Would you like to take a look around our “Coppinger Castle Kitchen” to see how we are using it for our family?
Welcome to the Coppinger Castle
First, this is why we are calling it a Castle. It’s really just a house, but it’s very large and it is God’s gift to us to meet our needs for our family.
When we looked online as we were searching for a house before we moved, we were amazed by all this house offered for the price. And then we saw photos of the kitchen:
This house – and its kitchen – meet our needs and then some. Truly, we are so grateful and amazed by all God provided with this house. (By the way, most of the other rooms in our house hold onto their 1914 beauty. This kitchen was updated just a few years ago.)
Two days after we moved in, our kitchen looked like this:
After about a week of making the kitchen a priority, we figured out where we wanted everything so that we could be efficient and make the most of this beautiful space. We got everything unpacked into its new home, and would you believe there are still some cabinets left empty?! That’s how vast this kitchen is. Amazing!
The Coppinger Castle Kitchen
We decided to organize our new kitchen in a way that best meets the needs of all of us. We need efficiency because there are so many of us and so many little ones. So first, we decided that instead of putting cups, plates, and bowls into high cabinets that the kids couldn’t reach, we would put them in drawers at their level. This way, Brayden and Kiya (and the others as they get older) can help unload the dishwasher and reach their own cups when they need a drink.
It’s worth noting that we’ve also been using lots of plastic instead of breakable dishes. This has been a lovely game changer!!! A few months ago, I bought about 20 large, sturdy plastic plates at Wal-Mart for $0.50 each. I did the same with small, kid-sized, plastic plates. Then I found large and small plastic bowls – all fun colors – all $0.50 each.
Using these frees us to let the little ones help more. These also clean up easily in the dishwasher. So we find that we use them even when we have company. We are saving a lot of money on paper plates this way!
The Dishwashers
And speaking of the dishwasher – um, dishwasher(s) – plural… Having two dishwashers in our kitchen is so beyond incredible with this many people in our home!! At any given time, you’ll see something like this in which they are both full.
We can fill one and start to run it, then turn to the other one and begin to fill it. We can keep up with dishes so much better this way! And I can turn the unloading of the dishwashers over to Brayden and Kiya now if the timing is right (if they are home and not in school at the moment).
The Silverware
I decided to try something with our silverware, and I 100% love it. Before, when we had silverware dividers in our drawer, whoever unloaded the dishwasher had to touch every piece to put it into its proper spot. Then, because we had so much silverware, it wouldn’t stay in its place anyway. It was always a mess.
Friends, I give you my “dump all the silverware into the drawer directly from the dishwasher basket” drawer:
I love this so much! We grab the full, clean basket of silverware from the dishwasher and put away all the baby spoons, sharp knives, and serving spoons. Then DUMP. The rest goes into this drawer. It’s fantastic.
My Baking Area
This is probably my favorite section, though of course, I love all the others too. But looooook! I put all my baking items over in one corner of the kitchen – ingredients, measuring cups and spoons, baking pans – everything. This is SO EFFICIENT and makes it so very easy for me to mix up muffins, cakes, cookies, and bars.
You can see oats, flour, and sugars on the counter. The cabinet right above my mixer holds baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, vanilla, etc.
Here are the large drawers in my Baking Area. The top holds small measuring cups, muffin liners, measuring spoons, and cookie scoops. The middle drawer holds all my baking pans from muffin pans to cookie sheets. The bottom drawer contains large glass measuring cups, funnels, and big scoops.
I quickly mix up whatever I need, then I can slip it right into the oven which is directly to the right of my Baking Area.
Our Cooking Area
And then on the other side of the stove/oven? That’s where I have items to meet our cooking needs. Pots, pans, lids, skillets, and utensils are in the drawers to the right of the stove. This makes everything easily accessible as we prepare our meals.
The Stove
This thing is a beast. It has six large gas burners with a griddle in between. There is one large oven with a smaller oven to the side. We are making the most of all that this offers. We love it!
The Coffee/Tea Area
There’s a small countertop and cabinet section behind the Cooking Area that is perfect for making coffee and tea. We keep our coffee pot and electric water kettle there, plus a sugar bowl. Somehow the straws ended up there too – I guess because that’s where we do “all things drinks.”
Here’s a peek inside the cabinet where we house our coffee, tea, and mugs. There are a few random items in there too, plus spices that I can access easily when I’m cooking at the stove.
Baked Goods Area
Last but not least, we have a section in our kitchen where we put all of our ready-to-eat breads and muffins. The cookie jar is there – sometimes filled with cookies, but often filled with muffins. I don’t always have a vase of flowers there, haha. Those were from my birthday in August. (See how I started writing this post a month ago and am finally getting around to finishing it?!)
And there you have it, the Castle Kitchen.
The initial photo of the sparkly kitchen really sold us on this house. But this is what we prefer our kitchen to look like:
Full of food and people we love.
