Hooked On -- Planning A Kitchen Do-Over

Julia at the wonderful Hooked On Houses blog, is hosting a "Hooked On...." blog party. Hop on over (click here) to see what folks are Hooked On this Friday!

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Remember the playground at lunchtime? The kickball games, jump roping (as we called it), the endless rounds of "Old Mother Witch What Time Is It?" Sharpening popsicle sticks into pointy weapons on the cement? (Was that just a New York thing?)

Remember "do-overs?" If you took your turn in a game, and blew it, you could call "Do-Over!" and get a second chance. (I tried this at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. This is why I will never go to another casino; they are just not good sports in those places.)

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But -- about our kitchen --
take a look at naked That Old House Kitchen (the squeamish amongst you, avert your eyes):

Now I ask you, does this kitchen look as if it belongs in That Old House?

The kitchen was done in 2004 -- new everything -- and that is part of the problem. Everything works. It looks as if it's from 1984, but it all works. There are a few interesting features, such as this:

Look to the left of the pantry cupboard ... see the gap?
My ironing board lives there now, under the wacky run of molding at the top.

Most cupboards stop partway up the wall, leaving room for soffits, open or closed.
Or, they go all the way to the ceiling! These stop several inches from the top. Huh?

This picture was taken from our sunroom, looking through the big arch:

On the far left, past the lovely sculpture of a big black trash bag,
are the narrow back stairs to the second floor.
Here's a shot from the second floor, down those back stairs. They look steep, but aren't.

And at the bottom of the stairs, a small landing, and then two steps into the kitchen.
Note the fine finish work on the edges of the floor tiles:

Not.

Okay, back to the matter at hand ... what to do about the Kitchen?

I am a list maker.

Things I like about this kitchen:
1) It's in a house I love.
2) . . . .??? OK, there must be #2 (no jokes! This is a family blog). Ah! I've got one. I love the double ovens, electric, and one is also a convection.
3) I like that the cabinet drawers and cupboards open and close without needing to be kicked or tugged or slapped silly, a huge improvement over the kitchen in our Craftsman, which had 90-year old cabinets with minds of their own:

(Ah, I loved that kitchen. This picture is after we tarted it up so potential buyers would be so mesmerized by its old-fashioned charm that they wouldn't realize it was shaped like a bowling alley and 3 of the drawers no longer existed -- just their glued-on fronts. It worked. We got 2 full price offers in a bad market, but that's another story.)

Back once more to the problem at hand: there is just so much wrong with the kitchen in That Old House:
1) Dark green laminate countertops with oak trim (which isn't very well attached).
2) Oak cabinets.
3) Double sink -- who designs these things? Have they ever met a big stock pot or big cookie sheet? Plus, the almond-colored enamel is getting chipped. Things seem to drop on it frequently. . . .
4) Almond-colored faucet that makes odd gurgles, and whose finish is wearing off. Amazing -- every time it is vigorously scrubbed, more finish comes off. Remarkable.
5) No exhaust options other than the window.
6) Falling-off trim work on cabinets. ("Honey, where's the toe kick?")
7) A 40" x 60" countertop -- too wide to reach across, but attached to the wall so you can't walk around it. Why? Why???
8) Narrow shelves above the whatever-it-is countertop; not much use, as you can't reach them with normal human arms.

Yes, that is the too-deep counter, the near-useless shelves,
and the excellent wall ovens on the right.

9) A smooth electric cooktop, the work of the devil himself. It is evil. Hard to clean, even harder to cook on. I need gas! (hey -- no jokes!)
10) Bad layout. Bad, bad layout. Naughty layout, you must be punished. . . . oops wandering off track here again.
11) No, I'll stop here. There's more, but you don't need to know it all!

Among the charms of this kitchen, take a look at the picture, below. See the refrigerator to the left of the dishwasher? Directly opposite the fridge, are the double wall ovens. If you open an oven, you cannot open the fridge, and by opening either refrigerator or ovens, you totally block access to the dining room through the butler's pantry. Interesting, no?

We could rip the whole sorry mess out and start from scratch but there are 3 impediments to that:
1) The turmoil of renovation; I don't want to be without a kitchen for months on end, getting too old and cranky for that.
2) The "green" factor. My conscience rebels at tearing out usable things. I'm too much of a conscious steward to be easy with that.
3) The cost! Holy crow, do you know what it would cost to totally replace this kitchen? Makes my head spin.

Howard says #3 trumps them all, so we are looking at not a
renovation or replacement, but more of a "do-over."

So now I am in the process of choosing the "musts" and weeding them out
from the "wants" and the "maybes" and the "not going to happens" in my Wish List.

What would you replace? Reconfigure? Transform? Use as is?

Would you strive for a period look, in keeping with the rest of That Old House? Or throw caution to the wind, and go with a more modern look, since there is very little trace of the original kitchen left?

I used pictures of the kitchen from before we moved in, so as not to show how it looks now (which is pretty grim anyway). Think of it as a Blank Slate! With cupboards. . . .

I leave you with this charming photo of Howard on Thanksgiving.

Note please his turkey shirt, a prized find at Cracker Barrel a few years ago.
The lad's got style.
(Our Thanksgiving is chronicled here.)

One thing I'll say about this kitchen -- we've managed to feed a
whole lot of people using it, and I guess that is what really counts!

Have a wonderful weekend! -- Cass