Today, I spent the day scrubbing out all the cabinets for the kitchen and getting a basic idea of how the kitchen will be set up. It is getting kind of cool at this point.
Two points that have come up for discussion. I want the tops of the cupboard enclosed. I don't want that gap between the ceiling and the top of the cupboard. My cupboards have always been open at the top. I hate it. And today, I spent the day cleaning someone else's grime off the top of my new (to me) cupboards.
I've also always had those small cupboards above the refrigerator and stove, and I consider them the most useless things. I'm short, and have to haul a chair over to access them. The one over the stove collects grime. (See previous paragraph). So. I don't want that.
It is an entirely new concept to Tim and he's having trouble visualizing.
We can just put a hood over the stove and let it go. We've got a pantry. We don't need inconvenient storage in the kitchen. In my opinion, we've got more kitchen cabinets than we actually need.
So. What say you?
I have only seen two kittens for the past week, so I am wondering if we've had a spot of animal kingdom drama while we were not there. I'd hate to think so, and they are shy cats, so who knows at this point. Tiger and Possum come when they are called, and they will eat while I sit there, but if I move a muscle, they freeze with huge eyes and then simultaneously bolt. I've noticed that they are not running far at this point. Just far enough so that they can keep an close eye on me in from a safe place.
I've been reading a Blubird Flour Cookbook from 1920. It is interesting to me that they simply assume that every kitchen has hired help. Emily Post's book on Etiquette has a whole section devoted to determining the minimum staffing to efficiently run your home.
It's such a different mindset.
We'll be up and at 'em early tomorrow. They dropped off a very large bulldozer at our house to begin work on the road. I know Tim will want to be there to keep an eye on that.
Here's a thought, bead board and crown molding to close up that area between the top cupboards and the ceiling. But... bead board might not look right depending on the cabinet wood since I don't know what they look like. You could do plain wood up there and paint it the same color as your walls.
ReplyDeleteYou know that wood tongue and groove in the livingroom? That's what I'd like to put at the top of the cupboards. I might change my mind on it, but it would be quite harmonious with the living room. Since they are open concept, it seems sensible.
DeleteI just went back and looked at the tongue and groove pictures, would be perfect in your kitchen above the cupboards. I must have missed those pics when you went private on the blog.
DeleteI agree, no sense having cabinets you can't get to easily, especially as you age. I like the beadboard suggestion for above them too. We actually used headboard for the ceiling in our log room and I love it. No mudding, taping, sanding, etc. I also love your wood walls! I think they look great. I am so envious of that red washer and dryer!
ReplyDeleteThey just get so gunked up and they are impractical.
DeleteI agree. Life is too short (I didn't mean to make a pun) to be standing on things to reach cupboards. Whatever space you have, you will fill anyway. It shouldn't be too hard to put in some kind of panelling or whatever to fill in the voids.
ReplyDeleteTim will do well to keep a close eye on what is being done in the road construction.
I'm sure I can find a ton of other stuff that I don't want to do to be doing instead of cleaning cupboard tops.
DeleteNO GAP ABOVE THE KITCHEN CABINETS!!! I obviously feel very strongly about this😅I absolutely hate cleaning the gooey grime that collects there… my dad had a brilliant idea though: cover the surface with cling wrap! I’ve done that, and it works so well! But when we had our house renovated, I made sure there was NO GAP!😅I’m
ReplyDeletetall, so I don’t mind the small cabinets above the fridge and microwave - though as you said, the doors to the one above the microwave get disgustingly covered in grease..😫- Can’t wait to see your cabinets!! Xo, Rigmor
Ha! You slay me. I just really don't want to set myself up with extra chores. If I can knock one off the list (especially one that I haaaaaaateeee), I'm inclined to do it.
DeleteI completely agree on cabinets. My first house had that gap so I made sure the second did not.
ReplyDeleteIt is funny that Tim is really resistant to 'doing things differently'. Open at the top of the cupboards is what he knows, and so he doesn't see any reason to do it different. Except he's married to me.
DeleteAnother vote for no gap above the kitchen cabinets. That space is a grease and dust trap. If you store/display anything up there, it has to be scrubbed before you can use it. Peggy
ReplyDeleteThat has been my experience.
DeleteAgree that unnecessary gunk-catching surfaces are a nuisance, but wondering if the space above kitchen cabinets serves some purpose since that is so common? One argument in favor of inconvenient cabinetry if you have the space: Your new house is much smaller than your old, and you might find that there are things you want to keep that you don’t need to access frequently. On the flip side, of course, fewer places to store gathered “moss” might better encourage less gathering for simpler living? And agreed with others that long-retired folks don’t need the temptation to climb ladders!
ReplyDeleteOur drywall extends to the front of our kitchen cabinets and is painted to match the walls/ceiling. It works.
I have a walk in pantry. I don't really need the cupboards that I've got, to be honest. The extra appliances will be stored on moveable wire shelves in the pantry. There will be a hoosier cabinet and another wire shelving unit for the bulk food.
DeleteI am surprised that the kittens are remaining so skittery.
ReplyDeleteI'm not. They're wild animals. They've never been handled. They've been raised by a feral mom. I'm not up there 24-7 with time to sit and interact with them. I think if I trapped them and brought them inside, they'd tame faster.
DeleteProbably should close up that space above the cabinets. Using a chair to get up there isn't so cool, assuming you're over 50. A step ladder is much better. Emily Post was right! Your staffing is Mr. Tim! Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteHuh. Mr. Tim thinks his staffing is me! The thing that I don't like about the space is just the way it collects gunk. I line the top of mine here with newspaper and just throw the newspaper away and reline them, but all the decorative geegaws have to be washed and put back. I just think it is an unnecessary job.
ReplyDeleteMy range hood has doors on it that matches the cabinet doors. When it is closed it looks like a line of cabinets across one section. I cook so little now for just me I told my daughter I need to dust my stove top.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind dusting, but the whole degreasing thing annoys me to no end. I'll make that job as easy as possible.
DeleteI've had so many kitchens but mainly with a gap - and the grease grime is horrible . Here the cupboards are right up to the ceiling but I can't reach the top shelf without a step stool.
ReplyDeleteGood to have a choice I guess but no grime is best
How old is your house, Sue? No grime is the best in my book, especially if people are expecting me to climb on a chair and take care of it.
DeleteI think the suggestion mentioned above could work well perhaps, with the drywall (plasterboard?) extended out to the front of the cabinets so that they appear to be built in.
ReplyDeleteThat's how we plan to do it...either that or just enclose with the same tongue and groove that we used in the livingroom.
DeleteNo kitchen staff here, either, and I haven't cleaned the tops of the cupboards for yonks. I hate that job.
ReplyDeleteYou know, I didn't connect the two things, but that's exactly how I will phrase it to Tim! He can either enclose that or get me kitchen staff! Perfect. You're the best!
DeleteI can reach up there easily enough, but I've never understood why there's a cabinet over the cooker - it just collects grime and gunk. I imagine that ready-made cabinets are designed to stop short of the ceiling because many rooms are fitted with what we call "coving" covering the join between wall and ceiling.
ReplyDeleteWelp, Imma do it differently, and Jabblog has given me just the words to win that debate.
DeleteI would love to get back to full height cupboards...looking at older houses that was the tradition..and shallower as well, so that things at the back don't get hidden.
ReplyDeleteWe've got that in the house we're renovating. They are a little TOOOOO shallow though. (I know. Persnickety as all get out, aren't I?)
DeleteAll of your other decisions have worked out great so do what you want. Tim should know by now that your choices are best! ;)
ReplyDeleteLOL. That's hilarious. Because he will debate them all. Sometimes he wins. I want to make that clear.
DeleteWhen I got new cabinets, I got ones that go all the way to the ceiling as well, no need to clean the tops of the cabinets now. I'm tall and use the cabinet over my stove but not the one over the fridge, but the one over the fridge is just there for asethetics, finishes off the kitchen. You can have cabinets that you don't use, or not have cabinets that you don't want. You do you.
ReplyDeleteIt's just that the house is small, and the more space we can save in the kitchen can be added to the living space.
DeleteWhen I redid our kitchen, all the cabinets were extra tall and ran all the way to the ceiling. I'm the only one who can reach the top shelf all the way around but we mostly store rarely used things up there and keep a small folding ladder for others if I'm not around.
ReplyDeleteI did put cabinets above the refrigerator but they are the same depth as the refrigerator and give it a built in look. It looks better than the ones that are the same depth as all of the other cabinets. We store my mom's Fiestaware collection in that cabinet so I only have to retrieve it once a year at most.
I did leave off the over the stove cabinet and installed a nice stainless exhaust hood plumbed directly to an outside vent. It is probably one of the best things I like about our kitchen. The exhaust hood is powerful and keeps all the cooking fumes and excess heat and humidity outside where it belongs. I can can things in the summer and not heat up the kitchen. But my wife says she can smell whatever we are cooking way up the street. I am completely shocked at how quickly grease residue builds up on our hood and we rarely fry things. I have to degrease it three or four times a year. I can't imagine how the bottom side of cabinets would look in the same position.
I want a stainless stove hood. A stove makes quite a mess and I want to be able to clean it easily and regularly.
DeleteI have no comment about your cabinets, but I do wonder why you keep showing up as "anonymous" in your replies to folks! Good grief ... it's your blog!
ReplyDeleteBecause blogger used to remember me. It doesn't any more. When I log off, it signs me off automatically. That's a change and I never remember it until I've done a slew of anonymous comments.
DeleteMy cabinets stop partway up to the ceiling - I have two ways of dealing with storage up there. 1) The gravy boat and metal cake taker have a sheet of plastic wrap over them, easy to remove and replace. The two big platters are turned upside down. 2) I have three items in boxes - a glass cake stand, a Bosch wheat grinder, and a stash of cookie cutters. Each one of the boxes has a fabric cover that matches the item in it. Fabric printed with wedding cakes and flowers, white wheat heads printed on yellow fabric, and red and green dressed gingerbread cookies. Adds a little decoration too!
ReplyDeleteHow often do you have to clean that space though.
DeleteI got the "all the way to the ceiling" cabinets when we remodeled. I am short and use the top shelf for all the kitchen items I never use but can't part with, lol. I did find a specialty cabinet above the refrigerator that has dividers for cookie sheets, cupcake pans, pizza pans. Since I rarely use these either, I just wait for a tall person to grab them for me.
ReplyDeleteI'd be waiting a long time. I don't get a lot of visitors.
DeleteWe have open cabinet-tops, as well. To be honest I never clean up there. I keep the cabinet fronts clean, but the top? I consider that no-man's land.
ReplyDelete