debtex's Profile

I love it...I see no reason not to love both halves, and to live with new and old in the same house. It's just lovely and brave, preserving the parts that deserve it while adding a different kind of beauty on the back. It's unexpected, and some people just don't like surprises, harrumph on them.

I see a nice mix of traditional and modern furniture in the front, but would love to see more traditional in the back to add balance. That dining room table is inexplicable, though. It's such a focus in that space, and it's just...not worthy. I'm a Mom and I know that you need a daily use table that you can scrub, but...there are so many better options!

Just lovely, ignore the small-minded rule followers.

I love the style here, and this is really one of the best places on the web to see what I think of as livable modern...real people modern, rather than the sterile stuff you see in magazines. That said, we live in a suburban house (nothing as lux or big as this, but still big compared to an urban space) and I wouldn't dream of offering up our house for criticism here. I use ideas from here all the time, but in the end, the culture on this site isn't friendly to anything bigger than an urban space. It is what it is, I'm not complaining. I'll just lurk and enjoy the eye candy and ignore the snark.

For counters, soap and water followed by a dry microfiber cloth and it sparkles like the sun. For about 5 minutes, until we start messing it up again!

But where do your feet go when you sit at the desk?

lmf - the current Cook's Illustrated Holiday Baking mag has their recipe for cutouts that is FOOLPROOF. It's my go-to, works-every-time cutout recipe.

They recycle recipes, this one was in last year's (and the year before, too I think.)

As I remember #1 was a guy who didn't cook much, which is obvious. Lovely, but nobody's pulling out a wok on that stove.

But it's #2 that baffles, honestly. There's 7 zillion BTU's of cooking power with not an inch of heat-resistant counter space within view. Where do you cut your vegetables, on that beautiful table?

I like to have some seating in the kitchen, but like to eat in another room when I have guests - not in the middle of the joyful mess I've just created!

First and foremost, a kitchen is a useful room.

Kris, I had the same thought, and I have pretty good eaters. Radishes? I'm battling a full-court press to allow lunchables into my house, not to mention cheetos. That's not enough ammunition!

The hummus is a good one, though. The chickpeas might work if I can find a non-chili oriented recipe (this is my salt eater, not my sweet eater.) Nuts are good, too.

Both of mine love pickles, capers, and olives but won't touch beets or pickled carrots yet.

Deb

This tour makes me feel insanely claustrophobic. I don't think I would last 5 minutes in the actual space, and I'm not particularly neurotic (if I do say so myself.)

I've always found these baffling. As has been mentioned, you still have to haul the boiling pot to the sink off the stove. But for me, the biggest drawback is that I really cook a lot, and the backsplash by the cooktop gets really grimy and oily. The last thing I need is a hard-to-reach faucet with tons of nooks and crannies back there that I have to clean.

american universal tile has a lot of great inexpensive options...google the name for the website. (I don't work there, but I've bought from them twice now, their prices are always the lowest I can find.)