Creating the Kitchen You Want

My kitchen just outside Kyoto, Japan in about 1972.










I spend a lot of time in my kitchen so I have some thoughts, gathered from nearly 44 years of working in 11 apartment or home kitchens, on what makes for a workable, healthful, and lovable space. From graduate student housing (see my very first blog for a photo) to Taiwan and Japan, from four kitchens in Durham, North Carolina to Berkeley and Sonoma in the present, I’ve put my mark on all of them and have extensively down-to-the-studs renovated two.

I renovated this kitchen in Durham, North Carolina in about 1991. 










Just one thought before I begin: If I think that I need the fanciest, snazziest kitchen around in order to cook good food, I am dead wrong. I can cook good food in almost any kitchen, primitive as it might be. Two propane burners (which always run out mid-cooking of course), cold water, and a counter that was 2 x 2 feet square may not be the ideal cooking space but I was able to cook pretty good Chinese and Japanese food in it. I remind myself that those conditions were a lot nicer than what many folks around the world use daily, squatting over an open fire on a dirt floor or a charcoal-burning brazier on the street. Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook in a nice, well-accessorized kitchen, but it is not necessary.

That said, I want you to have a kitchen you love. If you don’t like it or haven’t made it your own, chances are you will cook less and that would be a pity.

So I’m going to tell you first what I’ve done to improve many of my kitchens and second what I think is important if you are renovating.

I bet some of you, perhaps all of you, have suggestions to add. Please let me know and I’ll update this post in a few weeks. Send me photos too if you have them.

Five Kitchen Improvements

This photo is from the Sonoma kitchen prior to the extensive renovation. With paint and some imagination, I made this kitchen into a colorful and friendly spot to cook.














Color adds zip to the kitchen. A bright container for my favorite tools. Repainting cabinet doors or the walls in colors I love. Repainting kitchen stools in a smashing color or getting a couple of new bright kitchen rugs.

Good lighting is essential. I replaced florescent tubes with track lighting which brightened everything, including my mood.

This is a photo of my Berkeley kitchen. I've only made minor changes to it since we moved to California in 1996.
















Floor mats save your body. I have an iffy back, hips, knees and feet situation. If I stand on any hard surface too long, they start speaking to me. Michelle, my daughter-in-law, pointed me to GelPro kitchen mats which have solved the problem. I put them in front of my chopping and prep space. You can find them at Sign of the Bear in Sonoma and on line.

A big wooden cutting board. Mine is made by Boos and is 15 x 20 inches. I also find thin plastic cutting sheets useful when I’m cutting up raw meat or for transferring chopped items from the board to a pan on the stove.

De-cluttering the counters. I like to keep my counters as clear as possible. It’s an aesthetic thing but it also means that I have more workspace however large or small it may be.

Nine Kitchen Renovation Suggestions

All these photos are from the most recent Sonoma kitchen renovation a couple of years ago.
















An island or peninsula with stools is a great place for friends and family to hang out in the kitchen without getting in my way.

Glass doors on the cabinets which hold plates and dishes are so pretty. I use closed cabinets for food and pots and pans which aren’t so attractive.

Wooden floors are great in the kitchen. In two kitchens I’ve been able to scrape through multiple layers of linoleum to get to the sub-flooring which, in both cases, was a little funky but perfectly usable. With sanding and finishing, the wood adds a nice warmth to the space.

Bookshelves in the kitchen allow me to have my cookbooks readily at hand.

Having my prep/chopping area right next to the stove and large enough to hold my cutting board with some space on either side to spare is essential to me. I don’t like transporting chopped veggies across the kitchen.

Drawers for below the counter storage make it much easier to retrieve what I want.

Well-designed drawer pulls and switch plates are like good accessories to your favorite outfit. They make all the difference.

I chose to purchase more affordable models of appliances this time around. They work very well indeed and kept the renovation expenses a bit more within reason.

A splendid spice rack from the old ironing board cupboard is a great use of space.

Color, good lighting, floor mats, big cutting boards, and clear counter space are just as important in renovating as in improving.