Back in the first days out of surgery I started sketching more on the kitchen / addition idea, and I swore that I’d stop trying to get everything just exactly right and start sharing more of the practice. That is not an easy thing for me. I get started and then I want to tweak it more and more, and get everything just exactly right, and then add even more detail… so I’m doing it again.
Snapping myself out of it right now, avoiding the wordy post, exporting one image and calling it a night. Here’s where I am on the kitchen model. The hold up has been on the island component because I have so many (coolish) ideas for it, but it’s just ridiculous to try and model it in the evening hours when I should be doing other things. (Like adding skillets and kitchen knives into the model.)
Click images to enlarge – they are so much easier to see that way.
I started cooking this past week again, so stay tuned for the return of the “let’s eat” posts and another giveaway! And since I’m standing at my counter again, I’ve been thinking through (and stepping out) the spaces between my imaginary layouts in my head. Here are a few of the items.
1. Extra deep countertops! This is something both of us would love to have. If we gutted the kitchen, we could probably take advantage of a little more space where we initially furred out the walls to mask the old chimney bumpout. Every inch counts in a galley kitchen. I’d love to have 30″ countertops – as shown here – and with no upper cabinets, the reach isn’t a big issue.
2. Dishwasher would go here, maybe with a panel to match the other cabinets. I’d like the appliances to be in the backdrop – everything except that killer stove and hood!
3. Integrated knife storage – I love my Bodum knife storage so much – I’d like the exact same insert / concept, just concealed into the countertop itself. It’s brilliant.
4. Drawers, drawers, drawers. No cabinets doors anywhere. I’ll do a post on drawers soon – when I use to design more high end kitchens we did drawers with integrated storage solutions and they are so much easier to use than base cabinets.
5. Wood shelves and pegs. – It’s hard to see in this view, but you’ll see them soon in other views of the room – shelves with oven essentials, and pegs to display the cutting board collection that I haven’t even started yet.
6. Tile, tile, tile. A whole huge wall of it.
7. Integrated refrigerator/freezer and drawers – the thought of having drawers that can shift to accommodate birthday parties full of ice creams, and then shift back to produce storage makes me sort of giddy.
8. My dream range.
There’s more to the model, like the walk in pantry and storage, and those islands I mentioned, but I have to break this thing into little steps or I get mired down in the big picture. Here are some of the earlier posts on the subject – here, here, here, and here. See you tomorrow with that giveaway.
Looking forward to your drawer post. We have a few cabinets in our new kitchen layout, but I’m really not feeling them. Looking good otherwise. Lots of similarities. 🙂
Ahh, but you have footings already… and I have… sketches. 🙂
You had me a the Bodum knife storage.
Those little pegs / straws – whatever they are in there – they are fantastic. Complete flexibility for any knife – not just the ones that fit a standard knife block slot. A few years ago M and I circulated around the Cooks Illustrated recommendations for various knives, and our families started gifting us knives (and that storage block) for holidays. It was terrific. Having a good set of knives is key.