apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Mind if I ask where you got those cabinets, Jennifer?

Beautiful kitchen by the way.

My gut says: What a great small kitchen!
My brain says: I need to know if it works!

And the kitchen designer in me has a couple of functionality questions:
1. Assuming you don't have a range "hood", do you find it weird to be without?
2. Do you use your microwave frequently? Is the under-counter position awkward at all?

WOW.. such sophisticated look. I will definitely take your "tips" into consideration. LOVE the entire look!! :O)

I love the whole look; very clean and polished. Great and efficient use of space. Nice touch on the stainless appliances, especially the range! Cute book storage too.
This is the best smallest coolest kitchen i've seen!

i'm a fan - except for the hood that's missing over the range - I've had 2 apts w/no hood or even a filter and it gets so nasty so fast - grease buildup, etc - and I'm a health-concious cook.....

good tips!

Beautiful design. Very impressive that you created a built-in look with "stock" cabinets. By stock do you mean home depot type boxes with custom doors? From what I can see in the photos your millworker did a very nice, neat job.

It's great that you took advantage of the F & P dishdrawer, it makes great sense in such a small kitchen.

I would have to stress the importance of a good kitchen hood though. Even if you can't vent to the outside you should invest in a hood that can recirculate, especially because you have commercial firepower. After my last rental apartment I learned first-hand the devestating effects that aerosolized grease has on everything in the place. You won't necessarily see it in the air but after a while you will start building up a grease film on all kinds of things. You'll start to notice it on stuff like paintings and knick-knack type stuff that you never really touch. With open kitchens there is not much difference between cooking in your kitchen and cooking in your living room. Most people don't cook so I think that's why we don't see a lot of hoods in places. But if you guys cook alot it would be well worth the investment www.kitchensource.com/range-hoods/su-siu-404

Very nice job though, I would love to see more pictures after the contest of your kitchen and the rest of the place.

www.kitchensource.com/range-hoods/su-siu-404.htm

I cant look at this anymore because i'm jealous.

hmm...I'm in the minority I guess. It's so plain and there don't seem to be any personal touches. The wood is nice but the white surfaces seem cold. Not my thing.

that's the biggest plant stand i've ever seen.

Overall, like many others, I really like this kitchen. The clean lines of the cabinets contribute to the open feeling. It is plain, but in a very good way, i.e., peaceful and pleasant.

My one quibble, which is not only for this entry but for many of the others, is why such gargantuan appliances for a small kitchen?

Hi guys, thanks for the comments. Here are some answers to your questions.
The cabinets are from IKEA, we wanted to stay within a budget, especially when we looked at bulthaup (just for fun) and it was 35K for about 10 linear ft...We also replaced the hinges on the facing cabinets to touch latch, avoiding the hardware since we didn't want an overhang with the countertops.
Art, thanks for the suggestions on the hood. When looking, we couldn't find one that we liked and that would not jeopardize the look of the space. Since we have 2 windows in the kitchen, it has not been a problem when we cook. We did have our electrician install a line in case we ever wanted to put one in, or the next owners, so I guess it's hood ready. The other issue to consider when installing a hood, that was not recirculating, is that we are in the 7th floor of a co-op building, and putting a hole in the side of the building was not going to pass through the board...New Yorkers you know what i'm talking about.
The microwave works great being out of the way. In our place, and most apts in NYC, counter space is a premium, therefore, since we felt we would only use the microwave once a day for only a couple of minutes... it wasn't a hard decision to make. It has actually worked out great, it's never an incovenience, it looks neat. Sara, in terms of the appliances, we went with a 30" stove, we felt that 24" was just too small for us to enjoy. The extra space works great when entertaining because we can display all warm foods right on top of the stove. The Fridge is not that big if you think about it, 36". It give us the much appreciated cooling unit to store all our foods.

Thanks again for the comments.

Jen and Jose

One of the great things about your kitchen is that the appliances are actually not oversized. I think people are so used to seeing standard appliances but don't realize that they are actually oversized. The fridges are always over 30" deep with the handles which makes them stick out of cabinets to provide an annoying little ledge for magnets. Built-in fridges are cabinet depth. Even though your range has more btu's than most people need it's got a slim profile and doesn't disrupt the shape of the island like a big conventional stove and oven. Then, the dishwasher is the size of a deep drawer! And props for hiding the microwave in a cabinet. Talk about oversized appliances, microwaves have gotten out of control, they've come up with a button for everything.

This is the first kitchen in this competition so far with the best combination of design and functionality. One question, how hard was it to equip the Ikea cabinet for the dishwasher? One kind of box and door set up did you use for it?

Really nice kitchen! You said that you have Ikea cabinets, but I've never seen the oak doors that you have at Ikea. Do you know the name of the door style? Or did you get custom doors to go with the Ikea frames? If so, where did you get the doors? Thanks.

Thanks MRK, the name of the IKEA oak cabinets was NEXUS...however, we think they discontinued this style because we can't find it as an option anymore...

Art, it was pretty tricky to fit the dishwasher in the box cabinet, it was off by 1 inch, (let's just say we learned a lot about new products and by taking trips to Simon's hardware www.simons-hardware.com)...our contractor had a carpenter on staff and he worked it with a new melamine side using the same box...of course we had to make new doors for the new 25" wide cabinet...we bought an extra panel and they used wood veneer tape to match the edge. This one carpenter knew his stuff, we were lucky.

J.

I love your kitchen! It looks modern and sophisticated, yet warm at the same time.

Could you tell me what you used for the backsplash? It looks like glass, but I can't tell for sure.

Thanks!

I love the pendant light fixture in the first shot. Where did you get it?

Love this space.

The comment on the size of the fridge was just a quibble, not a major criticism. I agree with art that built-in appliances are much more aesthetically appealing than those that stick out into the kitchen.

But just think, with a 24 inch fridge, there could be another foot of counter space to the left of the sink! This is obviously a moot point for this kitchen, as Jennifer and Jose have constructed a beautiful kitchen space for themselves that fits their preferences. But if it were me, I'd really appreciate the extra work space.

i agree w/sarahw on the smaller fridge.
we could learn a lot from europeans in that they have smaller, more efficient appliances in their kitchens. Hell, they manage to put washer/dryers in their kitchens on top of everything else! when you shop more frequently, you end up cooking/eating what you buy, eating fresher and not wasting so much!
the costco/sam's club to subzero mentality it disturbing, IMO.

Having recently redone a kitchen myself, I can appreciate the hard work and the choices you made. Thank goodness you put the microwave below! I did that and I do not miss having it above the counters, and I love that it doesn't take away from your beautiful kitchen. I constantly see million dollar homes with cheap microwaves installed amidst the $50K cabinets and I think it is tragic. If it is already wired, I would consider a vent. There are a lot more that have recirculating converting packages than you think. I live in a 100 year old building so venting outside was definitely not an option. You may not notice yet, but you will end up with a greasy film on everything if things get out of hand and you don't have a vent.

Good work. Your place is the only one I have ever commented on.

btw, i think this kitchen is dope, though.

Recirculating range vents: they do nothing except make noise. Nothing. Even the vented ones make more noise than would be desirable with that configuration, so I think Jennifer & José did a great job.

The smart solution if it becomes an issue might be a strong outward-blowing window fan that can be put in when necessary, like when browning lamb, and disappeared after.