Apr. 29, 2024
Design and convenience describes my ideal kitchen. Here are my top 5 dream kitchen must have features!
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It’s true what they say – kitchens sell homes, as evidenced by the fact that the second we entered the kitchen of our current home while touring it in 2013, I turned to Ben and said, “I MUST HAVE THIS.” I was also 8 months pregnant with Lincoln at the time and we’d already sold our house, so we literally needed to have this, but coming from a once-orange kitchen with bathroom tiles for countertops, the tall cabinets, sleek appliances, and stone countertops of the new place gave me immediate goo-goo eyes.
While I do love our current kitchen, the thought of designing my dream kitchen from the ground up sends me into an emotional tailspin. Oh, the possibilities! Truly I couldn’t care less about having the biggest house with the fanciest finishes – but a tricked out kitchen? Yes, please!
When I think about my dream kitchen, I think design and convenience. Beautiful cabinetry, a big island, wide-plank wood floors, white stone, and fabulous hardware – plus functional features like the 5 must-haves I’m sharing below. This “Just 5 Things” post idea came from a reader and it was a blast to curate. I’ve already pitched 10 kitchen upgrade ideas to Ben as a result of my “research”, which will all undoubtedly be knocked into the atmosphere (?,) but ah, a girl can dream. ?
Tell me – have you ever had the chance to design your dream kitchen? What did you include? If not (hi! ??) what would you include in yours?
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Clutter in any area of the house drives me nuts, but clutter in the kitchen makes me insane. Probably because I spend so much time in there for my job – and who doesn’t like a zen, organized work space?
That said, I would adore cupboards at counter height set up as an appliance garage to hide any of the cough FIVE appliances currently residing on our counter: toaster, KitchenAid Mixer, Keurig, Nespresso, plus the air fryer Ben got me for our anniversary earlier this week (can’t wait to try that bad boy out.)
Isn’t this solution just so sleek?
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Here’s another fun option with a top sliding door. Must have for my dream kitchen – totally obsessed.
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Forget walk-in closets, I’m ALL about the walk-in/butler’s pantry. CAN YOU EVEN with this space?!
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My dream kitchen would have a separate, walk-in pantry loaded with shelves, pull out shelves, and counter space for ALL THE STORAGE. I’ve seen some really cool pantries a couple stairs away from the main kitchen space, but have always liked the idea of tucking it behind a kitchen wall like the photo below.
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The only pantry we have in our kitchen is a skinny pull out shelf next to the fridge, so I use the cupboards in the laundry room for overflow and it’s really inconvenient. Our current kitchen layout would lend itself well to installing the kind of pantry in the photo above and below, so who knows, maybe someday my dream pantry could become a reality!
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One thing I love about our current kitchen is that it’s loaded with pull out shelves making it really convenient to store and retrieve items in deep cabinets. Our garbage/recycling is even on a track and I don’t think I could ever go back.
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Another feature I’ve always wanted to include in my dream kitchen is drawers under the sink. How many bottles of cleaner, plastic bags, and dishwasher detergent boxes have you lost in the dark recesses of your under-sink cabinet?! Hate that space!
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A command center is something we lack in our current kitchen and I’m desperate for a space like this. Probably because I have to use up a big corner of the kitchen to organize bills, etc, and it’s really unsightly (again, hate clutter!) We could use the office/guest room upstairs for that stuff but for me, if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. I have the memory of a goldfish.
I love the space in this dream kitchen below. From the traditional desk design that matches the rest of the kitchen cabinetry, to the cork board backsplash and shelving above (which I’d cover with doors in my dream kitchen,) it’s the perfect size and design.
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This command center is dreamy too. The chalk board backsplash + under cabinet lighting is a fun touch.
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No explanation needed for why I’d want to include a built-in wine refrigerator in my dream kitchen! That said, I love the location of this wine fridge – tucked into the end of the island vs taking up cabinet space in the main kitchen area.
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Just like the microwave, I am also obsessed with the idea of stashing the wine fridge in a walk in pantry. I don’t care if people SEE my wine, I just don’t want to have to go down to my spider-infested basement – where we currently keep our wine fridge – every time I want a glass.
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What are your must-haves for your dream kitchen?
I must admit, I have a soft spot for exclusive pumping mamas. Keep reading to find out the 12 must-haves that exclusive pumping mamas need to make pumping enjoyable (and productive)!
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I must admit, I have a soft spot for exclusively pumping mamas. It is truly exhausting and oftentimes, extremely inconvenient to bust out the pump, strap on your pumping bra, tuck breast shields in, and start pumping.
Breastfeeding is such a beautiful bonding experience that I wish I could’ve had with my son but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way for us. You can read all about my exclusively pumping journey here.
Although it took a couple of months for me to get into my pumping groove, once I had everything I needed, pumping actually became quite an enjoyable, relaxing time for me unless my supply was low and I was freaking out.
I highly recommend having a nice quiet space to pump. While I did pump in the room at night from time to time, I had a ‘workstation’ during the day where I kept all of my pumping supplies.
Keep reading to find out what you need to make pumping enjoyable (and productive) for you!
When pumping exclusively, it’s imperative that you invest in a quality, double-electric pump.
I absolutely love my Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breast Pump. It’s a double electric pump & they’re designed for pumping multiple times a day. This this was attached to my hip during the first few months of my son’s life.
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Related links:Although my biggest annoyance would have to be how loud it is, I’m pretty sure all double electric pumps are loud. Besides, I was able to pump in the room while my son slept so I’m definitely not complaining.
Although most pumps come with a couple of bottles that you can use, there are many different brands of bottles that are compatible with your pump.
What’s even better is that certain bottle brands have an adaptor that makes their bottles compatible with your pump.
Since I used the Medela Pump in Style, I’m pretty familiar with which bottles are compatible with it.
Brands such as Dr. Browns (regular neck) and Evenflow (regular neck) have bottles that can be directly hooked up to the pump.
If you use Avent, Munchkin, or Tommie Tippie, they all offer adaptors that are compatible with the Medela Pump in Style.
Yup! The dreaded manual pump. While it isn’t my favorite thing on this list, it’s definitely a must-have for pumping mamas.! I didn’t use it that often but when I did it helped a ton! Especially for those long car rides when we would travel to visit family out-of-state.
I loved the Medela Manual Breast Pump but be sure to have your own breast shields on hand. The flanges that come with it tend to be a bit small and they don’t fit properly, pumping will be pretty painful.
I leaked soooo much when I was pumping, especially if we were out for a while and I couldn’t pump as often as I needed to.
I tried all of those cute little cotton nursing pads but I’d still always leak through my shirts (and cardigans).
I’ve tried a bunch of different brands of nursing pads and I’ve NEVER had a leak with Lansinoh Stay Dry Disposable Nursing Pads. They were the perfect size and even come with sticky adhesive on the back to keep them in place.
If you are exclusively pumping and don’t have a hands-free bra, STOP what you’re doing and go buy one now! These were a life saver for me and they make the pumping experience much more tolerable.
Pumping is a lot of work as it is, so you definitely wanna go hands-free if you can!
I swear by this one! It’s super supportive and adjustable (plus the model makes it look so easy). I recommend that you have at least 3 or 4 if you’re pumping exclusively. Be sure to wash them regularly because all that milk and nipple cream gets icky.
Which brings me to my next point…
Whether you’re pumping or breastfeeding, sore, cracked nipples are the WORST!
It’s absolutely essential that you apply some sort of nipple cream before and after you pump.
& Since I’m a frugal, semi-crunchy mama, for those of you looking for a more natural remedy, this nipple cream is an awesome organic alternative.
Since the time frame to replace pump parts varies, you definitely want to have some extra ones handy just in case.
The tubing and valves should be replaced when it becomes damaged or if you find or suspect mold.
The membranes should typically be replaced once they no longer lay flushed against the valves.
You can find extra pump parts here..
A stocked freezer stash is the ultimate goal for any exclusively pumping mama. I loved being able to grab some milk from the freezer to take when we were out and about. That way I didn’t have to worry about awkwardly excusing myself to go and pump for 20 mins(I’d probably be super engorged but that’s not the point).
The last thing you want is to open your freezer and discover that your milk has leaked out of the bag. Believe me when I say that crying over spilled breast milk is a REAL THING so make sure you get some sturdy storage bags.
I highly recommend Lansinoh Breastmilk Storage Bags.! They’re BPA free, pre-sterilized, and I’ve NEVER had a leak! Grab a box of 100 here.
If you ever want to travel out of the house again without worrying about when and where you’ll be able to sneak off and pump, you NEED a cooler. There are ton’s of coolers out there but you definitely don’t need anything fancy.
A lot of moms store bottles of milk in their coolers and while I’m not knocking it, I di things a little differently.
I’d only pack a couple of frozen milk bags from my stash and an ice pack in my cooler bag. I loved doing this because I could fit a lot more milk in the cooler for those long days when we were out and about. I just kept clean bottles in his diaper bag.
By now you may be thinking, “This is a ton of stuff! How the heck will I transport it all?”
In a cute pumping bag of course!
It’d be nearly impossible to pack everything you’d need the baby’s diaper bag and although the Medela Pump in Style comes with a tote bag of it’s own, I’m all about cute bags!
That being said, tote bags specifically designed for pumping can be a bit pricey. All I did was buy a cute, reasonably priced tote bag and made it my designated pumping bag.
Easy Peasy!
Okay, okay, I know I lost some of you, but hear me out!
When I started pumping I planned to stash a couple of bags in the freezer as I went along but that was BEFORE I realized how much I was pumping and it was an EPIC fail! I could only store 4 days worth of milk at a time before I had to start thawing it out because the freezer would be too full.
After a little bit of whining to my hubby (happy wife, happy life right?), we got a deep freezer and everything changed.
I went from only having enough milk for 4 days at a time to only pumping three times a day because my deep freezer was FULL of milk.
Having a stash really takes the pressure off and makes pumping a lot more rewarding.
Yes, you read that right! My favorite thing about pumping (aside from being able to give my son liquid gold) was being able to have 30 uninterrupted minutes to myself (Can I get an Amen?).
As moms, it’s crucial that we take time out of the day for ourselves. Whether it’s an hour or 20mins. We all need time to regroup and recharge.
I’d recommend a pair of headphones, your laptop, something to read, or you could just scroll through social media on your phone.
Some of my favorite things to do were listen to a short sermon, do a devotional or watch videos on YouTube.
The possibilities are endless.
I hope that you find this list helpful in your own pumping journey and I want to encourage you to continue pumping in spite of how difficult it may be.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s exhausting and frustrating and there will be times that you look over at your husband and son sleeping soundly at 3 am and you want to scream, but hang in there mama.
You are working overtime to give your little one the gift of their mama’s milk.
It’ll all be worth it in the end and hey, you may be weird like me and actually miss pumping.
Any essentials that I left off the list?
Let me know in the comments!
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