Designer’s Challenge

It’s been two weeks since I’ve posted anything, and for good reason! Who knew design planning could be so time intensive? I have a wonderful designer, and she is doing all the “heavy lifting,” so to speak, but my homework has become my second full time job. Seriously.  Fortunately, most of my “work” has taken place in the comfort of my living room, pouring over design magazines and perusing various web sites (houzz.com is a venerable gold mine of ideas!).

I created a file several years ago with pictures of things I liked – cabinets, lights, tiles, flooring, etc.  That part was easy. The challenge now is taking those things and melding them into a cohesive and coordinated design, while keeping mindful of my strict budget.  Definitely not as easy as it sounds.

In my first post, I mentioned that I was undertaking this renovation to make my kitchen more functional.  Some of the things I hope to correct are:

1.  Get the refrigerator out of the breezeway – oh, this has been a point of consternation since I moved in!



Refrigerator - half way down the breezeway to the service porch

2.    Add (or free up) counter space. I have recently discovered the joy of cooking (healthfully), but I’d enjoy it a lot more if I had adequate space to prepare my food.



My strange little triangular counter top

3.    Add a dishwasher.  The lack of counter space also means no place to stack dirty dishes. On the upside, this has forced me to hand wash my dishes as I go along. The down side is that my tiny little dish rack in the sink often cannot hold all the pots, pans, and dishes I’ve used to create my culinary delights. Which means my 1947 Roper (love it!) has been used as a “drying station.” Amazing how an energy inefficient appliance can dry dishes set on its surface in no time flat.

Precious counter space being used for dishes needing washing

4.    Lighting – please!  I have a single light over the sink, and one over the range, and these are what I use every day. I call it mood lighting. J There’s an overhead light in the ceiling fan up above, but I don’t use it that often because it illuminates the space in an unappealing way.

5.   Recycling center – anyone who has been to my house has surely seen the trash bag hanging from the baker’s rack, which holds all the recyclable stuff I accumulate over the week. When the bag is full, I take it out to the bin in my carport. Really unattractive, so I hope to have a closed space to store the recyclables and keep my kitchen from looking like a trash heap.

Trash bag for recyclables has got to go!

I used to watch a show on HGTV religiously – called “Designers’ Challenge” – where three designers would propose to the homeowners their vision for a new/updated space in the house.  After the three presentations, the couple would mull over the three designs and ruminate (out loud, of course) how difficult the decision will be because each design has something great. Cut to commercial. I would laugh each time, thinking, “Puh-leeze! It can’t be THAT difficult.”  Well, I’m here to say it IS that difficult. My designer proposed various options for me, all of which have great features, but I’ve selected one only.  (To be revealed later.)  I’m excited and can’t wait to see everything come together.



c1947 Roper Range

Tale of a Vintage Stove

On the eve of one of my biggest kitchen remodel-related purchases, I thought it only appropriate to share the story of my vintage, circa 1947, Roper range which, sadly, I will need to part with soon. I love, love, love my vintage stove, but at 40 inches wide it just won’t work in the new space.  Prior to moving to this home I had heard of the more popular vintage appliance brands – Wedgewood, Chambers, and O’Keefe & Merritt, to name a few.  But, I’d never heard of Roper before.  I did some research and learned that Ropers were one of the most popular ovens around in the early- to mid-1900s. The Ropers of the 1940s and 1950s were characterized by side-by-side doors (no windows) with one side being the oven and the other side being storage for pots and pans. The broiler was at the bottom, with the opposite side bottom being convenient storage for cookie sheets and muffin pans. My particular model has four burners in a staggered arrangement, and I love that there is plenty of room to set additional stuff on top, like the bowl of chopped veggies I need to toss into the pan after the onions and garlic have sautéed in oil for the appropriate period of time. 

History lesson of the day: Recently, in anticipation of the kitchen remodel, I had the range appraised and the company that performed the appraisal provided some history of the Roper Company within its report:

“Born during a difficult time in our nation’s history, George D. Roper lost his left arm in a train accident when he was just a child.  Though his future may have looked grim, Roper wasn’t about to let the incident keep him from being successful.  In 1857, Roper bought half interest in the Van Wie Gas Company of Springfield, IL and by 1894 became sole owner.  Less than two weeks later, though, the company burned to the ground.  Still determined, Roper rebuilt and renamed the company the Eclipse Gas Stove Company.  His business grew and eventually incorporated a fluid pumps division in the early 1900s.  In 1919, Roper restructured the business as the George D. Roper Corporation.  With gas stove production growing, Roper expanded into many other home related goods.  Roper’s kitchen appliance division held the public spotlight for the next several decades while the pump division grew steadily in the shadows.  In 1957 the Florence Stove Company acquired Roper and restructured under George D. Roper Corp.  The pump division was moved to Commerce, GA at that time.  Roper’s growth continued in numerous markets with the majority of their stoves being sold to Sears.  In 1981 during a leveraged buyout, the pump division of Roper became a private company known as Roper Industries and it continues to operate today.  In 1988 after a huge price war, GE acquired the manufacturing facilities of Roper and Whirlpool acquired the rights to the Roper name.  The brand continues as a subsidiary of Whirlpool to this day.”


I learned something else in the appraisal report. Namely, that my range has a pair of integrated porcelain salt and pepper shakers, something I had heretofore not had a clue about. Apparently, it was quite normal for older stoves to have this feature of convenience for the home chef. How cool is that?

Integrated salt and pepper shakers (in the non-working timer)

I had the oven’s ignition replaced a few years ago and was told by the technician that I should never get rid of it.  After all, he said, they don’t make them like they used to and 60 years from now none of the stoves being sold today will still be in use.  I have no doubt.  I also don’t follow instructions very well. So, off I go tomorrow to Pacific Sales where I will purchase energy efficient appliances, including a 30-inch wide slide in gas range.  The “mother earth” in me says this is the right thing to do in the long run. Sigh. Good-bye Roper range. It was great while the relationship lasted.

P.S. If you or anyone you know is in the market for an antique Roper range, give me a call. I’ve got a deal to make with you. J

Honoring the Past

Ask anyone who thoughtfully plans a Craftsman home renovation and they will tell you the obligation they feel to take care of it and honor the artisan work that went into creating such a masterpiece in the first place. Unless, of course, you're the fools who recently tore down the bungalow in Monrovia built by my step-grandfather to erect a McMansion. Shame on you! But I digress....

There is a wealth of information out there on how to renovate Craftsman homes in a way that literally takes you back to the past. Die hard purists will use only those products that would've been used in the period the house was built and purchase vintage appliances that have been refurbished. In 1922 a typical kitchen had few built-in cabinets, with freestanding furniture pieces serving as storage and food preparation spaces. Refrigerators didn't exist back then. Rather, "ice boxes" were the norm -cupboards with a hole in the floor beneath so that the ice delivered by the (handsome and muscular) delivery man could melt to the ground below. The typical oven was about the size of today's bread box. Cute, four-legged things, but completely impractical today. Dishwashers? That would be the lady of the house. 

Am I a purist? No way. This busy single woman definitely has her limits in honoring the past. I desperately want an energy efficient kitchen...not the 1922 kitchen's strong suit. I also want something functional and practical (actually, an ideal that the craftsmen of the early 20th century could relate to). Most of all, I want people to see my space and NOT say, "What a beautiful updated kitchen you have."  It's hard to put into words, but I want an updated kitchen that doesn't scream, "I'm new and improved!"

With this in mind, I have spent the past few years gathering design ideas that pay homage to the bungalow style while using updated materials and finishes. Those of you who know me know that I tend to make impulsive decisions, so having had this long to mull over the various options has been good for me. It's forced me to really think through how everything relates to each other - not only within the confines of the kitchen footprint, but in the adjacent rooms of the house as well. 

So, with all that being said...I've just begun the formal design phase of the project and am excited to see how my needs and desires translate to elevation drawings.  To be continued...

Greetings, and welcome to my blog! I promised my friends I would start this online diary to share random musings during my upcoming kitchen remodel and I have finally figured out how to make it happen. Just in the nick of time, as demolition begins next month!  Anyway, I hope this blog will prove interesting to everyone.  (It may also give you insight into my slightly twisted mind!) 

I am excited to begin the process...ALL of it!  From construction - including demolition/electrical/plumbing/drywall, etc. - to design and decoration. (That's the REALLY fun part!) Much has been done already.  In fact, I have spent the past three years collecting pictures from magazines and bookmarking web sites with designs and finishes that interest me. I've researched bungalow kitchens, "small space" kitchens, cottage kitchens, vintage kitchens - you name it, I've looked at it all. I've collected paint chip samples, flooring samples, and countertop samples. Oh, and I've watched my fair share of HGTV shows - "Spice Up My Kitchen," "Dear Genevieve," "Divine Design," "Design on a Dime," "Income Property" (okay, I watch that one only because of Scott McGillivray!). Let's just say that if I make an impulse decision at any time during the next three months, I have no excuse.

For those of you who don't know, I live in a Craftsman bungalow in the Upper San Dimas Avenue Historic District, a proposed district within the city that is eligible for National Register status because of its overall character. An interesting bit of trivia: the house was built in 1922 by the first volunteer firefighter of the city for his single daughter. I think Mr. McIntyre must've had ulterior motives, as his home is right next door. Obviously, he wanted to keep an eye out on his little girl! Since the house was built, with only a short period of time in the 1960s as an exception, the home has been lived in only by single women. Maybe that is why I feel a strong connection to it. My home is truly my sanctuary.

Despite its age, my home has "good bones," constructed with redwood (no termites!) and built in such a way that it is remarkably energy efficient for not being energy efficient. It has withstood many a large earthquake in its time, with only a few cracks in the plaster to show for it. Not bad for having been built before there was a building code to adhere to!

Craftsman homes are generally known for their less-than-spacious closets. However, the ones in this beauty are step-ins, and actually quite "spacious," relatively speaking. (I bet Mr. McIntyre's daughter was a clothes horse like me.) The kitchen is rather spacious, too, footprint-wise. Unfortunately, it lacks the function needed by even the most casual of cooks today. Hence, my decision to make it my new favorite room in the house.  Soon I will post some "before" pictures of the kitchen, which looks to have had its last design update about 40 years ago. Stay tuned!