Kitchen With (Lots of) Stuff

I swear that you can cook in 4′ by 9′ of kitchen. Remember my plan? Here it is.

I do believe NO ONE has ever fit more kitchen stuff into a space this small ever before. Well, perhaps they have, but holy moly, there’s stuff in every square inch of this kitchen. You can’t even see the stuff under the sink. But everything is easily within reach while cooking. I’ve got spices and pans and spoons and bowls and everything. It’s truly excellent. I tried to make it look decent too.

I was cooking black bean tacos here. The main issue with this kitchen is not the space, actually, it’s that TERRIBLE STOVE. The top of it tends to slide around. You know, completely OFF. Which is not optimal when cooking. And three out of four of the burners won’t lie flat enough to cook on, even with water in the pan weighting it down. We’re discussing this with the landlord. A repairman came and took a look and said it looks like I need a new one. I agree.

Anyway, if you think I can’t cook a five-course dinner in here, you’re wrong. I would. Just for the challenge. To see if I could.

Here’s some more pictures. I was having fun taking them. By the way, if you’re reading this via email, you can’t see the slideshow via email, you’ll have to visit my website to see them.

Craft-in-a-Closet

So in my November Schedule I was supposed to talk about my efforts to organize my house on Thursdays. Last week I was rudely interrupted by a potential burgler, but I’m going to make good on my anal-retentive instincts and return to the original schedule.  So another MAJOR hurdle for this place was Where In the World to Put the Craft Supplies. My junk took up 75% of our last spare bedroom, but here, I have no craft room. Ergo: closet.

I was inspired by this Lovely Designs craft closet, this closet office with curtains, another whole ream of small space ideas, some other stuff I probably forgot, and of course some wall-mounted craft stations. (If you didn’t click on those links, you should, because that’s some pretty crazy creative stuff there.)

This, I promise you, will eventually Look Much More Decorative, but right now? I’m really super pleased with the basic construction. It has lighting! It has shelves! I can close the door so the cat doesn’t attack my stuff!  The shelves are drilled into concrete, so I’m pretty sure this will be one of the most stable sewing desks I’ve ever had. It’s also the best lit. My dad installed an outlet for me in the closet when he helped us move.

There’s more craft junk than this, of course. The rest of it I put on shelves with a table underneath. So this is the (somewhat) before. This is one end of my living room.  Jeff had just hammered holes into those concrete walls and we put up the shelves. Those boxes are my craft/art supplies. The door on the left is the closet I just showed you.

So here’s the shelves after un-packing. There’s still tool junk, a dog bed, it’s kinda messier than I like, and there are some cleaning supplies there that I don’t know what to do with (hey, it’s an apartment-in-progress), but this is mostly it. There will be a screen between this stuff and the rest of the living room eventually.

So did anybody spot my owl mascot?

The Case of the Kitchenette

I knew when we showed up the kitchen would be difficult. It was obvious, because it was only four feet wide and about 9 feet long. 36 square feet isn’t a lot of space to work with. There is a sink and a narrow four-burner stove, and two cabinets. There is no counter space at all. And three of the walls are poured concrete, making it near impossible to drill into them.*

What is a cooking lady to do with a kitchen like this? Yes, this is the whole thing. This doesn’t show about 2″ to the left.

So I’ve done a number of things to alter and fix this space (the stuff in red).  I planned them all out based on storage needs and traffic patterns (in blue). Explanation of everything below.

1. 4′ rail with S-hooks:  stores 10 pots and pans
2. Wall-mounted shelf for counter space runs the width of the wall and is 8″ deep.  For the spoon rest and ingredients used during cooking.
3. Wall-mounted magnetic knife rack from Ikea.
4. 2 shelves above stove for storage of items used during cooking – made them myself from lumber.
5. Corner shelves above the 8 gallon slimline trashcan.
6. Spice rack – adhesive 30 mil magnet, 3′ x 2′ plus metal canisters – materials purchased wholesale.
7. Pantry – made of a narrow/tall Billy (Ikea) bookshelf with doors – in the next room with the refrigerator.
8. Basket and
9. Folding dish rack hanging on a rail above sink (also Ikea)
10. Shallow, tiny shelf (6″) next to sink counter, extra storage.
11. Shelf in left side of under-sink cabinet for 2 levels of storage – toaster and cleaning supplies, plus door-mounted saran wrap and foil holders and a towel rack.
12. 2 drawers in right side of under-sink cabinet for 2 levels of storage – eating utensils and misc. cooking utensils.
13. Bookshelf storage – there are two bookshelves on one end of the dining room (where the refrigerator and the pantry live) that hold plates, baking implements, pitchers, etc.

So that’s how to deal with a tiny kitchen. I’ll show it to you when it’s all fixed up again, it’s nearly done now, just waiting on the magnet to come in. And still struggling somewhat with that concrete wall situation.

*We discovered to our immense chagrin today that one entire end of our little place has walls of poured concrete. Not concrete blocks, but thick poured concrete. Imagine!  You can’t drill in that without something called a hammer-drill, which we don’t have. I’d been wondering why there were no nail holes etc, and that’s why. The concrete part of the house is an addition to the original garage. I have NO IDEA why someone would want to make a concrete room. Afraid of a war breaking out? In desperate need of 100% sound insulation? Really hates termites?

I don’t know why I’m surprised. The concrete walls are only one of several building anomalies we’ve discovered.