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MelissaH's Kitchen (Renovation) Dreams


MelissaH

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I certainly don't want to highjack this thread, but if there's a member knowledgeable about tile range back-splashes would you contact me? Thank much and Melissa best of luck with your remodel. We're in the midst of doing much more minor work here.

Sidecar Ron

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I certainly don't want to highjack this thread, but if there's a member knowledgeable about tile range back-splashes would you contact me? Thank much and Melissa best of luck with your remodel. We're in the midst of doing much more minor work here.

Sidecar Ron

Absolutely no help from me. We've all but ruled out the possibility of tile in our range backsplash, in favor of something that we hope will be easier to clean, without pesky grout lines.

MelissaH

Really, I am working on getting those pictures of the new plan posted!

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa, maybe like some nice print behind plexiglas?

Sidecar Ron

I certainly don't want to highjack this thread, but if there's a member knowledgeable about tile range back-splashes would you contact me? Thank much and Melissa best of luck with your remodel. We're in the midst of doing much more minor work here.

Sidecar Ron

Absolutely no help from me. We've all but ruled out the possibility of tile in our range backsplash, in favor of something that we hope will be easier to clean, without pesky grout lines.

MelissaH

Really, I am working on getting those pictures of the new plan posted!

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Melissa, maybe like some nice print behind plexiglas?

Sidecar Ron

Not quite what we had in mind either. :biggrin:

On a serious note: something we're trying to figure out is a way to get a Lion of Flanders into our kitchen. This is a symbol we first became aware of as cyclists: it's nearly impossible to watch TV coverage of a cycling race without seeing a Flemish flag. Then, when we spent some time cycling in the region during the summer of 2004, we absolutely fell in love. Our recent trip back solidified that even more. So, we'd like to get a Lion of Flanders into our new kitchen somehow. Here's what it looks like, on a flag flying on the city hall building in Brugge:

gallery_23869_1329_21831.jpg

One way we thought of was to do a mosaic, with lots of tiny tiles. In our designer's plan, the Lion would go on the wall backing my baking area. I tend to carry a fair amount of entropy wherever I go, and I'm concerned about keeping a mosaic in good shape. So we've also come up with the possibility of just painting it onto the wall (borrow an overhead projector one evening, to get the design up there, maybe?) and then somehow seal it in so we can sponge the wall down without a problem.

Those of you with tiles, does your grout get disgusting-looking? (Light grout is almost a must, to me, with a bright yellow background.) Is there another way to get a fairly intricate design into a wall? Of course, if we could find someone making a tile with the design already there, our problems would be solved!

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Here are the scans of the kitchen design we liked better, of the two our designer, Jane A. June CKD, did for us.

Overhead view

gallery_23869_1329_10035.png

I realize the writing is tiny, and probably not readable. I decided to include the top view anyway, because it shows how things will fit into the kitchen. I like that the design is significantly different than what we came up with on our own, and I also like the fact that she listened to what we wanted and what we didn't want, and came up with not one but two designs based on our desires.

To help clarify, here are the three elevations of the kitchen. (No need for a fourth elevation, because the dining room's there.)

Wall with doorway (interior wall of the house):

gallery_23869_1329_13346.png

Short wall (in the old yucky kitchen, where the stove and oven are):

gallery_23869_1329_12542.png

The design on the wall is a Lion of Flanders, rising out of the counter. It's not so easy to see here because I scanned a photocopy of the original vellum drawing, and the lion was sketched in pretty lightly to begin with. (If I kicked up the threshold on my scanner to make the Lion more visible, everything else got too thick and dark.) The Lion itself is inside a pair of black arcs, which would form a circle if the cabinetry and countertop weren't blocking the top and bottom of the circle.

Back wall (outside wall of house):

gallery_23869_1329_10978.png

Now, for a little explanation. Working around from the sliding door out to the deck, the small section of counter was left open on top, to give us a place for some art or a clock or something like that, as well as a place for light switches. The fridge should relocate here quite nicely if we don't have a problem removing the baseboard heater that's along this stretch of wall right now. (If our local inspector doesn't like that, we'll need to go back and start from scratch...or maybe just trade the range, or more likely in that case the cooktop with underneath oven, and the fridge positions.) The sink (possibly apron-front) stays in front of the window (if it's apron front we'll add a towel bar to the front; if not we'll put a tip-out to hold the sponges etc.), and the drawing shows a pendant-style light over. Dishwasher on the other side of the sink. On the other side of the DW, we have space for some more drawers and a cabinet in the corner.

The back wall of the kitchen is the baking area. Accordingly, it has a countertop lower than standard, so I don't need to bake wearing stilts. We haven't gone through this plan yet to figure out what gets stored where, but I'm presuming these cabinets and drawers will be used to hold primarily baking goodies, both hardware and software (to borrow terms from Alton Brown). Note to self: how tall are my flour containers? Must fit in drawers. Stand mixer and food processor will tuck into corner, but not be hidden behind a garage. The tall cabinet next to the door not only will serve as a pantry cabinet, but also to hide said appliances from dining room view. We've already debated a little bit about whether it would be better to leave this cabinet tall, or to do separate upper and lower to gain another two feet of countertop space. My gut instinct is to get the countertop space, which could then be extended across the doorway with a swing-up if need be. We're planning on leaving our hall closet as a pantry closet, and before long we should have a shelving unit that hangs on the door to help us organize that.

On the other side of the doorway, the design specs a 36-inch range with a 42-inch hood. I'm guessing we'll need a blower that sucks :smile: to carry the air up to the ceiling and then across to the outside wall, unless we could instead just go straight up all the way through the roof.

We need more time to sit down and digest this. For one thing, we aren't sure where things will get stored, and if we have the right amount of the right types of storage space. We also aren't sure where the microwave and toaster oven will go. (The tambour to the right of the range is to hold the water boiler and coffee maker.) And finally, we aren't sure if the angles and the lowered counter over the baking area will make IKEA cabinets impossible to work with. But I do like the general concept, as well as the ability to use different countertop materials in different places. And I like the fact that there are relatively few places for the cats to get into countertop trouble!

More thoughts later.

MelissaH

edited to clarify slightly

Edited by MelissaH (log)

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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>>So we've also come up with the possibility of just painting it onto the wall (borrow an overhead projector one evening, to get the design up there, maybe?) and then somehow seal it in so we can sponge the wall down without a problem.<<

Melissa,

I have painted walls in the kitchen and what I did was this--I got some butcher's wax and waxed the walls that need frequent washing/wiping down. Works great, it's inexpensive, and gives the walls a bit of shine that looks rather good, esp. since our kitchen is a little bit dark terra cotta-ish color.

Angela

"I'm not looking at the panties, I'm looking at the vegetables!" --RJZ
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Do you envision your everyday dishes/flatware being in the cabinets and drawers above and just to the right of your dishwasher?

This is something I am struggling with in my design... trying to avoid having to schlep clean dishes a great distance.

Sitting on the fence between gourmet and gourmand, I am probably leaning to the right...

Lyle P.

Redwood City, CA

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Do you envision your everyday dishes/flatware being in the cabinets and drawers above and just to the right of your dishwasher?

This is something I am struggling with in my design...  trying to avoid having to schlep clean dishes a great distance.

That's certainly a possibility: use that stack of drawers to hold the silverware, as well as the serving pieces, and put the dishes . One question we keep going back and forth on is whether it's better to schlep clean dishes from the dishwasher to where they get stored, or to schlep clean dishes from where they get stored to the table where they're ultimately used. (No debate: definitely better to not have to schlep dirty dishes to the dishwasher.) We currently store our dishes in a cabinet that's the equivalent of just above the dishwasher, and the schlepping distance isn't onerous by anyone's count.

Certain things will definitely be better in other places, though. For instance, the baking dishes should be near the baking area, and the stovetop pots and cooking utensils should be near the stove. We have a bunch of beautiful ceramic serving dishes that my mom made for us, and I'm not sure where they'd be best kept. I certainly envision the higher shelves everywhere for the things that don't get used often, like the gravy boat and the extra wineglasses. (There's only two of us. We have enough cheap IKEA wineglasses to serve sixteen of our friends, but they don't all need to be in easy reach all the time. We only have half a dozen champagne flutes, so it would be nice to keep them available.)

I need to make a list.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa,

I have painted walls in the kitchen and what I did was this--I got some butcher's wax and waxed the walls that need frequent washing/wiping down.  Works great, it's inexpensive, and gives the walls a bit of shine that looks rather good, esp. since our kitchen is a little bit dark terra cotta-ish color. 

Angela

Did you ever give any thought to coating the walls with a high-gloss polyurethane? That's one idea we've been tossing around, although we would definitely want to do some test panels to see if it works and if it will hold up to cleaning.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa,

I have painted walls in the kitchen and what I did was this--I got some butcher's wax and waxed the walls that need frequent washing/wiping down.  Works great, it's inexpensive, and gives the walls a bit of shine that looks rather good, esp. since our kitchen is a little bit dark terra cotta-ish color. 

Angela

Did you ever give any thought to coating the walls with a high-gloss polyurethane? That's one idea we've been tossing around, although we would definitely want to do some test panels to see if it works and if it will hold up to cleaning.

MelissaH

No, I didn't, for reasons of ease of repainting, should that ever become a want or need. And it was just so darn easy to do!--rub it on, wait a bit, give it a little buff, and your walls are protected from whatever you happen to fling at it. Keeps the paint from washing off, too, obviously.

Angela

"I'm not looking at the panties, I'm looking at the vegetables!" --RJZ
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I'm a firm believer in dishes near the dishwasher. Let's face it, unless you are entertaining, you haul less dishes to the table at any given time than you haul out of the dishwasher once they are clean!

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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I just want to say that it's so exciting to see a sketch! Like living my own dreams for kitchen remodeling, but vicariously, and less messsily!

Honestly, I'd make a list of everything you store in your kitchen - go through it to see how much of everything you have and then see if it will all fit in the sketched out spaces. Do you know where it will all go? Does it all make sense (like, you said, the baking things near the baking area)? You'd hate to get through to the other side and find you have no space for that prized whatsit you can't live without.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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I would love to hear your thoughts/needs/wants in a dishwasher and other's comments on Bosch and Miele or whatever dishwashers they opted for.

My thoughts/needs/wants in a dishwasher are pretty simple, I think: it's gotta clean the dishes well and use less water than I'd use to wash those same dishes by hand, have a stainless interior, and NOT have a long tube pointing up from the bottom rack. I want a relatively open interior, so that I don't have to worry about my large bowls fitting. And I want to be sure the top rack has enough space to hold my cheapo IKEA wineglasses so I don't need to wash them by hand. (That said, when we go looking I'll be bringing some of my large and tall items with me, to see if they go in without a problem.) Noise probably isn't as big an issue to me as it is to other people.

I like the idea of LindaK's model (the post just below Jambalyle's post referenced above), with the adjustable top rack. LindaK, if you don't mind saying, how much of a premium did you pay to get this feature? What model do you have? We're getting our thoughts together so we can go back to the designer, firm up the cabinet plans, start to get cabinet and appliance quotes, and figure out whether our desires fit within our budget.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa, how exciting for you. We just finished our renovation, we chose an Asko DW, it has an SS interior, is very quiet, has a short cycle time and uses less water than the average DW (it also has a 5yr warrenty). Before you decide on a DW go and check them out, you can even bring a few dishes or glasses to the showroom with you to see if your stuff fits.

Other appliances we purchased:

Kitchenaid 48" refrig/freezer

DCS 36" Range

Vent-a-hood 36"

Kitchenaid 27" convection electric single wall oven

Before we did the remodel this site was a God send http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums

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Melissa, the adjustable top rack is a common feature. Our relatively inexpensive Kenmore has it and that's how we wash our cheap Ikea wine glasses.

I would definitely start reading Consumer Reports articles from the past year when choosing appliances. Lots of the brands/models that people like and recommend (here and on gardenweb) for their nifty features have absolutely abysmal repair ratings. I believe you mentioned you were a student-you might have access to CR online through your library's website (my university provides this service).

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Melissa, the adjustable top rack is a common feature. Our relatively inexpensive Kenmore has it and that's how we wash our cheap Ikea wine glasses.

I would definitely start reading Consumer Reports articles from the past year when choosing appliances. Lots of the brands/models that people like and recommend (here and on gardenweb) for their nifty features have absolutely abysmal repair ratings. I believe you mentioned you were a student-you might have access to CR online through your library's website (my university provides this service).

Actually, I teach. I haven't been a student for quite a few years. :biggrin: But I do have access to a university library, and I'll check it out.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa, how exciting for you. We just finished our renovation <snip>

Anything you'd do differently? Anything you're really glad you did?

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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[i like the idea of LindaK's model (the post just below Jambalyle's post referenced above), with the adjustable top rack. LindaK, if you don't mind saying, how much of a premium did you pay to get this feature? What model do you have? We're getting our thoughts together so we can go back to the designer, firm up the cabinet plans, start to get cabinet and appliance quotes, and figure out whether our desires fit within our budget.

It was a splurge. I went to a trustworthy appliance store ready to choose between two low-end models of the Bosch, based both on Consumer Report reviews (see comment below) and recommendations from very fussy architect friends who are very happy with theirs. Even low-end Bosch is somewhat more expensive than other brands, but in addition to cleaning capacity, I placed a high premium on QUIET, and Bosch gets great reviews on that front.

So, ready to spend about $650-700 for a "cheap" Bosch, I asked some questions about the differences between models. I had no trouble resisting various bells and whistles, and since I personally use only a couple of cycles on any dishwasher, was not impressed by the ever-increasing number of cycles you seem to get in more expensive models. The adjustable top rack feature caught my attention immediately. The ability to do a top rack only wash sealed it for me. Although I often cook for crowds, I live alone and like doing smaller loads sometimes. There are a few features that reduce cycle time and water usage, which are also a plus.

The premium was about $200, I spent a little over $900 with taxes. The model # is SHX56B, but that was over a year ago, my guess is that model numbers change often.

Melissa, the adjustable top rack is a common feature. Our relatively inexpensive Kenmore has it and that's how we wash our cheap Ikea wine glasses.

By all means, if you find a less expensive dishwasher with this feature, go for it!

I would definitely start reading Consumer Reports articles from the past year when choosing appliances. Lots of the brands/models that people like and recommend (here and on gardenweb) for their nifty features have absolutely abysmal repair ratings. I believe you mentioned you were a student-you might have access to CR online through your library's website (my university provides this service).

I would highly recommend checking the on-line ratings rather than relying only on the CR print version. When I was researching dishwashers, a friend lent me a special issue of CR all about kitchens and kitchen appliances (worth finding for the articles, about a year ago). Anyway, the print version ranked a number of dishwashers, and it didn't mention a single Bosch. When I went on-line, there was a much longer list of rated products, and two different Bosch models had the number one and two positions. Not sure how they do the edits for the print versions, but you'll definitely see more models on-line.


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My in-laws were here over the weekend, for the two last regular-season hockey games in Romney Field House before the new arena opens next weekend. In addition, we also talked some about the new kitchen, and I looked at the kitchen designs again for the first time in a week.

My scanner died and had to be sent in for warranty service, so I can't post the other design at the moment. But as I looked at the other design (Plan A), I saw some things that I actually liked better than in Plan B (see above post). The biggest difference between Plan A and Plan B is that in Plan A, the fridge goes in the short end of the kitchen (in the corner where the oven lives in the old yucky kitchen), which effectively means that we won't be able to have any countertops on the right side of the door as you walk in from coming up the stairs. I don't like that as much. There are tambour doors to hide the food processor and stand mixer on the wall right next to the fridge. (I can live with that.) But the baking area is down at the other end of the kitchen, on the same side as the range, and I don't like the idea of storing the mixer way down at the other end of the kitchen from where it's ultimately going to be used. Plan A will work fine if we need to keep the baseboard heater where it is; we'd just pull it out to the toeboard of the cabinets there. (Plan B may turn out to be unworkable if the baseboard heater needs to stay where it is, for whatever reason.) And Plan A feels a little more open along the outside wall of the house.

We have two more sketches, with two other completely different ideas. One of the two moves the baking area to right in front of the window, an idea I like. (I don't remember where the sink moves to.) The other idea I don't remember very well, and the sketch is at home and I'm at work right now so I can't look. When I have scanner access once more, I'll scan everything in so you can see what I'm talking about.

Our next task will be to look at the plans, and make notes of what we like and what we don't like in each. We'll also need to make that list of everything that needs to be stored in the kitchen, and see if everything has a logical place. Once we can finalize the plans with the designer and get our list of cabinets, we'll be able to see how much we can spend on other stuff right away, and what might need to go on the "Dream On" list.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Melissa, how exciting for you. We just finished our renovation <snip>

Anything you'd do differently? Anything you're really glad you did?

MelissaH

I haven't had time to take a finished picture yet but here is the main part of the kitchen near the end of construction.

Picture131.jpg

I love everything about it, but there are some things I would do differently.

We purchased a 10" depth sink, because it is undermount it's really like 11.5" so I have to slightly bend to reach the bottom of the sink, also I can't store a full size garbage can under the sink.

I would have ordered a swatch for the counterstools before getting them, they are great but they don't exactly match.

Use fluorescent instead of halogen under cabinet lighting, the halogens get pretty hot.

I really did a lot of pre planning so I'm pretty happy.

I am especially happy with the appliances, and the floor (we chose linoleum). The layout works really well and it's very functional.

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I've made a list of everything that's stored in the kitchen, plus a few other places that currently hold stuff I wish we had room to store in the kitchen. Here's the list. (I'm putting it here mainly so I have access to it anywhere I have Internet access, not because I thought you would all enjoy reading it: :biggrin: I'll save the commentary for another post, to follow immediately.

MelissaH

---begin list---

Top of cart: butcher block cutting board, stack of ceramic platters made by my mom, large hundred-year-old wooden butter bowl holding large metal wedding gift serving bowl, currently containing apples, limes, and an avocado

Left drawer of cart: 2 sets of 8 steak knives, a few slate trivets we made by gluing felt onto the bottom of some slate slabs we collected, a variety of cat treats

Right drawer of cart: the last set of 8 steak knives, the cheese knife assortment, some sheets of cheese paper, and a dried turkey wishbone waiting for a good reason to be broken

Top shelf of cart: large food-service-sized roll of plastic wrap which we used instead of the expensive stretchwrap when we moved and have since been using in place of the puny rolls of traditional grocery store rolls, the napkin basket (full), small watering can for when we haven't killed all the houseplants, mini chopper, and 2 Korean ceramic bowls for making bibimbap

Bottom shelf of cart: ceramic tureen not made by my mom, ceramic teapot made by my mom, motor, top, and dasher to the ice cream maker, bottle of homemade vinegar, box of Australian placemats which we should use more often

Cabinet left of shelf:

Top shelf: 10 wine glasses, 2 beer tasting glasses, 4 shot glasses

Middle shelf: 6 water glasses, 5 beer glasses

Bottom shelf: 10 hand-blown glasses, 2 Heineken glasses from our tour of the Heineken factory

On counter left of sink: water boiler, dish drainer on towel, ring/watch holder

Drawer left of sink: 10+ cutting boards of varying sizes and materials, box of toothpicks

Cabinet under drawer left of sink:

Top shelf: rice cooker with appliance timer for those nights we aren't home to turn it on, blender, blender-on-a-stick, crockpot

Bottom shelf: electric frying pan with lid, food processor with metal blade in it

Behind sink: cans cleaned but still too wet to go in the recycling drawer, soap pump which we keep filled with dish soap

Under sink:

Left side: trash can, ant traps, sink trap

Right side: garbage disposal, sink trap, fire extinguisher, bleach bottle and other cleaners, extra grocery bags in a holder on the door

Right of sink wall cabinet:

Top shelf: stack of ceramic bowls made by my mom, 3 coffee cups in a stack, ceramic cow from Delft brought home by my sister, 2 chip-and-dip wedding gift sets, ceramic pitcher made by my mom, gravy boat

Middle shelf: 3 stacks of 3 coffee cups each, 2 quart glass measuring cup with lid, stack of small ceramic bowls made by my mom, stack of 12 dessert plates which get regular use on top of 12 saucers which we never use

Bottom shelf: 12 wide shallow bowls, 12 cereal bowls, stack of 12 small "lunch" plates which get regular use on top of 12 big "dinner" plates which get some use but didn't fit well into the dishwasher in our last house

Counter right of sink: any dishes not yet washed, toaster oven, roll of paper towels, often a bottle of wine or non-perishable stuff that needs to be put away properly, microwave

Drawers right of sink:

Top: sharp knives, each in a cardboard sheath if it didn't come with a plastic sleeve

2nd from top: box of surgical gloves for kitchen use, roll of nonskid material, 2 rotary graters which don't get as much use now as they did before microplanes came to our house

2nd from bottom: apron, flour sack towels and cheesecloth, a slew of chopsticks, bamboo skewers, paper muffin cups (large and small), 48 tartlet pans (each 1.5 inches in diameter, stored in a plastic margarine tub with a lid), a squeeze bottle for when we get into Bobby Flay moods, single-edge razor blades, T-head pins, a shell-shaped chocolate mold

Bottom: more cheesecloth, metal skewers (half given to me by my grandma, topped with animal shapes, brought back from Greece many decades ago), 2 wedding gift serving spoon sets, bamboo sushi-rolling mat, another slew of chopsticks, 3 silpats (each rolled and stored inside an empty paper towel cardboard roll core), wine bottle vacuum sucker and tops, wing corkscrew that doesn't get much use, chopstick rests that were a gift from my MIL, sugar cube grabber because my grandma declared that we needed one and gave it to us, garlic peeler tube gizmo, lemon zester that takes off the long strands but gets little use since we got our first microplane

Middle drawer: silverware (big forks, salad forks, little spoons, big spoons, 12 of everything except more little spoons because they always seemed to get used up and we had a few get eaten by the disposal), measuring spoons, nutcrackers, cake tester, garlic twister that's worth using only if you need dozens of pressed cloves, wooden pie server, engraved napkin rings given to us by the agent who helped us buy our previous house, ceramic ginger grater, serving spoons that won't ever need to be polished, 2 dishers for making cookie dough balls, churchkey, bottle opener, can opener, waiter's corkscrew, teaball, 4 microplanes of varying types, digital thermometer probes

Right drawer: mess of implements including ladles, wooden spatulas and spoons, plastic pancake flippers, cheese planers, the silicone spatulas not in the crock on the counter, the tongs not in the crock on the counter, melon baller, lemon and lime squeezers, 3 carrot peelers and extra blades for the one that's replaceable rather than disposable, cherry pitter, cocktail strainer, metal pie server with serrated edge, pastry brushes for savory use, timers, clothespins, dental floss, skimmer

Cabinet below middle and right drawers:

Top shelf: hand mixer, torch and butane, roll of cotton kitchen twine, mandoline stored in its box, rubbermaid leftover storage containers, shoebox of lids to rubbermaids, 3 rolling pins, electric spice grinder

Bottom shelf: 3 containers of various kinds of flour, white sugar, brown sugar, confectioner's sugar, second stand mixer bowl from my sister engraved with our names and wedding date, stand mixer pouring shield, food processor bowl with outfeed spout that came with the thing but hasn't ever been used to my knowledge, 2 bench scrapers, box of cookie cutters, shoebox of baking implements including showercaps, mixer beaters for hand and stand mixers, pastry brushes for sweet use, large offset spatula, few more cookie cutters, pastry blender, plastic hand-held scrapers, food processor blades and the plastic stalk they snap onto, cut pieces of nonskid to go under cutting boards, Even Bake strips, few disposable piping bags, piping bag tips

Middle wall cabinet above:

Top shelf: 2 stacks totaling 7 stainless steel bowls, sizes ranging from 5 quarts to about 1 quart

Middle shelf: ceramic ramekins made by my mom, stack of ceramic bowls made by my mom

Bottom shelf: stack of flatter ceramic bowls, some made by my mom, about 20 glass custard cups, a few smaller ceramic custard-cup equivalent bowls made by my mom

Rightmost wall cabinet:

Top shelf: plastic 2 quart measuring cup, mortar and pestle

Middle shelf: defatting pitcher, cocktail shaker, plunger 2-cup capacity measuring cup, tall ceramic mug that didn't seem to fit elsewhere for some reason

Bottom shelf: 2 Tupperware measuring cup sets that include the 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup sizes, 1 set of metal measuring cups that don't include those sizes, Pyrex measuring cups in 1 , 2, and 4 cup sizes

Wall cabinet lazy susan: in-use spices and herbs, molasses, balsamic vinegar, shaker of confectioner's sugar, extracts

On top of microwave: scale, bread

Base cabinet lazy susan:

Top shelf: potholders, coffeemaker and insulated carafe, coffee grinder and container of in-use beans, 4 loaf pans

Middle shelf: in-use pasta, rice noodles

Bottom shelf: stack of 2 bundt pans in a removable-bottom tart pan, a ring pan in a springform pan, angel food cake pan

Wall cabinet right of lazy susan cabinet: gelatin, salts, peanut butter jars (1 chunky for me and 1 creamy for my husband), tube of hairball goo for the cats

On counter between microwave and cooktop: crock of whisks, crock of spatulas and other implements, ceramic dish to hold peppermills, spoon rest

Cabinet over cooktop: pearl sugar, package of fake sugar for our carb-counting friend, cornstarch, baking powder and soda, cocoa, regular old refined cornmeal that doesn't get stored in the freezer, tapioca, assortment of crackers

On the hood: at least one digital timer/thermometer body (others on the fridge)

On the stove: kosher salt pot

Under stove:

Top shelf: microwave bacon cooker, stack of pyrex pie plates and pyrex bowls with metal steamer basket, stack of colanders and strainers, mini-muffin tins, square pyrex dishes, round pyrex dishes with lids

Bottom shelf: 2 spatter screens, 2 stacks of pots, the lids to the pots, stack of frying pans, stand mixer with a bowl, another stack of pots, the pasta pot with its strainer

Cabinet over oven:

Top shelf: MSU engraved rocks glasses, Pullman pan, all tall mugs (made by my mom and otherwise), empty beer can to put flavorful liquid in and cook bird on, glass serving bowl

Bottom shelf: food mill in its box, potato ricer, hand-cranked pasta machine in its box, short mugs (made by my mom and otherwise), gigantic root beer float glass mugs I won in college by answering trivia questions at the Josh and John's ice cream shop on the Hill in Boulder

Cabinet under oven:

Stored vertically: 4 half-sheet pans from the restaurant supply store, 1 other cookie sheet, 1 round pizza pan, 6 cooling racks of various sizes, metal 9-by-13 pan with vertical sides and sharp corners and its lid, 2 normal-size muffin tins with 12 cavities each

Stored horizontally in a stack, listed from top to bottom: V-rack, metal pie crust shield, 5-by-7 glass pan with plastic lid, 7-by-11 glass pan, 2 glass 9-by-13 pans, the roaster that we bought specifically to be large but still fit into the mini oven in our previous house

In front of the stack: a foil-wrapped brick which gets used as a panini press in the grill pan

Top of pantry cabinet: chip bags, cheapo fun plastic serving trays from the dollar store that we use at big parties or when we bring stuff places

Pantry cabinet, top section:

Top shelf: large wooden salad bowl with wooden "finger" servers, bottle of dried catnip with tight lid

Bottom shelf: roll of heavy-duty foil, roll of parchment, roll of freezer paper, gallon-size ziplock bags, variety of hot chocolate mixes imported from Europe, boxes of cereal

Pantry cabinet, bottom section:

Top pullout drawer: slicing knife wedding gift with 18-inch blade (that's not a typo!), a few packets of Koolade in the kiwi-lime flavor we haven't been able to find for a couple of years now, a few single-serving packets of hot fudge sauce, roll of non-heavy-duty foil, roll of waxed paper, smaller ziplock bags

Bottom pullout drawer: vinegars, oils, sauces that don't need refrigeration

Top fixed shelf: malted milk powder imported from Michigan because it doesn't exist locally, roll of Parafilm, plastic bin with Asian noodles, plastic bin of other Asian drygoods

Bottom fixed shelf: tall bottles of oil, tall bottles of vinegar, some bottles of liquor, plastic bin of dried chiles, plastic bin of chocolate, 2 box graters, jar of tahini

On top of fridge: juicer, wine rack, salad spinner, plastic pitchers, vase, cat dishes

On the table that serves as additional counter space: usually only things that are waiting to be moved elsewhere but act as stuff to block the cat's way on top of the fridge

Under this table: the plastic 3-drawer cabinet that holds our recyclables and redeemables after they've all been rinsed and allowed to dry, plastic container filled with dry cat food, stacks of cans of wet cat food

In the pantry closet, other than the food: oval 4-quart Le Creuset dutch oven, cast iron skillet and grill pan

In the utility room: waffle iron, cake pans (3 each 9-inch and 8 inch rounds; 2 9-inch squares), 4 mini-loaf pans, 1 quart mini-crockpot, assorted stockpots that don't fit in the cabinet under the stove, assorted cast iron pans

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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Comments on our kitchen storage:

Looking at the list, I see some weird inconsistencies. For instance, the coffee cups and mugs, which could be used interchangeably for the most part, get stored in at least three different cabinets and five different shelves. And why is the electric frying pan permitted to live in the kitchen, but the waffle iron banished downstairs to the utility room? If anything, the waffle iron gets used more consistently. The grill pan gets a bunch of use, but it's kept in the hallway pantry closet rather than the kitchen...and the panini press brick is under the oven, where it gets in the way of anything in the horizontal storage stack!

The cooking implements aren't stored efficiently. For one thing, the lids just get thrown into the cabinets wherever they'll fit, since we don't have a good place to keep them. And our pots wind up in giant stacks because if we didn't, there wouldn't be enough room for them all.

We have a lot of gadgets and gizmos. And most of them get at least some use on a regular basis. Even the three sets of steak knives all get some use: each set has a different handle and a differently shaped blade, which makes them good for different tasks. Yet some of the gizmos that get regular and frequent use, such as the wine vacuum sucker and its tops, wind up in the bottom-most drawer in the entire kitchen.

I'd like to find a way to better show off the bowls my mom made for us.

I'd like to be able to get at my 3-quart saucier without needing to first move the pasta pot out from in front. I'd like to be able to use my stand mixer without having to first move the pasta pot out from in front. I'd like to be able to get at any of my pots without having the lids clang onto the floor. The cabinet under the cooktop is a disaster!

I'd like to be able to fit my giant slicer knife in the same drawer as the others.

I'd like to have room in the kitchen for all my cake pans.

I'd like to have a place for my dollar-store plastic serving trays where I don't need to worry about the klutzy cat exploring the top of the refrigerator, moving on to the cabinet, and knocking the trays to the floor, where they shatter into a zillion sharp pieces.

I'd like to be able to easily get at whatever cutting board I want, not whatever cutting board's on the top of the stack. Ditto to the rectangular glass baking dishes.

I'm sick of keeping my spices on a teetery lazy susan, high enough up that I can't see what's what without a stepstool. And speaking of lazy susans, if we have any in the new kitchen I want ones that stay adjusted and spin open in both directions.

I'm quickly concluding that while some tall storage areas are nice, in most places for us it would be much more efficient to have more shorter areas in the same space.

MelissaH

MelissaH

Oswego, NY

Chemist, writer, hired gun

Say this five times fast: "A big blue bucket of blue blueberries."

foodblog1 | kitchen reno | foodblog2

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I'd like to be able to get at my 3-quart saucier without needing to first move the pasta pot out from in front. I'd like to be able to use my stand mixer without having to first move the pasta pot out from in front. I'd like to be able to get at any of my pots without having the lids clang onto the floor. The cabinet under the cooktop is a disaster!

This is one of my dreams, too, and I have two words for you: deep drawers.

Forget the shelves with things buried in the back. Imagine drawers deep enough for pots in which you see all from above. Adjustable interior dividers to keep lids in place.

When I finally get around to the much needed gut-rehab of my kitchen, I'll probably do Ikea cabinets so that I can afford other expensive items, but the deep drawers and dividers that even that budget line offers look fabulous compared to my current under-cabinet mess.

If you click one of the lower drawers on this Ikea page, you'll get a sense of what I mean.

Ikea drawers


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