Kitchen photos

[heidih]

The one on the right Contractor shoukd be abe to quick fix the saggy shelves with some bracing. On both sides I woud add at least a poul string light if there is no lighting existing since you will have electricians on site. Left side - thinkin...

[FauxPas]

Yes, thank you @heidih. Lighting would be a good addition. I will ask electrician and storage guy.  🙂

 

[FauxPas]

Forgot to mention that we also have two more cupboards off the hallway in behind which are currently housing general cleaning and household supplies (along with masks and rapid test kits 😞 ), but which could be used for pantry-type storage once we add some storage to our laundry room and move some of this stuff over. The laundry room is one of those small walk-through rooms between the garage and the other hallway and the previous owners had a side-by-side W/D pair with a single tiny shelf. They were older appliances and I opted to replace them with a stacking set, so now we have room for some shelves beside them. This house isn't large, it's only 1500 sq ft plus an approx 400 sq ft garage. I do wish the laundry room were bigger. 

 

 

 

[weinoo]

14 hours ago, FauxPas said:

But then again, I look at them and think if they were joined as one large space, get rid of that centre dividing wall, that might have some real benefits.... 

 

I have an idea...get rid of that centre dividing wall (unless it's structural to the house, obv) and get some real benefits.

[kayb]

Only thing about removing the dividing wall…do you have a place to keep vacuum, broom, mop, etc.

 

I have two kitchen pantry units like the one by your fridge. I love them — except they don’t hold up terribly well to full loads of canned/jarred units. I anticipate having to have repairs within the next two years (we’ve lived here almost 3).

[ElsieD]

When we moved into this condo, we changed all the lower shelves in the cupboards to pull-outs.  The cupboard  where we keep the pots and pans were changed to three drawers.  We also had  2 more cupboards installed.  The top of one cupboard has 3 vertical pull-outs  that I use for my spices.  The bottom of the second cupboard is a pull-out and is where my bread baker resides.  There is a gap between this cupboard (not the ones above it) and the wall so we can access the wall plug.  I know you have a range, not a cooktop but for those of you with a cooktop, right underneath was an empty space covered to look like the rest of the cupboards.  That was converted to a large drawer and contains my whisks, spatulas, ladles etc. that I use while cooking.

[blue_dolphin]

The bi-fold doors really impede making full use of the space as pantry storage.  The spaces are deep but the door blocks part of it so you can't have full-width pull-outs.  

I have a 27" deep, 3 ft wide closet around the corner from the kitchen that I'd like to dedicate to pantry/kitchen storage but those dang bifold doors block at least 6 inches which adds up when you consider it's 84" high. 

[FauxPas]

3 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

I have an idea...get rid of that centre dividing wall (unless it's structural to the house, obv) and get some real benefits.

 

I have someone coming over this morning, we'll chat about the possibilities.  🙂

 

1 hour ago, kayb said:

Only thing about removing the dividing wall…do you have a place to keep vacuum, broom, mop, etc.

 

 

There are a couple of other hall closets that store linen and vacuum and the mop and broom hang on hooks in the laundry room. That seems to be working ok so far.  🙂

 

1 minute ago, blue_dolphin said:

The bi-fold doors really impede making full use of the space as pantry storage.  The spaces are deep but the door blocks part of it so you can't have full-width pull-outs.  

 

Exactly!  It could be better storage with a different door style. Do you have any plans to change yours? 

 

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

When we moved into this condo, we changed all the lower shelves in the cupboards to pull-outs.  The cupboard  where we keep the pots and pans were changed to three drawers.  We also had  2 more cupboards installed.  The top of one cupboard has 3 vertical pull-outs  that I use for my spices.  The bottom of the second cupboard is a pull-out and is where my bread baker resides.  There is a gap between this cupboard (not the ones above it) and the wall so we can access the wall plug.  I know you have a range, not a cooktop but for those of you with a cooktop, right underneath was an empty space covered to look like the rest of the cupboards.  That was converted to a large drawer and contains my whisks, spatulas, ladles etc. that I use while cooking.

 

it sounds like you customized your space really well to meet your needs! 

 

[blue_dolphin]

18 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

Exactly!  It could be better storage with a different door style. Do you have any plans to change yours? 

Not at this time.  Once I pay off the mortgage (Oct 2024, counting down!) I'd like to reface the kitchen cabinets and convert the adjacent, wider closet that used to house the laundry before a previous owner moved it out to the garage, into a wet bar with an ice maker and wine fridge.  That would be the time to address that closet, maybe opening them up and treating it as one space like you mentioned doing. 

[Tropicalsenior]

I thought that I would show you what a 40 year old Costa Rican kitchen looks like and I'm definitely not going to cause any Kitchen Envy in anyone. It is a rental so that about the only thing that we have done to it in 20 years is repaint and add some overhead shelves. There's not much that can be done to it without a complete remodel. When we moved in the walls were Gray and the cabinets were dark dark brown.

My husband built the overhead shelves and he also built that thing in the middle. I wanted just a plain Butcher Block on four legs and casters but he had to make me something artistic. It's a total POS but it does have a great drawer for my knives and there is a shelf on the bottom that's great to feed the cat.

This is my coffee corner and my breakfast counter where actually we eat dinner most of the time. It was the only counter space that I had in my old kitchen which was a whopping eight by 10. It was tiny but I used to regularly have dinner parties for 30.

This is my 30 year old fridge that I bought in a garage sale. I've only had to have it repaired twice in almost 20 years and my refrigerator repairman tells me that I should never get rid of it because it is the best refrigerator in Costa Rica. I love it. Its configuration does everything for me that I need. However I do have another refrigerator and freezer in my laundry room.

When we moved in, we didn't have the overhead shelf and I had no place to put my dishes so my husband built me this china cabinet. It doesn't really fit in but it does the job. He also built the table in front, my spice racks, did the wood carvings and several of the drawing on the wall.  no matter what I do that picture just won't sit up straight so it's just going to have to go in this way.

And this is one of my favorite parts of the kitchen. And also one of the reasons it is so crowded. This is my corner. A good place to take a break from cooking. I've got my recliner, my own little table and my own hanging light and I can just sit and let the rest of the world go by. And Henry, the cat, enjoys it just as much as I do.

 

[FauxPas]

10 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I thought that I would show you what a 40 year old Costa Rican kitchen looks like and I'm definitely not going to cause any Kitchen Envy in anyone.

 

I do envy it in many ways though - it's so warm and inviting and so well organized for the way you live. And I really love that you have those custom touches from your husband. I think it's a lovely space and thank you so much for sharing!  🙂

 

[FauxPas]

So I have a solution to those awkward closets with the bifold doors by the kitchen. We're going to treat them as a continuation of the kitchen cabinets. I got a couple of opinions on removing the centre wall and although it may be possible, it would create a lot of work. Instead, the cabinet guy drew up a plan to treat them as pantry space, just like the existing space beside the fridge. So, I'll end up with a mix of drawers and adjustable shelves and the doors will match exactly with the kitchen cabinets. It's not inexpensive but it's a clean and fairly easy solution and avoids the mess and uncertainty of removing that dividing wall. And I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with the results. The installers can do the work at the same time as the rest of the kitchen. They'll also add some storage and a countertop area in the laundry room. 

 

Here's the diagram. The pantries are on the left, the right side shows the little storage area that will be added to the laundry room. The bottom of that area has to be left free as that's the only place in the house that works for our kitty's litter box.  🙂

 

 

[weinoo]

My suggestion - when we reno-ed the kitchen and everything became pull-out drawers/shelves - I bought the heavy duty stuff - almost every shelf and drawer hardware is alleged to support 100 lbs.

 

The hardware we used for hinges and drawer and shelf runners was Blum...similar to this...https://www.blum.com/us/en/products/runnersystems/movento/programme/

 

Installed properly, they work really well.

 

 

 

 

And they hold a lot.

 

[Tropicalsenior]

46 minutes ago, weinoo said:

I bought the heavy duty stuff

That is a great idea especially for the shelves where you are going to store your toys. Maybe on the shelves were you will be keeping the lighter things like breakfast cereal and chips can be ordinary Hardware but can goods and bottled Goods can also get very heavy.

[FauxPas]

1 hour ago, weinoo said:

My suggestion - when we reno-ed the kitchen and everything became pull-out drawers/shelves - I bought the heavy duty stuff - almost every shelf and drawer hardware is alleged to support 100 lbs.

 

I love your kitchen! And you made such great choices. 

 

I've been told these drawers/shelves will support at least 25 kg so that's 55 lbs. 

[Tropicalsenior]

20 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

I love your kitchen! And you made such great choices. 

 

I've been told these drawers/shelves will support at least 25 kg so that's 55 lbs. 

Bear in mind that a KitchenAid mixer weighs 30 lb and that over time these will weaken and the less efficient with more weight.

[FauxPas]

4 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Bear in mind that a KitchenAid mixer weighs 30 lb and that over time these will weaken and the less efficient with more weight.

 

Good point, but I don't own one of those mixers and probably won't acquire one, though I won't say "definitely won't". 🙂

 

I think I'll have enough space to spread things out a bit, if necessary. 

 

I admire @weinoo's kitchen a lot, but I'm not really at at his level of cooking and I don't have nearly as many toys. It's always great to have stronger shelves, but I don't know if I need  more than what I'm considering. Maybe I'll regret that statement, though. Hahahahaha 

 

From the US IKEA site:

Quote

 

 Your kitchen drawers have to put up with a lot, so to make sure they can hold their heavy load we fill a 24" wide kitchen drawer with 55lb and then open and shut it 200,000 times. Sometimes you happen to lean on the drawer, so we test that too, with a 55lb weight 10 times for 10 seconds each. The drawers still glide softly and return to their closed position.

 

To make sure the shelves in your kitchen cabinet shouldn’t sag we put 60 plates weighing approx 55 lb spread on the 30" wide shelf, and keep them there for a week.

 

 

[weinoo]

11 hours ago, FauxPas said:

I admire @weinoo's kitchen a lot, but I'm not really at at his level of cooking and I don't have nearly as many toys. It's always great to have stronger shelves, but I don't know if I need  more than what I'm considering. Maybe I'll regret that statement, though. Hahahahaha 

 

From the US IKEA site:

 

Thanks - you're too kind.

 

One thing I remember: our kitchen pre-renovation was my half-assed reno of the existing 40-year old kitchen when we moved in in 2003.  It was done by a friend and me, with IKEA cabinets and shelves.  If I recall correctly, they actually used German hardware on the hinges and drawer slides. Never had a problem with it.

 

The drawers held a lot...

 

 

And we put in one of their pantry cabs...

 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

18 hours ago, FauxPas said:

I think I'll have enough space to spread things out a bit, if necessary.

I've never seen a more perfect example of famous last words. 22 years ago I moved from an 8 by 10 kitchen into one that is 14 x 30 and I marveled at all the space that I had. I have since filled that and a pantry next door to it and I'm only existing by giving away things as I go, now. There is something about empty space that just cries out to be filled.

[lindag]

When I purchased my present home a bit over 2 years ago it was barely framed up.

The house plan had an extra deep garage with space for a workshop in the back (it's in a 55+ community).  I had them add that space to the kitchen to which it was connected, giving me 300 more square feet so I could add a massive pantry; one of my best ever decisions.  I never thought I'd want to build before but it was a really exciting experience.  Of course, because of covid, it was also supremely frustrating at times.

[lindag]

8 hours ago, weinoo said:

 

Thanks - you're too kind.

 

One thing I remember: our kitchen pre-renovation was my half-assed reno of the existing 40-year old kitchen when we moved in in 2003.  It was done by a friend and me, with IKEA cabinets and shelves.  If I recall correctly, they actually used German hardware on the hinges and drawer slides. Never had a problem with it.

 

The drawers held a lot...

 

 

And we put in one of their pantry cabs...

 

 

 

How perfectly organized!

[Norm Matthews]

In a couple of weeks I will have been in this house for 10 years.  I thought it would be fun to see how the kitchen has changed over that time. There are a lot of pictures. Maybe I should do one part of the kitchen at a time.  So the first picture will be of a part of the room as it looked just before or just after I moved in.The next one will be after a year or two, then some time later and the last on taken today. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by Norm Matthews (log)

[FauxPas]

2 hours ago, lindag said:

The house plan had an extra deep garage with space for a workshop in the back (it's in a 55+ community).  I had them add that space to the kitchen to which it was connected, giving me 300 more square feet so I could add a massive pantry; one of my best ever decisions.

 

Was this the pantry area shown in these photos, @lindag? I remember admiring your storage!  🙂

 

Edited March 29, 2022 by FauxPas
to include the link! (log)

[FauxPas]

13 minutes ago, Norm Matthews said:

In a couple of weeks I will have been in this house for 10 years.  I thought it would be fun to see how the kitchen has changed over that time. There are a lot of pictures. Maybe I should do one part of the kitchen at a time.  So the first picture will be of a part of the room as it looked just before or just after I moved in.The next one will be after a year or two, then some time later and the last on taken today.

 

I really like seeing how your space has evolved over time! That pantry and extra counter space looks like a smart addition.  🙂