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Tag Archives: kitchen

Counter stools for the kitchen island

by Mary Anne

When we first looked at this house one of the things that I had mixed emotions about was the dropped surface of part of the kitchen counter island. Obviously it was intended to have a couple of counter stools tucked up to it, and I like that idea a lot, but I really would have preferred that it just have an overhang instead of a dropped level.

The house that I had lived in before I was lucky enough to have been able to design my own kitchen and have all of the cabinets custom built by a master cabinet maker so I had everything exactly the way I wanted and designed it to be. So I have to admit that I was spoiled in that regard, having everything exactly the way I wanted. That’s really hard to compete with, but since we were planning to move about seven hundred miles away we really needed to get a different house.

From time to time I think about how I would redesign this kitchen if I had the chance, and I have to admit that I really don’t know any way to make it better, given the shape and size of the kitchen. Except for that dropped counter.


Spice racks

by Mary Anne

One of the most frustrating thing to me about my kitchen is that I really have not been able to figure out a good location for any kitchen spice racks. I’ve read that you should not keep spices near a source of heat, and yet most of the time when I see displays of spice racks they are usually right beside or right above the stove top!

To make matters more complicated, I can’t seem to find a spice rack that actually holds most of the spices that I use. Spices come in such a variety of boxes and cans and bottles, and different sizes. I’m the kind of person that would like to have all of the spices lined up in alphabetical order so that I could find the spice that I need quickly and easily. But since they are all different sizes and shapes I can’t get them organized very well at all. I’ve heard that the world will beat a path to your door if you invent a better mouse-trap. Well, I would beat a path to the door of the person who created the perfect spice rack!


Where is a Lighter When I Need One?

by Mary Anne

No one in my household smokes cigarettes, so I would think it logical to assume that if I buy a multi-pack of lighters that they would still be in the kitchen drawer. I know I bought a muli-pack at Christmas for five dollars and put it in the junk drawer by the phone in case we needed one to light the gas furnace or maybe a candle if the electricity goes out in a storm.

So I went to the junk drawer today and was shocked to find just the empty cardboard wrapper in the drawer and not a single lighter in there! Who on earth has been taking the lighters? And what have they been using them for?


Wallpaper paint or tile

by Mary Anne

When we were thinking about redecorating/remodeling our kitchen, one of the things that we needed to decide upon was the wall treatment. For the most part, the only exposed wall space in the kitchen is the wall space between the counter tops and the wall-mounted cabinets.

My husband, being a big fan of shiny metal things, was lobbying for using only stainless steel tiles for the wall treatment. Although I agree that placing stainless steel tile behind the stove top would probably be the smartest choice in respect to being the easiest to keep clean, I am reluctant to continue that treatment all the way around the kitchen.

When I think of having a stainless steel look on the walls, in addition to the stainless steel appliances we already have, I feel that having that much stainless steel would make the kitchen look too much like the kitchen area of a diner. Too much stainless steel would make the place feel cold and industrial; a look that I do not care for.

Although I would love the look of wallpaper on the walls, I know that the wallpapering skills available in this family are slim to none, so I’m thinking that a semi-gloss paint would be the next best choice because that should be relatively easy to keep clean.


Modern marvels in the kitchen

by Mary Anne

I can recall visiting my grandparents on their farm when I was a young child.   Seems to me that the only kitchen appliances they had were a range, an electric toaster, and a refrigerator/freezer.  Their smaller appliances were an electric mixer and a blender.  

My grandmother seemed to spend most of her day in the kitchen, cooking the meals and canning fruits and vegetables while my grandfather tended the animals and crops. 

Seems to me that’s all anyone that I knew had in the way of kitchen appliances.  If you wanted coffee, it was percolated in a pot on the stove-top.  If you wanted to open a can, you used a manual can opener.   The day’s garbage was fed to the pets, or thrown in the garbage can.

I look around my kitchen today and see my range, refrigerator/freezer, two microwave ovens, a bread machine, an electric coffeepot, a food processor, three slow-cookers, a George Forman-type grill, an automatic dishwasher, a hands-free battery operated can opener, a blender, an electric mixer, an electric waffle maker, and a toaster oven.  (Note:  some of these are tucked away in kitchen cupboards.)  I COULD have, but don’t want, a trash compactor and a garbage disposal. 

I’m really glad that technological advances have provided for all of these conveniences.  I don’t think I would have the time or energy to live the way my grandparents did!


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