Plans

I spent last night and much of today with the plans. I got them all together, and weeded out the old versions -- the one with the courtyard and the one with the parking area in the back. The contractor (or GC, as I'll now refer to him, because that's the lingo I learned today -- more on that later) has the real plans. I realize something he said the other day about windows in the kitchen cannot work, and it's fairly obvious why. This makes me nervous, a bit, because shouldn't he know that? However, he had spent the day knocking out all the old bricks from the front porch (picture of pile in the last post), so I'm prepared to not worry about it. I want to talk to him about it, though.






The plan is to build a symmetrical wing on the west side of the house. The front of the new wing will be covered parking, the rear, new living space. The house is about 2000 sq. ft. now, and will increase to a bit under 3000. The clerestory/cupola thingamajig will be over the kitchen. I wondered if it could be an observatory, but there's really no way to get up there. Perhaps with ropes and pulleys! It's really just for light and because the architect drew it and we thought it looked great.





I spent part of my time with the plans spread before me. I'm not terribly good with spatial stuff, so it's taken me a bit to fix everything in my mind. I realized for the first time today that I truly understand what's going where. And enough has been demolished that I can see what it will be. It's starting to feel like the place it will be.

So with that in mind, I spent the rest of my time with the plans not spread before me, but in my mind. I asked a question at Readerville about induction cooktops, and a poster there very kindly sent me over to the Kitchen Forum the Kitchen Forum at Garden Web. This is where I learned about calling the contractor "GC." Well. My questions about induction cooktops were answered pronto, and I'm well on my way to deciding that I really want soapstone counters. A worthy home for the cheese and crackers.

It's hard to write about kitchens without sounding trite. It's where everything happens -- most of the laughing, arguing, deciding. I don't want a shiny, showy kitchen. I want everything to work, and I want a lot of shelves, and I want a stove which will heat up and cools down quickly (unlike this which DOES NOT), and a big sink. I don't need an AGA or a steam oven or a marble baking counter or hand-made English cabinets. The soapstone is entirely practical, of course.


Soapstone