I'm disgusted

[thomasortega]

hahahah, no, i don't make any pressure for someone to help me... and I never accept help for cleanup because i LOVE cleaning up the kitchen.

Also, I'm too organized so, no matter how complex the dish is, right when the dish is ready, the kitchen is also clean.

One thing that helps a lot is open the dishwasher and pull both racks out BEFORE start cooking. Instead of throwing utensils in the sink, i load them in the machine as soon as I finish using them.

Other thing that certainly helps a lot is making the mise-en-place, putting all the ingredients i'm going to need for the recipe together on the counter.

 

[thomasortega]

Matt, but I love when my guests feel "pressured" to be seated on the kitchen table and drink a glass of wine while chatting with me.
My mom taught me that cooking must be made in a happy environment (the fried green tomatoes effect) so, asking someone that doesnt like to cook to help me in the kitchen is completelly out of question.

One thing I'll certainly want to do is a "dinner club", just like the one I have here... 12 friends, each week one makes a nice gourmet dinner to invite all the others. The only rule is: if the dishes won't take too klong to be prepared, we start only after the last guest arrive. the cook of the week does everything alone but if someone offers to help, it's ok. The important is not the cooking itself but the pleasure of chatting informally with the friends.
As we try different recipes to discover new exotic flavors from all over the world, sometimes the result may be terrible and we just laugh (and maybe order a pizza).

As I have the biggest kitchen among all the other members of the group and my kitchen has almost every kind of appliances, cookware and my dining room has a huge table that fits up to 20, plus i'm one of the few people in Brazil that still have vintage dinner and cutlery sets and embroidered napkins, etc (they say it's a Bree Van der Camp apartment) the other members of the club always ask me to let them use my kitchen for the friday night events. 

While one is cooking and the others are drinking wine and watching, there's always at least 5 laptops and tablets being used to search for new recipes for the next dinner and we discuss and decide together. We also try to discover a little bit more about the history around each dish and the local culture. 

One of these dinners was the beginning of a vacation trip. One of the guests who is a japanese imigrant prepared sushi and sashimi for us... the discussion during preparation and the meal was like a super class of japanese culture. We ended up traveling to japan together 8 months later for vacations.

 

[travis]

Those shows would love to attack this house, while I would end up in the nut house.

I have watched enough episodes to see that they would open up my foyer to the living room, destroying the spanish revival arch and continuity of the flooring. Thinking about it, they would likely take out the other arch between the living and dining rooms.

Historic casualties involved:

Two arches
Inlaid hardwood flooring
Three rooms of plaster crown molding
Eight wall sconces
A pair of built in shelves

They would end up with a sterile open concept main floor with spanish revival flair. Hopefully, they would keep the leaded glass, the stone fireplace, and the railing. It would all look out of place in the new space though. They would also lose all of the little storage this house offers.

Upstairs, they'd destroy the third bedroom to create the master bathroom. I am not sure why they need another bathroom, since they'd have a two bedroom house, but I am confident they would.

What I don't understand is that all of these older homes had more food prepared in them than most do nowdays. People worked with what they had and did more with it.

I consider myself to be a space hog. This 2000 sq. ft. house doesn't seem large to me with all of the interior walls. If you removed them, it would feel like a barn, with spanish flair! No thanks, I am glad I got here first.

 

[retropia]

I'm more of a 1950s-style homemaker. Unless it is a pot-luck style dinner with guests bringing dishes, and thus it is necessary for them to be in the kitchen to do final prep on their dishes, I prefer to be alone and do everything myself.

It is distracting for me to feel like I need to interact with guests while preparing food. Since we don't entertain often, I'm usually feeling nervous about making sure everything is just right.

Visual presentation is important to me, so I don't necessarily want guests seeing how the "sausage is made," so to speak. I remember one guest being surprised about me using a meat thermometer to check if the meat had reached a safe temperature. That conversation didn't add to my presentation, I think.

Fortunately for me, on those rare occasions when we do entertain, I have a hubby who enjoys visiting with guests in the living room while I panic in the kitchen.

Thus, I think the desirability of an open kitchen vs. a closed kitchen depends a lot on how an individual or couple likes to entertain.

 

[countryguy]

I prefer a closed off kitchen as well.  I don't want people watching me or talking to me when I cook.  I get distracted and don't concentrate on what I am doing. 

 

Gary

 

[davey7]

Open Plan

Funny thing is the open plan was high design (and the ultimate in mid-century modern). See the plan of this Eichler (courtesy of Ultramatic) floor plan.

Eichler's got bigger towards the 70's and always had two bathrooms, though the bigger ones weren't, often quite as open.

I'm a separate kitchen person too, though I wouldn't say no to the right open-plan mid-century house either.

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/263/on69.jpg

 

[mattl]

When ever I have people over it seems there are always 10 or 12 people in the kitchen, everyone just settles in there.  And, I do not have an open floor plan, just a big kitchen.  I don't mind a bit.

 

[circlew]

Open plan + fire = extra bad news

Something many don't think about is that in the event of a fire, damage is likely to be somewhat more severe than in a house with lots of walls and doors between the rooms.

As an example, we had a grease fire in our kitchen in the summer of '73. Though the kitchen had four walls, there was no door between it and the dining room. The dining room was continuous with the living room, which was open to the bedroom hall. My bedroom and my parents bedroom had the doors closed, and had no damage. However, the remainder of the first floor, including my sister's bedroom with the door (and closet) open, were all smoked and sooted up. Though the fire was contained to the pan of French Fries, everything had to be throughly cleaned and four room and hall had to be repainted. Even the toilet seat had to be washed with Lestoil before anyone could use it. My recent renovation has the kitchen/eating area separated from the rest of the house by two doors.

I've known of several houses with open plans being nearly completely destroyed because the fire spread so rapidly with nothing to slow it down. If this happened at night, it might be difficult to escape from upstair bedrooms, with the halls being open to large areas below.

 

[hydralique]

While it is preferable to escape a fire via the stairs it should be possible to use a bedroom window. Modern codes are strict in requiring at least one window in every bedroom with an opening large enough to exit. If a bedroom has a door leading directly outside then this takes the place of the escape window. Obviously if the drop out the window is great then having a rope ladder stored in a closet would be a good idea. Homes with large second story areas require an additional stairway that can be interior or exterior, it must be located some distance from the primary stair. Under the old codes here in California this was required for second stories of greater than 3000 sq. ft. but the new code uses distances instead.

 

[thomasortega]

What about an automatic fire supression system just like I have in my kitchen?

I don't know if codes require them, here it's not required but its something to think abou when remodeling ou building because those systems are reasonably cheap and the discounts given by the insurance companies make the idea very reasonable.

When i had a small fire in my kitchen, the system went off. The gas discharge scared me to death but cleanup was easy.

The company that installed the system in all apartments in my building is american by the way because it was cheaper to hire that company and pay for the whole staff trip to Brazil than hiring a brazilian company that scared the engineers when they suggested water fire sprinklers in a kitchen. The company is Ansul and none of the units had troubles with it. I love the system and I'm sure i can trust it. Also, except by a huge pull station and the gas tank in the utility room, it's virtually invisible with the pipes runjing behind the cabinets and the discharge nozze is much smaller than ordinary sprinklers that are too ugly.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Hey 112561, I lived in Port St. Lucie for a year and taught at West centennial HS. I loved my class, loved my department AND department heads. School-wide admin? Not so much. I spent many an evening at ReBar and ByrdCage. I do miss it.

Tom, have you decided which city you'd like to live in?

Jim

 

[thomasortega]

Yep... South L.A. area...

But the exact neighborhood, only after I visit the neighborhoods and the properties available for rent when I arrive. I'm a little tempted to Gardena because the prices are more affordable but, the final decision can't be made only by the stretched pictures on apartments.com

 

[112561]

Jim-warmsecondrinse

It's a shame you couldn't have stayed longer, seeing that you enjoyed it here. I've never heard of the ByrdCage, but ReBar is in the same strip center that the Mustard Seed Thrift Store is in. My sister taught in Fort Pierce Central for a while. Politics are destroying the city of Port St. Lucie. And they want to destroy the long established residential original River Park section, with businesses.

Some character named Harry, who was supposed to be one of the twin boys Muriel Rockefeller adopted, said he was put in a house here, by his handler. It's on the corner of a main drag. The living area has the dining area fully exposed to the right, or did. The triangular kitchen was in the right rear corner, separated from living/dining by a four foot wall. Sorry, I don't want to see my entire kitchen from the living areas, no matter how grand.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

Don't Like, Either! Disgusted, Too! (Open Kitsch!)

What's Wrong/Not Wrong with This Picture?

 

I sometimes want/need/must have a room like my man cave that I can cook/bake/boil/broil Whatever the #$%^*! I Want!!!!

 

I'll never know a CLOSED Kitchen other than the one I grew up in--both at my parents & grandparents' house...

 

 

 

-- Dave

 

[mattl]

Dave, I'd find it VERY hard to work in that kitchen. That " pantry" would be gone as fast as I could grab my saws all. I need room around the stove to work.

 

[tolivac]

That kitchen NEEDS a pantry--but not the open one that is there.There needs to be a place to get the food containers off the counters(so you can work)and off the top of the SS fridge-sorry--the SS appliances have to go!!The kitchen just looks cluttered-would be hard to work there.

 

[stan]

Odd timing

That this topic came up now, and that it's mostly about kitchens
My house and the house next door where built in 1934. The two are not exactly alike.. But same materials, same style. So they are sister homes. Actually the two homes were built as wedding gifts to two sisters! The house next door was remodeled by the last owner
(who did the open kitchen thing) but what was worse, was the taring up the old bathroom and replacing with Home Depot stuff (boring)
The new owner now, has had a crew and designers connected to Traditional Homes magazine do the house over again!
High end appliances, and materials have been used, and each room had its own decorator design it.
I must say its a spectacular transformation. And this is the open house week (spectators) for this Showcase.
My house is unique in that it's 90 % original! Well maintained, with character in tact.
There is no open kitchen, no dishwasher, no garbage disposal. No hood or vent. Just a ceiling fan. Original cabinets, a 1920 Wedgewood gas stove that you have to a lite with a match, and a monitor top fridge, simple black and white floor.
I was cooking dinner tonight, and thought to myself "I've lived with this so long, I don't think I could prepare a meal with all the new beautiful stuff next door!
And I know he wouldn't be able to cook in mine, nor would he want to. LOL
It's been interesting to me to see the reactions people have to seeing the beautiful transformation next door, but more interesting when the same person asks to see mine. (I'm not part of the showcase, but people will ask, so I'll let them)
The reaction I see is not one of envy, but relaxed smiles. Especially the old folks. And their astonished that for as old as it is, mine has has escaped being remodeled.

 

[stan]

Forgot to mention

No microwave, no automatic drip coffee maker, no automatic toaster,

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

I see a Bundt cake with my name on it.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

re: I see a Bundt cake with my name on it.

Go get 'em, Fireball! (And it WAS Hot!)

 

 

-- Dave