Hi, I’m Wino. And I’m late. I’m usually late. And for the purposes of this blog, this is me:
This is my kitchen. Its measurements are roughly 5 ft. x 10 ½ ft. In fact, it’s so incredibly narrow (with a 10 ft. ceiling no less; go figure) that I had to post several photographs to show what it looks like. I feel that some explanation is warranted.
Believe me, I’ve had better.
Clearly an after-thought in the process of carving up the three story house into rental units, it was beige (just like every other room*) and utterly unusable. I mean, yeah, you could make a grilled cheese sandwich or spaghetti, I guess. But I tend to like elaborate dishes – not fussy, so much, but with lots of ingredients, lots of assembly, and chopping, etc. On my best days I’m a messy, distracted cook. It’s essential that I be able to lay everything out. There was no real counter space and the largest cabinets are positioned so high they’re impractical for storing pots and pans, let alone staples. The previous tenant was a medicine resident, read: rarely home and never cooked. My roommate subsists on a steady diet of take-out and corn beef hash* * so he didn’t give a fuck.
Cheap rent and great location be damned. I needed a kitchen where I could prepare food. I refused to believe that being kind of broke made these goals mutually exclusive.
The stove, sink, refrigerator and cabinets are all situated on one wall with less than a foot of counter space separating them at intervals. The other wall was a high, wide expanse of nothing on to which some idiot had super-glued a large cork board. It took me the better part of a Saturday to scrape that sucker off the wall and I almost asphyxiated from the Goo-Be-Gone fumes. I spackled, sanded, taped and painted. And painted. When the walls were finished and I’d gotten the doors just right I sat down with a gin and tonic –or two- and thought long and hard about work space and storage.
Now, I don’t want to advertise for a certain large home furnishings store which, despite its many draw-backs, manages to consistently provide creative space solutions for those on a budget. I only resorted to the “box” after striking out at several smaller kitchen supply stores. Kitchen supplies are expensive. I don’t have that much cookware but I needed to maximize space with a rack that would lie flush against the wall and hang pots and pans with hooks. I needed a shelf that would be sturdy but not protrude too far into the negative space. Those items were easily found. But how to create counter space? I’d resigned myself to mounting a large section of counter top with brackets. The options available in my price range were discouraging. They either took up too much of the available space or weren’t deep enough to provide a good work surface. Then I found these:
Hell to the yeah! They weren’t in the kitchen section and were listed as fold-up tables that could be used to create a “breakfast nook.” I call them “Murphy Counters.” Easy to assemble and mount***, these babies made all the difference in the world. They created separate work areas, allowed me to set out, prepare, and assemble ingredients easily. I could manage an entire meal without working on a single dish at a time.
My kitchen works. It’s small and bright and, though imperfect, functional. It is a very tight space to work in and I like to imagine that I'm working in a galley. When entertaining, I appreciate the offer of help from friends but there is only room for me. And, secretly, I kind of like it that way. The blue and green maybe garish to some (don't judge me) but feel right and restful to me.
One day I’ll have a big beautiful kitchen with loads of shiny counter space and an island topped with a butcher’s block. There will be lots of drawers that glide smoothly and many cabinets custom installed at me-accessible-height. My pot rack will hang from the center of the ceiling. I’ll have a pantry and many gleaming utensils and a full set of Le Creuset cookware. And a dishwasher. I miss having a dishwasher so much. I will probably still paint it like Miami, though. I like what I like.
But for now this is my kitchen. And I love to cook. So, for this blog, this is me.
* My entire apartment is painted in deep, vibrant colors with contrasting trim and every room is a different color. All ten paneled door are painted to emphasize pattern. The ceilings are all 10 ft. high and each color could only be applied after a coat of tinted primer was used to keep the color true. It took three months to complete. I. Hate. Beige.
Clearly an after-thought in the process of carving up the three story house into rental units, it was beige (just like every other room*) and utterly unusable. I mean, yeah, you could make a grilled cheese sandwich or spaghetti, I guess. But I tend to like elaborate dishes – not fussy, so much, but with lots of ingredients, lots of assembly, and chopping, etc. On my best days I’m a messy, distracted cook. It’s essential that I be able to lay everything out. There was no real counter space and the largest cabinets are positioned so high they’re impractical for storing pots and pans, let alone staples. The previous tenant was a medicine resident, read: rarely home and never cooked. My roommate subsists on a steady diet of take-out and corn beef hash* * so he didn’t give a fuck.
Cheap rent and great location be damned. I needed a kitchen where I could prepare food. I refused to believe that being kind of broke made these goals mutually exclusive.
The stove, sink, refrigerator and cabinets are all situated on one wall with less than a foot of counter space separating them at intervals. The other wall was a high, wide expanse of nothing on to which some idiot had super-glued a large cork board. It took me the better part of a Saturday to scrape that sucker off the wall and I almost asphyxiated from the Goo-Be-Gone fumes. I spackled, sanded, taped and painted. And painted. When the walls were finished and I’d gotten the doors just right I sat down with a gin and tonic –or two- and thought long and hard about work space and storage.
Now, I don’t want to advertise for a certain large home furnishings store which, despite its many draw-backs, manages to consistently provide creative space solutions for those on a budget. I only resorted to the “box” after striking out at several smaller kitchen supply stores. Kitchen supplies are expensive. I don’t have that much cookware but I needed to maximize space with a rack that would lie flush against the wall and hang pots and pans with hooks. I needed a shelf that would be sturdy but not protrude too far into the negative space. Those items were easily found. But how to create counter space? I’d resigned myself to mounting a large section of counter top with brackets. The options available in my price range were discouraging. They either took up too much of the available space or weren’t deep enough to provide a good work surface. Then I found these:
Hell to the yeah! They weren’t in the kitchen section and were listed as fold-up tables that could be used to create a “breakfast nook.” I call them “Murphy Counters.” Easy to assemble and mount***, these babies made all the difference in the world. They created separate work areas, allowed me to set out, prepare, and assemble ingredients easily. I could manage an entire meal without working on a single dish at a time.
My kitchen works. It’s small and bright and, though imperfect, functional. It is a very tight space to work in and I like to imagine that I'm working in a galley. When entertaining, I appreciate the offer of help from friends but there is only room for me. And, secretly, I kind of like it that way. The blue and green maybe garish to some (don't judge me) but feel right and restful to me.
One day I’ll have a big beautiful kitchen with loads of shiny counter space and an island topped with a butcher’s block. There will be lots of drawers that glide smoothly and many cabinets custom installed at me-accessible-height. My pot rack will hang from the center of the ceiling. I’ll have a pantry and many gleaming utensils and a full set of Le Creuset cookware. And a dishwasher. I miss having a dishwasher so much. I will probably still paint it like Miami, though. I like what I like.
But for now this is my kitchen. And I love to cook. So, for this blog, this is me.
* My entire apartment is painted in deep, vibrant colors with contrasting trim and every room is a different color. All ten paneled door are painted to emphasize pattern. The ceilings are all 10 ft. high and each color could only be applied after a coat of tinted primer was used to keep the color true. It took three months to complete. I. Hate. Beige.
**Seriously, the food he eats is disgusting. And I had to give him exclusive use of a set of dollar stores skillets and sauce pans because he insists on scraping my pans with metal utensils. I know. I know. Did I mention how cheap the rent is?
***"Easy" in this case is a relative term. I mean, if it isn't obvious from the paint job, my landlord doesn't give a shit what I do to my place. Your mileage may vary. That said, they go up with screws -you can use a drill or not- and are pretty easy to take down. Be wary of wall studs and make sure the supporting wall is strong enough to hold them.
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