kolling@magic.DEC.COM (Karen Kolling) (07/15/86)
I'm about to have my kitchen totally ripped apart, and I'd
appreciate any suggestions for features people have found useful
(or unuseful). For example, from looking at existing kitchens,
I've decided to have some cabinets with sturdy pull-out shelves
with sides, to keep things from disappearing forever into the back
of the cabinets, and one cabinet with vertical dividers, for
storing trays, cutting boards, and paper bags. Some specific
questions I have are: Is there such a thing as a useful instance
of a "corner cabinet"? What are the (dis)advantages of a "real
stove" vs. an oven and separate cooktop arrangement? Do drop-in
stoves only come with electric (i.e., non-gas) cooktops? What
about ease of cleaning drop ins vs. regular stoves? Is the
insulation around a modern stove good enough so that I can store
anything in the surrounding cabinets without worrying about heat
affecting it? Any other ideas? Thanks.
Karen uucp: (allegra, decvax, ihnp4, ucbvax)!decwrl!kolling or
ENET: CIRCUS::KOLLING or
arpanet: kolling@decwrl.DEC.COMark@ut-sally.UUCP (Arthur M. Keller) (07/15/86)
In article <892@magic.DEC.COM> kolling@magic.DEC.COM (Karen Kolling) writes: >Is there such a thing as a useful instance of a "corner cabinet"? My brother in San Francisco recently remodeled his kitchen. He had a custom countertop made that had a corner sink. The sink was placed in the corner so you faced the corner when you faced the sink (so it was rotated 45 degrees from the normal orientation). The front edge of the countertop had the appropriate notch out on both sides of the sink so the countertop had an edge parallel to the sink a little wider than the sink itself. The normal cabinets were used underneath. He had a window behind it on one wall. Presumably, you could use cabinets that when closed also had a 45 degree angle from the two walls. The storage area is pentagonal but at least it is all accessible (think about a lazy susan there!). Whatever you do, don't put some big appliance just to one side of a corner. My house has a built-in oven/range there that makes the adjacent corner space below the counter virtually inaccessible. Arthur -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Arpanet: ARK@SALLY.UTEXAS.EDU UUCP: {gatech,harvard,ihnp4,pyramid,seismo}!ut-sally!ark
rob@ptsfb.UUCP (Rob Bernardo) (07/15/86)
In article <892@magic.DEC.COM> kolling@magic.DEC.COM (Karen Kolling) writes: >I'm about to have my kitchen totally ripped apart, >... > Is there such a thing as a useful instance >of a "corner cabinet"? Yes! There are corner cabinets that you get access to through a narrow door diagonal to the adjacent doors. Inside on each shelf is a lazy-susan sort of device. This allows you to fill most of that huge space with medium sized objects. I'm envious :-) Good luck with your new kitchen. -- Rob Bernardo, San Ramon, CA (415) 823-2417 {ihnp4|dual|qantel}!ptsfa!rob
henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (07/17/86)
> ...appreciate any suggestions for features people have found useful...
Better than a garbage can is a hook or two inside a door of an under-
counter cabinet, on which you can hang a plastic shopping bag. Keeps
it out of the way, confines any smell, and eliminates the awful sludge
that slowly builds up in the bottom of a traditional garbage can (even
with plastic garbage bags).
Consider putting shelves on the inside of cabinet doors, if whatever's
inside doesn't come right up to the door. Shallow shelves plus more
shallow shelves on the door makes small things more accessible than a
plain door with deep shelves in back. NB this will mean somewhat stronger
door hinges, and rails on the edges of the door shelves to keep stuff
from falling off.
More generally, view any blank vertical surface as a potential support
for shelves or racks or hooks. Ditto for the undersides of above-counter
cabinets. Counter surface area is too valuable to be used for storing
things that could be stored elsewhere. Look at everything that sits on
top of your counter with an eye to finding some other place to put it.
Even substantial appliances that have to sit on the counter when in use
can live somewhere else when they're idle.
Don't skimp on electrical outlets, or on circuits feeding them (kitchen
appliances often eat quite a bit of power, so you can't put as many
outlets on one circuit as you could elsewhere in the house).
And a thought based on a friend's disgruntled comments: avoid, repeat
AVOID, covering your floor with alternating black and white tiles.
The combination is an unbeatable way to make every bit of dirt show.
--
Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
{allegra,ihnp4,decvax,pyramid}!utzoo!henrytom@pedsgo.UUCP (Tom Gillispie) (07/18/86)
Organization : Concurrent Computer Corp. (a Perkin-Elmer Company), Tinton Falls, NJ In article <892@magic.DEC.COM> kolling@magic.UUCP writes: > >I'm about to have my kitchen totally ripped apart, and I'd >appreciate any suggestions for features people have found useful >(or unuseful). . . . . . Is there such a thing as a useful instance >of a "corner cabinet"? . . . . We turned our 1-countertop kitchen into a "U" shaped countertop. In the one corner, the upper cabinet has a lazy suzan which does work well. The counter top below this has the "right angle" of the corner "filled-in" a little. This gives some really nice counter space, with the back of that corner a great place to store appliances etc, since you cannot easily reach it anyway. The other corner is a "blind" unit below, which means you really have to reach back far, but it has some large space for seldom-used things. The upper unit in this corner does go back pretty far, I think things could easily get lost back there! Good luck, ours was well worth the effort! -- NAME: Tom Gillispie UUCP: ...{pesnta|prcrs|princeton|topaz|hjuxa|vax135}!petsd!pedsgo!tom USnail: CONCURRENT Computer Corporation (a Perkin-Elmer Company) M/S 307, 106 Apple St., Tinton Falls, NJ 07724 MA BELL:(201) 758-7321
sasaki@endor.harvard.edu (Marty Sasaki) (07/18/86)
I would suggest not having shelves in any below counter space, use drawers instead. The back space in lower shelves is always hard to get at and often ends up as dead, unused space anyway. If you pay a little extra and get full extention drawer slides, then you can use all but a few inches of the space. If you are planning a natural wood finish for cabinet doors, and if you feel handy, then think about making cabinets with tambours for doors. Tambours are the things that the tops of roll top desks are made of. ---------------- Marty Sasaki uucp: harvard!sasaki Harvard University Science Center arpa: sasaki@harvard.harvard.edu One Oxford Street bitnet: sasaki@harvunxh Cambridge, MA 02138 phone: 617-495-1270