<p>I love stainless counters and sinks also, but stainless countertops are very personal taste and expensive. So I never get a chance to put in stainless countertops. Always put in an undermount stainless sink, single bowl deep. It’s just personal preference that I don’t like two bowls. I like to have a big single bowl for large pots and pans. And, I don’t like that garbage disposal is only on one side of a double bowl (or worse, those types of sinks with the little dinky side bowl for garbage disposal). Can never remember which side it is, prefer to just dump the waste into the sink and not worry about which side.</p>
<p>Once again, I think it is a small advantage over my competitors who will just shove in the cheapest stainless double bowl sink they find. Most of them are men who don’t cook or use a kitchen. They just don’t think through the functionality of the kitchens they install. And, they are always using off-the-shelf cabinets that don’t have a good variety of sizes and shapes, or all the cool functionality inserts that make a kitchen work really well - such as the trash and recycle pull outs or lazy susans in the corner, or spice drawers or a cabinet set up with racks for trays and cookie sheets, etc.</p>
<p>Cb - agree with your kitchen design philosophy. Small stuff like functional pullouts can make a huge difference! Our builder was a small business guy who listened to his wife when it came to stuff like that. First thing he asked, when we were standing among the sticks in the spot that would be my kitchen, “Who’s the cook in the family? A-ha. So you are about the same height as my wife; I will put the same height cabinets as I did in my house.” And then he sent us off to a local cabinet place to pick the fun stuff. </p>
<p>Our very old house had a gut rehab. While the architect made some great choices, I still think our best choice was to hire a kitchen designer. We stayed in budget on cabinetry, but the good design choices the designer made have really made the kitchen an excellent working space that also ends up being a huge social area whenever people come over.</p>
<p>I notice that the Guizot flip has a gas stove with a microwave right above it. AND it is on the interior wall, I think. I can’t believe that that’s a good idea. In the name of all that’s holy, put in a nice gas stove with a decent stainless Braun hood above it on an outside wall and put the microwave somewhere else! Especially in these small, open plan houses, where cooking smells and grease will pervade the entire place! And as an avid cook, I vote for a 2-bowl sink that enables one to use one side to wash pots and pans and the other side to let them drain. (Garbage disposal is a no-no to me: we’ve always had a septic system and composted. ) I heartily endorse vertical dividers for trays, racks, etc, but I’m much rather have an insert of the type that rises up where you can keep a stand mixer or Cuisinart than a hidden trash can.</p>
<p>@Consolation: That arrangement is very common in our area. Sometimes the OTR microwave is vented out through the attic. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case and I worry about indoor air quality. Like you, I prefer a regular vent hood above the cooktop or range, but that’s mainly because I’m too short to safely use a OTR microwave.</p>
<p>In my case, no OTR microwave fan made is capable of dealing adequately with the smells and heat my fondness for cooking Chinese and Indian food produces, not to mention simmering giant pots of fish and lobster stock and so forth. :)</p>
<p>True. Our exhaust fan is very powerful and I worried about back drafting. When we bought the house, no one around here knew anything about supplying make up air for vents. The best solution then was to either open a window (not good in our very humid climate) or install an ERV which would at least dehumidify the fresh air somewhat. Our next house will have a whole house ventilating dehumidifier (as well as a powerful vent hood that’s properly sized.) The kitchen designers I talked with when we built a previous house suggested a 42" vent hood for my 36" gas cooktop. When ds played with his wok in that house, the kitchen never had a problem with lingering odors.</p>
<p>Can someone explain “back drafting” to me? When we redid our kitchen just a year and a half ago, we installed a fairly powerful Vent-a-Hood over the gas range. Are you now telling me I should also open a window when I turn it on?? What’s an ERV? </p>
<p>But I agree with coralbrook about the one big sink versus two smaller sinks as a double sink. I can clean stuff much better in the one-bowl large sink. </p>
<p>Consolation, completely agree with you on the issue of gas stove/MW/venting. On the other stuff I partially disagree. I bet that the type of gourmet cooking you do is not what a typical home cook even dreams of! In some areas, a garbage disposal would be a must to a typical homeowner. </p>
<p>Everyone has their preferences for how they want their kitchen, but I have to do this as a business so I need to appeal to the buying masses. Buyers want dishwashers, garbage disposals and microwaves. I agree that the microwave is not ideal above a stove, but the majority of microwaves in the price range I’m buying are Over the Range types. </p>
<p>But, I’m going to take everyone’s recommendation and try to find room in this little kitchen to put the microwave somewhere and do a gorgeous giant hood over the stove. I think they are very attractive and I can tile some blingy backsplash tile behind it</p>
<p>I think the general trend is to move away from a microwave above the stove because they are not as reliable as they used to be and not as functional and appealing aesthetically as hoods. That said, do whatever makes financial and sense. You can probably make a cubbie for a stand alone microwave that the buyer can pick on her own. Preferably, not too far from the dining table, since most microwaved food goes directly on the table. :)</p>
<p>We run through a microwave every two-three years. Considering what matching OTRs cost, I would not want one that I’d have to replace (and quite possibly with a mismatch) in just a few years.</p>
<p>We got a big vent that was allegedly quiet…ha! My biggest fear about opening up our kitchen to the largely unused formal living room/dining room is the grease and smells. DH and S2 are not shy about stinky, greasy (albeit delicious) cooking. I have enough of a struggle keeping the blinds in the kitchen clean.</p>
<p>If you put a stainless hood over the stove, a person who wants a higher-powered gas stove can install it without having to rip the entire kitchen apart. That would be a big plus for me. It broadens your market. The Broan hoods are very effective and very well priced. My sink is an Elkay pro-type stainless with two bowls: one really big and really deep, and the other medium-sized and deep. I had to have a 2-bowl sink to get the kitchen licensed. And frankly, the 1-bowl sink it replaced was a PITA. You can’t put <em>everything</em> in the dishwasher. And I don’t want to have a drainboard sitting on the counter.</p>
<p>Uhhhhhh …my usual budget for microwave is $300. The drawer is gorgeous but price isn’t in budget. If there is any way I can do a hood AND make shelf for microwave I’ll try. But this kitchen is really small and I need to have a design quickly because new drain plumbing is underway and the poor guy keeps asking me where the lines are supposed to go. I have no idea!! </p>
<p>I guess I’m in the minority. My microwave is above my stove. I think it’s very convenient and it has a fan in it that works well if I burn something on the stove. I’ve had a microwave in other places in my kitchens before and like this way better.</p>
<p>BACK TO PROGRESS
now that the estate sale is over I can load some photos of the construction progress. After all the trash and furniture got moved out of the house, it’s adorable! Well, if you can get past how utterly gross and dirty everything is :)</p>
<p>Now that we can finally see things we realize that someone enclosed the original front porch. There are big stucco columns where the front door and windows were. Floor is sloped like a porch should be. Cheezy paneling for enclosure. If you view the exterior windows in the estate sale photos you will see plywood cover on one of the windows. All part of the glamorous job! I went in there one night with the high school girl to photograph album covers. It was so hot I tried to open window. It came right out of the track and fell on me, crashing to floor and shattered into a million pieces. I’m so lucky noone got hurt. But big nasty mess to clean up.</p>
<p>The living room has beautiful cathedral ceiling with beams in very good condition. I have a concern that fireplace might be unlined which is a safety hazard but I haven’t had time to inspect flue. I hope its usable because fireplace is a big feature in these old homes in this area. Later builds didnt have fireplaces. Floors are salvageable and very well made. The kind with detailed beautiful wood plugs to cover screw holes. There are two stains in living area that will need to be patched. Also there is an ancient floor furnace and grate to right of fireplace that will need to be closed up and patched, like the Spanish bungalow. </p>
<p>The wall to dining area has arch and two shelf insets. These are probably going to have to go because I am opening up living, dining, kitchen for open concept. Unfortunately some period details are going to be lost, but its important to open up the light and the views.</p>
<p>Kitchen and bath are gutted down to studs. Not going to save anything in those rooms, although bath has interesting mosaic original tile. Just too gross and layout will be different in future. But the absolute amazing thing is that I fully expected mold, water rot, Termite damage inside the walls of these wet areas. Studs are in perfect condition and dry. Even more amazing is they are redwood! And true 2" by 4" which actually makes it a pain to whim in patches. But this house is solid and well built. Barely any Termite damage on exterior and none in interior. Very different than last two major projects. But each one has its issues.</p>
<p>The bedrooms have surface mold on walls because too much stuff stacked and no ventilation. We are hoping surface mold, we are washing with TSP No Rinse tomorrow. If the mold returns after cleaning then we will tear off plaster. If clear after next 4 weeks then we’re OK.</p>
<p>I have some photos of cleared house loaded, but Flickr crashed and I didn’t get them all loaded.</p>
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