And So The Kitchen Begins
In March, 2021, I presented my super-duper super-revised kitchen plan.
I had planned to move ahead with the kitchen, but my order for the island cabinets kept getting OUT OF STOCK notices. After 6 months I cancelled the order. A year later I noticed that the cabinets were now in stock but the prices had doubled.
I gave up on the kitchen.
A few weeks ago though I thought to resume the kitchen. The compelling thought was: I would not build most of it but did need to give it some thought and attention. In short, the kitchen could proceed without requiring hardly any actual physical energy from me.
Oh! This was certainly compelling, indeed!
The revised plan.
- New soapstone sink in likely original sink location.
- New wood drainboard atop radiator (the latter will be returned to its original location).
- Recreated dumbwaiter.
- Recreated laundry chute.
- Refrigerator in 1894 stove brick niche.
- New range/oven. Vent above.
- Free-standing cabinet.
- Small sink (for washing hand and vegetables while cooking).
- Island (the arrows indicate drawers. DW indicates dishwasher).
Of #7, I wrote in 2021: “The free-standing cabinet will be, methinks, a restaurant-style stainless steel type, with two drawers under the counter, and open shelves below for cookware. With no back, the original wood wainscoting should be visible. I love this.”
And…drum roll, please…#7 s now IN the house!
Squee!!!!!!!! One more shelf needs to be installed. I was short some hardware bits. The shelves are close together as they will only hold my cast-iron cookware and tops. I decided to forgo any drawers as the island will have plenty. A stainless steel range will be to the left. Note the all-important detail: you can see through the cabinet. The cabinet is also obviously freestanding as opposed to being built-in, which was not something seen in 1894 kitchens. The cabinet looks smaller than it is in reality. It is 24 x 48.
I also like how the counter is about the same height as the window sill.
And, again, one can still see and appreciate the laboriously restored wainscoting.
The cabinet will be where I prepare meals, And I will have a view! This is vital to me. There will be an 8-foot-diameter goldfish pond where the angled part of the fence is, and a waterfall feature atop the fence. The fence is a whopping 8-feet-high, something not obvious in this image. Cats cannot climb it or jump it.
I have sent Dr. Doug plans for the island, which he can build. It will have a walnut butcher-block counter (suggested by Nathan). The island will also be blue. What shade of blue I do not know. Suggestions?
So…crossing my fingers and toes and kitty tootsies…by the end of the year I might have a kitchen.
Ross excited.
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No offense but I can’t stand painted kitchen cabinets. If it were me, I would have the island cabinetry built out of Heart Pine or straight grain Douglas Fir. I know everyone else will ooh and aah over cornflower blue cabinets. I am cringing at the thought. Good Luck and I hope it is only a short time before you can cook your own meals in your own kitchen.
Michael, so much of what I have done this past ten years has made you cringe!
Not everything. I have to admit, I have very strong ideas about Victorian interior decoration. I love recreating the past, and notice when it is not period perfect. I have to be honest. I have seen original Victorian period decoration that is garish, too dark for today’s tastes and lighting. And also what I would describe as a cliche’. Not the most tasteful and pleasing design. I also tend to love what is pricey. And- what was fairly common and affordable then is very expensive now. I leave you with my benediction: “May you complete your restoration, may you never short in your finances, and may you live to enjoy what you have wrought”.
Painted kitchen cabinets would be appropriate for the time, the house was buildt, though. They were repainted every few years to keep them clean.
Actually kitchens weren’t commonly painted until the 1920s when the concept of germs=bad came into focus. My 1885 kitchen had one built-in cabinet with pull out bins. It was pine finished with shellack, just like the wainscot and the rest of the woodwork.
I was thinking Colonial blue but Cornflower works for me. I have no problem with painted cabinets and a butcher block top. He’s got plenty of natural wood in other places.
Are you sure there is room for the stove?
That’s what I thought until he said that side table was 48 inches. I think a 36 inch stove would fit nicely.
Now we differ in opinion as to the stove but it’s Ross’ house and every time his design sense has been spot on.
Me? I would put in a vintage stove, just not an 1894 one. No one wants to live in a museum, even a working one. That said, the kitchen of my 1922 house was remodeled in 1949 (as was the bathroom and the master bedroom added on) so I have a vintage O’Keefe and Merritt stove in my kitchen. It is not original but a similar stove could have been installed when it was remodeled. I LOVE IT. It works just fine and is totally repairable should anything need to be repaired. They are workhorses, built to last and built to be repaired.
But it is gas and I can understand people not being comfortable, even with a totally, professionally restored vintage stove.
Plus it’s a kitchen. This is a room where function needs to take precedent over aesthetics.
MaryCarol, the floor plan proves that there is plenty of room for the stove.
This is going to be a kitchen for the ages. I can’t wait to see your slow progress, but I’m sure you’ll make it. I also like the idea of a darker, regal sort of blue- maybe something like Lupine from Sherwin Williams?
Good morning Ross,
What do you think of Petrol Blue. It’s quite rich.
I like Colonial Blue for your kitchen as with the orangey woods you don’t want a dark color or anything matchy matchy. I wouldn’t choose any of the warm colors like yellow, orange or red because they would clash with the wood. So you want a blue that isn’t too dark as an “opposite” on the color wheel or one of the lighter purples or greens as part of the secondary colors.
My kitchen has cobalt blue accents to the black and white tile, white cabinets and white walls. The black and white is a neutral that will allow me anything.
I love that you are going to go forward with the soapstone sink and include a drainboard. I wish I had one but I have a corner sink. When they tiled the counter they did make it slope towards the sink. That was Mrs Bishop’s idea.
You have a big kitchen and the center island might appear to cut up the work triangle but it really doesn’t as with the island you have the work sink. The island provides plenty of counter space and even if there is none either side of the fridge the island is right behind and you’ll end up doing most of your prep there. That work station next to the stove is ideal, especially being steel so unaffected by hot pots and I love that you are going to put your cast iron on the open shelves. I have to store mine in my tiny kitchen but I do have my blue enameled Chantal pots hanging on a pot rack in the middle of my kitchen. I love my pot rack.
You have a working bathroom. Once you have a working kitchen you are that much closer to moving in, should you ultimately decide to do so.
Oh goodness, a stainless steel prep counter with a VIEW and a butcher block surface…YES, please. I can picture the goldfish pond with the waterfall…although I hope it does not become a sushi bar for cats or raccoons (my previous experience with same still makes me shudder.)
As for a BLUE color….you really cannot go wrong with taking a photo out the window of the sky and matching the interior blue to that (at least that is what I like to do to bring the outdoors IN, so to speak.)
So happy for you to have a kitchen, soon.
Cheers!
So happy to hear your plan. I follow along but don’t comment. Susan in Garnett.
Hello Silent Susan in Garnett!
I can’t wait to see the kitchen come together. Wow, you have a lot going on! Between the Other House, the Carriage House, and the Cross House, not to mention your business. I know you feel like Reduced Energy Ross these days, but even with reduced energy, you get more done than most people I know, including me.
Time to get off the computer and take some Baby Steps(TM) toward cleaning my kitchen . . . .
Ross,
Regarding your wood counter top and drainboard. You should have Dr. Doug make the drainboard to match the top of the island.
I don’t know if you have thought of finishes for the wood, but it was something I researched quite a lot before finishing the wood counter in my kitchen. I knew I didn’t want anything shiny.
One thing that will work for the drainboard is a marine spar varnish. It’s extremely durable, and looks awesome, and you know all about it from your yachting days. Personally, having used it on an outdoor swing, I’ll never use it again, preferring to let wood age gracefully.
Back to my counter: It’s random widths of Big Leaf Maple. BLMaple is not hard like other maples…. it grows fairly fast here in the NW, but its still considered a hardwood. And I was pretty sure I’d never get it to look like I wanted, no matter what I used on it.
In the end, I poured mineral oil all over it, and let it soak in.
And it’s stunning. And I was SO surprised that it came out as dark as it did. It nearly matches the old growth fir backsplash.
Also, after 5 years of use, with nothing other than an application of mineral oil a couple times a year, it still looks fantastic.
You could probably do this on your drainboard as well. It might need to be oiled a bit more often, but that’s not a big deal.
I used mineral oil for years but I recently started using Boos block oil and also their wax product and I must say I do like it better. I’m using it on all my cutting boards and my wooden spurtles and some handles. I let it warm in the sun and then treat everything.
As a finish I prefer shellac as it is food safe, however it does not stand up to water so for a drainboard would be a no. My dining table is finished with shellac as is my coffee table. (In fact most of the vintage furniture in my house.)
I’m getting ready to put a butcherblock top on a little kitchen island I am making and will be using the Boos oil and wax to finish it as it is one giant cutting board.
Sea salt. Sherwin Williams
Squee!
Ooooh a nice dark saturated blue would work I think – I agree with Grant, who suggested petrol blue.
Hi Ross,
I appreciate the view out your back window. What do you think of the paint job on my house? I really like the trim color!
Neighbor Brad