Learning to Love: Turning a Foe into a Friend

I'm the kind of person who can hold onto a grudge for way too long, be completely hung up on one small flaw, and generally carry around a half empty glass.  Luckily for me, I married a man who dances on rainbows and beams enough light to stun my retinas and distract me from the things that would otherwise drive me crazy.  Like my own personal Buddha, he provides me with annoying inspirational thoughts like, "In forgiving others, you forgive yourself" or help yourself... or something basically telling me to get over it and move on.

For a few years now, I've been waging an internal war on one of my most dreaded enemies: the Baker's Rack.  We picked it up at IKEA way back in the day to provide some extra storage in our kitchen/dining area and it has just been one of those things I've never loved, never been able to find a way to actually make it useful or attractive, and can't help but dream of just launching it out a window.  Structurally, I think it just completely lacks any sort of style.  Aesthetically, the only thing really going for it are its clean lines.  Functionally, all it's able to provide is a surface upon which some item could sit (assuming it doesn't need any support) and hope to not fall victim to roaming Catzillas (as did a souvenir Bluemont Vineyard wine glass meet its end, may it rest in pieces).

The offender, who has been discontinued.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who hates the thing.

Baker's Rack followed us to Grafton, its cumbersome metal frame and heavy glass shelves once again sneaking into our home and taking residence in our dining room.  Not being able to find a perfect place for it to loom, it now sits up against the stairs, partially obstructing the view between the living room and kitchen.  Somehow, it knows we need it, though, as our greatly reduced cabinet space has left my collection of small kitchen appliances homeless and wandering, the pet treats scattered, and some other random things just lying about... randomly?

Maybe it was the week long break we had over the holidays that renewed my spirit.  Maybe my heart grew three sizes.  Whatever it was, last weekend, I finally found the strength to look past the horror of the Baker's Rack and try to work with it instead of against it.

First step: pet treats.  As the proud parents of three loved (and well-fed) petsons, treats are plentiful at our house and previously took residence in a clunky basket that was too big for the shelf and further obstructed the view.  My solution?  Unload all the treats into a bunch of cute glass jars, allowing easier access to the treats (you know pets can't get their treats fast enough) and the transparency keeps things open.  I added a nice black and white photo of Elliot John gave me for Valentine's Day a couple years back to bring in an artsy touch (he's so glamorous), and finished it all off with a golden prosperity fish John's mom gave us for Christmas for a bit of flare.  Who knew pet treats could look so nice?

Second step: gettin' spicy!  After cleaning up and moving some things that definitely didn't belong, I was left with one pathetic little mortar and pestle.  John's mom also gave us a small stainless steel spice/salt tray for Christmas, so I thought that would be a perfect companion.  I created some homemade "art" by cutting out the logo on a bag from The Spice and Tea Exchange, a great new boutique shop in Old Town, and reusing an old frame from our now-defunct gnome art.  Inspired by the red in the logo, I used a bright red box to give height to the tray and pulled out some reddish spices to bring in even more color.

Next step: baking appliances.  Although my stand mixer and food processor don't get as much use as I'd like them to, they still need a home and one that's relatively accessible since they both weigh about 1,000 pounds.  Plus, they look so nice, who would want to hide them?  Two appliances looked too bare, so I quickly flipped through a Stonewall Kitchen catalog and found the perfect addition... an image of some yummy looking whoopie pies accompanied by the inspirational message "Peace, Love & Baking".  What more could a person want out of life?  One more frame was reused and I got another piece of free art!

The next two shelves still need some TLC, but I'm proud of my progress and happy to report the Baker's Rack is no longer in danger of being pitched out the window.  Sure, I'd still get rid of it in a heartbeat, but for now, we need the storage and it will do.  I think it's a good step toward organization, decorating, and improved mental health.  Win!