New Fridge

[StickyPirate]

Mama M, will you come over to my house and tame my refrigerator? It's very unruly. I'm scared of it.

[Mama Mangia]

CAG - Like I said - I was born during the cusp - so I've got the tendencies!

My dream kitchen has 2 gas wall ovens, a large 6 burner stove with double oven, a 5 burner stove top, with a pantry for food and a pantry for appliances, etc. and one holding an additional fridge, a chest freezer and a stand up freezer.

Double sink and separate produce sink.

For starts -

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I love to look at all kitchen styles, mama- even the big fancy luxurious ones... but truth be told- for my own use, I want it to feel like a smallish HOME kitchen- not a commercial one- and be easily manageable. (I currently have a tiny condo kitchen which isn't quite big enough... so some happy middle-ground).

First my ideal kitchen must have a small, compact feel- without being cramped. I don't need a kitchen that 10 cooks can work in... I don't want to have to hike 4 miles to whip up a PB&J! And it must have a smart, well thought-out floor-plan and traffic pattern that is open and exposed to the living areas.

I personally wouldn't opt for stainless- though I understand the appeal to many. I just was surrounded by it my whole career and am done with it. I'm partial to warm earthy materials and a natural color scheme- one that would be appopriate for the log or cedar home that I'd like to have. I like a brown/beige ceramic tile or stone floor, stone back-spalsh, and copper represented somewhere- somehow... maybe in a light fixture?

A compact centralized island, wall ovens and a cooktop, an armoire-style double-door fridge w/ freezer on bottom, a double-basin soapstone farmhouse sink- again, brown tones for all surfaces. (MUST have a window at the sink with a view of some sort to help me day-dream as I wash dishes).

I like a walk-in pantry w/ space for a compact deep-freeze, a cabinet tall/deep enough to hold large trays and sheet-pans, lots of good lighting and lots of openable windows for outside views and fresh air.

As far as cabinetry and counters- I like tall cabs that go all the way to the ceiling in a pale finish (birch?) with lots of exposed wood-grain, and I'm partial to mixed-medium counters w/ a least a bit of wood chopping-block-style added to the mix- w/ 1 medium built-in marble slab for pastry and chocolate work. Counters also must be higher than average- about 43"-44" in height, as I stand pretty tall and don't want to hunch over (I'm 6'1" but my inseam ODDLY is only 28" so I'm really tall from the waste-up. Weird!)

My decorating style leans toward clean lines, and minimalist-Asian/Japanese style with lots of wood and stone. I want it to be as high-end as I can afford... and it might sound like a tall order for a small space, but again, the key for me is realistically moderate to smallish, not big. I want it to be a kitchen I can clean and get around in and not have to give-up when I'm retired and older... My fantasy would be to have a kitchen desginer come up with a beautiful creative way to fit in ALL my requests and then I would say- "okay, I want ALL OF THIS, but in a new space only 2/3 the size of this one!"

[Mama Mangia]

Originally Posted by StickyPirate

Mama M, will you come over to my house and tame my refrigerator? It's very unruly. I'm scared of it.

LOL - have got some things stuffed in the back of the shelves that needs to be carbon-dated to be identified??? LOL

I would go nuts if my refrigerator was set a certain way. Sort of OCG! Everything has to be in "it's" spot.

Heck - keeps me out of trouble!

[Mama Mangia]

CAG -

My kitchen would have all white appliances - yep - plain white. I've had the colors during the years - now I want white. Cupboards - cherry.

Stainless - NEVER! It's nice. And like you said - work in a restaurant and you're surrounded by it. For someone that doesn't cook it's fine - but after using your oven the stove begins to discolor (the backsplash) and I couldn't stand that. And eventually the oven doors start and it's ugly. I can't stand splashes on my stove - after dinner the dishes are done, the water is changed and the stove is done, all burners in the sink. Can't stand anything in the oven either. (including storing pans!) That really irks me.

One stove I have has the little round burner things to clean - the other doesn't. I've got mixed feelings with those too. For years I scrubbed an cleaned them - then a few years ago I bought a stove that doesn't have them - wasn't sure if I would like that. (thought I'd be replacing the stove in a month!) but I like it.

Not too sure if I want an island - but I want a large butcher block table - LARGE.

[chubbyalaskagriz]

I like all-white too, mama...

My sister's kitchen SOUNDS weird, but it's beautiful! She has dark hickory cabinets, a GRAY countertop, a PURPLE backsplash, and a cream colored stone sink with black appliances. Looks much more put together than the wacky colors make it sound. Very pretty...

[Jafo232]

Here is what I bought last year:

Jeffs Recipes » Review: GE 25ft Stainless Steel Refrigerator - GSH25JSTA

Of course, probably not what you want but I myself am one of the few who does not care for the freezer on the bottom. I think it was all of those years carrying furniture. My back likes to stay straight as possible these days.

I love my fridge and if the ice maker takes up too much room, well it slides out and you can turn it off.

I also have a second fridge which I hope to get in the garage and plugged in sometime soon.

[KYHeirloomer]

Thanks for the review, Jeff.

As mentioned, those side-by-sides just don't work for us. And I'm not interested in either an ice maker or water dispenser. Just a fridge.

Given my druthers there would be no freezer at all. I've got both a chest freezer (that holds half of Rhode Island) and a 19 foot upright. So, if I have to have a freezer as part of the unit, having it on the bottom keeps it out of the way.

If this was our primary fridge I'd probably have different criteria. But it's a supplementary one, to give me more prep space.

[jglass]

I noticed several of the FN shows have those glass-fronted SubZeros in the kitchens now.

[KYHeirloomer]

When we were at ADI buying our last freezer I got to be talking with the salesgirl about those SubZeros.

She told me they are very big with people who are doing full restorations of old houses. Hmmmmph! I guess if you're spending $200,000 on sheetrock, 14 grand for a fridge looks like a bargain. But they're a wee bit out of my budget.

I often wonder, with those celebrity chefs, if they would use the same equipment if it was coming out of their pockets. Would they insist on a $4,500 Viking cooktop? Or would a $900 Maytag serve just as well?