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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen
Designing kitchen - 'cool' ideas.
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amother
Pearl


 

Post Thu, May 23 2019, 7:47 pm
Something really cool I heard about - a slightly inclined chute or maybe a conveyer belt from your driveway or garage to the kitchen.

In my old hometown when you checked out at the grocery there was a belt opposite the checkout. It wasn't rubber like the checkout counter, it was rows of metal wheels or maybe gears.

Your grocery bags were put into a heavy box (metal rims) with a number, and you got a ticket with that number. The box made its way down the belt to the parking lot (maybe a flight or half a flight down) where you handed your attendant your card & he located your box and put your bags into your trunk. (I begged our local heimishe store to do this when he built. But nowadays some stores will just have a worker bring your things to your car.)

I envision some similar arrangement of metal wheels. I am not sure how this person did it, but she takes her groceries out of the car, puts them in the chute or belt, and then arrive inside her kitchen. You'd need someone pretty clever to implement this but think of the shlepping you'd save!
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amother
Ecru


 

Post Thu, May 23 2019, 8:03 pm
This is the garbage can that rolls into cabinet . you remove the top and rolls in and out as needed!!
https://www.amazon.com/Seville.....rnull
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singleagain




 
 
    
 

Post Fri, May 24 2019, 3:05 pm
Just saw this on BuzzFeed. No personal info.. but based on. Reviews I totally might give it a shot.

Y'all, This Genius Gadget Actually Makes Opening Stubborn Jars Easy https://www.buzzfeed.com/natal.....WzMN8
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amother
OP


 

Post Sun, May 26 2019, 9:34 am
Bumping this thread for anyone who's around on Sunday. Would love more cool ideas!
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ra_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, May 26 2019, 11:38 am
This is the perfect spot for the garbage (below the sink) and such a cool use of bottom corner cabinet space! Also enough room and easy access to regular and various recycling bins.
I wonder if it works with the one flat cabinet door bottom corner under sink cabinets.
https://www.amazon.com/Knape-V.....e_div
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amother
Honeydew


 

Post Sun, May 26 2019, 12:00 pm
Many of my favorite ideas:
https://www.houzz.com/magazine.....53341

I also really want to work a nursing nook into my new kitchen someday!

iPad stand for recipes.

And these: Awesome!
https://www.tvlift.com/gallery.....logy/
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amother
Burlywood


 

Post Sun, Jun 23 2019, 5:07 pm
Bumping this up as I'm starting the process of redoing my kitchen now...
Any great ideas?! Is grey and white still the way to go?!
built in stove and oven vs. separate unit - pros and cons?
All tips and insights appreciated.

Thank you!
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Sun, Jun 23 2019, 7:10 pm
I just finished a gut remodel of my kitchen and function was very important to me as was aesthetics.

I do recommend heading over to the Houzz.com forums as I spent a lot of time there and learned so much in terms of how to make my kitchen (and bathrooms) better designed and more functional. People are very helpful - post your layout and they will help you tweak it to make it better.

In terms of my own kitchen

I opted for quarter sawn white oak stained in a medium caramel color. It's actually the color of a chair I inherited from my mother. I couldn't get the stain I wanted and finally I looked and realized that the chair was the exact color so I gave it to him to duplicate.

Someone had asked whether gray or white were still on trend. I say the best advice is to follow your heart and what you love; Do you love it or just think it's trendy. If the latter, how will you feel five years from now when it's no longer trendy.

In terms of some stuff I implemented

I got a large single bowl sink with what is called "ledge" construction. This means with the accessories I got - a sink grid; a cutting board and a cutting board with a hole that fits a large stainless steel bowl, I can prep easily over the sink. This extends my counter space - I can keep the grid on the sink and use it to dry anything I hand wash or to dry produce or keep it on the sink bottom. I generally keep it on the sink so that I have more counter space.

I got a drain which is to the back and to the side. This means that my garbage disposal is not right in the middle so I have more room under the sink so I can fit a roll out trash container there.

I got a rollout under the sink so that anything stored at the back is accessible.

I had the interior of my sink cabinet clad in laminate for easier cleaning. I also had all my shelves clad in laminate so they were easier to wipe down. The only shelves that are wood to match the doors and interior are the ones with glass fronts which I use to display my pretty china.

I had toe kick step stools installed under all my upper cabinets so that I can reach the top shelf without dragging out a step stool. They open if I touch them with my foot.

I got as many deep drawers as possible and I love them. I have a few lower cabinets but these all have pullouts.

Invest in good Blumotion hardware - full extension glides so that you can full use of your drawers.

Don't forget really good lighting. I got rid of the hideous fluorescent and installed canned lighting plus I put under cabinet task lighting. Since I have some cabinets with glass doors which I use to display my prettiest china, I installed lights in those cabinets to spotlight the china. Really pretty if you have crystal as well.

I got frameless cabinets which maximize storage for drawers but I do have some inset cabinets in the cabinets that run into my dining area because I wanted more of a furniture look there.

In terms of storage of your mixer, the pull up stands do have limitations as people have pointed because you either have to use the mixer on the little stand or shlep it to the counter. What I did was have a little side door built into a tall cabinet that flanks my counter so that I can open the side door and slide the Cuisinart or the KA Mixer right out to the counter. I didn't want to have the appliances on my counter and I hated shlepping them from where I had them stored.

I got a Bosch side opening oven. This lets me stand right in front of the oven to load and unload stuff. With a regular oven that opens from the bottom you have to lean over and load from the side.

Because I have a relatively small kitchen, I opted for a Sharp microwave drawer under the wall oven. There was no other good place to put it. If I had a larger kitchen, I would have put the microwave in a cubby with a pull out shelf below it but under the wall oven was the only place for it. Mine has tilt up controls so there is no squatting to access it.

I installed water alarms on my refrigerator (which has an ice maker) and the dishwasher. This means if there is ever a break in the water line, the water automatically shuts off. I have had neighbors who had expensive damage from leaks from their dishwashers and/or refrigerator water lines.

The pros and cons of wall oven versus stove - wall ovens obviously are ergonomically better since you can place one at the perfect height for you. The con is that they take up more room than a stove would and they also will wind up costing more since the ovens plus the cooktop are more expensive than a comparable quality stove plus you have the expense of the cabinet for the wall oven. Also you might have to upgrade your electrical panel depending on your home's age because each appliance has to be on its own circuit.

If you are getting a stove, consider one of the stoves which has a smaller oven on top because most of the time you would only need the smaller oven.

Stuff that is great but I couldn't get for my own kitchen or didn't really need Very Happy

Advantium Speed Cooker - this is really great if you are feeding kids because it crisps and cooks at a very fast speed so you can get their chicken fingers or fish sticks or French fries on the table quickly and they taste like they came from the oven. It also roasts chicken parts and potatoes and veggies quickly as well.

Combination Steam Oven - These ovens cooks with steam when you want and are great for reheating food because it doesn't dry out. They also are supposed to be fantastic for baking bread because the best bread is cooked with some steam anyway.
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Marathon




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Jun 23 2019, 7:32 pm
A pullout cutting board is great! Something like this

https://www.amazon.com/Pureboo.....RS9HJ
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familyfirst




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jun 24 2019, 10:56 am
Looking into doing our kitchen over and these tips have been wonderful!
Thank you everyone for taking the time to type this up and share it with others!
Special thanks to another slate blue! Your tips are awesome!!!
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amother
Hotpink


 

Post Mon, Jun 24 2019, 11:41 am
amother [ Pearl ] wrote:
Something really cool I heard about - a slightly inclined chute or maybe a conveyer belt from your driveway or garage to the kitchen.

In my old hometown when you checked out at the grocery there was a belt opposite the checkout. It wasn't rubber like the checkout counter, it was rows of metal wheels or maybe gears.

Your grocery bags were put into a heavy box (metal rims) with a number, and you got a ticket with that number. The box made its way down the belt to the parking lot (maybe a flight or half a flight down) where you handed your attendant your card & he located your box and put your bags into your trunk. (I begged our local heimishe store to do this when he built. But nowadays some stores will just have a worker bring your things to your car.)

I envision some similar arrangement of metal wheels. I am not sure how this person did it, but she takes her groceries out of the car, puts them in the chute or belt, and then arrive inside her kitchen. You'd need someone pretty clever to implement this but think of the shlepping you'd save!

A simpler thing I saw was a small oening between the mud room side door and kitchen to easily just bring up groceries.
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amother
Slategray


 

Post Mon, Jun 24 2019, 12:54 pm
amother [ Slateblue ] wrote:
I just finished a gut remodel of my kitchen and function was very important to me as was aesthetics.

I do recommend heading over to the Houzz.com forums as I spent a lot of time there and learned so much in terms of how to make my kitchen (and bathrooms) better designed and more functional. People are very helpful - post your layout and they will help you tweak it to make it better.

In terms of my own kitchen

I opted for quarter sawn white oak stained in a medium caramel color. It's actually the color of a chair I inherited from my mother. I couldn't get the stain I wanted and finally I looked and realized that the chair was the exact color so I gave it to him to duplicate.

Someone had asked whether gray or white were still on trend. I say the best advice is to follow your heart and what you love; Do you love it or just think it's trendy. If the latter, how will you feel five years from now when it's no longer trendy.

In terms of some stuff I implemented

I got a large single bowl sink with what is called "ledge" construction. This means with the accessories I got - a sink grid; a cutting board and a cutting board with a hole that fits a large stainless steel bowl, I can prep easily over the sink. This extends my counter space - I can keep the grid on the sink and use it to dry anything I hand wash or to dry produce or keep it on the sink bottom. I generally keep it on the sink so that I have more counter space.

I got a drain which is to the back and to the side. This means that my garbage disposal is not right in the middle so I have more room under the sink so I can fit a roll out trash container there.

I got a rollout under the sink so that anything stored at the back is accessible.

I had the interior of my sink cabinet clad in laminate for easier cleaning. I also had all my shelves clad in laminate so they were easier to wipe down. The only shelves that are wood to match the doors and interior are the ones with glass fronts which I use to display my pretty china.

I had toe kick step stools installed under all my upper cabinets so that I can reach the top shelf without dragging out a step stool. They open if I touch them with my foot.

I got as many deep drawers as possible and I love them. I have a few lower cabinets but these all have pullouts.

Invest in good Blumotion hardware - full extension glides so that you can full use of your drawers.

Don't forget really good lighting. I got rid of the hideous fluorescent and installed canned lighting plus I put under cabinet task lighting. Since I have some cabinets with glass doors which I use to display my prettiest china, I installed lights in those cabinets to spotlight the china. Really pretty if you have crystal as well.

I got frameless cabinets which maximize storage for drawers but I do have some inset cabinets in the cabinets that run into my dining area because I wanted more of a furniture look there.

In terms of storage of your mixer, the pull up stands do have limitations as people have pointed because you either have to use the mixer on the little stand or shlep it to the counter. What I did was have a little side door built into a tall cabinet that flanks my counter so that I can open the side door and slide the Cuisinart or the KA Mixer right out to the counter. I didn't want to have the appliances on my counter and I hated shlepping them from where I had them stored.

I got a Bosch side opening oven. This lets me stand right in front of the oven to load and unload stuff. With a regular oven that opens from the bottom you have to lean over and load from the side.

Because I have a relatively small kitchen, I opted for a Sharp microwave drawer under the wall oven. There was no other good place to put it. If I had a larger kitchen, I would have put the microwave in a cubby with a pull out shelf below it but under the wall oven was the only place for it. Mine has tilt up controls so there is no squatting to access it.

I installed water alarms on my refrigerator (which has an ice maker) and the dishwasher. This means if there is ever a break in the water line, the water automatically shuts off. I have had neighbors who had expensive damage from leaks from their dishwashers and/or refrigerator water lines.

The pros and cons of wall oven versus stove - wall ovens obviously are ergonomically better since you can place one at the perfect height for you. The con is that they take up more room than a stove would and they also will wind up costing more since the ovens plus the cooktop are more expensive than a comparable quality stove plus you have the expense of the cabinet for the wall oven. Also you might have to upgrade your electrical panel depending on your home's age because each appliance has to be on its own circuit.

If you are getting a stove, consider one of the stoves which has a smaller oven on top because most of the time you would only need the smaller oven.

Stuff that is great but I couldn't get for my own kitchen or didn't really need Very Happy

Advantium Speed Cooker - this is really great if you are feeding kids because it crisps and cooks at a very fast speed so you can get their chicken fingers or fish sticks or French fries on the table quickly and they taste like they came from the oven. It also roasts chicken parts and potatoes and veggies quickly as well.

Combination Steam Oven - These ovens cooks with steam when you want and are great for reheating food because it doesn't dry out. They also are supposed to be fantastic for baking bread because the best bread is cooked with some steam anyway.



Thanks, can we have a picture please, I find it hard to understand the sink idea.
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amother
Burlywood


 

Post Mon, Jul 08 2019, 3:17 pm
I know this is not really the thread about this. But I'd love all tips/ideas for kitchen cabinets as I'm having a very hard time making up my mind right now and need to decide asap..

specifically regarding color, is white still the 'way to go'? I am thinking of doing a light grey but afraid I will regret it in a couple of years when that is no longer the current 'trend'.

Is formica covered plywood worth the extra money? And if so, should I go with the shiny glossy look?

I know these are really individual tastes, but I would love input since I can't decide on my own Wink.

Thank you!!
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OOTBubby




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Jul 08 2019, 3:19 pm
Nothing will always be the current trend or always in style. Do what you like and then it won't matter.
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amother
Burlywood


 

Post Mon, Jul 08 2019, 3:43 pm
I agree in theory but honestly don't have a vision of a 'dream' kitchen.. would like it to be 'classic' if such is possible... and it's a small kitchen so prefer not having too dark cabinets, but afraid a white gloss look will look like a doctors office or bathroom...
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amother
Mustard


 

Post Mon, Jul 08 2019, 4:53 pm
I'm also designing a small kitchen now and Slateblue, I would love pictures!

I don't like white cabinets because I don't like cleaning them, but since the kitchen is small, I am thinking of doing white on top and a darker color on bottom.

I am trying to decide between a walnut color or a gray.

I'm doing formica cabinets with a gray caeserstone counter.
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amother
Peach


 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 8:02 am
For those who asked about white glossy cabinets:
I’ve seen them lately in a house full of kids, and they were really smudged and full of fingerprints...
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 8:08 am
amother [ Slategray ] wrote:
Thanks, can we have a picture please, I find it hard to understand the sink idea.


I don't understand what you need pictures of - what aspect of the sink is confusing?
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amother
Linen


 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 8:17 am
Didn’t read the whole post so I don’t know if this was suggested
Cabinets should go to the ceiling that extra storage comes in handy

I have 2 roll out Can pantries 12” wide one on either side of the fridge and freezer very convenient.

Also, I have 3 large wide pantries, the 4 bottom shelves pull out like drawers

Storage is very important the more the better
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amother
Slateblue


 

Post Tue, Jul 09 2019, 8:24 am
I wouldn't go with gray cabinets because I think they are so ubiquitous and trendy now that they will become the pickled oak or avocado green of the next decade. Of course, I also don't LIKE gray kitchens so they aren't appealing to me at all.

If you don't know your style, I would really urge you to take some time to google pictures and hang out on houzz.com and just save pictures of kitchens that you like. When you are saving pictures don't think too hard about it but just hit the save button - it's so easy to save pictures to your computer on the internet. Then when you have compiled a bunch of pictures you can start figuring out what the common threads are that are appealing to you in those pictures.

Also when you look at the pictures, you can start dissecting them in terms of functionality - Oy once you do that you will start to see how many poorly designed kitchens there are - refrigerator doors that can't open completely because they are against walls - or stoves that have these fancy frames around them (don 't know what they are called) which means there is no counter space on either side.

Also consider how your kitchen relates to the rest of your home. Some kitchens are more open to the rest o the home than others. My kitchen is open to the living areas and I also ran cabinets into the back of the dining area to expand storage so I wanted the kitchen to "relate" to the rest of my home. I don't have a stark modern home - I like Arts & Crafts; Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Craftsman, Prairie/Frank Lloyd Wright so I wanted my kitchen to relate to that - although not be a slavish period reproduction because I don't live in a historic home Very Happy

What was very eerie - I worked with a kitchen designer and I told her about my general tastes but didn't really mention specifics except that I preferred wood cabinets etc. She came back with a design board that included copper domed ceiling - copper farmhouse sink - and copper accents in terms of back splash. My father had died that year and he had been an apprentice coppersmith - I felt as though in some way he was channeled in the design. When I go into the kitchen I feel as though he is around in some way Smile - I don't mean literally of course but just as a nice reminder. I had never told her anything about copper or even thought about copper as being a design element.
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