Function First!

Today, I dived into a project that’s been bugging me for awhile. I took a few days off and went to our vacation home. I like getting away...as any self-respecting vagabond does *wink*. We redid this little cottage a year or so after we bought it, mostly because the wiring was from 1923 and the bathroom was from the ‘40’s – yikes and yuk.

In our re-do, I messed up big time when it came to the kitchen. I don't cook (much), therefore no cooking = no need for a lot of storage = no upper cabinets. This gave me the option of putting a row of cute little casement windows in their place. So, you see where my mind was when deciding how big the refrigerator needed to be. I decided a little undercounter fridge would be just fine. Rrrriiiiiiight.

(pay no attention to the insulation in the cracked window)

Fast forward three summers spent with an undercounter fridge without a freezer, and the fridge/freezer that we needed after all (because the ice cream truck only comes sporadically) was in the back room. The function was all wrong with this set-up, and I moved the fridge to the only place in the kitchen where it fit. Right in front of the storage unit stove. I only use the stovetop to heat up my tea in the morning. Need a stove, but not a proper fridge? Major brain-fart!

Why no, I don't use the oven...

This wasn’t going to be a permanent arrangement, but I couldn't justify buying a new fridge. The good news is that the old fridge fits EXACTLY in the space where the stove was originally. Since realistically the stove isn't functioning for us and we need the space, the stove will be craigslisted. A toaster oven takes care of small baking jobs. The grill and microwave take care of most everything else. If they don’t, we go out to eat.

Much better! The undercounter fridge will now just be a beverage fridge - now that's function!

Moral of the story is to be realistic about how your family functions. If a stove is there only to hold pans that you don’t use anyway, maybe it’s not a necessity. If you have a pantry, but no light in the kitchen, maybe windows would function better than upper cabinets.  Just because a stove and upper cabinets are expected in a kitchen, it doesn’t mean they’re necessary for your family. If you’re planning on staying awhile, make it YOUR home and do what works for you.

What are you hanging onto because it's the 'norm'?