Comments on: A Kitchen Odyssey: What Needs to Be Done

By: HairyMan

HairyMan — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:46:39 +0000

Not bad… Not bad.

By: susan.brady

susan.brady — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:58:06 +0000

and yet, these side-by-sides continue to be popular. I can’t imagine why. I want my old bottom freezer back. It’s really a horrible situation for me, not being able to make large batches and freeze, and to stock up for my holiday baking. Live and learn, I guess.

By: Lara Black

Lara Black — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 22:30:01 +0000

My parents have one of those side-by-side fridges. They bought it after visiting a friend who had one, and experiencing the water and ice dispenser in the door. It was a hundred degrees in a house with no air conditioning – they thought the water and ice was heaven. The love didn’t last long. My mom hates this fridge for the same reason you mention – it doesn’t hold enough.

And get this: the current side-by-side is actually larger than the last fridge they had, which they bought used in the 80s (avocado green traditional freezer-on-top fridge). The old fridge used to fit into their kitchen next to a counter overhang, where stored the trashcan. When they bought this fridge, Dad removed the counter overhang, leaving only about 3 inches. And in spite of being wider and all, the current side-by-side is just not practical for most households.

The need to insulate the middle panel of the fridge (between the freezer area and fridge area) takes up a good deal of the fridge, and the fact that the shelves are not easily moved or configured for common items like a milk jug decreases the usable square footage in the fridge.

By: Susan Brady

Susan Brady — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:39:48 +0000

You’d be amazed at how often I use 3 or more burners at once. I can act as short order cook by using small fry pans on the front burner, cooking egg orders for family and guests, while sausage cooks on the back burners. And the varying BTUs on each burner is great – helps control simmering, high heat for woks and canning, etc. I suppose 4 burners is more practical for the majority of people, though. I’m sure I could make do.

I agree on the counters and with the new lighting, it’s even worse. Gonna stay away from white and black, maybe get something with specks or bits in it.

The glass blocks replaced some of that horrid ’70s amber coke-bottle plastic sheeting. I do love it – it reflects light, catches grease spatters, nad allows extra light into the adjoining room – but opening it up and adding a counter or seating bar on the other side makes so much sense to me – but whether it makes financial sense is another issue.

By: ellem

ellem — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:07:18 +0000

Wow, you DO cook a lot! I can see now why this kitchen overhaul is necessary for you!! I had to smile when I saw your five-burner range, when we had one of those in a rental in Long Beach we ended up taping over the controls and covering up two of the burners w/ thick, heavy cutting boards . . . . I just never used five burners at once — three is my max.

I’d for sure replace the tile counters too — they look nice, but ours were forever needing a good scrubbing — just couldn’t live w/ how easily they got dirty so quickly.

I like the glass blocks you have in there now, but your idea of opening up the space even more sounds really nice. I like the kitchen to be more a part of the overall living area, as long as it looks nice, that is!