this post is sponsored by Exact Mats and The Container Store.

I touched on a lot of these in Emily Henderson’s post – ICYMI – here’s the link! Go give it some love 🙂

It’s true the design and layout of your kitchen is the BIGGIE. But once you’re in the space, organization just has to be there and it needs to work with your lifestyle. I’m shedding some light on a few things we did personally that made our kitchen and it’s utility above and beyond.

Cabinets are (next to flooring) one of the biggest expenses to a home. The process can be as detailed and as overwhelming as you let it. But here are 3 tips from a design perspective to get your bang for the buck when it comes to kitchen cabinets…

1. Inset, isn’t always worth it. To achieve a custom look, add dividers that go to the floor (which helps frame cabinet bases) and gives a more custom look. My kitchen is a great example.
2. Door style matters. It’s where your personality really shines besides cabinet hardware. Clean shaker styles are more timeless and appeal to most, but I do have an affinity right now for slab drawer fronts. If you can’t do inset (again, that’s okay!) maybe you can do panel fronts on your appliances instead.
3. Hardware!! Look for pieces that really speak to the style of your home (not just your kitchen). What’s your dominating hardware finish? Also look for hardware in unexpected places – I find so many gems on Etsy and Anthropologie.

When it comes to functionality and usage – ORGANIZATION is key! When doing your cabinet layouts, already think about where things might go and things you might need. In our new house, the boys have 3 dedicated drawers in the island that they can access for all of their serve-ware.

Also, hire the Neat Method to help you 1) get what you need & how much. But when it comes down to it here’s my recommendation:

1. Cabinet liners are key. We partnered with Exact Mats and it was an amazing experience. Our friends at Neat Method, truly championed their products so we went with it and we’re SO glad we did. They are custom fit to your cabinets and are well worth the price. They 1) protect your cabinets/drawers 2) prevent items from slipping or moving around when you open up drawers 3) don’t leave any residue and are easy to clean. GUYS, the product is genius and super versatile.
2. The Container Store is your new best friend. When it came to organizing our drawers and pantry (which we didn’t have before) it was critical to set them set up the second we moved in. We worked with the Neat Method and TCS for this process and within 2 days our kitchen was organized and unpacked and ready to go. Sure we’ll shift locations of things as we live in the space and that’s okay. It’s about finding everything a place. The biggest giddy moment was seeing all the lovely containers and labels in our pantry. All the kid snacks/food are on the lower (easy to reach) drawers and it’s working out really well!

SHOP my picks with The Container Store – currently having a kitchen/pantry sale!:

The powder bath to me is one of the most important rooms in the house. Just like the kitchen it gets a TON of use. Not not just from those that live there but every single guest. It was important for me to make our powder bath feel like us, but also dress it up a notch.

I’m going to share a few ways to achieve this look for less!

I did have an inspiration photo to start, but we definitely put our own spin on it. We did a custom iron base, used the excess Pietra Cordosa stone from our kitchen counter tops and used the Kohler Purist wall mounted faucet. The black arched mirror didn’t cover too much of the wallpaper, which was really important to me. The mirror was also $290 bucks, so it was perfect. The wallpaper is my favorite element since it’s the wallpaper from the Wythe Hotel in which we got married at. It’s part of story and really adds charm to the walls. In our last powder bath, especially with two kids, we collected so much stuff in the cabinet, that I wanted to try to eliminate that all together. I have a basket in the corner for extra hand towels and rolls of toilet paper and so far, it’s working out just fine.

I found some amazing pieces for fractions of the price to get a similar look to our powder bath! The removable wallpaper from Home Depot is pretty darn close!

shop this look below: