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Small Apartment Kitchen Dwellers Unite!


potsticker

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While cleaning my kitchen today, I decided that I was incredibly jealous at looking at all these other people's nice redone kitchens, and my dinky apartment kitchen looks so unfulfilling.

I'm sure I'm not the only one. Let's unite in our envy of other people's kitchen glory! Display proudly your pictures of your relatively limited culinary space. Our humble gastronomical workshops are just as important!

I'll start:

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Please don't judge me by my jarred pasta sauce. It's only coincidence that's what you can see out of my pantry. :hmmm:

Edited by potsticker (log)
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I swear, I win. This is it:

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From the sink, to the right is my bathroom, to the left is space to walk through and then the wall. I can literally stand at my bathroom sink and stir something on the stove.

Oh, and all my food that's unrefrigerated is kept in the second bedroom. I'm only 5 feet tall, so I can only reach the first, maybe the second shelf comfortably without having to go get the step stool from my room.

I'd happily take your kitchen too, potsticker...

Edited by ErinM (log)

Erin

"American by birth, Irish by the grace of God"

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Potsticker,

I may have more pantry space (the floorplan labeled this oversized closet a computer room/office), but nowhere near the counterspace you have or the quality of appliances. My oven is off balance by around 25 degrees, and the calrod units look like cartoon squiggles. My refridgerator was designed by someone who only buys products that are the size of soda cans.

I can identify with the rest though, your cabinet layout looks exactly like mine. Where do you, HOW do you store your pots and pans?

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I think my appliances (like everything else in this apartment complex) just look nice from the outside but are really pretty junky. The "vent hood" just sucks air from above to stove and pushes it out the vent above the microwave. The fridge light doesn't always turn on when you open the door. The freezer temperature doesn't change when you turn the knob, so it's constantly too cold. I don't even want to think about how much my oven is off temperature-wise.

I am, however, in love with my Cuisinart Griddler and KitchenAid food processor. :biggrin:

Pots and pans are all stashed behind the double doors under the counter to the right of the oven. Sheet pans and baking stuff are in that drawer (the fake broiler) under the oven. There are also some stored on that black metal rack by the pantry - the same racks that stop my fridge door from opening all the way. :hmmm:

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Thanks for the snaps of your kitchens. I know I have seen super small kitchens producing major food- perhaps Martin Yan in his Mom's kitchen? My first mega food experience was the ladies cooking in an apartment in Corsica (Ajaccio) and in a super tiny space putting out great food. I think space is a luxury just like those mega stoves and other toys. I was recently appalled when a lady we know who can not cook put in a mega stove system and was so proud of it.

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My previous apartment kitchen wasn't the smallest one I've -- not by a long shot. But it was long and narrow:

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My current kitchen has more counter space, a full sized refrigerator, a dishwasher and a much better range, so I'm grateful for that. I still don't have enough storage, so I too keep extra equipment in the bedroom closet.

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I think my appliances (like everything else in this apartment complex) just look nice from the outside but are really pretty junky.  The "vent hood" just sucks air from above to stove and pushes it out the vent above the microwave.  The fridge light doesn't always turn on when you open the door.  The freezer temperature doesn't change when you turn the knob, so it's constantly too cold.  I don't even want to think about how much my oven is off temperature-wise.

I am, however, in love with my Cuisinart Griddler and KitchenAid food processor.  :biggrin:

Pots and pans are all stashed behind the double doors under the counter to the right of the oven.  Sheet pans and baking stuff are in that drawer (the fake broiler) under the oven.  There are also some stored on that black metal rack by the pantry - the same racks that stop my fridge door from opening all the way.  :hmmm:

Ah, sorry to presume so much! I have the same problem with my hood, that's why the smoke detector has a kitchen towel hanging over it permanently. If I'm searing anything, I have to dampen the towel a little.

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I too am quite envious of your kitchen Potsticker, you've actually got a dedicated space for your panini grill!!!

Here is a pic of mine taken from the door. As you can see the only prep space is next to the stove. I do have a butcher block to the left that you can just see the corner of, needless to say it's normally covered with fruit/bread/etc. There' a microwave in the corner you can't see. In a strange way though i kinda like having a smaller space as it concentrates the mind more. It makes me a very organised and meticulous cook. I also like the way everything i need is only a step away :biggrin:

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Oh, and all my food that's unrefrigerated is kept in the second bedroom.  I'm only 5 feet tall, so I can only reach the first, maybe the second shelf comfortably without having to go get the step stool from my room.

I'd happily take your kitchen too, potsticker...

This is why I'm living with tall people next year. :biggrin:

I should have pictures to show you guys in about three to four months, and I'll probably win because I'm a poor student.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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You guys have great kitchens!!!

I live in a house not an appartment (kind of a duplex since we have almost remodeled ourselves into two different houses in one..I have no idea how that happened but it did! we live in one half and are still working on the other... our living space reminds me of living in an appartment the way it is arranged around my husband's business) I have a very tiny kitchen...smaller than most appartment kitchens ..it was built to "function" but there is no counter room at all ..of course I have crap all over the counters so that explains that ..but my cupboards are full so where else can the stuff go???

anyway it is small ..walled in from people visiting and a beautiful view by a load carrying wall (or that would have been ripped out a long time ago)..I could cut an arch out of it ..but that would be Pandoras box so forget it.... there is a small over the sink window..with a pretty view of the garden.. or I would feel like I am cooking in long narrow closet...the lighting is fluorescent, noisy and gouges my eyes out so I cook in the dark or indirect lighting for the most part...there is good intent in this kitchen ..and plenty of pull out cutting boards.....it would be a nice kitchen for a casual cook ...oh yeah and I shoved double ovens in where there was one tiny tiny oven before...so everytime I open the door it scrapes the wall ..nice effect!

this is still one of the best kitchens I have ever had for the simple fact I have a dishwasher and the window!!! so I should not complain...

I will take a pic and show you after I just pick up a few things first :shock:

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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Oh, and all my food that's unrefrigerated is kept in the second bedroom.  I'm only 5 feet tall, so I can only reach the first, maybe the second shelf comfortably without having to go get the step stool from my room.

I'd happily take your kitchen too, potsticker...

This is why I'm living with tall people next year. :biggrin:

I should have pictures to show you guys in about three to four months, and I'll probably win because I'm a poor student.

Yeah, I've always said this kitchen was built for taller people!

I'm a poor student, too, so we'll still be in competition. This place is the cheapest I can find that allows me to have my dog. Other than that, I could be paying less money for a nicer place...dog owners are royally screwed around here.

Erin

"American by birth, Irish by the grace of God"

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Here's mine: 150 cm long. :smile: It's about a third the size of our previous kitchen, in Israel.

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The equally tiny kitchen table is to the right of the fridge, out of the photo.

Edited by Rehovot (log)
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In a strange way though i kinda like having a smaller space as it concentrates the mind more.  It makes me a very organised and meticulous cook.  I also like the way everything i need is only a step away

I agree that a small kitchen (to a certain point) isn't such a bad thing. When you're used to limited space, it can work quite well, depending on the set-up. Sometimes a larger space isn't set up well, so the extra space is just wasted. I had one kitchen that was very spacious (for a San Francisco flat), but had almost no cabinet space and very little counter space. Total waste of space.

The one thing about a small kitchen, though, is that it can be impossible for two people to work in.

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Oh, and all my food that's unrefrigerated is kept in the second bedroom.  I'm only 5 feet tall, so I can only reach the first, maybe the second shelf comfortably without having to go get the step stool from my room.

I'd happily take your kitchen too, potsticker...

This is why I'm living with tall people next year. :biggrin:

I should have pictures to show you guys in about three to four months, and I'll probably win because I'm a poor student.

Yeah, I've always said this kitchen was built for taller people!

I'm a poor student, too, so we'll still be in competition. This place is the cheapest I can find that allows me to have my dog. Other than that, I could be paying less money for a nicer place...dog owners are royally screwed around here.

Let the competition begin! :wink:

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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It's too early for me to bother breaking out the camera, so you all have to wait for pictures. My kitchen seems similar in layout to Domestic Goddess's... it's in a large room, but the actual kitchen is only on one side of the room.

The fridge light doesn't always turn on when you open the door.  The freezer temperature doesn't change when you turn the knob, so it's constantly too cold.

I can't figure out how to put a bulb into our fridge. The place was redone before we moved in, so the fridge is new, and it seems that the fridge didn't come with a bulb and it was never put in for us. :hmmm: I tried to unscrew the cover to the plastic enclosure, but I can never get it off. I also can't make the freezer colder; there is no knob. Half the time, the ice cream and sorbet is too soft. Part of the problem is that the seal on the freezer door doesn't seem very good.

All the appliances are too small. Potsticker, I'm jealous of your storage space, as minimal as it might seem to you. Part of this, I admit, is my boyfriend's doing; he took up the larger of only 2 closets in the apartment in order to store his beer. But there's only two closets in the apartment. Bah. We store some things on top of the cabinets, where there's a gap between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling (I think because the apartment's pre-war and so it's got slightly higher ceilings), and some other stuff in the oven. We could only take out the shelf in one cabinet, the one right above the short refrigerator. The rest of the cabinets have fixed shelves, and often they are just too short for things. We access things by standing on the kitchen chairs, because neither of us are incredibly tall (he's 5'6" and i'm 5'7") and the lack of space means it would be a shame not to risk breaking our next every time we need something up high.

On Valentine's Day, the smoke alarm went off 4 times when my boyfriend was making steak. The last time, we had to pull the battery out because it refused to let us shut it off anymore. :angry: Can't bring ourselves to cover the thing regularly, because it doesn't happen frequently enough.

Pictures to come! :biggrin:

Edited by feedmec00kies (log)

"I know it's the bugs, that's what cheese is. Gone off milk with bugs and mould - that's why it tastes so good. Cows and bugs together have a good deal going down."

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indeed, I am a bit envious of the fancy kitchens in so many of the large homes these days. And sometimes sadden when they frequently don't get the "action" they deserve.

My biggest issue tends to be storage space. My counter space isn't huge, but it works OK for most all of my tasks. The fridge is fine, if basic. It keeps stuff cold. the range works. It's electric, but I have a good feel for it. Oven works great. I'm pretty happy with it. Seems pretty even

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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Wow, most of you have room for luxuries like a table and chairs in your kitchens. Now that's really something! And some of you even have windows!! I'll post a photo later, you'll get to see what New Yorkers call a "kitchen." (Actually, this one is much better than others I've lived with.)

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On Valentine's Day, the smoke alarm went off 4 times when my boyfriend was making steak. The last time, we had to pull the battery out because it refused to let us shut it off anymore. :angry: Can't bring ourselves to cover the thing regularly, because it doesn't happen frequently enough.

I'm in the middle of planning some kind of large vortex ventilation system that runs from the door of my apartment to the back porch. Otherwise, my smoke alarm goes crazy. It went off at least 4 times a couple weeks ago while I was roasting ribs in the oven. IN THE OVEN. Sigh.

I can only imagine what my neighbors will think when they see this giant industrial grade fan strapped in my doorway.

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Ok this is my functioning "pullman" kitchen ..the one I will function in until the space below is magically transformed into the kitchen of my dreams...however since we are doing all the work ourselves and using mostly recycled stuff ..this is going to take a while..take note of my high end lighting :raz: (when we do the lighting downstairs we are going to do this as well ..again it may be a while)

there is nothing lovely about this kitchen it just works to well to gut it completely and like I said it is the largest most functional one I have ever had

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this is back half of the "potential" kitchen

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I am not sure about this fireplace it needs a lot of work :raz: it was built in the 60s and just left like this... I found a 1960's Sunset's Modern Kitchens so I am going to build a kitchen around it in "period Pacific Northwest"

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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I Win!! :raz:

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Wow...how do you get your refrigerator door open? And your cabinets, for that matter? :laugh:

It's all Fairy food--whatever you want to come out of the pot, does. Three things in succession, if you choose. My favorite potful is broccoli, ice cream and espresso.

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My kitchen is 5 X 8, and I'm gonna show you how cluttered and crazy it can be during dinner rush -- the flour on the counter is for rolling out the naan. I hope none of you will think less of me by showing you the belly of the Beast. (The dishwasher hasn't worked in five years, but we'll replace it when we have disposable income.) It'll be all sparkling and pretty, like your shots, in a couple of hours.

We have decent counter space, and even with its tiny dimensions I've found that three friendly people can be productive. And yes, we hang everything.

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Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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