This Girl’s House

So I know I promised to bring you news about the Pantry.  One  of my summer projects has been to deal with the kitchen situation.  We lack storage space in the kitchen.  Part of the problem was the layout and after a year of messing around with the issue, I think I’ve got the design worked out.  We removed the box like pantry that was in the kitchen.  The box like pantry simply jutted out into the greatroom, and cut off flow between one room and the next.  There was a doorway leading from the kitchen to the dining room (a room we never used as a dining room because that’s now how we rock), so we always used that doorway as a walkway.  We closed off that wall (finally got the sheet rock done this past week), we removed the pantry closet from the great room, and we changed the coat closet from a general catch all to a pantry.  I started off with 3 large pantry like cabinets in the kitchen but I didn’t like how they boxed off the space, so I’m replacing them with a base kitchen cabinet and upper level cabinet, and I was really lucky to pick up the same exact cabinets as the one’s that are already in the kitchen (I got the both of them for $290). 

 So here’s what the new pantry has replaced.  It has replaced the 3 long pantry cabinets that were in the kitchen,

the two buffets that were in the dining room and that were just used for storage (which we plan to move to the garage later).

and this one

and some odd ends we had stored in different closets throughout the house. 

Here is the new pantry.  It went from a coat closet,

To a 8 foot pantry.

With narrow one foot shelves on the left,

and large 2 foot deep shelves in front of you and on the right.

I still have some more things to do.  I have to build one more cube for the top of the large shelves, and I have stain and finish it, but right now, it’s working for me.  I have the rest of my life to finish it, and it’s doing a great job.  Now some people might wonder why  a modern family needs a pantry in addition to all of the kitchen cabinets and island that we have.

Here’s why we need one.  We live in the country.  I wouldn’t even call it suburbs because the nearest Safeway or Albertson is half an hour drive away.  I drive to town on average once or twice a week.  It’s not that we can’t afford the gas.  I just don’t believe in spending money and gas like I used so I combine my trips.  I go in one day of week to the office and then after work I’ll go grocery shopping.  Otherwise I work at home, we have a garden and I plan on canning.  When I shop, we shop at big box stores or take advantage of sales and coupons, and when you do that, you buy in bulk.  When you buy in bulk, you have to have a place to store stuff.  We have 2 dogs, 2 cats and they go through a lot of food.  I have a lot of dishes and pots, quite of few special purpose or single use.  When Steve and I first started courting, he’d give me a frying pan or a pot, why I have no clue because it’s not like did a lot of cooking.  I would just look to these items with amusement and put them away.  It’s only been the last year or so that I’ve taken them out of their hiding place and started to figure how to use them.  Anyway, I’m the kind of person that could have used a butler’s pantry, but this is what I’ve been able to carve out for myself.  Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m real big on storage.  Finally, I read a really good book recently, on the history of the Pantry.  Check it out of your local library.

My son came home last week, and we spent these last few days looking for an apartment that would suit his needs.  We eventually found one, but I would have to say that I found this task extremely depressing.  I had forgotten what it was like to live in an apartment.  I am design challenged, so I was  having difficulty imagining what Billy could do to turn this apartment into a welcoming home.  Imagine my delight when I stumbled over these websites and blogs that turn apartment style living into your average design challenge.  So Billy ….  This post is for you.

• Apartment Therapy – http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
• Rental Decorating – http://www.rentaldecorating.com/
• Small Space Room Design – http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_small_space/
• dVider – http://store.dvider.com/index.html
• Oh My Apartment – http://ohmyapt.apartmentratings.com/
• MyFirstApartment – http://myfirstapartment.com/

I just listened to a rather interesting video podcast.  I just finished listening to the episode, “What Are The Worst Design Mistakes.”  This particular episode focused on common home design mistakes.  Common mistakes they discussed were McMansion building craze, fake shutters, sliding mirrored and bi-fold closet doors, fake flooring and porcelain tile, molding no-no’s, and furniture supersized for the scale of the room.  I was particularly interested in hearing how the 2 designers felt about the fake flooring because I installed laminate flooring in a small bedroom last year, and have been very dissatisfied with the result, ever since.  http://www.design2share.com/

http://www.design2share.com/design2share-qa/2007/11/12/home-design-mistakes.html

Last week, a good friend gave me and Stevie a comforter set.  The set was extremely soft and comfortable, and the color scheme matched our current decor.  This weekend, Stevie and I spent some time exchanging our old comforter set (which was probably 15 years old and looked every day of it), for the new set.  As we went about exchanging bed skirts and rebuilding the bed, Steve looks around the room and says “We really need to add some pictures on the walls.  Have a bit of color.  Put some effort into bringing off a design.”  I looked at him with astonishment and awe.  Once again, this burly manly man has managed to surprise me.  Stevie actually has the better eye, a better sense of design, than I have.  Up until that point, I could have cared less what was on the walls.  This is the bedroom for heaven’s sake.  All we do is sleep, watch tv, and you know, whatever in this room.  But since then, I’ve started looking at the room with fresh eyes.  And it’s interesting to note that it’s not always the feminine partner in a relationship that is design savy.