Life at the Kitchen Counter // with Serena and Lily

I’m so excited to share a little refresh in our kitchen…!

As some of you noticed, we have new counter stools around our kitchen island!

The Sunwashed Riviera Counter Stools from Serena and Lily are a bit bigger, a whole lot comfier, and so much warmer than the previous style we had. (Plus better construction – if you recall once of our previous stools broke two weeks into owning it and the exchange process was anything but easy. Not ideal.) I remember when Serena and Lily came out with this natural colorway last year, I immediately fell in love and wished they had been available when we first moved into our home and made this purhase. Fortunately – S&L partnered with a number of ladies to showcase their beautiful counter stools and I jumped at the chance to see how these would look in our home! Spoiler: I looove them.

We clock A LOT of hours around our kitchen island… breakfast, lunch, dinner, plus snacks, painting projects, cooking, clean-up… actual hours every day. You know, you see it on my Insta stories.

The island technically functions as our main dining area too; we eat every meal with Henry’s high chair attached to the island and Dan and I sitting on either side of him. It’s so sweet… we usually get Henry settled with his food first, then he points to and even pulls out the stool next to him asking us to sit with him. Bless his heart.

We’ve found if he’s ever not that into his food, reading to him really distracts him enough that he starts shoveling food into his mouth. So meal time is also frequently story time, which means we might be sitting on these stools for over an hour at a time. I was actually having to sit on a pillow on the previous stools due to pregnancy aches… I’m happy to report that is not the case with these!

Ok last note then I’ll shut up about the counter stools – how pretty is the warm rattan against the cabinet color?! Our cabinets waver between grey and blue depending on the light, but I just love this look compared to all the white from before.

We added a few other items to the freshen up the space:

First up is the teak step stool which is definitely the big hit for our little guy. It gives him access to the kitchen counter to help and watch whatever we’re doing. For one reason or another he’s been really into our cooking since he was really young, and we’d hold him to watch us cook. Now his stool has him helping get his meals ready. I cut and prepare; he plates. He’s even scooping his own cereal into the bowl in the morning. It’s so fun seeing his little independent spirit flourish.

I’m particularly excited by the new runner – at ten feet it runs the length of the kitchen. Again with this pregnancy, my feet have been giving me a lot of problems… namely they hurt like you wouldn’t believe. I have to wear my cushioned slippers in the house and rely on sneakers when I’m out and about. No sandals all summer. It’s been fun. This runner is much cushier than I expected and a nice break from walking back and forth along the hardwood floors.

Finally, you probably noticed that beautiful tray as the centerpiece of the island. It’s S&L’s Bedford Tray, made of beautifully woven rattan. I originally had it on our living room coffee table with books – where I also loooved it – but moved it in here and I love how it compliments the rattan stools.

I’ve always loved Serena & Lily’s family-friendly coastal look and fresh take on casual dining, and every year they get better and better. To be honest – I’d have my entire home decked out in S&L if I could. We already have quite a few items including our family room side table and chandelier, the dip dye stool in the nursery, our bed and bedding, and my faaavorite laundry basket (links to all those items below!)!

These stools bring my favorite brand into my favorite room in the house, and I’m so happy with the result!

 

Also – any questions about sources you have for our kitchen can be found in this post!

 

Shop S&L In Our Home