NORTHWEST LIVING
By Rebecca Teagarden
Heart Surgery
Just in time, there's help for healing our wounded kitchens
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 COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS A heavy beam opens this Jackson, Wyo., kitchen space up while also wrapping the room in its warm embrace. The spec-house kitchen, cut from a cookie-cutter plan, did not take in the views of the nearby Teton Mountains. The new kitchen is now open to those views. This room was designed so that the owner, a chef and restaurant owner, could teach and entertain a crowd of 20 or more. Studded rubber flooring and open shelves are two features borrowed from restaurant kitchens.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS The spec-house kitchen, cut from a cookie-cutter plan, did not take in the views of the nearby Teton Mountains.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS The owners loved their 1950s ranch. They wanted a kitchen that celebrated Mid-Century Modern and would serve as "command central." Unadorned cabinets, stainless-steel appliances and contemporary stools give the room an updated retro look. The island is wide enough for kids to dine while parents cook.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS It was all about laminate for this Dallas kitchen previously remodeled 20 years ago.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS The spare, white laminate kitchen of a New York bachelor would not serve for a married couple.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS This remodel held the kitchen to its old square footage, but warmed it up and added comfort with natural materials such as maple cabinets, granite counters and redwood window trim.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS A Victorian house in Vermont had been owned by the same family for 100 years. The kitchen was no more than a room with a refrigerator and a stove.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS The remodel created a spacious, rugged modern kitchen that respected the home's history. The breakfast bar speaks to the modern, the cabinetry and details recall the 19th century.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS In a cross between period reproduction and modern efficiency, this Oakland, Calif., kitchen uses fresh, lively colors to brighten the new kitchen in a house built in 1870 and later broken into four small apartments. The new room includes space previously occupied by a bathroom, expanding the area from 12 to 17 feet.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS The old kitchen in a house built in 1870.
COURTESY OF THE TAUNTON PRESS |
I get up at 6:30 a.m. on a Saturday. I'm already late. By 7 I'm on the kitchen floor in a gauze of dust, hacking out tiles and banging crusted mortar off cement board. Every few whacks my knuckles take a hit. Pretty sure I've seen highway prison gangs with a better gig. I put these stones down myself three years ago, and now I'm tearing them all up.
The kitchen, the heart of the home; the first place you head for in the morning; the family hub and the party magnet. Nourishment and memories.
Every so often, though, the heart needs a little surgery to keep it humming efficiently. But, many kitchens limp along with tattered orange carpeting, greasy, chipped cabinets and a refrigerator that shudders so much you'd think it was idling at a stop light.
Doesn't the hardest-working room in your house deserve better? Don't you?
Yes, is the resounding answer from Peter Lemos. He's the former editor of Home magazine, a guy who has remodeled his own kitchen in Maine twice and, now, has written "Kitchens for the Rest of Us: From the Kitchen You Have to the Kitchen You Love" (The Taunton Press, $29.95).
My contractor is also my boyfriend. He's very naturopathic and high energy. He says the remodeling process can be "a healing crisis." That's also what he calls it when I have a sinus infection. He's half right. But with subflooring exposed, we have no choice but to plough on around dirty dishes, dog bowls, sawdust and disconnected appliances.
Size: Is the overall space enough to fit your needs? Are specifics like the refrigerator and storage space as big as you would like?
Function: Does your kitchen allow for good flow, storage, work space, lighting and windows? Can you find everything easily?
Looks: Do you like the way your kitchen looks? If so, how can you replicate that feeling? If not, what can you change?
Comfort: Do you feel at home in your kitchen? Do you and others want to spend time there?
Features: What features do you want most? A pro-style stove? Gas burners or electric? An island? Breakfast bar? Walk-in pantry?
From "Kitchens for the Rest of Us: From the Kitchen you Have to the Kitchen You Love"
"Kitchens" looks at 20 kitchens that went from DOA to to-die-for. They were all of typical size, about 150 square feet, and cost between $30,000 and $50,000. Lemos dissects each for tips and tricks on lighting, storage, style and function. You can have them all, he says, and in this case, size doesn't matter. Function does. An intelligent plan will balance fantasy and practicality. I really must buck up. I know how it feels to be the possessed one. Remodeling is not for the meek. I weeded out a previous boyfriend in the first go-round of this very room. Previous Boyfriend couldn't take the remodeling heat and got out of the kitchen so fast I thought he'd fallen through the floor.
Four million or more kitchens are remodeled every year in the United States, according to Taunton. Most likely a kitchen near you is being born again right now.
There's a tense Saturday morning where Contractor Boyfriend feels that my heart's not in this. Here's a warning you won't find in "Kitchens for the Rest of Us": Beware the word "just." There is no such thing in remodeling.
All Lemos is saying is that there is a method to this remodeling madness:
1. Take stock. Look at what works and what doesn't. Plan how much money to spend and prioritize the wish list. Using this list, outline a rough budget. Don't spend more than 10 percent of the home's value on a new kitchen.
2. Find your style. Imagine the look you want: Traditional or contemporary? Urban or country? Check out books, magazines, kitchen centers. The décor of a kitchen, Lemos says, is determined mainly by the style of cabinets, so begin there. Make two scrapbooks: one of ideas you like, the other of ideas you do not.
3. Work with pros. Call in architects, contractors, kitchen designers. Do research; get recommendations. Even if you don't hire them, make sure to at least consult them.
4. Define your space. This is all about size, location and layout. Decide how you want the new space to be organized. Architects and contractors will help create an efficient plan, which will ultimately save you money.
5. Make it happen. Fill in the details — flooring, lighting, color, furniture, hardware, etc. The most important detail to work out, though, is the work schedule. Lemos warns that remodeling projects rarely start when they are supposed to and rarely finish when planned.
Winter looms, and Contractor Boyfriend points out that we are losing precious light every day. Thank God. In the end, I know we will have a beautiful, rustic kitchen. Skills will be gained, bonds strengthened. Company will come and we'll show it off, pretend it was nothing.
Then we'll "just" take a look at that living room.
Rebecca Teagarden is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. She survived the kitchen remodel and loves the results.
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