Kitchen: Phase II

I took a measurement of my stove and got all excited that it was only 24" wide ... I had been debating getting the standard size stove/cooktop of 30" which would take up too much counter space.  And I didn't want the smaller stove of 26" because, well, that is what I thought I had and it sucks.  I have not been able to bake since I bought the house ... that's two years ago folks! This little oven burns everything and there is NO window to peak into and watch the bread rise, and no light to shine out the window to guide us to the fridge for late night snacks. I contributed all that burning to the ovens small size rather then some malfunction of the appliance (although I am sure its actually just broken).  SO IMaGinE how excited I was when I finally measured my stove and discovered it was ONLY 24". That meant I could get 2 extra inches of cooktop / oven area. SO MUCH BIGGER and yet not compromise counter space.

AND then I went googling for 26" cooktops/ovens and discovered that somewhere along all my kitchen renovation brainstorming, my brain failed me and I had remembered measurements incorrectly and yes, 30" is the standard size, but there is no 26" range. 24" is the next width. Bummer. There goes my 2".

Phase II of the kitchen reno is meant to start now, like right now, in November. (Phase I was the demo, back in Feb '11). We were suppose to meet this weekend, but that didn't happen. My plan is to get the cement board, do some wall repair work, buy the cooktop/oven or slide in stove (undecided) and make the stove area. When I say my plan, well I do mean MY PLAN, but someone else will be doing the work.

I want to turn this little space, which is where the fridge has always been (there is LuLu, propped up on the stair, back in Feb 2011, in her faux fur vest and purple velvet pants, learning to walk),

INTO something like this.

via

Wow, OH SO WHITE and crisp and clean. Is it possible or is this only magazine worthy. When I saw this photo I decided that this was perfect for my little kitchen. I mostly want to replicate the cupboard, stove, cupboard idea. I'll probably put an industrial type fan or microwave above the cooktop along with a backsplash and floating shelves. SO, you see why I got excited and then bummed over those extra 2"... Once I saw this photo, I pretty much stopped fusing about the kitchen layout ... unless my Contract-HER comes along and advises differently, or offers up some other amazing kitchen design.

And, so you can see how this area originated, a before, before shot. That is, before we took out the overhead cupboards and the little side cupboard/counter and moved the fridge to the middle of the wall space. The kitchens' original. Pretty dark, eh.

We tore this out in Feb 2011. The cupboards are stored in the basement and the bottom cupboard and wooden counter is across the room, beside the stove. I'm going to see if we can use the cutting board counter somehow. When we first moved in, it was kind of scary, in that small dark area so I plopped the microwave on top of it to fill the void, but since then, and with not too much effort cleaning the surface, I have become fond of the chunk of wood counter. After the cupboards were taken down, I bought/made this IKEA toy bin and used it to organize and store the recycling.

I still have the 30" vs 26" cooktop dilemma but hopefully the work will actually start this month, as my fridge is slowly dying and I am dying to BAKE some muffins without having to toss them due to BURNT outsides and gooey insides. I gotta get this reno moving...