Kitchen / Process
In most homes, the kitchen is the center of all the action. This is true in our house as well. However, our kitchen actually is the center of everything. It is literally the hallway of the house. Every room is connected via the kitchen, which explains why the space has 5 doorways and about 20% efficiency!
We quickly realized that while the room is generous by 1910 standards, the layout created a lot of wasted space. As part of the overall design, the kitchen will be completely gutted and moved about 5 feet [in progress now!]. We didn’t touch the kitchen (with the few exceptions detailed below) until the Spring of 2010. To read all about our 2010 kitchen progress, click here for an archive of related posts.
August + September 2006
As Kyle demoed to make way for the new dishwasher, we discovered the remains of some old newspaper from 1955 that had been used as shelf liner.
If only our car had “terrific new power”.
We also found a half full box of Lipton tea from approximately the same era. It must have fallen between the cabinets somehow.
This is precisely why we tried to get as much done prior to moving in! Fortunately, we had about a month overlap before we had to be out of our rental. We didn’t quite get through our ambitious list, but we did get things spiffed up to a certain level.
Well, at least we didn’t have to worry about protecting the kitchen.
Our new fridge! It is a Danish model, sold through Summit in the U.S. Not only is it the perfect size for two and for small spaces, but it is extremely energy efficient and costs just under $1000.
August 2009
Here are a few photos of the “current state” of the kitchen. Not too different from the “before” images.
New dishwasher, new water filter at the sink. That’s a respirator hanging up to dry above the sink.
We bought a used range from a friend that was remodeling his kitchen. It’s not fancy, but it was a huge upgrade from what came with the house [which, for the record, we never used] and the glass top often doubles as a workspace. We installed an IKEA butcher block over the laminate counter to the left of the range and it serves as the main work surface in the kitchen. The outlet (painted green), has one receptacle for the vent hood and one receptacle that must be shared with the mixer, crock pot, ice cream maker, waffle maker, toaster, griddler, blender, food processor and every other small appliance that we own (as well as the vacuum on occasion). The floor register is for return air and while it’s awkward now, its location will make more sense post-kitchen remodel.
Kyle built the shelf insert next to the dishwasher. We added the plastsic drawers as a temporary fix to our drawer-less kitchen. The bottom shelves are for pots and pans.
