Thursday Ramble: The Kitchen - One Year Later

It has been about a year since the kitchen remodel was finished.  And I realized I have not updated on this project, I don't know as I have posted more than a photo or two.  

I have to say, not a week goes past when I don't think and say out loud, how much I love the kitchen.  We are limited on space, we couldn't move a wall, we needed to work within the footprint. Moving plumbing is incredibly expensive in a high rise building.   

The original design had the refrigerator were there are now cabinets, and the wall that the refrigerator and cabinets are on, was left blank for an "eat in kitchen." We never used it that way and yearned for a bit more counter space.  So there was a lot of redesign work to do.  We moved the refrigerator, added cabinet, had a matching liner installed in the "pantry" with adjustable shelves.  In the original design the corner was dead space, the lower cabinet now has a "lazy-susan" the upper cabinet doors that open to reveal the entire corner.  The extra wide drawers on the far right, and under the cooktop are amazing.  In the design we were down to moving 2-3 inches from place to place, widening the counter between the cooktop and the oven cabinet by three inches made a huge difference.  The tall narrow cabinet below and to the right of the sink contains cookie sheets and cutting boards.  

The functionality of the kitchen more than doubled.  

We went with a single sink to pick up 4 or 5 inches of counter space.  I went as wide and as deep of a sink as I could, and we love it.  It is much more useful than the standard double stainless sink.  It also cost about three times what the contractor allowed for a sink.  Under it is a 3/4 horsepower garbage disposal, the top of the line from a major manufacturer.  It does the job very well.  

We had a glass cooktop for a couple of years before the remodel, and both hated it.  Gas is not an option in the high rise.  We bought a single countertop induction unit, to see what we thought, I was convinced in about five minutes.  We wanted larger surface units, and struggled to find what we wanted.  We ended up with a Jenn Air, with four large zones, that are mergeable to two jumbo zones. It is fast. It is easy to clean. We continue to be very happy with it. 

I had long dreamed of having two ovens.  We are also use to having a microwave.  We considered a dozen options.  I had fallen in love with the massive stainless steel vent hoods.  Making an over the range microwave a compromise.  One of appliance salesmen said, "you will cringe at the price, but I have the answer."  He was right, the lower oven is a convection oven, the upper oven is a convection oven, and a microwave both in one.  It took a couple of times reading the directions to figure out how it works. It is amazing.  I can bake two things at different temperatures at the same time.  Why wall ovens, I don't bend over very well, lifting things in and out of an oven at knee height is a safety concern for me.  The wall ovens are much more accessible. (I had a spinal fusion back in 2015.) 

The refrigerator is the loudest kitchen appliance.  Not that the refrigerator is noisy, the dishwasher is that quiet.  A standard cycle including drying is 183 minutes, so it is not fast, but it does a great job, and it is so quiet.  

We searched and searched for backsplash tile, really the only permanent color in the kitchen.  What we found is made from recycled glass, and really hits the high note for color.  

One feature that is not shown, to the right of the refrigerator, is a shallow cabinet, floor to ceiling, it is about 8 inches deep with doors on the front.  If holds an amazing about of stuff, spices, baking supplies, it was shockingly expensive, but worth every penny.  

In short we are very happy with the kitchen. 

Are there any regrets?  The installation was hurried and detail is not as fine as it should have been.  The tile next to the hood, is not well lit.  But I am fussy.