I hated our kitchen from the day we moved into our apartment.
Each time that I finished a kitchen project for a client, my heart would sink when I returned home to my ugly, electric range, dim lighting and cracked tile.
Every meal that I prepared was accompanied by my fantasies of a future kitchen until one day, the time felt right to make it a reality.
We worked in phases, since it required demolition of the old dumbwaiter.
It was messy and loud, but worth every minute of suffering.
When it was gone, my husband and I would stand in the newly emptied space where the dumbwaiter once stood and wave at each other in the next room.
And in the spirit of community, we enlisted our upstairs neighbors, rather than have them suffer through the noise and destruction we created below their unit.
This combined effort helped us all to save money, as well as our sanity.
That was 2007.
2008 was the year that I finally got my kitchen.
Typically, I have an entire design concept within the first few minutes of seeing a space. In the case of our kitchen, it took several years before I could decide which direction to take - a typical designer's conundrum.
Eventually, I developed a design that pleased both my husband and myself.
Once we began, we were immediately faced with challenges: an old gas line that wouldn't hold air pressure and which took days to diagnose, crumbling plaster and rotting insulation - and let's not forget the idiotic board member who had nothing better to do all day long than to follow my contractors and me around the building, sticking his nose into everything we did, despite the fact that we had legal permits for every single bit of work.
In the end, it was all worth it.
As my plumber commented during his final installation,
"This kitchen is like a boat! It's 100% functional - no square inch of space is wasted!"
A side note: when said board member did his own work, you'd better believe he didn't want anyone snooping around his project. OH NO! Heaven forbid!
But I digress ...
The new kitchen is a powerhouse of storage, functionality and style.
Two tiers of wall cabinets hold all of our "stuff" with daily used items in the lower cabinets. Top cabinets have frosted glass and aluminum doors to keep their appearance light-weight and are held open with pneumatic lifts,
like the lid of a trunk.
An awkward wall was encased in cabinetry and turned into a pantry.
The peninsula is an important feature serving as a prep area while also keeping the room separated into work zones.
It contains garbage and recycling bins which are accessible from both sides, plenty of drawer storage and it doubles as a buffet or bar for entertaining.
Rather than a range, which can add bulk to a small space, I separated the cooking elements by installing a gas cooktop with an electric wall oven below, providing a cleaner look.
City code did not allow for the external ventilation our range hood, but the strength and quality of the new Viking hood provides better ventilation than we had in the past and the stainless steel baffles can be placed in the dishwasher for easy cleaning.
And the piece de resistance is a Subzero fridge.
Sleek and sexy, this 24" deep, 30" wide appliance is the crown jewel of the kitchen. There were less expensive options, but nothing came close in design, functionality or compact size. Lighting is energy-efficient halogen and adjustable via dimmer switches for longer bulb life.
My husband and I loved and enjoyed my masterpiece.
And we have passed it on to another couple for them to now enjoy,
in health and in happiness, for what we hope will be many years to come.