I don't have much out that stays out all the time The knife block in this picture is always out. My toaster is often, but not always out. That's pretty much it--we don't drink coffee and our microwave is built in.

Fruit is always out or it rot thru lack of attention. Our water kettle as my dad uses that twice a day.

After looking at crl's counter, mine looks rather cluttered. I keep out flour and sugar canisters next to my KA mixer. Also two crocks with wooden spoons and other utensils, butter dish, salt and pepper by the cooktop. I'd rather have them out and within reach.

Coffee maker is out most of the time as is the toaster.

Toaster, keurig, bowl for fruit and a plant or two. I love uncluttered counters.

Canisters with flour, sugar, brown sugar (I like cute canisters), my KA mixer, a container with spoons/spatulas near stovetop, TV, toaster and toaster oven (but they have a special spot tucked under microwave). And, often, a bottle of wine!

On the perimeter counters - knife block, Keurig, Kitchenaid mixer, toaster oven, single salt and pepper shaker/grinder, a vintage scale with a small bowl on it filled with a few onions and garlic, and hand soap near the sink (and usually some drying dishes).

It sounds like a lot but we have a lot of counter space so there's plenty of prep space and it doesn't seem too cluttered.

My peninsula usually has a pile of mail and DD'S school paperwork and supplies on it, which gets cleaned up or stashed away when company comes and/or on the weekends. That does get to be a bit cluttered.

Our kitchen is open to the living room, and visible once you step into the foyer. So I wanted it as little kitchen-like as I could get away with. Coffeemaker is on hutch between kitchen and laundry room, in the back hallway. Toaster and microwave are in the walk-in pantry. On the island I have a vintage tool caddy that hides the faucet a little and holds dish liquid, soap, a decorative bottle, dish towel and box of kleenex. Next to it is a paper towel jar and an antique hitching post top from an estate outside of Chicago.

One one end of the pine hutch in kitchen is a tray I made using old deeds with gorgeous handwriting, an old metal box and mustard jar that keeps spoons handy. On the other end, not shown, is a small aquarium, large decorative plate and a Bose CD/radio.

On one side of the range is a repurposed ale box holding utensils, s/p shakers, napkins and a couple of wooden pieces. Not shown, on the other side of range three old clay bottles with interesting marks and labels, and a large decorative plate. On the range I have a vintage copper tea kettle and measuring cup set. Each side cabinet has an antique etching, one featuring dogs, the other deer.

Nothing is in the way of meal prepping/cooking.

Sink counter - Keurig (more b/c it takes up too much room in the pantry - we don't use it very often), TV & small cable box, dish detergent (b/c my DH doesn't want it in the SD - the SD has hand soap), paper towels

Sink bay alcove - plants, lights, vase w/seasonally colorful glass balls

Prep/Cooking Zone Counter - KA mixer, decorative plate in a decorative stand, utensil crock, electric can opener, electric tea kettle, hand soap (seasonal!) (dish detergent is in the SD), paper towels (yes, I have a roll on each side of the kitchen)

Long peninsula - bananas, 3 candles (varying heights), sometimes a bowl of other fruit

Short peninsula - nothing (except the KA mixer in the corner b/w the peninsula and wall counters)

We have a nice amount of counter space, so we have plenty of empty workspace!

Kitchen's too messy right now to take a current picture! :-)

I forgot our paper towel holder until I read allison's and buehl's posts :)

One of the goals of our remodel was to eliminate clutter from the counters. To that end I have a knife drawer, and small appliances usually live in the super susan. I do have a paper towel holder. Sometimes there's a candy dish or bottle of wine on the counter.

I don't have a photo, but my one sentimental thing in the kitchen is a pig-shaped cutting board that belonged to my grandparents.

I'm embarrassed to say what's on our counters. :)

weezel, my photo above was taken just after our new kitchen was finished. It doesn't always look like that! But when I do decide to clear it off, there's a place to put everything away!

AnnKH, guess what, I have two pig shaped cutting boards that also belonged to my grandparents (one of which my grandpa made in the 1940s or 1950s).

Toaster kettle salt pepper olive oil, air popcorn popper. we love popcorn. The cleanup area unfortunately never is clear except once at night. There are just too many people eating at different times due to different schedules. The small appliances go on the baker's rack. Our block of knives, canister of spatulas, stirring spoons etc are in a upper cupboard on the bottom shelf. Utensils are in there as well stood up in square wood and metal holders. I like that better than in a drawer.

I do have some decorations but my fave is a metal twisty tree.

I can't wait to get into my remodeled and much bigger kitchen so I can put all the stuff I use all the time out on the counters. Antique utensil crocks. Tea canisters collected over many years. Vitamix (used daily). Kettle on stove. Bowls of fruit and veg. Herb pots. Garden roses. The odd winter squash.

I've been living at my sister's for eight months, and she loves uncluttered counters. Based on my mom's busy kitchens over the years and my grandmother's delightfully cluttered old ranch kitchen, I believe my neatnik sister might be a changeling.

We've been trying to keep our new kitchen clearer than our previous cluttered wrecks. We keep some things out- coffee maker, toaster, KA mixer. We chose red for an accent color, so we got a red cover for the KA, I made a rack/shelf that holds our daily coffee mugs (red) and wine glasses, and we have a red dutch oven that we keep out for the pop of color. Right now, we have two poinsettias, still in full bloom, and they certainly are red! In one corner, we have several big glass canisters for sugar and flour, and keep herbs growing on our very deep window sills.

Toaster, coffee maker, utensils in a ceramic pitcher, often I have a boos cutting board next to my sink, and paper towels. I have thee Mason jars in my sink's window sill, with clippings from whatever is in bloom from my garden. And a small framed photograph of my sister and I when we were about four and six after a mud fight in the rain, as a reminder of life's simple pleasures.

show photos!

Here is my photo. I didn't account for my back counters because those are outside of my "work zone". I also forgot to include that I typically keep a hurricane jar with candle on my Peninsula for decorative purposes.

Hum. It varies. On the island - usually a bowl with fruit and a cutting board of some sort. The island also has an inset knife block. On the perimeter - A marble crock with our most used utensils, salt and pepper mills, and a Breville oven. We have an espresso machine on a cabinet that lives in the kitchen and we are struggling with the idea of bringing the machine to the perimeter near the clean up sink to ease cleaning and water fill ups.

We are fortunate (spoiled?) to have space in the kitchen for our oils/vinegars/spices, and a pantry and a nearby laundry room to store those 1-2 time a week items like the rice cooker and pressure cooker.

Against the wall - SodaStream, Nespresso, soap dispenser, a couple of trivets, utensils crock. On the island, flowers in a vase, bowl of fruit. No empty but not cluttered either.

Utensil jar and knife block.

Toaster oven (we use this a lot!) olive oil bottle and paper towel holder.

To the right of the sink is our "coffee bar". Yes, we love our coffee! From left is the whole bean coffee canister, next to it is the coffee bean grinder. Our Cuisinart regular coffee maker, then the Keurig and then our Nespresso machine with frother. Quite a bit on the counters but we have a fairly large island and do most all of our prep work etc there.

Crock Pot, toaster, kettle (on the stove), square jars with sugar, rice and flour, a beautiful cutting board from Belize (which has two teapots and a little vase on it). Other side has microwave, paper towels, coffee maker and a couple of tumblers we use all the time.

Donna

We only have one long (16 foot) stretch of countertop (the rest of our kitchen is island or pantry). We have KA mixmaster and my husband's milk brother for his coffee. He keeps a single cup stove top coffee maker on the stove all the time. Around the sink, we have dish soap, hand soap and a little bowl with sponges. Then at the other end we have the fruit bowl and a little office valet thing for mail, etc.

Here's my piggy - my dad's aunt did the rosemaling on it. The other side still has cut marks.

Oh dear! I never realized what a clutter magnet I am!

I just took this photo today so I could ask for layout advice.

Dog treat jars (2), soap, lotion, dish soap, amarylis, basil, decorative measuring cups, latte cups, coffee maker, sentimental wine bottle, basket with corks and napkins, knife block, spoon rest #1, kettle on stove, olive oil, salt crock, spoon rest #2, and in the back right corner that you can't see, three crocks, paper towel holder, banana hook, phone, salt, pepper, candle horde (probably 10).

We don't have a lot of counters, but we do have stuff on them.

Over the peninsula we have a TV on a retractable arm and a bucket with napkins and salt and pepper. There is always a pot of fresh flowers to the right of my kitchen window by the sink; they make me smile. Also: Glass soap pump for hand soap and bottle of hand lotion; Nutri Ninja used every day for DH's protein drinks; a ceramic pitcher for a utensil crock; salt and pepper grinders and shakers on a small tray; large glass flour and sugar canisters; butter box; and my KA stand mixer.

Where we have our "coffee/micro station", I have my Keurig, a pretty cake stand, a colander that we use as a fruit bowl, and a coffee canister. Our microwave is actually an over-the-range model mounted under the cabinets. It keeps people out of the main kitchen area. When you have a small kitchen, you need to have space to work without kids and husband getting in your way. :)

Nothing! Nada! I can't show a pic right now because I'm living in a big old house owned by my university with 8 other women. I'll officially move into my new (new to me) house in mid to late June. I can't abide clutter in any form; yes, I know I'm weird. ;-) My living room and eat-in kitchen will be one great room and I am pretty minimalist in design style. The moment anyone walks into my house they are in the great room and I just don't want stuff on my counters. To wit, I'm getting a microwave drawer and will have a hot and cold beverage station in two IKEA cabinets. I'll have an in-drawer knife block. I don't use paper products, so no paper towel holders, no paper napkins. Small appliances will be hidden out of sight--I like AnnKH's idea of the super susan for them. Spices will be in a drawer with a spice drawer organizer. Dishes go from table directly to dishwasher--you will never see so much as a spoon in my sink, and I think drainboards on the side of the sink are hideous. No open shelving, glass doors, hanging pots & pans, peg boards, etc. Some would find it cold and sterile, but a minimalist, clean style relaxes me and makes me happy and at peace. But that's just me. :-)

No pictures because my kitchen isn't finished and is pretty sad looking. Extremely functional, but sad. I'm a bit ADD and can't function with clutter. Currently, my baking center counter has my KA. Most everything gets plopped into the DW ASAP as I plop while I prep/cook but the few things I hand wash are placed on a towel to air dry or, sometimes, wiped dry to get put away quickly. On my peninsula is a pretty cake plate with glass cover. I make most of our bread and I usually do the rustic, round loaves so the cake container is a perfect place to store and display it. That's usually it on the counters although right now I have a Christmas Cactus that's blooming there as well because it looks so pretty in bloom.

I do have two open shelves on which I have glass jars with the different flours, sugar, beans, peas, ancient grains, oatmeals, and such that I use regularly. They're not on the counter so they don't bother me and I like that I can see what I have as I tend to actually remember to pop some quinoa into a soup with the rice. As I'm fine-tuning this set-up, the jars are identical as well as the labels I'm creating so it doesn't look visually cluttered to me.

Now, I'm kinda cheating because I almost have two kitchens. Next to my kitchen is my laundry/pantry room, which is as big as my kitchen. This is where I have my beverage snack center. One stretch of counter has my microwave, BlendTec blender, electric kettle, French press, coffee grinder and hot-air popcorn popper (my husband thinks popcorn is a major good group so this is used almost daily). These items don't bother me as I don't spend a lot of time in this room and if extra work space is needed, like when I'm prepping our daily smoothies, there is a 36" wide pull-out breadboard.

Another stretch of counter holds three fruit bowls, one with a banana hanger on it. We eat a LOT of fruit and this room stays cooler than our kitchen and gets a lot less direct sun so the fruit stays fresher here longer.

I'm really enjoying the pictures & the discussion.

My kitchen looks like 2 different people-- long stretch with sink--just coffee machine & beans.

counters by the range-- cluttered!! Open shelves. Basket of oils, salt n pepper, misc. other side of range is breville oven(that I lear about here & love!!)

Think I need to find a happy medium between the 2!

I just got rid of the knife block on the counter and am using drawer knife storage. Loving that.

I have my salt cellar (this one is the greatest thing! ), 2 oils and pepper grinder in a caddy, my Le Creuset utensil holder, a shiny new Breville toaster oven, dog treat can and Keurig.

My island always has my large Boos block.

My cake stand, an in bloom orchid, recipe book stand....

Ours is under construction but we prefer to keep very little on the counters. In the area tot he right of the range we will likely have our tea kettle out, I'm hoping to find an off-counter home for the ugly but frequently-used sodastream (if only I could justify the cost of a new fridge with build in sodastream!) we have moved our knife storage to a drawer as well. We don't drink coffee so not coffee devices. Big drawers for the small appliances.

I keep my Soda Stream under the sink. It's not a pretty device, but I can't live without it.

Oh dear I guess I am more cluttered than my post led you to believe. Pots and pans hang off of a chandelier. Daily dishes are on open shelf above dishwashers counter. Fruit and veg. on shelf under a rolling cart. But they're not on the counter so does that count? :)

We're part way through reconfiguring a living room into our new kitchen in this house which we bought a year ago, so cabinets are in place but no plumbing connected yet and we have a makeshift island. Despite this we are using the space for prep etc as our existing kitchen (fitted by the PO) is tiny - although we are cooking in there still.

So, in our *new* kitchen we have on the (temporary) work surfaces - Kitchen Aid coffee machine, Dualit toaster, vintage bread bin, oil bottle, art nouveau vase containing utensils, Laura Ashley cake stand, egg holder, two faux stone troughs with faux lavender, antique jardiniere with orchid. On the *island* - jug & bowl bought in Provence, scented candle.

The *old* kitchen (that will become our utility/pantry) has - microwave, kettle, laundry baskets, utensil jar with wooden spoons, two Le Creuset trivets, pestle & mortar, cook book stand.

We are 'more is less' people, lol!!!

There is way more today than I ever intended, going counterclockwise from the right of the stove: coffeemaker, then stove w/ teakettle, then salt/pepper/trivet/bodum press/ mortar&pestle, toaster oven, paper towel holder, nutribullet, stack of pretty world market coffee cups, cookie jar full of tea, teapot full of decaf tea, bowl with garlic & lemons, 3 glass canisters with beans and pasta, drainage mat, hand soap at the sink, ending with a ceramic rooster on the bit past the sink that was my mother's.

Oh, and on the 15" section next to the frig is the landline phone and my cell charger - and usually something waiting to be carted down to the basement.

The windowsills are full too, with small pretty bottles/vases and bits of plants being rooted.