Compromises must be
made, and I don’t want to.
We designed this
house ourselves, because we couldn’t afford the services of an
architect, and we began three years ago. We spent months on it,
drawing it out with a computer program, and figuring out where every
stick of furniture would go.
But we keep making
changes, especially now that there’s an actual building to compare
the computer design to. The washer and dryer were going to go in a
little closet off the bathroom, and were going to have to be a
stackable unit. Then we decided it made better sense to make that a
bedroom closet, and put the washer and dryer in the pantry, which
will be a lot more spacious for doing laundry in. Bonus, we can
put a fold-out ironing board in there. Plus, it allows us to use the washer and dryer we already own, instead of buying new stackable ones.
But that took up the room intended for the chest freezer, which we also already own. We debated buying an upright to replace it and trying to cram it into the pantry, but decided to put the freezer on the porch instead.
All of these
changes, which took much longer to figure out than this summary
suggests, have been great, and have improved the overall design of
the house.
But today, DH called
me at work, and informed me that the kitchen design doesn’t work,
now that he sees it in actual form.
Specifically,
there’s no room for the wall oven.
The wall oven I’ve
been yearning for, planning for, for Years.
He explained a
problem I’d noticed, but had been denying to myself: The
only available counter work space was jammed into two small corners,
one on either side of the wall oven, which was located on the south
wall – the short end of the u-shaped kitchen – between two
windows.
I assured him there
was room, and that we would figure out a clever solution.
When I got home, I
informed him I’d had the brilliant idea of moving the range to the
south wall, instead. This eliminates crowding and greatly expands the
available counter space, and the wall oven could go over – there,
next to the refrigerator, or maybe next to the dishwasher.
Nope; he showed me;
neither of those sites would work. He didn’t like the idea of
moving the stove, either.
We designed the
kitchen with a lot of windows. This is beautiful, and brings in a lot
of light, but it greatly limits the available wall space for
amenities like cupboards and wall ovens.
We walked down to
the house and examined the lines we have chalked on the floor,
designating various appliances. We measured and drew more chalk
lines, and measured again.
We walked back up to
the trailer, and looked at the computer design.
Walked back down to
the house, for more measuring.
My suggestions grew
increasingly desperate.
The wall oven could
go above the washing machine.
It could sit in a
pantry cupboard.
The refrigerator
could go on the porch, and the wall oven could go in its place.
Nope, nope, and
nope.
About two hours into
this circus, DH came up with the brilliant idea of moving the range
to the south wall.
It really is an
excellent idea.
DH revised the
computer design, and we spent quite some time admiring how much it opens
up the kitchen, and how much more counter space there is.
It’s going to be a
beautiful kitchen. But I’m still in mourning for my wall oven.
