Enough About Corn

I think all the sex talk got me so flustered that I forgot to deliver on my promise to Carol…I had promised to give her info on the materials used in kitchen...So here’s my resource info for Carol (and anyone else who might be interested).

Tile:

The tile is your standard 3x6 subway tile. The manufacturer of the tile is B & W Tile. We purchased the tile from our friend who owns Tile and Stone in San Rafael…(if you ever want to see some lovely eye candy you should check out the show room…)

http://www.bwtile.com/

Cabinets:

The cabinets are somewhat of a long story—because of the limitations in the room (fixed windows, chimney, wall openings, etc.) it became apparent that we would need custom-sized cabinets to make things fit properly. After trying to get bids from local cabinet makers—who failed to return calls and return bids, I decided to go in a different direction…And I'm so glad I did.

Instead of having the cabinets built locally, I decided to purchase “Ready-To-Assemble” cabinets from Scherr’s Cabinets and Doors. Let me just say that working with Leon Scherr was a pleasure—he was extremely helpful in making suggestions in the design—and wasn’t bothered by the fact that I would constantly make changes to the plans and send them back (Note: these changes were because I was changing my mind, not because the plans were wrong). Leon went through about five sets of plans before I ordered…He was extremely patient throughout the process.

Almost every cabinet is a non-standard size—which is no problem for Scherr’s since they built each cabinet to order. You can specify the type of wood and the finish…all the drawers are dovetail construction.

Because the cabinets are ready to assemble, the cost is considerably lower than other cabinets—but the materials are generally better. Putting the cabinets together was relatively easy…and because we saved considerable money on the construction, we opted to upgrade the drawers and inserts with “Blum-Motion” slides—where the door shuts itself at a certain point. If you have some basic construction skills, using a rubber mallet and screw driver, you easily put the cabinets together. The difficult part is hanging the cabinets---get some help with this one…and check out a book on installing cabinets.

http://www.scherrs.com/


Hardware:

The hardware came from House of Antique Hardware (They have great hinges too at reasonable prices).

http://houseofantiquehardware.com/


Sinks and Faucets:

The Sinks are Shaws Fireclay from Rohl and the Faucets are Perrin and Rowe and Country Collection from Rohl.

http://www.rohlhome.com/


Countertops

You can get a complete description of the countertops along with a link here.


So hopefully this helps Carol—and thanks for the nice comments.

Sex and Corn and the Kitchen is Done

Garrison Keillor once said that “Sex is good, but not as good as fresh, sweet corn.” I’m not sure what they are growing on the prairie, but I’ve never had corn that good before. Maybe my mad culinary skillz are not as proficient as Keillor’s. That being said, living without a real kitchen for the past six years has given us a renewed appreciation for real food—albeit, not to the level of Keillor.

(The Kitchen "Before")
Preparing a thoughtful dinner, some crusty bread, and sharing a bottle (or two) of wine with friends and family, while lingering over dinner and enjoying each other’s company has been something that we have missed terribly as we have gone through the rehabilitation process. We took a step toward getting this back recently by (mostly) finishing the kitchen.


“In cooking you’ve got to have a ‘what-the-hell attitude,’” wrote Julia Child. We took this inspiration to heart when it came to our kitchen—both in the planning and execution. In our previous apartments and homes, we have never had a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, or new appliances. Not this time. Since this is the home in which we will stay, we tried to include our dreams and our wishes, and not feel too guilty about it….So for the first time in our marriage we have a dishwasher, and a new range, and our wishes. And while dreams seldom match the reality that follows—this time it did.

(The Kitchen--After)
There was a time, during the holidays, I would do my best to prepare a “gourmet” Christmas Dinner for our friends—choosing recipes from chefs like Alice Waters or Thomas Keller and try to replicate them—mostly to mediocre results. But that didn’t matter so much. What was nice was to be surrounded by people who mattered to us and us to them…and as the wine was poured and shared, the culinary mistakes became less noticeable.

Slowly as we all had kids, home projects became all encompassing, jobs got more demanding, and time became harder to hold, we stopped having our Christmas Dinners. That may soon change. Our friends, Michelle and Glen, have put us on notice that they have procured some special bottles of wine that are awaiting an attempt at cooking well…

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." Wrote Virginia Woolf. Perhaps it is time to start planning a meal….