Kitchen, August 2013

Current Progress
In August, I set out to tackle some kitchen basics: our second dining chair, a dining table, shelves, a tiled toe kick, drawers, and finding storage.  Our kitchen is not done yet, but we certainly have moved forward!

Our kitchen photo-capsule:

Here's where we are now, August 2013:

We love our Cole & Mason salt and pepper mills, too!

Here's where we were when we moved in, April 2013:

And here's where we started, April 2012 to where we are now, August 2013:

"nourish" Crate

I had 1x3 scraps leftover from building our dining table frame and unused storage space above our petite 10 square foot refrigerator.  I built a storage crate based on Ana White's Chalkboard Produce Crate and Joanne's mini crate from her 1-Board Cedar Desk Accessory Set.

Now I have a place to store bulk foods without taking up my already spoken for shelf and drawer space.  :)

I used old drawer pulls I saved from our previous kitchen cabinets and then, screwed both ends in crooked.  I'm just talented like that, I suppose.  Hah!

I free-handed the word "nourish" with the same paint used on our dining chairs and console table and then I distressed it and stained over it to soften it.

Squared2 Dining Table, Patterned Glass Support

On Wednesday, I prepared myself for an afternoon of dining table top building.  I measured my first two boards twice, clamped them on the miter saw, and turned to the left to see my husband, who said, "We just lost power."  It seems a power pole was on fire in front of our city mall, and our power consoles were registering 80 instead of the usual 120.  Some fans turned extra slowly, while other things would not turn on at all, like my saw.
Now, 6 days later than planned, we finally traded our deteriorating particle board computer desk for our own dining table!  I still have to fill and paint the inside frame and the underside of the pattern, but otherwise, it's ready to use.  =D

I added glazier points in the corners due to the large areas without 2x2 support.

Katja, of Shift Ctrl Art, set a word for August, which happened to be my Kitchen Basics month.  That word is:

This dining table was inspired by several sources.  The legs were inspired by the spur of the moment furniture I've built for our house: our Reclaimed Wood Coffee Table and our Modern Scrap Wood End Tables.  I just found on Katja's blog that she made the exact same table leg design before our design came into fruition, although I had no idea!  (How interesting!) The table top was made to coordinate with our Squared2 Dining Chairs, which is based on a design by west elm, and brought to life via plans by Ana White.  Inspiration, I find, allows for our own unique perspective to shine through, while "standing on the shoulders of giants."  

I must heartily thank my good friend Joanne for patiently encouraging me, for sharing ideas for building in kind, and for even checking my measurements so that this process went smoother than it could have gone otherwise.  Joanne is an amazing builder.  Since I've known her, she's been working on building or planning to build something nearly everyday with a consistency that can only underlie passion.  I've absolutely been inspired by you, Joanne!

Squared2 Dining Table, Legs and Frame

I love designing our spaces with my husband.  He brings to the fore ideas I would not have considered, or inspires me to think of things that he might find "spiffy." Together, we designed our dining table to be slight in frame, to mimic the modern "closed leg" look of our scrap wood end tables and reclaimed wood coffee table, that would frame a "peek-a-boo" Squared2 pattern topped with glass.

It has been months since that initial design phase, but it is time to put our deteriorating computer desk dining table aside and take the risky plunge of bringing a concept to life.

I don't normally make plans.  I measure spaces, draw a sketch, cut wood, assemble and modify as I go.  For the precision required for this build however, I made a plan in PowerPoint (inspired by my friend Joanne) to demonstrate what was in my head.  The overall table frame is 30" wide by 48" long, which would seat 4 wide Squared2 dining chairs.

Squared2 Dining Chair x2

See the first dining chair I built

We now have two of Ana White's Squared2 Dining Chairs, a "Knock-Off-Wood" rendition of West Elm's overlapping squares chairs, in our eat-in kitchen.  The chairs I built are slightly modified from Ana's plans, adding 1" to the back legs and the chair back pattern to accommodate a 1" seat cushion I have yet to make.  See my previous notes about that here.

For building plans, please visit Ana White's Squared2 Dining Chair post.

Keep reading for my informal notes about how I built our second chair.  And in grand movie theater preview style:

The following are poor photos of our two Squared2 Dining Chairs.

Viewer discretion is somewhat advised.  :)

Tiled Kitchen Cabinet Toe Kick

I had set aside $5,000 for our kitchen from a $10,000 loan I took out to gut and restore our apartment. Our kitchen cabinets were hand-built by our contractor-electrician, who pitched to me that he knew how to build them and quoted $2,000 for 5 bases, 8 drawers, and 4 doors. This was a huge deal compared to the $5,000 - $7,000 I was quoted a week before this, so I agreed.

The tile has specks of metallic browns and pretty blues that shimmer when light hits it.  However, I was not successful taking photos of the effect with my camera.

 At the time, I had not built my own furniture, and it was only a thought in my mind. I was happy to delegate this task. Until December rolled around and my cabinets were not done. Then this summer rolled around and still... they're not done. It's been over one year; time management is a problem for professionals too, it seems.

Surprisingly, the cabinets were built without a solid strip of wood to act as a toe kick. I wanted to remedy the patchwork look of the base of our cabinets, either by laying wood down and painting it a fun color or laying wood down and using leftover tile from our bathroom remodel. The tile won. =D

Deciding to Buy a Breville Smart Oven

Under our corner shelves is our Breville Smart Convection Toaster Oven, our sole oven.  We purchased it from Amazon.com for $250.00, a steep price for a toaster oven.  At first, my husband was concerned that we would be living as if we were camping in our own home.  I wondered too if not having a full-sized oven would make our kitchen any less a kitchen than it is.  Of course, we knew this wasn't true.

In every home I've lived in, the oven is rarely used.  In fact, my mom stores all of her pots and pans in her oven.   My husband and I reasoned that we didn't want to spend too much money on something that we may not use frequently.  However, because our Smart Oven is on the counter, I find that I do use it regularly, and it is one of the kitchen decisions I am nearly 100% sold on as being perfect for us.

If you are lugging out an old stove with range and oven and are considering other options for baking, roasting, or toasting, I do recommend the Breville Smart Oven.

Here are a few reasons why we decided to buy this Breville and why it continues to serve us:

We wanted to maximize our kitchen space.  
We had to choose between a dishwasher or a stove with an oven and range to maximize base cabinet space.  Since we don't bake large quantities of food for our small family of 3, my husband and I chose a dishwasher over a stove.

We wanted to conserve energy.
Since our Smart Oven is considerably smaller than a conventional oven, it does not take very long to preheat or cook food.  The convection setting does an excellent job of reducing cook time and therefore energy expenditure.  It also heats our apartment less when we do use it, which is a bonus!

It takes the place of three appliances.
Although microwaves are the ultimate energy saving oven, my husband and I decided that we would go without a microwave oven so that we could have a toaster oven.  In addition to heating food, and baking, we also use our Smart Oven in the stead of a toaster.  For us, it's an oven, microwave, and toaster in one, and a great oven and toaster at that!

We decided that it was the best bang for our buck.
The Breville Smart Oven had received so many positive reviews about its features and functionality, as well as it's portability and efficiency as a toaster, that my husband and I thought it would be wise to buy it.  We then found a countertop induction cooktop that was under $75.  Since a new conventional stove with range and oven cost a minimum of $350, the combination of the space and energy saving Smart Oven and induction cooktop was a win-win for us.  Not only were we benefited by saving money, we were also able to cook with convection and induction technologies, two things we could not afford if we chose full sized appliances.

We've owned our Smart Oven for a year, and I do not regret our choices at all.  The only thing it is not so great at is reheating food, but we've found that we have very few things that we would like a microwave for anyway.  We cook fresh dinners every night and rarely have leftovers to reheat.  Though it is small, it is still large enough for us to roast a small chicken, and even bake a 13" pizza, which we have yet to try.

It saves us space, conserves energy, and simplifies the way we cook.  I'm completely satisfied with the way our kitchen works for us, as seemingly unconventional as some of it is, and the Breville Smart Oven is just one of the reasons why.  =D

All our kitchen projects

Building Kitchen Ledge Shelves

A few months after making the floating shelves in our bathroom, I decided to make ledged shelves in our kitchen, so glass items would not fall and plummet to their doom (or mine).  This was when I found Ana White's $10 ledges for the first time, the same plan that inspired the 1x2-thin toddler book ledges I built for my daughter's room more recently.

 We store our glasses on the little shelf next to our refrigerator and our magnetic measurement organizers. I chose the 4 glasses, my daughter has the 4 stainless steel glasses, and my husband selected two deep blue handblown glasses and 2 crystal drink glasses.  The tile work is mostly done, except for the area that hugs around our window sills and the trim I need to install around the edges.  I also need to purchase and screw in the outlet cover behind our tea pot.

Building these shelves did not take long, although choosing the color that would go best did.  I painted them teal, like the inside of our cabinet frames.  I let the teal sit for a month or two, so they were teal when we moved upstairs.  The shadows were not very forgiving for the teal, so I tried silver spray paint on the underside with teal on the top.  Then our kitchen screamed "DINER!" somehow.

I caved in and painted them a black-indigo color called Napoleon, the same paint on our Canvas Floor Cloth, C End Table, and Reclaimed Top Media Console.  :)  I didn't seal the Napoleon in case we changed our mind again, and I've dinged it a few times, letting silvery distressed flecks shine through.  =D We'll keep it!

Pickle Jar Storage Containers

My husband enjoys Farmer's Garden pickles by Vlasic, so we've made a habit of travelling to the closest grocer that carries it once a month.  It's the one pickle jar that I like the look of, so much in fact, that I started using them to store our dry food goods.  Since these are mason jars, they're the best repurposed food jars we've found to reuse for storage, without needing to do much else than eat its contents and sanitize the jars.

We've lived upstairs since April, so we literally have saved a jar per month while living in our apartment.  :)  Currently, we're storing:  confectioner's powdered sugar, organic brown rice, popcorn kernels, and coffee beans.

It takes just a day or two for my husband to power through the pickled vegetables for snacks.  Afterward, I partly fill a dishpan with warm soapy water, let the jar soak, and remove the label.  Using a scrub pad, the remaining adhesive easily rubs off.  Then, I include the jar with the dishwasher load and remember to hit steam sanitize.  They've come out hot and smelling clear of pickle fragrance, so far.  :)

The mason jars reinforce farm-to-table style, including mL and cup measures up to 2 cups, so you can estimate what volume of goods are left.

The glass and metal lids are unbranded, but do still display typical safety labels.  However, they are not visible when on the shelf, and the silver lids coordinate well with our kitchen, so I have decided to not spray paint them.

Reusing these jars help me reduce the amount of glass I send out to state recycling centers.  The glass is sturdy and the contents are clearly visible.  The style coordinates well with our kitchen, and they feature cup measures.  =D  Lastly, they help me remember how long we've lived in our home and are displayed openly on our kitchen ledge shelves, a project I'll explain next Tuesday.  :)

All our kitchen projects

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