I have an embarrassingly small... kitchen

[Mayhaw Man]

I live in a very large, old house in the South. It was originally built sans W.C's and a kitchen. The kitchen was originally an out building that was very large and roomy. A very practical solution for 1880's South Louisiana.

When kitchens and bathrooms were added to this house in the twenties they built these huge bathrooms and a very small kitchen . I would say that I have about 5 more feet of counter space than you have, but I have TWO useless corners. The house has been completely remodeled a couple of times and most people would consider it a big, Old South showplace, but they don't have to live in it. I consider it a money pit, but my wife and children love it and I like the location and the little town it is in.

I do, however, have 14 foot ceilings and that has given me the ability to have some very tall cabinets made. I put the rarely used stuff way up high and coming downward the more useful stuff. I built a fairly large island with a wet sink right in the middle, which is kind of in the way, but it's functionality outweighs the "dancing around it" factor.

I have two large hanging racks coming down from the ceiling that hold virtually all of my cookware (calphalon pro mostly, with some cast iron and odd pieces that I can't do without). They were custom made

and look as though they have been there since the house was built. I have a big, very powerful magnetic rack on which I store my knives and metal implements. It works great and was not very expensive and it freed up a drawer for other use.

As far as the corner cabinets go, I had a cabinet guy come in and put lazy susans inside the corners of the cabinets. Not only did this cure the dead space problem, but the are very practical and work great. I would install them in another kitchen in a minute by choice, not just for need. I had the sink replumbed to give me maximum space underneath. We moved a few pipes around and you wouldn't believe how much more room we gained (although the disposal remains a problem, you can't do much with it

I do have a great stove, however, a 1950 O'Keefe and Merritt with two ovens and a griddle and 4 burners including one that makes my gas meter sing like a Soprano at the Met. That thing is hot. Great for woks, quick frying, etc. The stove is large and takes up alot of space and since it's construction is cast iron and steel plating, it gets a bit hot in the summer (actually it gets hot as hell and I avoid using the ovens like the plague).

My advice is to, if possible, hang things, get a cabinet guy to come in and take a look to see what he could improve, maybe get a small rolling island or have one custom built to fit your space, go all the way to the ceiling with your wall storage, and get a cutting board that will fit onto the top of your sink.

Also, I must wash as I go. I have too little space in my small double sink to pile up the pots and pans (which is what I was used to doing before I got into this barn of a house, having always worked in restaurants and having dishwashers to do the "heavy lifting". Once you get used to washing as you go, it becomes part of the operation and I actually can't imagine doing it any other way.

Hope you can use some of this

[Al_Dente]

MP: Aye.  BECAUSE we were poor.  My old Dad used to say to me, "Money

    doesn't buy you happiness."

EI: 'E was right.  I was happier then and I had NOTHIN'.  We used to

    live in this tiiiny old house, with greaaaaat big holes in the roof.

GC: House?  You were lucky to have a HOUSE!  We used to live in one

    room, all hundred and twenty-six of us, no furniture.  Half the

    floor was missing; we were all huddled together in one corner for

    fear of FALLING!

TG: You were lucky to have a ROOM!  *We* used to have to live in a

    corridor!

MP: Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin' in a corridor!  Woulda' been a

    palace to us.  We used to live in an old water tank on a rubbish

    tip.  We got woken up every morning by having a load of rotting

    fish dumped all over us!  House!?  Hmph.

EI: Well when I say "house" it was only a hole in the ground covered

    by a piece of tarpolin, but it was a house to US.

GC: We were evicted from *our* hole in the ground; we had to go and

    live in a lake!

TG: You were lucky to have a LAKE!  There were a hundred and sixty

    of us living in a small shoebox in the middle of the road.

MP: Cardboard box?

TG: Aye.

MP: You were lucky.  We lived for three months in a brown paper bag in

    a septic tank.  We used to have to get up at six o'clock in the

    morning, clean the bag, eat a crust of stale bread, go to work down

    mill for fourteen hours a day week in-week out.  When we got home,

    out Dad would thrash us to sleep with his belt!

etc.

Well there are only 20 of us living in this studio. Despite the condition of my kitchen, the rest of the place is quite luxurious. For instance, I recently upgraded our bathroom to TWO buckets. One for our monthly bath, and one for... well, you know, bodily functions. We used to have to use the same one.

[melkor]

I'm now conflicted on the cutting board thing. Sink or stove... I'll have to experiment.

Whatever you decide, don't get a glass cutting board. Glass boards destroy knives, wood or plastic are your only real options.

[Al_Dente]

I'm now conflicted on the cutting board thing. Sink or stove... I'll have to experiment.

Whatever you decide, don't get a glass cutting board. Glass boards destroy knives, wood or plastic are your only real options.

I was thinking that if I went the stove route, I'd get a large glass one to cover the burners, but use a wood one on top of that. There is a good bit of heat from the pilot light, so I didn't want to put wood directly on it.

Yeah, I hate to see folks use glass boards with good knives.

[Richard Kilgore]

Yes, the glass cutting boards are a problem , but then so is igniting wood boards or melting plastic boards with your pilot lights. Glass with wood or plastic board on top?

[melkor]

You'll need to put some sort of non-stick mat on top of the glass board for the wooden board not to slide around.

[badthings]

A bunch of excellent ideas on this thread. Alton Brown is a clever fellow. I ran across a pasta maiking solution in his new book on kitchen equipment and tools. He bolts an Italian pasta machine to an ironing board. I had been looking for an easier way to do this when I ran across his idea.

Shit, I thought my last kitchen was bad. I used to make pasta on the "dining room" table (just rolled it out, no machine). It was nice to work on a decent-sized surface, but it definitely accelerated the decrepitude of my upper back to work so low. The other drawback was that I got flour everywhere. Since I was a bachelor at the time, I just ignored it, and the mice eventually cleaned it up for me.

Definitely try to find space for a kitchen cart somewhere. I have a shitty one from Target or somewhere that I cover with a piece of butcher block and it works great. 2 square feet of work surface is unimaginably luxurious.

[hollywood]

I recently upgraded our bathroom to TWO buckets. One for our monthly bath, and one for... well, you know, bodily functions. We used to have to use the same one.

All mod cons!

[Jaymes]

I didn't cut on my glass board. It was tempered, by Corning, I think, and it was very handy for sitting all sorts of things on top, including mixing bowls and hot pans, etc. When it came time to cut, I wet a paper towel and put in on the glass board, and then a small cutting board on top of that. The wet paper towel kept the wooden board from sliding around.

But that nice piece of heavy tempered glass increased my usable space considerably.

[Richard Kilgore]

Alton Brown has nothing on Jaymes!

[maggiethecat]

Alton Brown has nothing on Jaymes!

(Ain't nobody has anything on Jaymes!)

[Jaymes]

Alton Brown has nothing on Jaymes!

(Ain't nobody has anything on Jaymes!)

Well - I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

That pickle salesman from Schenectady that I once dated has a few things on me that I'd rather he didn't share.

And there are maybe a couple others....

[elyse]

Another thing is that you can put a dish rack attached to the wall above the sink which can flip up. That way, the dishes drain into the sink. After you put them away, flip it up, and you can use the space for another cutting board.

[KarenS]

Hey, your kitchen is way bigger then mine! It is also bigger then most European kitchens that I have seen (I have heard that Asian kitchens are small). Get a cart, use a table etc... I never let it stop me! (and I only have two burners). You know, most Europeans have a refrigerator that is half the size of yours. This is families with three children, grandparents, that all come for dinnner (during the week and on Sunday).They shop for what they are planning to cook that day or the next.

[bunk]

My friend, do not put a cutting board on your stove. Get the kind that inserts into your sink. Hole for scraping carrot tops optional.

Fancy cabinet type store should help you.

Edited December 9, 2003 by bunk (log)

[EdS]

That dishrack is taking up prime real estate next to that range. I saw a double-decker narrow dishrack at IKEA that would fit perfectly to the left of that sink.

Edited December 9, 2003 by esvoboda (log)