Cooking can be painful, when you have two young kids, two dogs and two very busy careers. But it was made considerably worse for my delightful client Anne and her husband Andrew, both of whom are at least six feet tall. Their kitchen penninsula was equipped with a low-hanging range hood installed into an 8 ft ceiling (some previous owner wasn’t thinking) and every time they cooked, they smacked their heads. It wasn’t funny. The cabinets were old and brown — and the chocolate chip granite countertops made it a bit dark.
That was just one of the challenges that brought Anne to Family Friendly Designs. The family desperately needed a place to store the detritus of everyday life — the coats, the backpacks, the dogs’ leashes. There was space under the stairs — but that’s all it was: Space. How to make it work?
As Chief Problem Solver (that’s my title) ,I knew this would be fun.
The range hood question had to be solved first. It would do us no good to design a pretty kitchen that was still a headache. I did copious research — I often think that investigative journalism was the perfect training for this new career — and found a new cooktop with an integrated exhaust fan. Back in the 90s, these were atrocious, but no longer! This meant that the overhead range hood could be removed. It also meant that the new range top exhaust would have to be vented to the exterior. Time to call my favorite GC —-who came over right away and provided sensible options.
My client and I made a very fast trip out to Oakland to choose new kitchen counter material at a substantial discount from what she would have paid locally. She knew what she wanted, and we found it right away. I provided the name of a carpenter/all-around-miracle-man I work with a lot, and he tore out the old, glued-in counters without destroying the place. (Bravo, Luis!) He fixed the drywall, as needed.
Then, as everything was being prepared for installation, we got to work on the next project: The Understairs Lockers. Having dealt with the scourge of backpacks, shoes, coats and the odd lacrosse stick in my own front hall, I knew what Anne wanted. It started with some serious mathematics. We needed to create four lockers, with tall compartments and small cubbies, and space for a tiny dog crate. Luis engaged in advanced calculations, and then we ordered the proper quantity of a very nicely finished plywood. Ten days later, Anne had her Understairs Lockers, and the kids’ stuff was already in place.
The kitchen counters went in when the family was on vacation, under my supervision. Luis rebuilt a couple of the cabinets to encompass the microwave, which could finally leave the gleaming countertop and still be accessible to the kids. As is often the case, the new counters made the cabinet paint look old and worn, so we got a couple of estimates and hired Fernando’s team to repaint. The results are nothing short of glorious — with the gold hardware that Anne loves, it’s a jewel box. Now, when she knocks herself out in the kitchen, it’s because she feels like it!
Here’s what Anne had to say: