List No.22: The Kitchen List

Yay! Can you see it??? It’s here!!! My Smeg has arrived and it’s all white and shiny.

So, speaking of things I love in the kitchen this week’s list is about just that, what I love about my new kitchen but also a few things I’d do differently in retrospect.

THINGS I LOOOOOOOVE ABOUT MY KITCHEN

* Obviously my new Smeg refrigerator. It’s just so lovely to look at and it works just fine despite some bad reviews.

* The recessed spotlights. I think I love them more because I didn’t expect to have them and they feel like a gift even though I most certainly paid to have them put in.

* The glossy shiny cabinet doors. I just love how they bounce off the light and I’m happy every time I walk past the kitchen. Fingerprints do show but we use the handles when opening and closing the doors and don’t touch the doors themselves much.

* The subway tiles. Choosing everything for the bathroom and kitchen went so fast so I just went for something I’ve always liked the look of for the bathroom and didn’t really consider very many other options and then went with the same for the kitchen. I still have a few square meters in the basement which will come in handy when I’ll fix the WC sometime in the future.

* The corner cabinets with the carousels inside. I thought I’d hate them but there wasn’t any other choice for the size of my kitchen. I tend to like things square and angular when it comes to storage and that carousel is anything but being the shape of a Pac Man but I love it. I can get to everything in there really easily and I’m surprised how much stuff I get in them.

* The handles. I love the clean look of the centered handles.

 

THINGS I MIGHT DO DIFFERENTLY “NEXT TIME”

* I’m not loving the sink that much. I do love the big size which allows me to put a whole frying pan in there but the bottom is flat and I find it hard to rinse it so all the little bits get to the drainage hole. Now they just seem to spread out all over.

* Like I said things went so fast ordering everything and the white tap was actually matching the white acrylic counter top with integrated sinks which I didn’t get because of the long delivery time. I completely forgot to change the tap to chrome which would look better with the stainless steel sink I ended up with. That’s easy to change though.

* The placement of the light switch for the lights under the cabinets. We used existing switch placements for the kitchen and living room but they’re all outside the kitchen so when I’m doing dishes and would like more light I have to step outside the kitchen area to turn the lights on. The only light switch in the actual kitchen is the one on the exhaust hood so I tend to use that a lot.

* The fact that the dish washer front is still missing and the smell of the dish washer in action. Wille likens it to “New Car” scent which he hates more than the smell of cat poo. I keep telling him I can get him a Wunderbaum with "New Car" but he’s not interested. I somehow don't think he'd go for cat poo either actually.

So, that’s this weeks list!

Happy weekend!

Comments

[Robyn]

Your SMEG looks ah-mazing! Despite the few things you don't like about your kitchen, you have done brilliantly getting it all sorted in the first place.

[Zosia]

We hope to see the whole SMEG in some of your future posts. The little bit shown looks great.
What is a Wunderbaum????? Have a great weekend.

[elisa]

profound fridge envy. it's not too big so you'll lose everything and power are small house running it, but not smile like the british standard which requires a gift for tetrus to fit a family worth of food into. and it looks like it was made mid century, which is the best time for kitchen tools if they really can't be victorian or earlier.

i imagine you'll get used to the irritating bits and stop noticing having to take extra steps. except the new car issue, good luck with that one. x

[Vicki K]

That frig is Great-Looking!! The other thing you love about your kitchen cabinets is their smooth-no-little-crevices-for-dust-to-collect-in-surface. How is Bonus liking staying indoors for a bit?

[elisa]

translate are = a smile=small x=affectionate term
!

[Monica]

The SMEG is so cool and worth the wait! Never notice a smell while my dishwasher was on. Wonder if something is wrong? I think everyone has a long list of things they would do differently in their house, but I bet yours is much shorter that most peoples. I have the same problem with our sink in the kitchen. Drives me nuts and the corners on mine are square so the corners are really hard to clean.
Have a good weekend!

[Jo]

Fridge does indeed look gorgeous.
Aren't was all sad old bats getting excited over a fridge ?!! ;o)
I know exactly what you mean about the sink too.. we have a plastic laundry sink in our utility room that dips slightly lower in the middle than the plug hole... so I'm always wiping the wretched thing out.
Will you change it do you think ?? or just put up with it ?
Jo xx

[Lisbeth]

Excellent with such a fast evaluation of your choices! I wonder if some of the negative ones will change from 'annoying' to 'not bothering' when you get more used to the kitchen... and at least the new car smell will go away when the front arrives :)

[Yvonne]

LOVE the SMEG!!! Welcome to the family ;)

And about the tap/skin problem, I had the same. I have the IKEA DOMSJÖ sink and I couldn't get it clean because of the wrong tap. So I replaced it with a IKEA ELVERDAM tap as there's a shower hose in it. So I can pull it out and rinse the whole sink - it does the trick!!

[Peta]

Well i think the pros outweigh the cons! Your kitchen looks fantastic!
I hadn't noticed you have a white tap.

So how much longer do you have to wait for your dishwasher door? BTW - I hate those tree shaped car fresheners!
:-)

[jja]

Great fridge! :-))))
I rent my apartment but the yrenovated it before I moved in and put light switch in every room twice - rigt from bedroom door and behind the bed - great thing being able to swich all lamps there from my bad. They also put sockets all around the place, like 7 in the kichen, I use them all, every room has at least 4-5 and since I hate exstension cable it works great for me. The best thing they did with renovating.

[the constant hunger]

I love your fridge (and anything else retro). Your new pad is shaping up beautifully.

[Pauline]

Love the fridge, but am not a fan of the white tap though.

I have the same sink problem too. When I have finished washing up and the water had drained away there are ‘bits’ left of food and gunge it’s really disgusting ( I don't have a dish washer)

So I squirt of washing up liquid, turn on the tap and use my pot brush to get everything clean and then I take a bit of kitchen paper to get rid of the things that still won’t go down the plus hole. . and this I do at least 3-4 times day. Yes Bentia you’re not the only maniac out there 

[marthe]

Well, I'm so jealous for your beautiful SMEG... He'll be mine next time...For your light problem you should get something like this: http://www.castorama.fr/store/Reglette-mobile-LED-Stixx-avec-piles-et-clip-de-fixation-PRDm561527.html?isSearchResult=true&navAction=jump
No need to add more placements!
Trevlig helg!

[ez]

Try a bowl of white vinegar in the dishwasher - run it empty except for the bowl. Might help with the smell. Plus it's good to do occasionally to keep gaskets etc clean of mildew, and keeps the bad smells away...

[christine e-e]

Benita - your place is shaping up! I can imagine you & Willie (+ cats) are going to "make some memories" in your new house. I'm loving you posts & watching the progress of your painting job... makes me want to get my paint brush out & do some of my own (perhaps, summer break??) - I so appreciate your "get down to business" attitude & the fact that you tackle your home improvements yourself. I have girlfriends who have never painted even their bathroom; preferring to "hire out" painting jobs. Personally, I think that is the "fun" of having a place to fix-up!
Enjoy your weekend! don't forget to schedule that bubble bath + glass of wine...

[Katie]

I didn't know it was possible to hate 'new car scent.' I love that smell!

[Camille @ The Vintique Object]

Hi Benita. The fridge is a beauty! I would love to see how you've organized your lazy susan cabinet!

[jenn]

Hi Benita,
We had the same trouble with a large sink we installed. We chose a tap with a built in hose and sprayer at the end so we could pull the sprayer out and wash all those little food bits down the drain. Just thought I would mention this in case you do get a new tap. I know the food bits would have driven me crazy!
Love the kitchen and especially the fridge ;)

[Marianne]

There are always things you would do differently. I have 3 electricity outlets on the counter, two and one. Now I would have made two and two.
About the smell of the dish washer. Leave the dirty dishes in it for 2 days and he will appreciate the "new car smell"
;-)
It will be gone soon anyway.
Love the Smeg. I want one too

[Theresa]

I hate that new car smell too it makes me terribly sick. I'd second the suggestion of the vinegar, also bicarbonate of soda (not at the same time) and a hot wash, I did both with my new washing machine last time, I'm not sure which worked but it was a lot better afterwards. I find many new appliances and equipment has the same issues, dh can't smell it, but one of the children can too and it makes him poorly also. The small pictures that we've seen so far look lovely, it's no wonder it makes you smile.

[Carly]

Oh I love that new fridge!!! The house is coming along just fabulously!

[devil]

Me too! Best part about buying a new car.

I agree with Willie that cat poo smells yucky. ;)

[Carlos]

Read about Wunderbaum here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Trees

[Zosia]

Thanks! An air freshener for the car. Somehow didn't see this explanation coming (in retrospect, it makes sense in your post) and I laughed when I linked to Wikipedia :-).

[hjc]

About Bonus - could you walk him back from the old house to the new (you have a harness, I believe). Obviously he knows the way to his "old" home, and probably the way back to the new home, but maybe he'll associate you with the new home better if you walk him there. I don't know, just a thought. All of our outdoor kitties have meet with bad ends, so out latest pair are indoor-only. But that's hard to do once a cat knows and loves outside. Sorry, that's probably no help, but I do understand your concern!

[Carlos]

Unfortunately he escaped again (have no idea how as we kept the house closed shut!) and is still missing after two days. Our old neighbors say they've seen him around but I've been there several times and haven't found him... I'm going over there aain later tonight.

[Carlos]

I think I'll change the tap to one with a sprayer.

[Carlos]

Thanks, I'll have a closer look at them next time at IKEA!

[Carlos]

The door should arrive around June 15. Couple of more weeks to go...

[Carlos]

I have one of those in my closet :)

[Carlos]

Thanks, I'll try that!

[Carlos]

He's not too happy with the harness and 3 km is quite far but I'll definitely consider it!

[Jo]

But keep the sink ???

[Carlos]

Yes, I like the big size and my only problem with it is the faxt that I can't get the little bits into the hole. With the sprayer I will :)

[Jo]

Sounds like a plan then ;o)
xx

[Janie]

I love the new bathroom!

But this "My Smeg has arrived and it’s all white and shiny." doesn't translate into english so well, lol. Smeg has another meaning.