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July 30, 2007

Parlor Kitchen #2: Contractor's Own Kitchen

The second submission we received in response to our call for parlor floor kitchen examples was from a contractor who designed and built his own. Here's a condensed version of what he had to say about it:

I feel that the kitchen is the most important part of the house for daily living & entertaining. I am a contractor and did most everything myself. Designing the space to look nice and work really well got much more complicated because I like vintage appliances. What can I say? I'm just not the Viking, Sub-Zero kind of guy...I removed the wall between the back two rooms and put in a header, making a room the full 20' wide. Took out a dumbwaiter too so I would have enough room for the farm sink (I'm making a special base cabinet for it ), Hidden dishwasher, 1935 Chambers stove, and a new Northstar refrigerator. I took out a window and made a door with transom that walks out on an iron deck overlooking the garden. I kept the bathroom off the hall and extended the original tin ceiling, Stripped all the cherry molding & doors and re-installed the old pocket doors. It became the best room in the house and we spend most all of our time there.

What can we say...another beauty. More pics on the jump.
Ideas for the Parlor Floor Kitchen? [Brownstoner]
Parlor Kitchen #1: Architect-Designed in The Slope [Brownstoner]

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Comments

I like the retro vibe. Very refreshing.

Posted by: Anon at July 30, 2007 11:32 AM

I love the fridge and the sink. Soo nice!!

Posted by: Mamacita at July 30, 2007 11:45 AM

I always heard that you should NEVER put your stove/oven next to your refrigerator. In general, I only see this in bad landlord re-dos.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 11:52 AM

I looove the fridge & stove!

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 11:52 AM

For the OP: where did you get the door and transom to your deck ?

Did you build your own deck ? If not who did ?

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 11:52 AM

ugly

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 12:06 PM

Very nice. I love the vintage appliances and farm sink!

Posted by: Park Sloper. at July 30, 2007 12:06 PM

I put my range next to my fridge. But then, I almost never use the oven, only the stove top. And generally, new ovens are way more insulated than they were even 20 years ago -- unless you buy a Viking. (Not sure about the oven pictured!)

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 12:07 PM

"I always heard that you should NEVER put your stove/oven next to your refrigerator. In general, I only see this in bad landlord re-dos."

ever heard the phrase "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it."

should try it sometime.

kitchen is loverly. huge fan of the appliances.

Posted by: slopehead at July 30, 2007 12:18 PM

Thank gods someone stands up against the tyranny of high-end applicances.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 12:30 PM

"I always heard that you should NEVER put your stove/oven next to your refrigerator. In general, I only see this in bad landlord re-dos."

Do you know why that is said or do you just repeat stuff and take no ownership.
The burners on this stove are not against the fridge/or wall - which is the reason you 'hear' this is not good placement. In this case - doesn't matter.
Looks great.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 12:56 PM

Ick, already looks 20 years old. I think it's mostly the laminate counter tops that give it this vibe. Slate or marble might have been nice with the retro vibe, though I understand the concerns with their use in kitchens.

Posted by: anon at July 30, 2007 12:57 PM

slopehead -
I'm not saying this reno is "bad", i'm just saying that I've only seen it in places where there has been limited space and limited layout (walls, plumbing etc) where a landlord doesn't want the expense of making things custom to fit better. It's hard to tell from the photos what is to the right of the sink.

It's always nice to have counter space on BOTH sides of your stove, and counter space next to your fridge. I do like the appliances - I'm not a fan of stainless either. I just would have found a way to put something between the stove and fridge. Both for energy savings (fridge) and for ease of use.

I agree that sometimes comments on this forum get ugly, but one should be able to be 'nicely' critical of something in a public forum.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 1:03 PM

Completely underwhelmed by the design. I don't claim to be an expert, but it is quite evident that the work of this kitchen is that of an an amateur who has not thought through the design. For example: #1 As there is no exhaust above the stove, you wouldn't use the stove for anything other to boil water, unless you want a layer of grease and film throughout the house in a few months. #2 The space behind the stove, being difficult to clean and get to, is a trap for dirt and food droppings that is perfect for cockroaches, mice, and other vermins. Just my 2 cents.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 1:13 PM

hmmmm...they managed to get away with no exhaust fans when that stove was made.

i don't have one, and i dare you to find any grease in my kitchen.

i'm suprised you didn't complain about a lack of a microwave also.

Posted by: slopehead at July 30, 2007 1:21 PM

The Chambers stove has rock wool insulation. It's better insulated than any stove you'll find on the market today. Go to chamberstoves.net for more info on the stove.

Posted by: deb at July 30, 2007 1:23 PM

I'd agree with poster 1:13pm. In addition, the sink is placed so peripherally that it shows that this contractor hasn't been around the kitchen all that much.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 1:26 PM

Peripherally, are you serious? It's a 30" cabinet away from the stove and one step from the island..gezzz

The kitchen is great. If it works for owner then fantastic. Congrats!!

Posted by: adante at July 30, 2007 1:30 PM

i guess i'm just shocked that people don't any longer seem to have any common courtesy. it's one thing to say nasty things about new developments or what have you, but i don't think people take the time to send in samples of their kitchens to have them likened to bad landlord redo's and to criticize the person for having no design skills.

i'm not saying everyone needs to say they love it, but perhaps you can keep the bashing of the person at bay? or are you all really that low class?

Posted by: slopehead at July 30, 2007 1:43 PM

I agree slopehead. I love this forum but the rude people are a drag. An occasional byproduct of anonymity I guess.

Posted by: John at July 30, 2007 1:55 PM

people here are dummies. you don't need a counter to the left of the oven to place hot pots on because -- there's a place ON THE OVEN.

pffft.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 1:57 PM

"It became the best room in the house and we spend most all of our time there."

I'm inclined to believe him. All designs are compromises between aspirations and reality, and this renovation seems to have kept what was important to the owner front and center. It's a cozy, modest and dare I say "un-designy" (less precious and badge conscious too) effort, which underscores for me that what brings magic to the kitchen is people using it, not some magic appliance triangle.

It appears the contractor had a more conventional sink arrangement in mind before he found that farm sink -- the whole kitchen will definitely look more finished when he gets the new custom cabinet for that sink installed.

--an architect in Brooklyn

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 2:03 PM

Dimensions and sketch of floor plan would be helpful. E.g., it would be nice to know how much space is left for dining area.

Posted by: crouchback at July 30, 2007 2:08 PM

Please stop complaining... If it weren't for the rude people, this blog would be so boring!

Posted by: GHB at July 30, 2007 2:23 PM

I love the vintage appliances! And there is great, uninterrupted counterspace on the island which you don't see that often. Adding the door and transom made a huge difference to the space, lovely.

Is the stove pulled away from the wall so it will be in line with the fridge and the counter to the right? This is the only thing that seems a little awkward to me.

(In defense of the person who mentioned fridge / stove proximity, I lived in a student rental apartment (with old cheap-o appliances that probably weren't well insulated) with this arrangement and the inside of the fridge was all bubbled and black on the side neighboring the stove when I moved in. It was caused by the oven not the burners and thankfully my landlord replaced it!)

Posted by: anon at July 30, 2007 2:26 PM

Love this kitchen. It will age so much more attractively than the usual stainless steel stuff, and the retro design touches integrate nicely with a brownstone parlor floor.

Posted by: anon at July 30, 2007 2:49 PM

Thanks for being brave to post your kitchen photos. I think the purpose of this kitchen post idea is for all of us to see how other people have done it. And not to be a keyboard critic. Like it or not - him and his family enjoys it and this is the most important. It is refreshing to see the personal touches and personal likes (vintage), instead of Architectural Digest picture perfect, never used kitchen.

Posted by: mg at July 30, 2007 2:59 PM

"If it weren't for the rude people, this blog would be so boring!"

Funny, that's how rude aHoles ALWAYS justify being rude aHoles.
Actually, the thoughtful comments are interesting. The bitchy ones have become very VERY boring.

On another note, I love this kitchen & can totally see how it would become a place to hang out. Well done.

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 3:05 PM

Considering redoing my kitchen:

Any thoughts/recs on putting in tile vs wood flooring. The existing kitchen has linoleum (uggh). The previous kitchen example used a Cork flooring. Pro's/con's?
any input appreciated.

Posted by: newbie at July 30, 2007 3:24 PM

It's true that the placement of the stove and fridge aren't ideal. I have the exact same configuration in my kitchen (in a house I own). I would have liked to have changed it. However, I didn't have the money to move gas and water lines -- maybe this guy didn't either. But he made a wonderful kitchen nonetheless, even if it isn't perfect. I can know people with fancy, perfectly triangulated (who even came up with that idea?)kitchens who never use them expect to microwave frozen food.

Posted by: anonymous at July 30, 2007 4:10 PM

Amen, 3:05.

I really love this kitchen. It has a lot of personality but is really elegant at the same time.

Posted by: Shirley at July 30, 2007 4:27 PM

I like this kitchen a lot, too--beautiful cabinetry, lots of light, cool use of vintage appliances (indeed: stop the Sub-Zero tyranny!). Congrats, OP, and please ignore posters who are being rude, here; we have an unfortunate gang of trolls who do that just to pick fights. FYI the only reason not to put the stove next to the fridge is that you ideally want to have counter space on either side of the stove. It doesn't have anything to do with heat emanating from the stove (unless you have a faulty stove). But it is a bee-atch to configure a kitchen in a brownstone--we all have to make compromises.

Regarding the poster who mentioned ventilation, I agree with you that a range hood that vents to the outside is a verrrrrrry desirable thing. But surely you realize that an enormous number of NYC homes can't have such a thing, particularly in large buildings. Most of the hoods people have here are just recirculating ones with filters (which helps a little, but not a lot). So you save blackened chicken for the summer months, and do it on the grill out back...

Posted by: anon at July 30, 2007 4:47 PM

I like it. The shaker? mission-style? cabinets are beautiful and complement the kitchen in a fun, casual way. Great hardware pulls, and I'm liking the tall radiator too!

I once had a stove next to a fridge and it was a real drag for two reasons. One, because it's nice to have open space on either side of your cooktop, and two: our fridge, which was old, would actually get quite hot, and it would "sweat" when we used the oven, which meant it had to work harder to keep cool, which meant it used more AC. But there was nothing we could do. And the paint did bubble up a little. If I had owned I might have redone it and created a buffer space on either side. That wouldn't be hard for this guy, as he's a pro contractor.

Maybe he can create two narrower cabinets to replace the total width of the single cab to the right of the stove. Then a tall matching cabinet panel could be installed between the refrigerator and cabinet, thereby encasing the fridge, that also functions as the vertical stop for the countertop on new small cabinet. That also keeps crumbs and spills from running down the side of fridge where they are irretrievable.

Agree about the vent fan, too. I so badly want one again that vents to the outside, like I had a few years ago. I love to grill chicken and stirfry indoors, and the grease really gets around. (Even if you're a vegetarian, olive oil really gets in the air when heated up...)

Anyway, great job, and you probably saved yourself $40k, so who's really laughing here anyway? Kudos...

Posted by: Anonymous at July 30, 2007 5:37 PM

Love the appliances and the overall vibe. Fantastic to see something so friendly and unslick. I might have sacrified the lovely old sink for more counterspace against the wall, separating the fridge and stove. Then placed a conventional sink in the island (course the plumbing would be a bit more complicated aka expensive). Think I would also have chosen either all solid or all windowed doors for the cabinets. But this is just imho.

Posted by: Anon at July 30, 2007 6:52 PM

I tried 3 times to post a reply, I hope this one takes!
Thanks to all that had constructive things to say about my kitchen. I know the retro thing isn't for everyone and I'm fine with that. I know it's far from a "perfect" design but I do have space restrictions. Thank you to " an architect in Brooklyn ", your comment rings true. To answer a few questions, yes I plan to add a vent, I waited until the deck went in. For now, I do all my messy, BBQ cooking outside on the deck. The countertops are stone, a mix of cement and glass, very green. The stove works great and is very well insulated, it has a fold down top too giving extra work space and pot storage is in the stove, to the right of the oven door. To the right of the sink is a full bath that I didn't want to take any space from. The single cabinet next to the stove is a dishwasher. I installed the door & transom myself, the iron work was done by Lapopano & sons, in Brooklyn. If you have any additional questions or would like to see more photos you can reach me at bottlecap@mindspring.com Thanks, Rick

Posted by: Rick at July 30, 2007 6:52 PM

simple. beautiful. very nicely done- I'm jealous.

Posted by: anon at July 30, 2007 10:04 PM

I am inspired by this kitchen and have saved pics of it (I think one was posted sometime earlier this year) to use for my kitchen reno. Mr. Contractor/ Rick, maybe you can post your info and you might get some business out of this. You seem to have great taste!

Posted by: Anonymous at August 1, 2007 6:42 PM

Sure....... Here's my contact info. You can reach me at bottlecap@mindspring.com or 718-506-7621

Thanks!

Rick

Posted by: Rick at August 5, 2007 8:24 AM

Looks nice, compact & well done. I love the vintage appliances, especially that cool Chambers. I have a high back model B from the late 40's myself & I find they are much better than any modern thing you could find & pay big bucks for. Please come by the website I manage & have a look: http://www.vintagechambers.com for lots of free scans of the old Chambers literature & related materials. All are welcome & everything is free to download as the old materials are all in the public domain.

Posted by: guest at August 18, 2007 10:05 PM

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July 30, 2007

Parlor Kitchen #2: Contractor's Own Kitchen

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