A Kitchen's Progress

The kitchen, before

The kitchen in the house was a near miss. Somebody had chosen concrete counter tops and squeezed the rest of the kitchen around them, and it just looked heavy and depressing. The room was not large, but spacious enough if every inch could be judiciously planned.

I hired a contractor good-looking enough to be on HGTV (but I swear that is not how he got the job--he is a skilled carpenter and knew how to make the most of every inch.) Yes, he's easygoing and charming, and that counts, but the main thing was that he was highly recommended as reliable, creative, conscientious, competent--and he knows how to build stuff. Conferring with him I discovered I could save money by buying cabinets off the shelf at the large hardware store, and he could build open shelving above to maximize storage while giving an uncrowded look to the room.

First came the demo, which I guess is a guy thing--he and the team had ripped out everything before the end of the day I closed on the house. It's been six weeks since it looked like this, but for weeks I was in a construction zone and it felt as if I always would be.

Demo done

I had my furniture in but only a hot plate and a microwave, and the refrigerator, which would have to be replaced, sat in the dining room. It was in good working order but did not measure up for the kitchen. I had to shell out for a counter-depth one, which is probably the same size in cubic feet, but fit better into the new design. Weeks went by with me having lunch at local restaurants and camping out in the house. I could make a decent breakfast on the limited equipment, eating lunch out. Not exactly a hardship, but a disruption in routine.

I chose a quartz counter in a neutral color and my contractor and I created a tile back splash that reflected my infatuation for the Pasadena Craftsman look. I picked neutral beige subway tiles and a selection of gently-colored accent squares to be applied behind the range and at random intervals amid the subways rimming the counter.

Pasadena Craftsman look--tiles anyway!

Open shelving

The open shelves work very well. All that is left is the spice rack which will go in tomorrow, below the window next to the stove.



There is a shelf on the other side of the room for cookbooks and whatever gathers there. Since it goes above my custom built-in table where my coffee pot and toaster live, cups and breakfast items have already found their place there.

Breakfast corner

So far, the kitchen is so much fun to cook in it almost feels like it's doing the cooking and washing up itself--I've made an apple cake and have a sourdough in process for some bread in the next couple of days--it won't be long before it roasts a chicken and makes a crème brulée. Where's that soufflée dish I bought as a bride in 1960? I'm sure I unpacked it the other day--but I don't think I've made a soufflée in the last 50 years. It's about time I did another!

The kitchen, After