Kitchen Updates and The Best Possible New Year’s Resolution
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Good thing this is not a design blog, or I’d have to be sure things were super tidied up and completely finished for me to show you what’s been going on in the kitchen!
You are kind to indulge me on the kitchen reno! I am going to go on about it and just assume that if you are here for other content you will be patient and just skip to further down!
Today I’ll try to give you the big picture. The stove was hooked up on Dec. 22, if you can imagine the nail-bitingness of that, so you will see why I needed a big break to get to this point. Yes, I was hosting Christmas!
I will go into detail in subsequent posts because I so love how it turned out and because I hope my 44 years of making do and wearing out and thinking about what works and would be beautiful could help you when it comes time for you to make decisions, little or big.
Just like everything else I write, it’s all about things I wish I had known before or had someone to tell me about. I’ve made lots of mistakes and you will too, but it is just fun to try to figure things out and make them better.
Okay, come on in!
The view from the hall (the big front door, front stairs, den, living room, and dining room are behind me/to the left or right) — there are still paint cans and other evidences of a work in progress, but let’s get to it:
Also, I want to say — I know many of you loved my old kitchen! I did too! I really did.
There were things that drove me crazy, and ultimately it had to go for a few reasons, one of which is the size of our house (huge) made it ridiculous to put money into sprucing up what was an inadequate space.
As my daughter-in-law Natasha said, there are often so many people here (and we do have 8 bedrooms), it doesn’t make sense to have a kitchen with such a small workspace.
Another is the “one-thing-leads-to-another” aspect of changing out permanent fixtures like counter height, necessary to accommodate new appliances that wouldn’t fit in the old: if we were going there, better to do it right.
Here is a sketch of the floor plan so you can understand the drastic nature of what had to happen. Keep in mind ALL the doorways, windows, and fireplace, and how HARD it was to fit things in, despite the rather large area (it’s about 400 sq. ft, not counting the pantry).
(I should have labeled things more: at the top of the picture you see the door to the back stairs; they go behind the fireplace which is the jutting out element there. To the left is the basement door, going behind the fireplace with stairs going down. To the left of that is the door to the mudroom. The pantry and mudroom back up on each other but are not connected.)
The red line represents the new, pushed-out wall you see in the photo above.
The area to the left of the red line (shaded) was previously on the deck. We called it the “nook” and it was handy for storing deck furniture cushions in a big wooden chest when it rained and for just adding interest to our beloved outdoor area.
If you are a fan of A Pattern Language, you will see why I was attached to this nook, as unimportant in the larger scheme of things as it was (i.e. better to have the space in the kitchen!). It just added interest to the deck (I mean other than the trashed sink haha… )
Here’s how it looked inside, BEFORE — the kitchen table is behind you and you’re looking towards the sliding door out to the deck:
(This is an old photo and you can seen how much goes on here! My mother, Habou, cooking up some craft [Pysanky] for everyone to do, people talking while I’m preparing something, and so on… real life! somewhat squeezed in, which I love.)
People would say, “Couldn’t you take that area and bring it into the kitchen?” and we always thought we couldn’t.
We thought it held up the hallway upstairs (turns out, no, the joists went all the way across, but to be fair there is a beam there even up above that fake beam, that turned out to be supporting… nothing!). We thought we’d lose the window (no, duh, just moved it). We thought the radiator was a fixture (no, it could be moved — had no idea! construction is amazing!).
So the process of bumping that area out began and is what took so darned long (among other things of course). The radiator was moved as you see, above.
But make no mistake, this was an intense process.
Here is the view now:
We put in a “French” sliding door with as close to real dividers as you can get and still be weather-tight. And raised the opening by 2 1/2″ which didn’t cost that much extra, but added a certain generous air.
I promise to talk about this area more… the secondary vintage sink, the extra oven, the storage… but right now, let’s just feel the space!!
The other big change was bumping out the new, way bigger window over the main sink (left — East — side of the plan here, in red):
BEFORE (and don’t get me wrong — I love the life and prettiness of this! we made do and it was glorious!):
AFTER:
He still has to put a trim on the built-in fridge to close up that gap, and actually here are trims missing on the uppers all around. The dishwasher will get a panel as well.
If you see anything and say, “Wait, is that how it is going to be” just know — this is not actually completely done!
Of course it’s not haha…
You can see how much bigger the window is!
Just as we got things up and working, I read a post about “The 7 mistakes people make renovating a kitchen” and #1 is making the windows too big!
Well, I guess I did that. It does take away interior storage. But I do love it! I’m not living in a cave anymore!
The windows also have as true divided lights as you can get, and they are casement windows (the two on either side).
I may bring back stools, we will see. Right now they are out in the garage needing a good scrubbing and probably refinishing after 24 years of hard use, mainly by children and then grandchildren spinning on them!
The counters are all soapstone. I love them!
The floor is yellow heart pine.
I’ll show you more details of all of it another day. We’ll do a thorough examination of everything!
Here’s how it looks now, coming in from the mudroom:
BEFORE:
The bricks on the left and the cabinet there as you come in on the right are gone and the fridge cabinet starts sort of where the stove starts.
(To see about the bricks, go to my Instagram highlight.)
Okay, that’s enough for now, I think!
Since I know you’ll ask:
This is the range: Kucht Gemstone 36″ gas stove. I got it because it is not too pricey, relatively speaking, and has a 4 year warranty and zero digital anything. We’ll talk about it later!
This is the fridge: Fisher-Paykel panel-ready 36″ counter-depth fridge. The biggest headache in this whole renovation was figuring out where to put the fridge. We just have so many pathways and that stupid appliance sticks out and dominates everything. I decided it was worth it to get this one so that it just disappears and is still in handy reach. So far I love it and find its configuration makes up for its small size in cubit feet. The old one (which is very good actually) is in the pantry, so overall I have a lot of refrigeration available to me.
(These are the only two appliances I bought new. I will eventually tell you about the others, which I got used.)
bits & piecesSurrogacy is something we need to oppose. It’s trafficking in human flesh, murder, and depravity. One woman’s experience of being the child bought in a transaction with her mother.
If you need a little brushing up on the question, does 1 ÷ 0 = 0, go here! (Spoiler: it does not, but sometimes 3rd grade is hard.)
Unlikely figures who rallied around the Traditional Latin Mass in the 60s and 70s
Having recently observed the Feast of the Circumcision, I thought it appropriate to pass along this examination of the practice. In my own researches, I came across the same issue the author brings out: hospital circumcision is substantially, clinically different from ritual circumcision, which of course I support as a matter of religious freedom, though, from the point of view of religion, it’s clear that Christians are under no obligation to undergo or impose it. (If a Christian has reasons to circumcise the male child, avoiding division between spouses for instance, I strongly suggest seeking out a Jewish practitioner, foregoing the hospital route, which in my opinion amounts to mutilation.) I realize this is a touchy subject (and can quickly get anti-Semitic which is abhorrent to me), but I think it’s important to know that what happens in American hospitals is not the same as the ancient practice.
from the archives
Can your New Year’s Resolutions Take the Reality Test?
What is the best possible New Year’s Resolution? Besides very practically knowing what is for supper and being on top of the laundry (I explain it all in that link and the series it began, becoming the third volume of The Summa Domestica)?
It’s making Sunday a day of rest, worship, and celebration (not necessarily a big party but an interior sense of festivity and gratitude for the gift of life and for each other).
Because it is important and actually part of the Commandment of observing the Lord’s Day to rest, I really encourage everyone to take this seriously. Here are some concrete ways to rest:
If you have lots of kids you probably do have to do a load or two of laundry, but do the minimum. Don’t use this day to catch up on laundry.The week can be busy — don’t use Sunday to address bills.Kids have sports — mine did and I get it. Don’t do practices on Sunday mornings.Don’t shop on Sundays (other than for an emergency). Everyone has the need, duty, and right to rest on Sunday. If there is a demand for retail on this day of rest, there will be a supply. If there is no demand, we can go back to allowing those less well off to have the minimum necessary for human flourishing — a day of rest, where each person is something other than a cog in the machinery.Even though, as I said, I’m a major proponent of knowing what is for dinner and doing what is necessary to make it happen, I am begging you not to make Sunday the day you prep all your week’s meals, as a staggering number of advice-givers suggest.
The influencers say this because presumably their audience works all week, so they are responding to a perceived need to make Sunday the catch-up day to prepare for Monday and more work, but it doesn’t take a PhD in human development to see how detrimental such a regime is to well being is.
I get many emails with Auntie Leila questions, and at the bottom of it all is the need to have time to think, to reflect, to put things in perspective. This time is the Sunday.
Practically speaking, I suggest scheduling your big meal of the week for Sunday — make a big roast or pot of braised pork or something else hearty that you can prep the day before or quickly in the morning. You will have to do some work, but think beforehand so it’s as simple and nice as possible — and so that you can rest a bit too.
A great benefit is the meals that will plan themselves when you do this, because if you have a ham on Sunday you will then have at least 4 ham meals ready to go when you need them, ditto turkey and pot roast, but it’s not the primary reason.
Of course, all this means making the whole week a preparation for Sunday, if we are to truly rest. So this is a big Resolution.
Try it — you will be amazed at how not only that one day changes for you, but your whole outlook on life. You will gain a new perspective and be enlightened about where the path is and how to follow it. God will send His blessings!
liturgical living
St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor.
Heads up! Candlemas approaches… My sense is that when I have a good supply of candles and they are blessed, I use them more. Candles make the home feel much more cozy and warm. I highly recommend using them, especially on the family dinner table!
It’s a good use of household money to buy them in bulk and have them all year. And get them blessed!
I’m ordering my candles and you might wish to as well, for the blessing! I’ve ordered a big batch of beeswax tapers from these nuns (Rosie recommended, and Bridget recommends the votives as well). And I ordered these (in ivory, for my slightly smaller diameter candlesticks) and these and these for my Christmas decorations that take candles — these Amazon ones are affiliate links, thanks for using them!
I may have recommended these at some point — I hope not. Don’t buy them, they are terrible! This year I am going back to these (affiliate link).
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