When you are thinking kitchen remodel it's easy to get caught up in decisions about the pretty stuff, the cabinets, countertops, backsplashes etc. but it's not always so simple to see how a new kitchen will actually function. I was lucky enough last weekend to test run two fabulous and almost new kitchens in the neighborhood, and I've learnt a couple of things that I will consider when we embark on updating our kitchen.
Firstly I really saw 20x20 porcelain tiles as the ideal flooring for us as it's hard wearing and easy to clean. We envisaged putting in radiant underfloor heating to keep our toes cozy in winter but what I didn't really consider is the additional height this adds. In the first kitchen I visited the homeowners had done exactly this and the kitchen floor was a good couple of inches higher than the rest of the house. We were warned to mind our step but I knew right there this wasn't going to work at Beach House. For one there are four doors off the kitchen - that's quadruple the potential accidents - and secondly we are klutzy folk. Someone is sure to take a tumble, probably with a casserole or tray of drinks in hand. I now know I want a level floor in the living areas and I want it warm and soft underneath. Much better to discover this now rather than after the dollars have been spent and the work has been done. 
The other thing we were considering was bringing gas to the house so we could have a big range like the Wolf above. After cooking a couple of dishes on the giant I'm not so sure. I'm a tall gal with long arms but I had a hard job reaching the back burners due to the enormous handles on the oven doors. I ended up standing to the side and cooking at a diagonal angle to reach - not good for the back. I also found the big red knobs difficult to fine control, I either had too much or too little heat and controllability is the only advantage I see when cooking with gas. This was actually the second time I'd got up close to the Wolf. At Thanksgiving I'd been in charge of Not Letting The Marshmallows Burn, a task that involved spending a lot of time bent double peering into the oven. (You just know those suckers will turn black the minute you take your eyes off them). Apart from the awkwardness of this, the tinted glass fooled me into thinking the sweet potatoes were done at least four times. Opening the oven door only to find they were still anaemic really hampered the cooking process. All in all I think I'll keep my highly adaptable halogen cooktop, perhaps upgrading to an induction model, and I'll swap my 27" wall ovens for 30" versions.
The third thing I discovered I guess I always knew and I don't think there's a solution - no matter how much counter space I have I will use every inch when cooking.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Kitchen Tryouts
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Lucky that you found out some of these things beforehand! We had the same issue with our kitchen flooring...once the new subfloor, tiles and Ditra membrane were in, the floor was a good inch higher than the adjoining rooms. Transition strips minimize the problem, but I'm still extra careful when carrying dishes back and forth. Function is so important in a kitchen. Its easy to visualize how things will look, but harder to see how they'll actually feel and work in the space.
Tile floors are tricky that way. Also, the larger the tile you use, the more "perfect" you sub base needs to be which can wind up making it thicker if the floors are uneven. I had seen a product once for retrofitting radiant heat into existing houses. They were metal panels with channels for the tubing that were installed under the floor in the basement ceiling. They weren't as efficient, but they might allow you to get it without the extra depth.
I think we'll still put underfloor heating in the master bath, we have to step up there anyway so we're used to it!
I, too, manage to use EVERY inch of space. :)
Good call on the flooring... I'm wishing we'd thought of that before flooring the bathroom. It's going to be a lot higher than the wood floors inthe rest of the hosue.... might make for some painful middle of the night stops when we are all done!
Good thing you didn't spring for the Wolf. I'm not tall and I didn't realize what a strain my farm sink would be on my back. Because of the way it extends out in the front, the back of the sink and the faucet are a bit of a stretch. There's no way I would know that from just seeing the sink in the store.
modernmama, I just saw that you're in Huntington! I am too...would love to meet!
It is to your credit that you picked up on the critical detail of the flooring. Perhaps, however, if the transition piece was wide enough between the two floor levels, that may largely ease the problem of the levels. It would eliminate an abrupt feeling.
The farmhouse sink wasn't something I was considering because of the style of the house but I did wash up in one and because it was so deep I was bending again. I'm really thinking about accessibility issues, too these days.
We redid our kitchen last year, and I have the GE Monogram version of the Wolf dual fuel. I am only 5 ft and have no trouble cooking on it, griddle, grill and all....We also have half tile half wood in our kitchen. I love that too!
Suzy, I put the Thermador dual fuel in the last kitchen and had no problem with it but the Wolf was all wrong for me. That's why I was so pleased to try it out.
The kitchen in the photo looks NICE!!!!!!! I love to look at clean kitchens... so I prefer not to cook in mine... LOL!
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