The Architecture Thread

[archetypal_yuppie]

This topic needs a section for people who cook and/or bake and people who don't.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I cook and I will take a picture of our new kitchen this week. We bought it along with the house, and there are things I would have done differently, but overall it is quite nice.

 

[archetypal_yuppie]

Would love to see it.

I think kitchens can be very nice either way - but the minimalism aspect (or whatever you want to call it) is unrealistic or impractical for those who take cooking / baking seriously. A tool shed that has no space for tools is a ****** tool shed.

 

[sugarbutch]

It's interesting that you believe that you must have upper cabinets to have room for the required cooking utensils.

 

[archetypal_yuppie]



It's interesting that you believe that you must have upper cabinets to have room for the required cooking utensils.

1) I did not say that.

2) To use the word "utensils" deliberately misleads as to the scale and scope of cooking tools.


There is clearly a group of contributors whose kitchen design views are powered significantly by looks, and that does not mesh well with heavy use. That is the point that I am clearly and obviously making. Importantly, I think you can have great looking kitchens that suit both ends of the spectrum.

 

[Journeyman]

Would love to see it.

I think kitchens can be very nice either way - but the minimalism aspect (or whatever you want to call it) is unrealistic or impractical for those who take cooking / baking seriously. A tool shed that has no space for tools is a ****** tool shed.

Agreed.

It's interesting that you believe that you must have upper cabinets to have room for the required cooking utensils.

Well, clearly it comes down to the size of the kitchen.

As an example, quite a lot of apartments have fairly small kitchens and there's not always room for an island bench with additional storage and, as the kitchen is small, there's not that much bench space, either. As a result, wall-to-ceiling cabinetry might look good, but it's not always practical because it takes away too much bench space in smaller kitchens. It may well not look as elegant, but as a practical storage solution, having suspended cabinets works as it allows for more preparation space.

 

[itsstillmatt]



Would love to see it.

I think kitchens can be very nice either way - but the minimalism aspect (or whatever you want to call it) is unrealistic or impractical for those who take cooking / baking seriously. A tool shed that has no space for tools is a ****** tool shed.

Here is our old kitchen. We did it 15 years ago, and styles change, but I think it held up well. I'd probably change a few things if I were to do it again. Not much, though. I would venture to say that I take cooking as seriously as anybody here other than mgm, and the kitchen is big, but minimal.

 

[StephenHero]



Would love to see it.

I think kitchens can be very nice either way - but the minimalism aspect (or whatever you want to call it) is unrealistic or impractical for those who take cooking / baking seriously.

1. The vast majority of people don't cook [for ****], thus their needs are minimal. Many people (like my mom) have debilitating kitchens due primarily to how unnecessarily large and cluttered they are.

2. This would be a fair point if the kitchen hadn't transitioned to the role of primary social space for the typical newly-constructed home. If this were the 19th century, the kitchen would be relegated to utilitarian space outside the view of guests, where it could be as functionally hideous as you'd want. Now that it's a place to gather, it's burdened to be incorporated into the architecture of the house, hence the need for a clear organizational system of its visual elements that allow it to supplant the living room.

3. Even the ****** kitchens most people claim to be primarily functional designs have interior design/decorating ambition, which is almost always ******, hence the scorn. Kitchens of authentic complexity based on functional needs are really rare, and they're mostly in restaurants, which I'm clearly not criticizing.

 

[sugarbutch]

It's interesting that you believe that you must have upper cabinets to have room for the required cooking utensils.

1) I did not say that.

2) To use the word "utensils" deliberately misleads as to the scale and scope of cooking tools.


There is clearly a group of contributors whose kitchen design views are powered significantly by looks, and that does not mesh well with heavy use. That is the point that I am clearly and obviously making. Importantly, I think you can have great looking kitchens that suit both ends of the spectrum.

Which tools/utensils/whatever can be placed in an upper cabinet but cannot be placed in a lower cabinet?

 

[Journeyman]

Which tools/utensils/whatever can be placed in an upper cabinet but cannot be placed in a lower cabinet?

SB, with respect, that's not the issue.

As I mentioned above, the issue is one of overall space. Some kitchens are small, and thus don't have that much storage space if you decide not to have upper cabinets for aesthetic reasons. Having full-height cabinets looks good, but takes away bench space.

Therefore, having upper as well as lower cabinets with a break in between for bench space might not be aesthetically appealing, but it is very practical, especially in smaller kitchens as it allows for both storage space and bench space.

 

[Piobaire]

Should I be having angst over my kitchen?

 

[Journeyman]

Should I be having angst over my kitchen?

That all depends on whether you have upper cabinets or not...

 

[Piobaire]



That all depends on whether you have upper cabinets or not...

I do. In fact I think I've never been in a residential kitchen that did not have them.

 

[SkinnyGoomba]



Here is our old kitchen. We did it 15 years ago, and styles change, but I think it held up well. I'd probably change a few things if I were to do it again. Not much, though. I would venture to say that I take cooking as seriously as anybody here other than mgm, and the kitchen is big, but minimal.

I like this, it's layed out like a workshop. Tools on the wall, workspace in the center and along the sides, good lighting.

 

[lefty]

As someone who does the least amount of cooking here (tonight's meal - cereal), what the white thing to the left of the sink?

lefty