit and catalog homes see HERE
*NOTE : Just about every post on my blog is linked to some party or another throughout the week. These party buttons are permanently displayed on my sidebar…if you have not visited some of these great parties and hostesses yet please do so. I’ll see you there!
For instance, I have shared this tour with
and will be sharing with
And Share Your Cup over at Jann’s on Thursday
As well as At The Picket Fence and Ladybird Lane on a Friday
How cute!
I love the gray wall color!
I love your bungalow too. Very charming. Thanks for sharing.
Your home is cozy in the nicest way and beautifully decorated. We downsized the last time we moved, so have adjusted to smaller quarters as well. There are benefits – less stuff sitting around and much easier to clean.
Ten swipes of the shark mop in my kitchen and I am done! :)
Your home is very cute. I love bungalows. So charming.
Your bungalow may be small, but it’s big on charm. Going back to take the other two tours.
Mary Alice
I face the same challenge as you. My house was built around 1875 so like you, I have a lot of freestanding storage units. Love your dining room wall color and that built-in hutch is just dreamy! Bungalows have great architectural detail. The outside of your home is just darling!! Now I’m off to look at parts one and two of your tour.
I love the soft touches of gray! Charming home!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment on my blog..I appreciate it!
You have a lovely home! I don’t have a huge kitchen either and have been pondering where to put some kitchen items. You gave me some ideas to think about!
You really know how to work with your space – love old homes and yours is a beauty! I can’t believe your Christmas Eve stove nightmare – glad Santa brought you a shiny new one!
Kelly
Your bungalow is beautiful! I love all of your storage pieces. Your home has so much character to it! You’ve decorated in such a cute way. Have a wonderful evening! ~ Jamie
Now my house just feels so boring…. I did love the tour!
Your home is quite charming! Great use of storage pieces as well!
Your bungalow is darling! Thanks for the tour!
I like your bungalow!
You have a darling, cozy home! I have always admired the style of your home. Love your front porch!
Nancy
What a sweet home and great ways of finding storage to make up for a small kitchen. I have a tiny kitchen and seem to waste a lot of storage space on stuff I don’t even use, so I just use less. Easier that way. Your home has such great charm inside and out. I too live in a small home, but the older I get the more I count it as a blessing for reasons ranging from the fact that there’s less to clean to the fact that there’s enough stuff breaking down all the time needing to be fixed. I can only imagine if my space was doubled that I’d be buried under the responsibility even more than I am!
Liz
Your space is charming and you really know how to make it work for you! I love the design of bungalows even if they are small, they have character.
Loving the black and white curtains at the kitchen windows and door!
Debra
Imagine my surprise when I saw the decoupaged lunch box atop your picnic baskets. I have one exactly like it. It used to belong to a friend who I thought had decorated it. Small world. We keep shoe shine supplies in ours. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
Looks beautiful and comfortable.
Your little home could be featured in a decorating magazine! It’s beautiful! You take the negative out of “small” and make it into an enviable place to nest. I am crazy about that gorgeous hutch (3rd picture). For myself, I find that the more space I have, the more I need to fill it. Oh, and clean it too! So, no, not really that good of a thing after all!
I would bet that other than toys, nothing is ever out of place in your home. It really is warm and inviting. It may be small but you have sure done a lot with it.
it IS generally fairly neat, yes. but that stops on the outskirts. I am a messy person when it comes to cupboards…things tend to get thrown into cupboards around here. Then every once in awhile I’ll straighten them out…usually after something has fallen out onto my head or foot : )
Love your home tour, so pretty! Thanks for sharing.
XO
Kristin
I love your little bungalow – nice architecture.
My little house was built in 1927 as a summer beach cottage so there is no storage. We have learned that rooms need to serve multiple purposes. I am sitting on the window seat we added in the dining room that provides both seating and storage.
It may be small, but I wouldn’t trade our little house at the beach for a big house anywhere else.
I LOVE older homes. Yours is so cozy and homey. :-)
New follower here from Inspiration Friday!
I also live in an “itty bitty” house – the kitchen, living room, and dining room are all one area – I have been very creative with storage. You’ll have to come visit sometime and see my “itty bitty” house – I’m showing the master bedroom in today’s post.
I would love to have a little house on the beach – but alas, our itty bitty house is in south Florida – no where near the beach!
Enjoy your little house, even with all the storage issues!
Hugs -
Carol @ arewethereyet
I love your home! It’s very comfortable and pretty. I live in a small place too and it’s a challenge to keep it from feeling over crowded while storing what you need. Thanks for linking with me! I hope you are having good weather by now.
Your little bungalow is adorable! I love all of your darling storage cabinets. We moved into our larger home 3 1/2 years ago. Let me tell you, they are not all they are cracked up to be. As much as I love the open space for family, I find it a bit difficult to get that homey feeling of a small home. We have large ceilings and no matter how much I fill it up I notice an echo now and then. Still counting my blessings. Thanks for sharing with Share Your Cup.
Hugs,
Jann
Love your home tour, I am looking forward to going back and seeing your other tours! Your house remindes me of my own. I am going to show this post off tonight at the party!
Carlee