A Kitchen Timeline
I purchased the Cross House in 2014. The kitchen was mostly a gutted shell. And I had no idea what an 1894 kitchen looked like. None. Zero. Zilch.
Had I vast sums of money I would have embarked upon creating a kitchen right away and would have likely ended up with something sorta kinda somewhat 1920s-ish. It would have been nice, of course, but what I am actually going to end up with is going to be friggin’ FABULOUS.
Because, between 2014 and 2025 I learned a great deal about historic kitchens. I also paid a great deal of attention to the physical evidence remaining regarding the original Cross House kitchen. And…gadzooks!…it developed the such evidence abounded. And all this would have been overlooked or swept away had I lot’s-o-money.
Time and a lack of funds allowed a curatorial approach, and over the years I discovered important and long lost bits:
- Dumbwaiter.
- Speaking tubes.
- An annunciator system! Thanks, Blair!
- Locations for gas/electric sconces.
- The original color of the walls and ceiling, and finish for the trim.
- The original flooring.
During these years I restored the original windows. And had a new maple floor installed as the original was profoundly damaged.
A huge milestone was achieved when I installed the lighting. The lighting is both period-correct for the room, but also budget-correct and room-correct. By the latter I mean the lighting is very plain as such lights would have been in an 1894 kitchen. Note, too, the very simple glass shades. This milestone took many years to achieve.
And THREE sconces! Two even screwed right onto the 1894 gas nipples!
Thanks to Blair, and another search of many years, the perfect annunciator was found, purchased, and installed in the original location. Incredibly, it is a Ross Annunciator and dated 1894. I kid you not!!!! The paint sample to the right is the original color, and this is the color the kitchen will be painted. The trim to the far right has a section restored to its original finish (amber shellac over pine) and this, too, is how all the trim/doors will be restored.
During the discovery years, I learned about Victorian-era kitchens and how fundamentally different they were from modern kitchens The former were “island” layouts while the latter are “fitted”. In 2014, I had zero idea about such distinctions.
ISLAND:
Kitchens in 1894 had, normally, no built-in cabinets. Food was not stored in the kitchen but rather an adjacent pantry (and even modest houses of the era had a pantry.) In 1894, small kitchen appliances did not exist. So, no microwaves, toasters, blenders, coffee makers, etc.
Victorian-era kitchens were about food preparation, not storage. Thus, the kitchen would have been dominated by a table (the island) in the middle for preparing food. There would have been a sink, coal stove, and ice chest (this was built-in at the Cross House). And that would have been it.
FITTED:
Today, kitchens are quite the reverse. They are all about storage. For food and many many small appliances. And acres of counter.
I knew that I did not want to buy an 1890s coal stove, nor give up on AC, a dishwasher, and a modern self-cleaning range. But what did an 1890s kitchen sink look like? Surely, such sink would have worked basically as modern sinks do, right? But what did they look like?
I learned that stone sinks (slate or soapstone) were popular and bit by bit by bit I began leaning in such a direction. Particularly after discovering that the original sink was likely to have been right in front of the huge south-facing double window. Even the original hot/cold holes were still in the window sill.
With this in mind I created Plan #2 for the kitchen.
I also created a mock-up of what a stone sink would kinda look like in place:
To the left of the sink will be, as there was in 1894, a radiator, and with an angled drainboard above. .
Previously, I have shown archival images of just such sinks in front of windows. I suspect that having a lot of daylight while washing dishes was the important thing.
I was ready to order the sink when COVID hit and, being uncertain about what would happen to the economy, I pressed pause on the order.
When I recently decided to go ahead with a stone sink, the price had…of course…gone way up in price. Sigh.
To save some money on the shipping, I decided to make the 16-hour round trip. Then Linda reached out, telling me she and her husband, Paul, were just 15 minutes from the stoneworks and wanted a road trip to Kansas. “We can bring the sink to you!”
I accepted with alacrity.
And two days ago?
THE SINK IS IN THE HOUSE! That’s Justin, right, and Scott in the Red T. Mason is standing.
SQUEE!!!!!!!! The sink will sit for a while in the entry foyer until I can finish the kitchen walls under it. I will need to oil the sink, too. It will turn darker and MUCH richer.
Paul, doggie Cadence, and Linda.
After I left, Linda and Paul ordered pizza from Radius, and had the champagne I left for them. They sent me this toast.
They stayed the night in the Octagon Suite, and finished off the pizza and champagne the next morning while Cadence could run. The perfect brunch!
In. The. House. Thanks Linda and Paul!!!!!!!!
After years and years of pondering and research, the finished kitchen will be the most historically accurate room in the house, but will function like a modern kitchen. Ross excited!
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Hooray for Paul and Linda!
How exciting! Can’t wait to see the finished kitchen! Good luck!
I am gobsmacked at the kindness of folks!
What wonderful folks to bring the sink to you! What a blessing!
Yay!
Very nice of them to deliver the sink. It will look great in the house!
Thank you, Melissa! Linda and Paul are travelers, and enjoy new places and new situations. Their return route was fully planned out with places they had never been to (Dodge City, exclaimed Paul!).
I met Linda while she was walking her dog around the block and I was washing out the gutters on my porch drainspouts. Ross, you attract wonderful people! Please keep posting, I enjoy your progress and ruminations.
Brad
Thank you, Brad. I completely enjoyed my time with Linda and Paul. And Cadence!
I am so happy for you Ross! You have your sink at last and it is beautiful. Thank you Linda and Paul. Well done!
Linda and Paul are fantastic people! And my god, that sink is absolutely stunning. I can’t wait to see it oiled and installed!!
Ross that is GORGEOUS!!! What are you thinking for the faucet style? Congrats!! <3
You can see the faucet here, René.
Fabulous! Thank you Linda, Paul and Cadence. That huge sink can bathe a baby.
And a dog, Leigh!
…and yes, a dog hahaha.
It already looks lovely and I can’t wait to see it oiled and in its proper place!
OH WOW! That is going to be so perfect! Thank you Paul and Linda, you have done a service to the Cross House enthusiast community! (we need a collective name… Cross housers?)
Other than the yet-to-be-found antique nickel sink leg in the front corner, how is it to be supported? Thing looks like it weighs a TON.
The logistics of that installation seem a little daunting.
I suppose it could rest on angle iron or 2by wooden cleats secured to the wall framing?
I’ll be intrigued to see what sort of solution you come up with, and how it can be dressed up, with no cabinet below.
Cody, I will install an angle iron where the back of the sink will be, and left side. This will support the weight of the sink. The front, left corner will have a turned curvaceous wood leg, painted glossy white to look like enamel. Or, I might find a vintage version!
This kitchen renovation has me giddy with excitement for you, and even more because you’ve just gotten one of the coolest parts of it in the house!
Your method of letting the house reveal its past to you through careful investigation and research is really going to pay off in this kitchen, methinks.
That sink is gorgeous! Can’t wait to see it in place — and the curvaceous legs you have planned.
SO beautiful!! And such kindness!! Love all around!