- Name:
- Lauryn
- Location:
- Fairfield, IA
- Square Feet:
- 115
- Division:
- Own
- What makes your small kitchen so cool?
- Our initial decision to re-do the kitchen was based solely on practicality and making a small kitchen work for two cooks. What it evolved into was an incredibly bright and cheerful retro-kitchen ("after" photos courtesy of Radim Schreiber) that looks just like it might have back in 1939, complete with a salvaged, formerly-used-as-a-goat-trough vintage sink. It's the happiest room in our home!
- Describe a challenge you've overcome or a smart resource you've found for your kitchen.
- We made a radical long-term commitment to our kitchen and home when we ditched the full-size fridge and put an under-counter fridge where a dishwasher had been (we already had a chest freezer in the basement). This change allowed us to build additional cabinets and countertops around the stove, which previously had no prep or storage space around it. We kept the original cabinets (and the charm they gave the space) to keep the retro feel to our Minimal Traditional home. Adding fresh paint and a new floor dramatically opened the space up as well.
- What's your favorite meal to cook here?
- Two opposite ends of the spectrum: a spicy pulled pork that cooks in the oven for 7 hours and a raw, vegan chocolate "cheesecake"! Or really, any meal I get to cook with my husband.
Categories:
Kitchens,
Main,
2012,
Small Cool Kitchens
Like this Small Cool Kitchens 2012 contest entry? Favorite it below!
A Real Dinner, Fast: 5 Favorite Types of Almost-No-Work Meals
How To Cook Tender, Chewy Wheat Berries on the Stovetop
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Straw Mat from The ...
Must-See Small Cool Homes: Week Two
Beth's Romantic & Retro Residence
beautifully done!
BEAUTIFUL! Love it!!
I love it, Lauryn! I wish we could drop by for pulled pork and cheesecake!
This kitchen is just awesome!!!! Good luck, Lauryn!
Bright, and LOVE the counters! Lovely!
I love this. So cheerful and retro! Great Kitchen!
I love this - such a good job of integrating the old and new, and making a kitchen that works for *you* as far as both form and function, rather than following the conventional wisdom of kitchen design. My favorite so far :)
A new "old" kitchen---the best kind. Lovely color choices. Just perfect.
I love the creamy yellow color on the cabinets. I
Simplicity is always crisp and clean. I love your new "kitchen digs." You guys did an awesome job!
You did a fantastic job. Your kitchen has such character - it is warm and bright .... clean and uncluttered .... with such beautiful details.
I love it! So adorable Lauryn!! :)
love the fan coz i have one too;-)
LOVE LOVE LOVE! This is my dream kitchen. I want to lick the cabinets.
Is that a lineoleum floor? I love it! I considered putting that into our bungalow kitchen remodel, but went with new maple instead (after painfully discovering the original maple floor had been savagely cut through for a gas line...house-flippers suck!).
Really nicely done kitchen. Love to find people committed to restoring!
Yup, it's Red Amaranth Marmoleum. We considered redoing the wood floors, but there was oak in the kitchen and douglas fir in the breakfast nook (which we suspect was an add-on to the original kit house plans, though "added-on" when the house was built) and while the doug fir was in good shape, the oak was really trashed from 72 years of different flooring. That, and it ran straight into the dining room, which would have meant re-doing the dining room floors. Which would mean redoing the living room, hallway and bedroom floors, as it's all continuous!!
Love your kitchen - lots of light and wonderful colour!
Please tell me more about your undercounter refrigerator! I am considering doing this in my own home. Is there a brand/configuration you recommend? We've been thinking of getting a fridge with a tiny freezer so we could still have access to ice upstairs. Your thoughts are much appreciated!
Absolutely beautiful with perfect color balance. Loved the wallpaper
Regarding the fridge, we have a Big Chill (because of the retro vibe), which is just a Marvel undercounter fridge (made in Michigan) with a Big Chill door. We've been happy with it so far and it does come with a small freezer option (which we have, same reason, access to ice upstairs). It is definitely an adjustment from a full size -- I would recommend whittling down the contents of your full size and trying to approximate the cubic footage of the small fridge before you make the leap. We really have found that people keep WAY more than they need to in their refrigerators and we are so thrilled with the additional storage and prep space, we can't imagine going back. (A friend has a Kitchenaid undercounter and she is quite happy with hers as well.)
Love the kitchen, love the owners
Lauren and DJ,
My name is Leah Cheverie. I am huge fans of your mother and father. Maureen and B O B. I am sitting with B O B right now:) we love your kitchen. Great job:)
Hope to meet you one day.!
P.s. you both are very talented musicians:)
Hey Lauryn and DJ, We wish you could be here enjoying family time. Bob showed me the beautiful pictures of your kitchen...it suits you both so well :) Love you and miss you.
Lucy
love this!
I love this!
Where did you get your countertops from, or, what are they made of?
I'm suffering through a harvest gold kitchen and your kitchen is an incredible source of inspiration that it can be beautiful!
@ Antxoa, the countertops were made by a local craftsman from Nevamar "Serene Stardom" laminate (has kind of linen-y texture to it) and aluminum trim from NY Metals. They came in considerably cheaper than other options ... I just ordered the laminate through a building supply company and the trim on my own, and got them to the carpenter, who built them to the kitchen (and did an AMAZING and very affordable job). And by the way, there are people out there who would kill to get at some harvest gold!!
Awesome Kitchen Lauryn!!!!!!!!
So inspiring. I would love to see a closeup of your breakfast nook.
It's absolutely FLAWLESS. Magnificent job of being true to it's period. Thank you for sharing!
I love the kitchen (and the hosts) but my goats miss the sink.
Nice job, I totally love the fan! Where do I get one!?
Love it!
@Silverfire4200, the fan is a Minka Aire Acero and you can get it at most of those online lighting/fixture stores. And I highly recommend it ... quiet, cool, and great light. We love it!
My old kitchen, transformed! Beautiful job, Lauryn and Dennis! There's so much more work space, and it's harmonious and pleasing visually. Love it!
Looks a little empty for a kitchen, but this would definitely be a dream kitchen of mine. Lovely job you guys.
Very nice! Where did you get that ceiling fan?
Beautiful, Lauryn! I wish I could pop over for a cup of tea! -Jen
Beyond fabulous. Every detail is perfect. Knowing this kitchen exists makes me happy!
Excellent. So many materials that so many people would scoff at (laminate, Marmoleum, a used sink, cafe curtains) and yet the result is smashing. LOVE that ceiling fan.
That aluminum trim might be my favorite aspect of the kitchen. It's something I've always loved and something that I continue to miss in so many current granite-countertops-are-the-only-countertops style kitchens. I want to live here! (In other words, great job!)
Favorite!!
Love it !!!
Helen
Lovely. And just totally in awe of your moxie with giving up the full size fridge. I so want to do that for our kitchen.... but we simply have no where to put a dedicated freezer.
Really a cheery and well done space!
Love the retro look. Like the light-colored cabinets with knobs and drawer pulls that contrast nicely. Been thinking about a ceiling fan in my kitchen and like yours. Have a similar cat tile over my kitchen door...gives a nice touch of whimsy. Bonus points for the compost bin!
This is great, I love that you kept so much of the original detail.
I'm super disappointed you did not win. The winner might have gotten the small, but you definitely got the cool.