Throwing in the [Paper] Towel

My kitchen paper towel storage system has long bothered me.  Our kitchen is in the small side, so every square inch of countertop matters.  Until now, I have stored my paper towels in a stand-up holder on the counter.  It's not ugly and I only use white paper towels because they're on display all the time.  Still ... I could really use more counter space.

Added to that, I have wanted to do something to my hanging cabinet on the wall, which you can see in the above picture.  My friend Colleen (who we've featured a bunch on the blog with her wedding here and here and her beautiful home before & after here) gave me this little cabinet that she had hanging in her first home's bathroom.  It was the absolute perfect size for my wall and gave me more cabinet space (and hello - free!). When I painted the kitchen last Summer, I painted the back of the cabinet, too, since all my dishes in there were white and tended to blend in with the white background.  I love the cabinet, but the towel bar definitely screams "Hi! I totally belong in a bathroom!"  

So I decided to make it all work together and solve all my problems at once.  I bought a wall-mounted paper towel holder at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $11 (used a 20% coupon to get that nice little price).

The next step was to remove the towel bar.  I thought I'd have to get out my saw, but that wasn't necessary.  I didn't even have to take the cabinet down!  I just kind twisted and turned the rod until it easily broke right off.  Yay!  But then I was left with two holes where the rod was and that would not stand.

So I got out my wood putty and filled those suckers in.

Then it was just a matter of waiting, sanding and then painting.  See? Looking good.  And because I knew the paper towels would hide those spots, I wasn't too concerned about it being 100% perfect.

Hanging the paper towel holder was super simple.  It came with all the hardware, and I just screwed it right into the back of the wooden cabinet and was able to make it high enough so that when a roll of towels is on there, they don't hang down too low.  Done!

Last but not least, I decided to buy new brushed chrome knobs for the doors.  It's a small detail, but I think it finishes off the cabinet and makes it read a lot more kitchen than bath.  And here she is!  

Finally, I thought I'd include a picture of how the kitchen looks now.  I found this cute wire basket at Target and store our granny smith apples in there.  We love our apples, and I love their bright green color in that corner. 

What about you? Have you used a creative solution to take care of business in your own home?  Please share!

See you swoon,