We have a house on a hill; not a mansion on a hill. Which means space is limited. Which means vertical additions are the best options. Walls, we have lots of — empty walls. And, for the past two weeks, I’ve been striving to put them to good use. I mentioned several days ago that we were going to have custom-made cabinets built. So, we did. The past two weeks have been a struggle. Cooking could be a challenge on days when work was being done in the kitchen. But the efforts have paid off. See, that empty wall underneath the cabinets in the photo on the left? It has been transformed into kitchen cabinet, shelves and even a work space for me.
We now have a kitchen cabinet with pullout stainless steel baskets and a pullout desk that converts a portion of the area into a work space for me. Now, I can watch whatever I’m cooking and still be able to work.
The cabinet has three detachable parts. The lower portion contain the cabinets with pullout baskets and shelves. The pullout desk is built into this portion. The upper part is one long shelf with a built in light so I can read the letters on my keyboard.
The third part, on the left side of the photo, are corner shelves. Like I said, we’re trying to maximize the use of space. The corner shelves may look whimsical but, I tell you, they are very, very useful and practical.
Actually, the entire kitchen was an addition to the house. But that’s another story.
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noemi 02.09.07 at 7:00 pm
The cabinets are lovely. Please text me his cellphone number. the cabinet’s workmanship is so fine. I also have a pullout desk in my office which is beside the kitchen.
kathy 02.09.07 at 7:45 pm
Space is also precious here in Japan. I think that it’s also possible to order custom-built furnitures, but most of the time it is more convenient to just order through the catalogue and DIY = do it yourself. The furnitures are “kumitateshiki,” meaning they have yet to be assembled. The instructions are fairly easy to follow; one does not need to be a carpenter to do it. A lot of our furnitures in our house, like the kitchen stand and bookcases were all assembled by my husband. He says it’s like assembling LEGO. Big toys for big boys!
Judy 02.09.07 at 7:58 pm
Bravo! Very nice. I wish I could have custom cabinets done here, but it would be too pricey. Most folks here in the states are into the “diY” (do it yourself) projects. I’m sure it’s a hit with the rest of the family..
Connie 02.09.07 at 8:33 pm
Noemi, I just sent you his number. Kaya lang, we’re having additional work done in the kitchen. Just as few more days, though.
kathy, i’d go for DIY too if we could just find the right dimensions. DIY comes out cheaper. Less headaches too.
Connie 02.09.07 at 10:17 pm
Judy, labor is very expensive there, isn’t it? We’re still lucky in that sense.
*Am still blogging from the kitchen savoring my new work space… am baking a cake too*
noemi 02.09.07 at 11:11 pm
Thanks Connie. I can wait since I still have some repairs going on in the house.
dexie 02.09.07 at 11:34 pm
that’a an awesome set up. i love a lot of space in my kitchen as well.
Connie 02.09.07 at 11:48 pm
You’re welcome, Noemi.
Dexie, it’s so awesome I’m still here in the kitchen and it’s almost midnight hehehe
pinayhekmi 02.10.07 at 2:10 am
I was wondering what was gonna happen to that space. This is a wonderful addition. It’s not just shelves and things, you’ve got a workspace now too! Your carpenter is a gem.
Connie 02.10.07 at 3:11 am
Hi Pinayhekmi, how’s the pregnancy coming along? I visited your blog yesterday; no new entry.
Re the carpenter. Aye, good ones are so hard to find these days. They’re all leaving for abroad.
Baranggay 02.10.07 at 12:59 pm
As this pair of pics dont convey an accurate sense of scale..
If i may, the top shelf, based on the height of your
workspace , looks way above your eyelevel,
placing the middle shelf - either looking too high or too low, either way off skew.
i know you collaborate on design and ’specs’
of the dang thing, and this looks like a compromise ‘tween both.
Connie 02.10.07 at 3:53 pm
Hi Baranggay, since you’re not the one who’s going to use it, it doesn’t really matter whether it makes you happy or not.
Since you don’t know my height, you wouldn’t know what my eye level is. Look up the definition of “customized”.
“i know you collaborate on design and ’specs’”
And that’s your only point — to bitch about me. No worries, I know who you are.
rhodora 02.10.07 at 9:35 pm
Wow! My dream cabinet. Who designed it? And the materials - sino din ang pumili? When you posted pics of your kitchen cabinets before, parang di ko ma-appreciate yung lignt color ng wood. But seeing this cabinet - I changed my preference. Maganda siya, cool sa mata at malinis. Sana yung carpenter mo hindi rin niya maisipan ang mag-abroad.
Connie 02.11.07 at 1:20 am
Well, I told him what I wanted and he drew some designs for my approval. True about light colored wood. Dark woods makes a room look smaller.
And the carpenter is leaving for Australia. He takes in short-term projects while waiting for his visa.
rolly 02.11.07 at 7:39 am
Being able to work some more while cooking. great idea. You are such a workaholic, Sass. And that’s good.
rhodora 02.11.07 at 12:52 pm
Connie, I saw you left a comment at my site. Sa excitement ko, na-delete ko accidentally!
But I read the first words - “with no apparent reason” , referring to my daughter’s panic attack.
It’s anxiety. I have been asking her since Friday night what was troubling her but she didn’t tell until this morning. Her grades decreased this third quarter and she has been striving so much to make it at least to top 5. Late bloomer siya kasi. From elementary up to her third year high, she didn’t strive well enough. It’s only this on her last year in h.s. that she started to shine. From no. 15 she jumped to no. 4 in her class. Quite a feat, but I advise her, not to take it too seriously if she can’t handle it, and not to pressure herself too much.
KK 02.11.07 at 1:00 pm
Wow! Great looking cabinets. I like the honey colored stain. Custom built cabinets would be expensive here. So DIY projects will have to do for now because we don’t want to use pre-fabricated particle board(glued-up saw dust). The problem is hubby is a wanna-be when it comes to carpentry, I can only scratch my head because I grew up watching an uncle work on projects who happens to be a master carpenter. I would only let my husband make non-critical DIY projects ;). At least he tries and I would not want to hurt his feelings.
Congrats for a more organized kitchen.
Baranggay 02.11.07 at 1:56 pm
among the slavish praise, a dissent opinion, is worth ‘as is’.
no slights here, only puns.
Connie 02.11.07 at 8:30 pm
baranggay, dissenting opinion is great but only when it is not a thinly veiled attempt at being an asshole.
Al P. Manlangit 02.12.07 at 1:56 am
Connie -
You sure made good use of the space. Send me your address and I’ll mail you some Ikea catalogues - they got lots of good stuff for kitchens. Maybe you could use it for inspiration. My wife spends so much time in their kitchen dept. everytime we’re there. Like you, she loves to cook. Unfortunately, with the small flats here, there’s not much space to put the stuff she buys. Her dream is to own an island - a worktop island in the kitchen, that is!
Al
pinayhekmi 02.12.07 at 7:52 am
‘Te Connie, Woody and I listened to the baby’s heartbeat for the first time on Friday. Whoopee! What a sound! The heart rate was 158 bpm.
D Smith 02.12.07 at 9:17 am
Check up this line of kitchen cabinets I foud it in NYC it called Aster Cucine the web site is http://www.uhny.com
Connie 02.12.07 at 1:31 pm
tito rolly, it’s nicer to be a workaholic when you’re working from home hehehe. and sarap!
rhodora, i think it’s one of the pitfalls of traditional schools (hence, our decision to go for a non-trad school). kids need to be treated as individuals, allowed to set their own pace and find their own strengths. competitiveness is good but it can be too stressful. i remember when i had problems passing my college algebra… instead of giving in to the stress, hala sige kahit 5 grade. of course it meant losing my chance to be in the Dean’s List. Kahit ok average ko, the 5 was a disqualification. pero okay lang.
thanks, al! wow, I will. naku, i’ll have something to pore over for hours and hours hehehe
pinayhekmi, you’ve had ultrasound?? LOL I can imagine how exciting it was.
not wearing maternity clothes yet, right? first pregnancy, i wore regular clothes until my fourth month.
thanks, D smith.
Awesome, awesome!
Grace 02.15.07 at 1:23 pm
oooh, you’ve got a really nice kitchen! ang linis naman… i like that you have a pull out for your laptop.
Connie 02.15.07 at 1:33 pm
The pullout desk is very helpful. Malinis kasi na-organize na. I didn’t take BEFORE photos kasi… shocking hehehe
krispykreme 03.13.07 at 6:30 pm
I just came across your blog while surfing for recipes. Can you give me the number of your carpenter? I’m moving to a new unfurnished condo and I need to have some furniture done. Nice site by the way. =)
Sarah 04.22.07 at 2:37 am
To get the most out of our small space and budget I looked around for unfinished book shelves. I found a great spot online that sells furniture reasonably priced! Here: http://www.unfinishedfurnitureexpo.com They turned out rather nicely!
bon 10.06.08 at 11:05 pm
hello! i just stumbled upon your website. your kitchen looks great and what a wonderful idea to have a small work station incorporated into your kitchen drawers!
…i hope you don’t mind me asking for the contact number of your carpenter? is he still in the country? we’re having some furniture done. we already had some done by carpenters in cubao. they’re good but we’d like to try others as well. is your carpenter relatively cheap? we’re a young couple and kind of on a small budget. thank you so much!
Connie Veneracion 10.07.08 at 7:08 am
Bon, this entry was posted a year and eight months ago. We moved to a new house three months ago and that cabinet has been remodeled (photos here). Sadly, we have lost touch with the original cabinet maker.