Kitchen Storage: A Drawer for Cutting Boards - Remodelista
I suppose you could describe us as optimists–or me, at least–because when my husband and I were crab-walking around in six inches of water in the low-ceilinged cellar of the “vintage” house we’d bought the previous week, I said, “I can’t wait to remodel.” Between then and now, we sold our old house (which was two blocks away), moved to New York City (and rented out the cottage while we were gone)... ...hired an architect, discovered dry rot, tried to renovate while living 2,500 miles away, hired a designer, discovered more dry rot, and finally moved back in a couple of months ago. The original kitchen was, well, original. The Malayer rug (similar to these) is one I have had for years; Stephanie had the idea to use it to anchor the Flatiron Dining Table ($795 to $1,095, depending on length, from Restoration Hardware). The house has 10.5-foot ceilings. To make the kitchen feel loftier, Stephanie suggested eliminating the upper cabinets on one wall, which we tiled floor-to-ceiling with Ann Sacks Ceramic Basics subway tile. What to do with a skinny cabinet next to the dishwasher? The Bistro Knobs are $13 apiece from Restoration Hardware. The Shaw’s Original Fire Clay Apron Front Sink is a Remodelista favorite; for more information see 10 Easy Pieces: White Farmhouse Sinks. By the time we finally got to the stage of the project where the nice finishes were being installed, we no longer really cared, of course; we were too beaten down by threatened delays, threatened cost overruns and a generally threatening, gloomy feeling. I wonder if things would have felt less out-of-control if I knew more about the mechanics: How exactly do you build a house? I am on the other hand a firm believer in disruptive change as a positive force – otherwise why would I have moved back and forth across the country and bought and sold houses and switched jobs (twice) in less than three years? I think you reach an age where you can easily start to get complacent–not you specifically, of course, but people in general–and when that happens there’s a danger you’ll stop questioning the way you see the world or quit trying new things or say you don’t care if you ever see Istanbul. Julie gave me the idea to use a vase to hold long-handled brushes; a similar Astier de Villatte Sobre Small Vase is $140 at Sue Fisher King. This is a good thing, actually, because it’s an indication that people are baking and slicing and rolling out pie crusts and drinking red wine. The biggest surprise was how well the new, bigger kitchen complements the old, smaller rooms of the original house. Matching the trim detail and existing oak floors unified the space.