Sunday, April 14, 2013

Kitchen Remodel, Week Seven: Cupboards and Kitchen Revitalization


The cupboards are here. They are not installed yet, just crammed into the kitchen space all higgledy-piggledy. But they are here so we can see them for the first time.

We went with natural-stained fir, a less-expensive option than oak, which had been my first choice.  Fir is also an appropriate choice for a 100-year-old Oregon house because they most likely used fir in the original kitchen. 

My favorite bit is how our builder matched the inside moulding of the doors and drawers with the moulding in our dining room paneling. Kind of hard to see here, but cool in real life.


I am still reading Alice Waters and Chez Panisse: The Romantic, Impractical, Often Eccentric, Ultimately Brilliant Making of a Food Revolution by Thomas McNamee and am just at the part where Chez Panisse burned almost to the ground in 1983.  Alice Waters used the tragedy as an opportunity to rebuild with a better and more beautiful design more suitable to her evolved vision for the restaurant. 



Although our kitchen remodel was, thankfully, not necessitated by tragedy, I am trying to channel Water's optimism about a better, more harmonious, future kitchen.

Sadly, Chez Panisse suffered another fire last month and is closed for renovation until mid-June.  Hopefully this recent misfortune will also result in improvements for this California icon.

 


WEEKEND COOKING


10 comments:

  1. I love how the colors of the book cover blend so well with the photos in your post!

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  2. The moulding does bring a touch of elegance to the room.

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  3. Your cupboards are gorgeous!

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  5. Fir is such a beautiful choice. At first I thought the tape was simple hardware but when I enlarged the photo I saw what it was!

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  6. Cupboards - hurray!! You'll start seeing progress even more quickly now.

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  7. Alice Waters is one of my food heroes! I will have to look around for this book. Your kitchen cupboards look beautiful. Hopefully your kitchen will all come together soon!

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  8. I've been following your kitchen remodel even if I haven't been commenting - it is gorgeous! I bet you are looking forward to getting it all done!

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  9. Are you at the stage of planning your first feast prepared in the new kitchen? I would be.

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  10. I say "gorgeous," too! Are you doing without upper cabinets? Is that a set of windows? Is that what will be under them? (Sorry for the barrage of questions - I am enthralled!)

    It looks like a dream with the beautiful light streaming through . . . .

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