Kitchen Shopping

[jenngolightly]

I get to buy a new kitchen! (With a house attached to it.) It's funny, because never before have I been so focused on one part of the house before. When I'm browsing the pictures of the listings, my fingers tap-tap-tap through the photos until I reach the kitchen pictures. Then I either nix the house or put it on the "to see" list. Amazing how important that's become to me! I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! My current kitchen is horrible. In fact, I haven't had a working oven in 2 months, my stove has 3 working burners, my fridge is on the fritz, and my sink leaks. I'm practically dancing in my chair.

I only found out on Sunday that I get a new house, so my dream list hasn't even formed yet. All I know is that I want a working oven, stove, and sink. :-) A place to sleep would be nice, too.

[Juliebove]

When I was looking at houses, I had to count the cupboards. There had to be at least 13. So I was happy when I found this one! Until I moved in. Turns out several of those "cupboards" are just doors with two sliding, flat drawers beneath. They are fine for largish pots and pans but don't work well for anything else. The other things fall behind the drawers because there is nothing to keep them in place. Then the drawers won't shut. Then I have to try to crawl in there and fine whatever dropped off.

The two corner lower cupboards are lazy susan type things. Things drop off the sides and to the back. I must then use some sort of tool with a long handle to try to fish out whatever fell back there. They also tend to stick and get off balance.

The upper cupboards simply aren't big enough to be of any use. And there is no pantry. So pretty much no good. I had to put a shelving unit in the dining room for daughter's gluten-free food (the stuff that only she eats) and I have to store the bulk of the canned goods in the garage.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I get to buy a new kitchen! (With a house attached to it.) It's funny, because never before have I been so focused on one part of the house before. When I'm browsing the pictures of the listings, my fingers tap-tap-tap through the photos until I reach the kitchen pictures. Then I either nix the house or put it on the "to see" list. Amazing how important that's become to me! I'm so excited I can barely contain myself! My current kitchen is horrible. In fact, I haven't had a working oven in 2 months, my stove has 3 working burners, my fridge is on the fritz, and my sink leaks. I'm practically dancing in my chair.

I only found out on Sunday that I get a new house, so my dream list hasn't even formed yet. All I know is that I want a working oven, stove, and sink. :-) A place to sleep would be nice, too.

Oooh, have fun! I hope you can find just what you want. I currently live if a teeny tiny apartment with a galley kitchen and I sometimes look at houses on zillow.com or trulia.com and drool over the kitchens. I'm not in a position to buy, unfortuantely, but I will definitely be looking for an apartment with a bigger kitchen when my lease is up here.

[sa1937]

Turns out several of those "cupboards" are just doors with two sliding, flat drawers beneath. They are fine for largish pots and pans but don't work well for anything else. The other things fall behind the drawers because there is nothing to keep them in place. Then the drawers won't shut. Then I have to try to crawl in there and fine whatever dropped off.

When I built my house 4 years ago, I specifically specified that I wanted doors with sliding drawers, not shelves, in the bottom cabinets. Of course, I also some some regular drawers, too, and I also specified they be full-extension (yes, it costs more). Nothing worse than getting down on my hands and knees to try and reach something at the very back of cabinets (been there, done that, in previous houses).

I think the sliding drawers are great but I do store pots and pans in them. Since pots and pans get heavy, it's been a godsend to have them. I've never had anything fall behind them but I can see how it would be a problem with foods. I'd still choose them today...only thing since going gluten-free, I do wish I had even more cabinets and a center island. And also a pantry was a must on my wish list so I have tons of food storage for things that don't need to be in my cabinets.

[shopgirl]

Congratulations! What a great present for the holidays.

I keep my pots and pans in the dishwasher...with my cookbooks.

[jenngolightly]

Your tips are all greatly appreciated! I'm perusing websites and seeing all kinds of great kitchens. All the best ones are out of my budget, of course. I definitely want an island!

I'm wondering if a gas stove is better than a cooktop? I live in the mile-high city and it takes forever to boil anything. Any thoughts on this?

[sa1937]

I keep my pots and pans in the dishwasher...with my cookbooks.

[Skylark]

Your tips are all greatly appreciated! I'm perusing websites and seeing all kinds of great kitchens. All the best ones are out of my budget, of course. I definitely want an island!

I'm wondering if a gas stove is better than a cooktop? I live in the mile-high city and it takes forever to boil anything. Any thoughts on this?

I would never go back to electric. Gas stoves crank out the heat when you want it and changes in flame are instant so you can go from full boil to simmer much faster than electric. You can also fine-tune the heat much more easily because you can see the flame.

I know what you mean about kitchens. My realtor couldn't understand why I was so focused on having a big kitchen with lots of counter space.

[Juliebove]

When I built my house 4 years ago, I specifically specified that I wanted doors with sliding drawers, not shelves, in the bottom cabinets. Of course, I also some some regular drawers, too, and I also specified they be full-extension (yes, it costs more). Nothing worse than getting down on my hands and knees to try and reach something at the very back of cabinets (been there, done that, in previous houses).

I think the sliding drawers are great but I do store pots and pans in them. Since pots and pans get heavy, it's been a godsend to have them. I've never had anything fall behind them but I can see how it would be a problem with foods. I'd still choose them today...only thing since going gluten-free, I do wish I had even more cabinets and a center island. And also a pantry was a must on my wish list so I have tons of food storage for things that don't need to be in my cabinets.

Last night I had a real problem. My tortilla warmer fell behind there. I used my reaching tool and was able to get out the bottom of it, but the top being flat was stuck upright against the wall. Apparently there was a small groove back there, just wide enough for it to get embedded in. With the reaching tool I could push it back and forth and it kept rolling. Finally after repeated attempts, I was able to push it up the wall and then if fell forward and landed flat where I was able to get it out.

My main problem is that I am disabled. It is difficult for me to get on the floor and even more difficult to get off of the floor. Which is what I have to do when something falls behind.

The other things that frequently fall behind are foil pans and plastic containers and lids.

One cupboard holds pots and pans. The other holds large baking pans and plastic containers. The other holds paper goods. That one is the worst. There is constantly something that falls behind there. Waxed paper, plastic bags, Kleenex, napkins.

The other thing I hate are my lazy Susan cabinets. Last night I had a box of instant mashed potatoes fall behind there. It was next to impossible to get out with the reaching tool. I almost started crying. I was just exhausted by the time I managed to wrestle it out.

[Juliebove]

I actually keep three pans on top of my stove. One is my Rachel Ray pasta pot. One is a Circulon skillet that is huge. Both are so large they are difficult to get into the cupboard. I can put them in but it's like a puzzle to do it. Everything has to go in just so. I use one or the other or both on pretty much a daily basis. The other is an old Revereware pan that I use for making popcorn. I use it several times a week so I just leave it out.

[GlutenFreeManna]

I would never go back to electric. Gas stoves crank out the heat when you want it and changes in flame are instant so you can go from full boil to simmer much faster than electric. You can also fine-tune the heat much more easily because you can see the flame.

I know what you mean about kitchens. My realtor couldn't understand why I was so focused on having a big kitchen with lots of counter space.

I would do gas if given the option as well. I used to think I wanted one of those flat electric cook tops for the ease of cleaning, but there are several downsides to them. If a coil goes out it's hard (maybe impossible in some models) to replace. Also they advise against doing things like canning on a flat cooktop. I did can some apples at a friends house that had one of these and we got lucky. After we were all done I was reading in one of the books that canning could cause a flat cooktop stove to crack, so it was advised against doing canning on one of those types of stoves.

Another advantage of gas is that if the power goes out you are still able to boil water and cook on a gas stove.

[sa1937]

Last night I had a real problem. My tortilla warmer fell behind there. I used my reaching tool and was able to get out the bottom of it, but the top being flat was stuck upright against the wall. Apparently there was a small groove back there, just wide enough for it to get embedded in. With the reaching tool I could push it back and forth and it kept rolling. Finally after repeated attempts, I was able to push it up the wall and then if fell forward and landed flat where I was able to get it out.

My main problem is that I am disabled. It is difficult for me to get on the floor and even more difficult to get off of the floor. Which is what I have to do when something falls behind.

The other things that frequently fall behind are foil pans and plastic containers and lids.

One cupboard holds pots and pans. The other holds large baking pans and plastic containers. The other holds paper goods. That one is the worst. There is constantly something that falls behind there. Waxed paper, plastic bags, Kleenex, napkins.

The other thing I hate are my lazy Susan cabinets. Last night I had a box of instant mashed potatoes fall behind there. It was next to impossible to get out with the reaching tool. I almost started crying. I was just exhausted by the time I managed to wrestle it out.

I can see that would be a real problem for you. I guess I like them because I only have substantial cookware stored there so there's no chance it would fall behind the drawers. But being "old and creaky" I would find it difficult to retrieve items like that, too.

My foil pans, etc. are stored in floor-to-ceiling cabinets for which I had extra shelves made as I hate to have to dig for things. I'm actually thinking of having another one made for my small mudroom, which is just off the kitchen. I've just acquired so many new things that my once adequate kitchen just doesn't store as much as I would like.

[sa1937]

I would do gas if given the option as well. I used to think I wanted one of those flat electric cook tops for the ease of cleaning, but there are several downsides to them. If a coil goes out it's hard (maybe impossible in some models) to replace. Also they advise against doing things like canning on a flat cooktop. I did can some apples at a friends house that had one of these and we got lucky. After we were all done I was reading in one of the books that canning could cause a flat cooktop stove to crack, so it was advised against doing canning on one of those types of stoves.

Another advantage of gas is that if the power goes out you are still able to boil water and cook on a gas stove.

Personally I like my Whirlpool smooth-top electric range because it's so easy to clean. I had one in my previous house, too, for about 10 years. Basic difference between the two is that I now have a convection oven, which I love and which I would consider a must-have in any range I ever bought. I do not can so that wasn't an issue for consideration.

On the other hand my daughter, who lives in Denver, is totally sold on gas and wouldn't ever even think of getting an electric range. Guess it's a matter of personal preference.

If the electric goes out, I guess I have to bundle up and go out to the patio to use my gas grill. Would hate to today as it's snowing. Brrrr