What demolition would be complete without a design for things to come? We've been kicking ideas around ever since we accepted the fact that we'd never be satisfied leaving the recently renovated kitchen as is. Gratuitous? Yeah, probably, but mitigated by need to repair leaking roof and replace seriously compromised framing on rear wall. Ok, so we didn't have to gut the kitchen interior to accomplish that, but let me see one of you stop a swinging sledge hammer. I mean it's taken all our restraint not to rip out the marble floor too. Multiple reasons for stopping where we did: amount of cement it's set in, timeline for getting kitchen closed up again, volume of trash we'd already loaded into container, and poor condition of wood subfloor we can now see in cross-section. (Sure that last one is actually the most compelling reason to tear it out but we've decided to tell ourselves all that cement is holding the floor together at this point...)
Some readers may already be familiar with the evolution of our kitchen design from previous post when we were still weighing counter, cabinet and window configurations. Since room itself contains only access to both 2nd floor and backyard, traffic patterns were used to carve the room into two smaller volumes.
To emphasize the throughways, we're going to extend the hallway soffit into kitchen. In current plan the soffits frame entire room with a deeper section on side for traffic to stairs, but we're considering a soffit of same or similar depth leading to back door. Whatever floor treatment we settle on to mask the green marble will mirror these "traffic" soffits.
In turn, soffits define the volume of primary kitchen space. Higher ceiling will likely repeat the exposed beams of dining room and 3rd floor. A cabinet and counter will further delineate border between spaces.
Speaking of cabinets and counters, our operating concept can be described as modular work table. We'll lose a bit of space putting cabinets on 8" legs, but we consider that worth the lighter masses around the room. Same for wall cabinets which are all but non-existent, having shrunk upwards into open display/storage space for infrequently used items. Almost all of the readily accessible storage has been moved to shallow shelves on side wall. No more wondering how many cans of tuna we have (and no more shoving groceries blindly into cabinets and quickly shutting the door on them). Shelves have a space to accomodate the swing for new back door and will double as storage for broom and mop.
Labels in red identify the task-specific zones for each section of counter. 'Clean' zone is specifically designed to eliminate the landing strip for dirty dishes (now scaled down to a folding shelf for the occasional heavy load). Double sink will have an undercounter installation to allow easy drainage of water from open drying/storage rack. Gas range is center of 'Cook' zone with plenty of counter for on- and off-loading of food, plus storage of cooking utensils in deep drawers underneath. The open spaces that separate 'Cook' zone from the other two countertop zones gets rid of corner storage, banishes sprawl, and provides a supplemental access route, which is highlighted by of one of the two kitchen windows. 'Prep' zone has over 5 feet of uninterrupted countertop, accessible from all sides, with an undercounter 2-drawer refrigerator on one side. We'll almost certainly put a freezer chest in the basement.
Finally, we plan to run the kitchen floor right out the back door onto a deck that spans full width of the house. For the longest time we were simply going to replace the old shed awning with an updated version, but quite recently we started talking about a gable roof. More on backyard plans and developments another time.
attention people: FREEZER IN THE BASEMENT. clearly, with my name, ice is a priority. Hope you get a good ice bucket for xmas.
Posted by: anita_cocktail | 2006.08.22 at 06:44