Office... no, Kitchen Space

Most of the attributes of the kitchen in our house are satisfactory, but one large, empty wall in the breakfast nook area left me puzzled for months deciding how to fill the space.  While I would love to remodel the whole kitchen (mostly because of the aforementioned empty wall, and the white tile (ugh!) countertops), I simply have not yet won any of the remodeling sweepstake competitions that I have entered.  Thus, to transiently solve the issue I have with the blank space in the kitchen, a few substantially sized storage units were moved in to fill the bill.  More storage in the kitchen- how could one resist?! Incorporating this unit in to the kitchen was simplified with the help of my collection of pitchers, a few serving dishes, and the addition of some glassware.  While the shelves above help with storage and display, the cabinets below provide ample room for some occasionally used dishes, and house some miscellaneous party ware that found the perfect home nestled within these cabinet units.  Not only does this lovely dark shelving unit embolden this previously boring, blank space in the kitchen, its constant usefulness brings a smile to my face every time I pass by.

Shelves on the far left hold decorative serving pieces, which are easy to remove and utilize when needed.  A yellow serving bowl adds a pop of color, and a vintage sugar and creamer set are displayed on the bottom shelf.

The base cabinet on the far left houses Christmas dishes and glassware.  The plain red and white decoration on the everyday china allows it to be used for other season such as Valentine's Day.

A glass drink dispenser sits on the middle shelf, and can be made to decorate seasonally by simply changing the filler while not in use.  To continue the 'pop of color' theme with yellow, lemons find a temporary home within the glass container.

Some awkwardly sized party ware items rest perfectly in the middle cabinet, waiting to be used to serve ice or tiers of finger foods.  The box on the right holds a wine opener, easy to access when serving guests.

Shelves on the right function to store and display glassware, and have inspired the thought of a beverage center I am working to create.  The basket fills the lower shelf temporarily as I continue to search for the perfect wine rack to sit in this space.

The base cabinet on the right houses additional wine glasses, easily accessible in the event that supplies on the top shelves run low.  Beer steins rest on a tray, making them simple to transfer to the freezer to be chilled.  

After falling in love with several pitchers I discovered at Home Goods a few years ago, I simply kept my eyes open ever now and then to discover more everywhere I went and have since amassed somewhat of a collection of pitchers.  While some of these are used occasionally to serve beverages, others function simply in a decorative sense.  Placed together on the top of these storage shelves, these pitchers help to meld the free standing storage unit with the rest of the kitchen, and infuse some bright color to contrast the dark wood material of the shelves.