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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

On May 15, 2008, at 8:04 PM, Roy Morgan wrote:
> > Memory flash: I calculated for a one-and-a-half-inch plank floor over
> > the plywood. Somehow that never happened
>
> Another good idea. I have a couple ideas of how to manage that.

Someone mentioned resale value. Countertops can be built at standard  
heights, which are too low, I think--people today are taller and we  
wear higher-bottom shoes, especially we ruralites--but kitchen floors  
can have either wooden or rubber mats, or a combination, in front of  
counters for shorter users.  But as a retired Realtor, I will say that  
I have never seen a sale compromised due to kitchen counter height.

What I do see as becoming more popular, is mixed-height counter tops.  
This has become common in upper-end homes, most noticeably in the  
master bathroom, where his and her sink countertops are fitted to the  
individual. In kitchens, dough kneading often calls for a lower-than- 
usual counter-top height, and of course covered with marble, concrete,  
or granite.

The homestead or farm kitchen has an issue not easily resolved--the  
floor. We are often engaged in activities that require substantial  
footwear, whether because of the activity or the weather. When we come  
in from early chores, or morning digging or mucking, we are often  
loathe to sit down and take off boots that are heavily laced, for  
instance, and put on nice, clean house shoes. Even with slip-on boots  
and Crocs the tendency is to just charge on into the kitchen for  
sustenance. Especially in springtime boot soles often carry mud and  
stones. The ideal rural kitchen floor would be concrete that could be  
hosed out every day or three. Also, the kitchen would be immediately  
accessible from the outdoors, at most with a mud room as a transition.