It’s Kylee here with another update from our Seattle townhouse. The last time I shared a progress report I showed our coffee station set up on a wine rack. That was one of the first makeshift solutions when we moved in—how else would we have survived unpacking without coffee? It was cute and practical, but we always planned to upgrade to something more substantial that offered extra storage and better fit the large wall it sits against.
Recently my grandparents moved and gifted us a beautiful John Boos kitchen cart, which turned out to be the perfect—and free—answer to our growing storage needs. We repurposed the wine rack elsewhere (I’ll share where in a future post) and replaced it with the cart, which instantly felt more grounded and useful in the space.
To clear counter space I installed a floating shelf from Ikea above the cart to hold bulk pantry jars. We don’t buy much packaged food and don’t have a dedicated pantry, so we store staples—grains, beans, flours—in glass jars. Having them all on the counter had started to feel cluttered and ate up valuable work space, so the wall shelf was an ideal solution. A few less-used jars live in a cupboard and some are tucked in the basket on the cart’s bottom shelf. The display changes often as we move through our supplies, so it’s a lively mix of colors and textures. The utensil bar we used to hang mugs also came from Ikea and keeps things organized and accessible.
My favorite ritual is coming downstairs in the morning to make coffee at our little cart. Weekdays we usually reach for the Nespresso because it’s quick and convenient, while weekends are for the Bialetti or a French press when we have more time. Someday we might replace the cart with a larger display cabinet to store more dishes, but right now the cart fits our lifestyle and aesthetic perfectly.
We keep our coffee station simple—no endless gadgets or complicated routines. While there are plenty of lists promising must-have items for the “perfect” coffee setup, we prefer a purist approach: strong black coffee first thing, maybe a splash of milk, and on rare occasions a touch of vanilla for later cups. Living in Seattle has certainly sharpened our appreciation for good coffee, though we’re not die-hard devotees of every trendy brewing method. For now, a reliable espresso option for quick weekdays and a slow-brew method for relaxed weekends cover everything we want from our morning ritual.