Kitchen Remodeling
5 February 2010
“Big Surprises”
Today’s blog is something of a departure from the norm in several ways. First, I always blog on something that can be obtained by our readers, and I say that even though lots of my blogs cover European products. But, hey, it’s a small world, and if you really want something made in Europe, it is not all that difficult to obtain it. Certainly, I expect to do so with some of the tile I have been writing about for so long.
But the other thing that is different, and the reason I am writing this blog, is just the subject matter itself, a remodeling of a kitchen smaller than my much maligned bathrooms inside a home about the size of my family room! I don’t begin to know how such a thing could be done, and especially so in view of the very real problems that faced the remodelers, a young German/American couple.
He is German, she is American, and they purchased an apartment in Berlin, Germany that is only 480 square feet. I mean, I’ve heard of small before, but yow! The kitchen itself was all of 36 square feet, and even after they remodeled it, the footprint was the same, although they did some really incredible things with that kitchen. The picture at the top of this blog is the kitchen as they first saw it. There were no drawers, counter spaces, dishwasher, or places to store anything. The previous tenants had kept a refrigerator and freezer in the living room with the dishes stacked on top of it. 
The first thing they did was bust out the wall that had kept the kitchen separate, and with the space thus created, they were eventually able to install a granite countertop. The cabinets presented even more of a challenge, as they were not able to find anything premade that would fit into such a tiny space. They ended up building their own cabinets, and since they had no place else to do the work, they used a 36 square foot space beside the kitchen! It meant that they had use the table saw to cut their material, then unplug it and use it for a work table. And the mess!
I’ve done some remodeling of my own, and I know how plaster dust flies when you tear out a wall, but our walls are typically three-quarter inch drywall over studs. In Germany they actually make their walls of solid drywall bricks that weigh some fifty pounds apiece. Man, think of the plaster dust that would be generated by ripping out a wall like that!
The design they eventually came up with is a crash course in getting the most out of the least. Because of my own space limitations, I cannot use all of their pictures, so I urge you to check out their site at Making This Home. But there are a few things I wanted to point out here.
Their cabinets extend all the way to the ceiling, thereby utilizing every inch of vertical space. Their stove has only two burners and the oven, which doubles as a microwave, is too small for a turkey. The dishwasher is half-sized and the refrigerator is the size of a small college dorm refrigerator. They keep their dishes in a drawer, as it enables them to stack them more efficiently than would have been the case with the traditional shelf. Their food is also kept in drawers because of space restraints.
What I found myself particularly applauding, though, is the wonderful look of the finished product. Small as this kitchen is, I have every confidence that I could cook up a storm in it. And it also adds immeasurably to the ambience of the home itself. All my life I have heard that big surprises come in small boxes. Now I know why.
Joseph
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One Response to “Kitchen Remodeling”
March 24th, 2010 at 10:15 AM
Oh what a sweet surprise to see our kitchen on your blog! We’re loving every minute in the kitchen. Well except maybe the pot-cleaning time. But everything else!
Best of luck always-
Katie