I *heart* IKEA

I bought these cute little IKEA rails and baskets ("Bygel" series) a while ago, thinking I might use then for my sewing room, or maybe in the kitchen for storage of some type.  Then I went back to the IKEA store and bought myself a whole bunch of little glass and chrome jars to fit the baskets, and I also got some hooks and plastic cups to hang on the rail.  Last week I finally decided I would use these in the kitchen, so I got together the spices and labeled them, and just today I installed the rails on the wall so I could hang everything up.  I also added the casing above the tile backsplash to give it a more finished look.  The casing still needs to have the nail holes re-puttied and also a quick coat of white gloss paint to match the cabinets, but overall I'm very happy with the results!
I plan to use the top rail of the wall as a decorative piece... Tyler offered to give me some of his action figures (Star Wars, Iron Man, etc...) to hang in the plastic cups... might just take him up on it since it'll only add to the whimsy and silliness of my kitchen design! I am now going to hunt for a small stuffed Cat In The Hat to put in one of the cups... gotta bring in some Seuss since I've already got Fox In Socks hanging out in my kitchen! :-)

Next up to complete this wall will be an "invisible" bookshelf - the Conceal shelf by Umbra.  I plan to put some colorful cookbooks on it so I can cover up the outlet where the microwave used to sit - if you look at the "before" pictures of the kitchen from way back when, you'll see the scroll-y shelf and the microwave, which has found a new home on the wine rack in the opposite corner of the kitchen.  For as little bit as I use the microwave (basically for frozen veggies, and occasionally for a re-heat of leftovers), I decided that it really needed to play second fiddle to some more interesting and fun kitchen gadgets and decor!

Here's a pic of the wall so far...  what do you think?

Happy Renovating!