Kitchen

Kitchen Reveal

myglasgowkitchen November 10, 2019 no Comments

I’m so excited to be showing you my kitchen. Obviously you might have seen snippets of it from my previous blog post.

This kitchen has been 2 years in the making… Which includes dreaming of it for 1 year, planning for 4 months, renovation including lots of delays for 8 months. At one point I felt so down that I was convinced that it will never be completed.

It’s taken so long? ‘It must be impressive’

Sorry to disappoint… It is actually really plain (& maybe boring) but I like it. Because it is sooooo functional.

I’ve got lots of storage, countertop space, easy to clean kitchen and the best of all…. An uncluttered kitchen. It was custom made according to my cooking style, our personality, taste and our recently adopted minimalist concept.

Minimalism

It doesn’t mean that we are going to be getting rid of a lot of things and use a basic kitchen. I suppose minimalism is a spectrum. I still have a microwave, food processor, oven toaster etc.

Occasionally piglet will catch me staring at it. It’s really calming with the white walls and natural light. Glad that Piglet shares my joy too. Team ‘piglet&I’ rocks! This is one of our projects we had planned and embarked on together as a couple.

Wet & Dry Kitchen

The kitchen is divided by a sliding door into 2 parts: wet and dry kitchen. That makes it really functional for my style of cooking and it’s easy to clean.

Countertop

My countertop choices consist of white and grey speckle quartz for dry kitchen and grey speckle homogenous porcelain tiles for wet kitchen. I did not opt for a plain colour as the pattern can hide dirt and watermarks.

Peninsula

Also thanks to Piglet who suggested to ‘borrow’ space from the dining area for the small peninsula. We have used it as a charging station, fruit storage or landing area to unpack groceries. I also put my laptop there to watch movies/ dramas while prepping food.

It’s not used as a breakfast table as the dining table is pretty close by. Anyway I was not planning to add stools underneath it until Piglet handed me some ‘antique’ bar stools he bought decades ago.

This is how the kitchen looks in it’s messy glory….

Baking Session on the Dry Kitchen Countertop

There’s sufficient countertop space in the dry kitchen: 7 ft continuous stretch for baking and prepping.

Sink

Piglet’s choice of a deep and wide one bowl sink has proven useful as it fits in pots and pans and baking sheets. We installed a wall mounted double faucet so we can wash the dishes together… one side each. It’s a minimalist design and really easy to clean too…

The wet kitchen sink is also wide enough to fit the oven baking tray…

Adequate Storage Space

My Favourite Part of the Kitchen = Storage. I planned the kitchen storage according to zones.

The appliance garage ‘hides’ clutter. It houses the microwave and electric kettle. This custom made cabinet was my priority when choosing a kitchen cabinet manufacturer.

A confession

I admit that I have a food container obsession. I had a tendency to bring home a pretty food container (a bonus if it’s pink or purple colour) after a grocery shop regardless of whether I need it. But I have put a stop to this as the quota aka drawer space is full. Plus plastic is not environmental friendly. Might consider switching over to heat resistant glass food containers after this round.

Baking zone

The bottom drawer is deep enough to fit my baking tray, mixing bowl etc. And the top drawer is shallow enough for me to store my kitchen scale and other small baking equipment. It feels like my ‘baking playground’.

Blender, Food Processor & Miller Storage Drawer

Prep drawer

I store my prep appliances at the bottom drawer. The height & size of the drawer is just nice to fit the blender, food processor and miller. In my previous place, I stored half in the box and the other half on an open shelve so it was not that accessible. As a result, I did not fully utilize it.

The tall unit is symmetrical and maximizes storage. In fact the 2.5ft wide X 6ft tall bottom middle cabinet aka the food pantry has horizontal handleless design that blends in with the handleless drawers.

Easy to clean kitchen

The flooring is ‘wood’ tile with a rustic feel. The texture is rough but is still easy to mop the floor. Looking back, the 6 weeks agonizing wait for tiles delivery and slope gradient construction was worth it! I chose the tile one by one and handed it to the tile installer so it will appear a random pattern.

And it functions like a ‘wet room’. When the kitchen is too oily or dirty, I just wash it with a water hose. The water flows forward then to the right through the door into the backyard drain.

The kitchen trolley hides the washing machine inlet and outlet. When I wash the kitchen floor, I connect the tap to a hose.

The base of the kitchen cabinet in the wet kitchen is concrete and tiles.

Natural light

‘A skylight in the kitchen? You will be cooked instead!’

Love the natural light that I rarely gotten that during the winter months in Glasgow so I’m embracing it. I also sun-dry some fruits and vegetables under the skylight.

Sun-drying Orange Peel and Butterfly Pea Flower

Skylight, Exhaust Fan, Hood and Hood Duct in Wet Kitchen

The exhaust fan was installed for temperature control since the skylight will give a ‘greenhouse’ effect’. It is a quieter option compared to the hood.

Designing a Kitchen

This is what I did when I designed my kitchen and might be different for everyone. It is by no means the best way to design a kitchen but just the way it turned out for me.

1. Appliances

Hob
Hood
Microwave oven
Others: Washing machine, Refrigerator, Oven
Base for fridge and washing machine?
Top load vs front load washing machine

2. Do your homework

Do your homework before starting a kitchen renovation

3. Determine wants & needs

Wants vs needs in designing a kitchen

4. Kitchen concept and layout

5. Smooth work flow

6. Ergonomics

Will you be hitting your head on the kitchen hood?

7. Ventilation

8. Sink

How to choose a kitchen sink

9. Choosing a kitchen countertop and cabinet

10. Electrical plan & Lighting

11. Kitchen design and plan

12. Backsplash, wall and flooring

Choosing tiles

Renovation process

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Musing & Thoughts

Living on Site while Renovating the Kitchen and Setting up a Temporary Kitchen

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