Friday, January 25, 2008

Small Kitchens Unite!

After making due aesthetically and ergonomically in the typical vintage kitchen in our typical vintage condo in Chicago for 10 years, the appliances started to strike. Not a full-out, walk off the job, but a definite slow-down. The kitchen sink was in on it too, especially the faucet, which we have bribed and coaxed along for years.

The refrigerator, the big guy on our small 14-foot kitchen block, has been dripping for about a year. But we can take it - and at least it's inside so it only ruins our stored vegetables, tortillas and leftovers and not the floor or walls that lead to the unit below. A well-placed but somewhat precarious Tupperware container takes care of this problem, more or less.

But old fridge has it rough because what is to its immediate right side but the range. As things heat up on the stove or in the oven, fridge keeps cycling on and off, trying to do its job and keep things cool. This means ice formations on yogurt, olives, eggs and other items unlucky enough to fit on the upper shelves and soggy items throughout as water drips and flows from shelves to so-called crisper bins, where it pools and breaks down our veggie stash in record time. Up above that means freezer burn - and lots of it.

We tried to appease the kitchen gods with a new garbage disposal and microwave with a vent above the range. My husband did the work himself, and he's surprisingly handy given the opportunity and inclination. We scrubbed the oven. We pulled out the refrigerator and cleaned the coils in the back and got rid of all the dust bunnies and cat toys that had cleverly hidden underneath.

But it was only a matter of time.

When the dishwasher got in on it, leaving spots of beverages and glops of food here and there, I had had enough. And since we were refinancing our place - and could easily pull out some of our hard-earned equity - it took little convincing for me to agree to rehab the kitchen.

It sounded simple enough. We'd do it right, do some work ourselves - and go "green!" It would be worthwhile, maybe even fun, we said. Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I hear the appliances softly laughing...