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.