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homestead - Re: [Homestead] the homestead kitchen-what would you design?

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  • From: tom <tom AT honeychrome.com>
  • To: paxamicus AT earthlink.net
  • Cc: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] the homestead kitchen-what would you design?
  • Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 09:48:28 -0400

If you can, live with the kitchen as it is for a while. Of all the rooms in a house, I think the kitchen is the most important one to allow to 'self design' through use. You can think and think and think through where things will make the most sense, but until you spend some time working in it you are sure to miss something or find that things that make sense on paper aren't so practical in reality. In our on-going renovation finishing up the kitchen is last on the list- in the meantime it is fully functional, but our 'counters' are currently made of scrap 2xs and plywood so we can try out various configurations, shelf heights and sizes, where things work best, where we most often stand to work, etc. Where you stand to work is key- from that you can list all the things you most often need and reach for when prepping and you can locate those things close by and you can avoid putting heavy-use drawers there so if one person is prepping they don't have to move so another person can get into a drawer or cabinet. I like the no-overhead cabinets idea- keeps the space open and light. We use long rails with hooks on the wall to hang the cooking implements we use all the time. Some people think this looks too cluttered, but it saves a lot of drawer opening and rummaging around when the tools one needs are right there in front of one's eyes. The same goes for the pans and skillets that we use all the time- they hang on a rack right by the stove.

One word of warning about making the countertops something other than standard height- that can be a 'negative' when (if) it comes time to sell the house. Personally I think the added comfort and convenience over years of use far outweighs that possible negative down the line.

Tom




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