The Essentials We Needed At The Farmhouse – All From Target (+ An Exciting Announcement!)

We moved into the farmhouse a couple of weeks ago and while we are still organizing and decorating (obviously), I am so incredibly happy to show you some sneak peeks into the house along with some of our new essentials that we needed styled out for all of our viewing pleasure. After moving, you realize that you don’t have all the little things that help you complete your space – like bath mats, sponges, candles and bringing in your old gross ones feels sacrilegious. So I went to Target and shopped for the things that we really need to function (things I typically don’t want to splurge on) and when I got home I was like, “Oh this stuff looks so good and needs to be shot”. This post is sponsored by Target, and I’m thrilled to say my new partnership with them will look different from years past. I’ll be shopping Target for stuff we need, and shooting it organically in our house rather than having larger shoots that are 100% Target. It’s such an incredibly lovely shift that just makes so much sense for both of us. While I still really want to buy vintage and locally made when possible, there are many things that you must buy new (towels, bathmats, butter dishes :)) and I will forever feel good about spending money with and promoting Target because it’s such a good company that is striving to do the right thing at every turn and making pretty things for all budgets. I am THRILLED about being part of their family in a new way 🙂

So today you are going to see some of my Target essentials (all linked up in my new Target Store Front) that we needed after moving in and how we styled them in the new house (along with pieces I already had). I can’t TELL you how satisfying and easy it was to be able to shoot here. All my obsessing over making the rooms full of natural light really paid off and it was such a fulfilling day finally shooting in our new home. Here are some sneak peeks.

Basics That Make Your Kitchen Look Better

There are some things that never made it into our rental, left at the mountain house and I didn’t feel like replacing them last year because I didn’t want to bring in more stuff that we would just have to move. A spoon rest and butter dish are two of those things and it sounds so dumb, but having them makes the kitchen feel just so much more pulled together (and practically speaking I use them every day).

Cutting Board | Butter Dish | Spoon Rest | Wooden Spoon

We are “room temp butter people” (for eggs and toast) and have been using an upside-down bowl covering the butter on a plate for the last year. YAY to having a proper butter storage situation again (I usually face the “butter” labeled side against the wall, BTW because I like it simpler). There is also a matching spoon rest but I went for the marble one because it looks more high-end and just works really well in the kitchen. I’ve had that cutting board forever from Target and use it more as a tray in here, rather than a board (it’s too heavy to use on a daily basis, but good for charcuterie for sure).

Paper Towel Holder (In Our Moody Pantry!!)

I already had this paper towel holder and can vouch for how solid it is (and if you like sets it goes with the cutting board and spoon rest – and there is also a utensil holder and tray that match). I snagged more of my Target dish towels (which are great – just wash them to make them more absorbent which isn’t uncommon). I also snagged that bowl because it’s just so pretty (no, I didn’t need need it but look how pretty it is in here?), and inside are some of the apples from our orchard (I cheated and supplemented some from the store but you can see the “real” ones with the leaves and bird holes 🙂

Paper Towel Holder | Dish Towel | Ceramic Bowl | Spatula | Slotted Wooden Spoon

I know that many kitchens are integrating a built-in paper towel holder slot into the cabinetry, but I try to do as little of that as possible because I fear that in 15 years that might somehow date the cabinetry or say we stop using paper towels altogether (ideally). But having a roll of paper towels just on the counter is a bummer so if you don’t have one of these, I promise it seems like a non-essential but it just helps everything feel more pulled together.

Soap Dispenser | Wood Tray | Dish Brush | Sponges

Lastly in the kitchen, I wanted a pretty refillable soap dispenser (I can’t handle looking at a cheap plastic one) and sponges. The head of that bottle washer also pops off and can be replaced if needed.

Dinnerware and Drinkware that are Simple and Very Durable

The glassware is also something I’ve talked about for a while now – modern and straight, but thick enough that they are still durable (Brian doesn’t let me buy those thin ones that stylists love so much anymore because they ALWAYS break and he’s totally right).

Glassware

Dinner Plates | Side Plates | Soup Bowls | Cereal Bowls

Once again I’m singing the praises of our crazy affordable and long-lasting glass plates and bowls. I only needed to buy one set (so we have 12 of each) because we had 8 already, but here’s my pitch if you haven’t heard it yet. These plates are extremely flat, lightweight, and durable which means that the kids can easily set the table, do their own dishes, and easily load them into the dishwasher (it’s so satisfying, I’ll be doing a reel about it soon). While I love handmade pottery plates, those are more like the modern-day “fine china” – great for special occasions. But for day-to-day, I will only use these – little bowls for cereal in the morning, side plates for lunches for them, and dinner plates for everything else. They also have a large pasta bowl (not shown) and you’ll see the Threshold soup bowls in there (not glass, porcelain) as well that we’ve had forever (soup bowls have to be deep IMHO to keep the soup warm and thick so they don’t heat up too much).

Laundry Room Essentials

Glass Canister | White Canister | Ceramic Bowl

I needed a few things for in here (I can’t wait to show you this room). That lamp is vintage (and the tray and planter are old), but everything else helps pull this area together. The big canister is for our dryer balls, the little canister is for lint, the bowl for lipsticks and change from pockets, and the wicker tray for mismatched socks. P.S. The lamp has to be wired for American outlets so we just clipped the cord off so we didn’t have a huge rolled-up coil). Our washer and dryer has built-in detergent, btw 🙂 and not shown is this new laundry basket I got for the kid’s room (I didn’t want to give too much of the mudroom away yet, so we couldn’t do pulled-back shots).

In Our Bathroom…

Tray | Candle | Loofah Bath Brush

One of the first things I did when we moved in was take a year-long awaited bath (our rental didn’t have a usable tub and I AM A BATHER). But without a tray, I couldn’t do my full set up (which involves that candle). I even bought the same candle that I had at the mountain house because the smell is so incredible and it makes me feel so nostalgic for that year living there. They were out of the larger version, but I’m going to buy it the next time I see it as it lasted two years of using it 3-4 times a week and smells so great.

Bath Mat | Bath Sheets | Trash Bin

I needed bathmats and towels for all three bathrooms (I’ll show you the other two soon) and Target’s colors are so good. I bought 10 of these bath sheets in that pale gray because I’m currently boycotting white towels (do they ever stay white?). We opted for the large bath sheets but I’m going to go back for the smaller size towel for the kids, too (the sheets are almost too big for the kids and take up more space in the laundry). I’m using the vintage rug near the vanity but needed a mat for stepping out of the bath and love how this blue worked with the floor (and again, I’m nervous about buying white anything, especially until the construction/dust is down outside).

Denim Buttom Up | Striped Shorts

The little square garbage can is a really heavy faux marble that looks great (and is not something I wanted to spend real money on). And if you are staring at those huge knobs on the vanity know that once again I ordered the wrong size of something and these (while super cute) are going to be returned for the smaller versions. Whoops 🙂 The denim shirt and shorts are also Target by the way (I’m wearing a medium shirt and sized up to an 8 in shorts so that they were roomy).

Everything is linked up in this storefront (amongst other things I love but didn’t buy yet). Check it out!

This post was sponsored by Target but all words and opinions are all mine🙂 #targetpartner #targetfam

*Styled by Emily Henderson (me:))
**Photos by Kaitlin Green