Hey guys! It’s back to school time and it sure has been a busy summer. My classroom kitchen got a huge update and I am finally ready to show you all the great things we did. The old kitchen was very well loved and served its’ purpose for many years. Aside from a facelift, my primary goal was making the space more functional for my students. The existing space had cabinets and counters that offered limited space and storage, they were in poor condition, and were extremely out of date. In the last 10 years, my class sizes have grown considerably and as a result we have added a lot more equipment. We also purchase a much larger volume of groceries and supplies to be used on a daily basis; we were desperate for more efficient storage. With the assistance of some extremely talented people, we were able to really identify and meet all of our classroom needs. Here was our previous space... Priority number one for us was creating more storage. We had a really small station that was in an awkward spot and rarely used by students; it had become a landing zone for junk and items that had no other home. With the assistance of our construction class, the station was removed and a dividing wall was added. This space has now become our pantry and storage area. Our three refrigerators are kept in this location along with our original pantry cabinet that received a fresh coat of black paint this summer. We had one wire shelving unit that worked well for storage of small appliances and equipment - 4 more of these were purchased from Menards and placed end to end to create a giant open storage unit. I’m so excited for all of the organization but I’m equally excited for the additional storage. Buying products in bulk or ordering extra supplies will now be a reality since we have somewhere to store those items. Here is a look into our storage area now: In our student stations, all of the old cabinets, countertops, and sinks were removed. The room was painted with Behr paint in Halation. We reconfigured the existing space and utilized cabinet shapes and sizes that fit our needs the most. This included adding cabinets and drawers in each station, placing a corner cabinet where the previous lazy Susan had been, and adding a tray table for storage of baking pans and cutting boards. Each kitchen received a new double-basin sink and faucet without a sprayer (if you’ve ever worked with kids in the kitchen, you know how dangerous a water sprayer can be). Previously we had the standard 4 inch countertop backsplash which didn’t give much protection to the wall/paint from things like food splatter and food coloring. The countertops were replaced using Wilsonart laminate in White Carrara finish and instead of using the standard 4 inch height, we decided to extend the counter 18 inches. It now meets the top cabinets and completely protects the wall. The laminate surface on the wall is much easier to clean than paint and is a beautiful addition to our space. Above the beautiful laminate and new sink are 2 floating shelves that offer even more storage in each student station. I am really looking forward to styling these for future seasons and holidays. Next weeks post will feature all of the open shelf styling secrets! Additional tables from IKEA were placed in each kitchen for students to use as a prep/work space. Underneath, they offer drawer and open shelving space as well. Students will dine at metal tables in groups of 6. The metal tables replaced large wooden/laminate tables that have been used for years. The new metal tables are much slimmer and offer plenty of space for students to sit and enjoy their meal but are much more appropriate size for our space. The curtains in each station are a Roman shade made from IKEA fabric. More details on curtains in a future post! Instead of leaving microwaves in each kitchen and taking up valuable space, students will now be able to use the microwave station. This cabinet was purchased from Wayfair and the microwaves will be kept on top; our recycling center is also underneath! I made the sweet little awning using the same IKEA fabric as I used on the curtains. Details on the awning, shiplap, and balloon garland soon! Can you believe how lucky I am? I’m so in love with every detail in this space! I’m excited for all of the classroom adventures we are going to have in here for years to come. Check out pictures from the whole process below!
1 Comment
Stefanie
1/23/2024 11:02:51 am
Do you happen to have an idea of the cost of your kitchen transformation?
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
April 2020
Categories
All
|