POLL: Does your family live in your kitchen?
When you are redesigning or remodeling a kitchen, do you plan for spending more time with family there? Is your kitchen becoming a place to stay connected with your family at home?
Tell us!
Comentarios (104)
roserustler
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 añosmy house is open concept, living room, dining and kitchen are one large space. The kitchen is set apart by the island with a raised back. We do not have to gravitate to the kitchen because it is so open we are all together all the time. Kitchen is used for food prep only, sofa abuts the back side of the island.
californiacelticllass
hace 6 añosNow I'm curious about the difference between extroverts and introverts and their kitchen being a gathering space or not. Personally, I'd prefer to spend time with friends in the living spaces making music, playing games, watching a movie, enjoying the fire in the woodstove, or just talking. In my kitchen, I want to cook and enjoy that and all the sensual pleasures I associate with creating something delicious and beautiful. Having visitors or helpers in the kitchen is a distraction for me.
User
hace 6 años@californiacelticlass64: An extrovert would have a party for 20; and introvert would have one or two friends over for company. :)
della70
hace 6 añosMy kitchen is very small. As soon as people start hanging out, I schooch them into the living room. If I am cooking, I like to concentrate on what I am doing and have the workspace free to move around.
judygilpin
hace 6 añosOur kitchen opens up to our family room. So I would say we hang out in the family room, but whoever is cooking is always involved in the conversation with everyone else. I love open concept spaces.
PROOPPEIN Group
hace 6 añosWhy not? We are advocating less take-outs. Living the kitchen, you can spend more sit-down time with your family and be healthier.
hefu
hace 6 añosWhen we gutted and redid our home (it had been shut up and actually condemned when we bought it), we worked with our architect to make the kitchen the place it was meant to be. I had always had people keeping me company in our previous crowded kitchen, often by bringing in a couple of small chairs and an equally small table into a corner, but I always had to make sure I didn't trip over the legs of the people sitting there. The kids would come in to ask me questions about their homework, but had no place to sit and do it.
Our new kitchen was designed to rectify all this. It is the largest room in the house (as well as the nicest--lots of big windows that let in light, hand-painted ceramic tile backsplash, open shelves, warm wood cabinets, creative light fixtures, etc.), with an island ideal for working on one side and pulling up a few chairs on the other. The large dining table is in the same contiguous space. It's a great place to work on a laptop (as I am doing, or rather not doing now), do homework, have a cup of tea or coffee, and of course, have the whole family (and then some) sit together to eat. Our house is always a bustling place, with people in and out and in and out of the kitchen most of all. Some visitors wonder why our living room is small by comparison, but those of us who live here do not wonder.
kkaccordion
hace 6 añosWe have an open floor plan with a small galley kitchen that’s so narrow, I have to stand beside the stove (not in front of it) to open the oven door. There was a guest list of 12 people this Thanksgiving. Eleven were in the kitchen this Thanksgiving and it made it so hard to cook! My husband sat alone on the couch. I joined him for 15 minutes of rest between recipes. Weird but I don’t think anyone noticed! LOL! Like the song...”That’s why you’ll always find me in the kitchen at parties...”
RedRyder
hace 6 añosWe bought an open concept house that has room for a table in the kitchen (and a dining table on the opposite side that's more enclosed). When we have parties, early birds sit in the kitchen at the table and keep me company. When we refaced kitchen this year I lowered the half wall facing the living room, made a large serving island
and put stools there for the rest of the crowd. Everyone ends up surrounding the kitchen so I just made it more comfortable. People offer to help me but if I'm organized and don't need help I just say thanks, but sometimes I recruit those who are familiar with my kitchen.
The person who built the house clearly had kitchen crowding in mind and made room for everyone. It's fun for me to not be cut off from the festivities.
greenfish1234
hace 6 añosI have a little of both. My kitchen, dining, and living rooms are open and are definitely the gathering spots during parties as well as day-to-day living. Our family room, with TV and huge sectional, are off this area, separated by French doors. I like it this way, as our parties always revolve around a big meal which I am preparing for at least an hour after guests arrive. I would hate to be left out of all the fun, and always welcome helpers. Once the meal hits the table, I am done, and grown-ups either stay at the table by the fire (winter) or at the table on the deck. Kids can retreat to the family room or if we are all up for a movie everyone moves in there.
User
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 años@RedRyder I like the woodwork around the door and windows in the dining area. Beautiful floor, too. Kitchen looks like there is plenty of room for working and storage, too. Even a pretty place for your orchid!
Jennifer Dube
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 añosOur condo's downstairs is a square with kitchen, DR, living room, office, and windows along two walls. When we bought it, the kitchen was a tiny dark depressing U-shape with room for just one cook. It had an enormous thick wall blocking the view (and all the light) and a tiny peninsula with no room for stools. We had a party and everyone gravitated to the peninsula area, which is the worst spot to enjoy the gorgeous views.
So we ripped it out, including the wall (putting in a thinner halfway partition in its place, to let in the light while retaining some separation), and swapped the kitchen with the DR, so the kitchen is now along the back wall and facing the best views. It has a generous island with room for 4-5 to sit comfortably. The island parallels the living area which has a sectional and pair of chairs, as well as an ottoman for even more seating.
When we have large parties, I can be in the kitchen with guests perched on the stools. The island acts as separation so guests rarely enter into my space. They can talk to me or turn around and chat with other guests perched on the sofa, chairs, ottoman who are enjoying the fireplace and the views.
We are empty nesters so on the daily this means while I'm prepping dinner I get to enjoy the fantastic sunsets. Which encourages me to want to actually cook dinner, rather than just going out or ordering in. With the hubby perched on a stool chatting with me while I cook. Or he cooks and I perch.
We often just eat side-by-side on the island if it's only the two of us, or outside on the deck if the weather is nice. That said we do have a dining room table as well that seats 6-8, where the old kitchen used to be. While the DR is now open, it still seems cozy and intimate tucked in the corner it's in. If I don't want guests seeing the mess in the kitchen, I seat them with their backs to it.
Thanksgiving went like this: adult daughter and I did the cooking together. There is plenty of room for two cooks. Other guests were gathered on the islands or in the LR. We ate dinner at the dining room table, using the islands as a buffet. After dinner I washed the dishes while daughter dried, and we could still continue to chat with everyone. They were either perched on the island stools or playing card games in the LR nearby.
KD
hace 6 añosOur current kitchen really isn't a gathering space, but the way it joins to the dining room, it works out pretty well that people can hang out in the dining room and be social with the people working in the kitchen. I like the arrangement - keeps people out from underfoot and it's possible to close off the kitchen if it's messy and we want to hide it.
Melissa Pierce
hace 6 añosOur kitchen is too small for all of is to hang out in it at the same time. We have 14 people in our family. But I hopefully we can remodel it some day to fit a table large enough for all of us.mjconti
hace 6 añosThe initial poll question was: 'Does your family live in your kitchen?' So many of the responses, that mention entertaining, are confusing. And for some reason, open concept seems to be a large part of the discussion. I don't feel that 'family' & 'entertaining' are the same thing. In 48 years, I've never considered it as entertaining when we had or have family members at our house for a meal, picnic, or a holiday. (that includes my children & grandchildren, my parents, my in-laws, sisters & brothers in law, aunts, uncles, cousins - 1st, 2nd or whatever the correct term is, nieces, nephews, and any of all the above's kids of all ages and our close friends.) They are all welcome, navigate to, and are comfortable in my kitchen & I like them hanging out, but I don't want all of them stirring pots, etc. When I hear the word 'entertain', not-too-close friends or business associates come to mind. And I wouldn't want them watching me cook in the kitchen. I want to have nice clothes on too, when they arrive! I'd have appetizers ready, and whatever I'm serving in the oven & on the stove, with only minor things to do to complete the meal (dressing for the salad, warming rolls for instance) so it doesn't look like I'm still slaving in the kitchen. I wouldn't want to see that if I was invited to their home either.
deb_hodge20
hace 6 años
We designed our kitchen to be a comfortable space for family & friends to gather and hang out. We also have a formal dining room for traditional dinners but find that our kitchen tends to be the place for casual gatherings. We are empty nesters and you this space when we have coffe in the morning. The large island works better for us tha a traditional kitchen table.
PROKitchen Ideas, LLC
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 años@kkaccordion: Can you share some photos of your kitchen? I assume it is already opened up to the living room? For reference, here are a few photos of our kitchen during Thanksgiving. It is opened up nicely to the living room with a roll away table for great seating. Additionally, all food preparation and much of the cooking was done at the amazingly functional Galley Workstation with induction cooking next to it.
- PRO
Kitchen Ideas, LLC
hace 6 años@Melissa Pierce: Please see the post I above addressed to kkaccordion. We have designed several kitchens very similar to this one for clients and they love how it changed their lives in the kitchen.
Jason Shepard
hace 6 añosI chose "other" because our current home has a very small kitchen that is isolated from the rest of the home, so there is little reason to use it for "hanging out" (even cooking is a challenge). However, our next home will be far different, with an open concept and a design that will encourage "hanging out" whilst cooking.
I love to cook and it irritates my wife and kids that they can't sit and talk to me or watch me because there is just no room for them to do so. It is especially aggravating during certain times of the year, like Thanksgiving and Winter Solstice, when I am often cooking and baking quite a bit.
Kathi Steele
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 añosauntthelma, we have the same range!! I love mine!!
I removed the seating around the island and made the island narrower and longer so there is more mobility in the kitchen. I now have 4' between the island and the dishwasher. Heaven!! And 4' between the island and the drink station on the other side.
I removed the kitchen table and built a counter height "bar" that is 10' long and seats 5. It faces the family room and the TV. We use our dining room for dinner. The bar has a desk area at the sliding door end that is 4' long and has my computer on it. Easy access for my recipes and Houzz!!
scarbowcow
hace 6 años@ ninigret, Maybe bigger kitchens and the advent of the microwave oven, combined? And fast-food as a daily option instead of a rare treat? And working mothers who have far less time to plan and prepare meals than previous generations? If you combine easy access to food (fast food, packaged prepared food, microwavable food, open kitchen) with a dramatic decrease in the amount of energy expended to get food from the farm to your mouth, then will probably eat more and of worse quality. Less nutrition means more snacking to satisfy cravings for the nutrients you aren't getting. More convenience (from jobs that require only sitting and typing, to entertainment at your fingertips so you never have to go out, to dinners that are delivered to your (car) door and junk food you can 'prepare' in two minutes in the microwave) means fewer calories expended in general. Poorer nutrition means more calories taken in to try to make up for the nutrition-poor quality of 'convenience' food. It's a vicious circle.
If you could add up the calories expended by a typical stay-at-home suburban American housewife in say, 1950, on making her family's meals (from shopping to prep to cleanup), I think you'd find that she expended MUCH more energy than a similar woman today. In 1950, she probably cooked everything from scratch and prepared three sit-down (or brown-bag) meals per day and did all the washing up by hand. Nowadays, when everyone can just go grazing from the fridge to the microwave to the recliner in front of the TV, you don't even have to expend the energy required to set a table once a day. And then there are those people who don't even walk around to shop or push a shopping cart around, but ride through Walmart on motorized scooters. 'I'll just sit here and eat' seems to be the lifestyle of the very near future.
I think there are just a lot of factors that led to people - Americans, anyway - getting so much bigger.
And just not to get too off-topic: no, my kitchen is so small that I can only have one other person in it at any time. And I live alone anyway. I'd like a kitchen where everyone could gather. It just seems right. And then when they are all gathered in the kitchen, I can slip out and go to another room and get some peace and quiet.
User
hace 6 años@scarbowcow: Prior to WWII many wives did not work outside the home. That all changed with WWII and women went to work outside the home mostly for the war cause, but also because money was tight and anyone who could work, did to earn enough to sustain the family. After the war, some women did return to the usual women's work in the home when menfolk returned, but not all did.
Even with the advent of suburbia and fabulous appliances of the 1950s, many women continued to work outside the home part time and full time. Then there were those who volunteered their time for various causes. AND at the same time were able to plan meals and prepare them. I remember the first TV dinners - Swanson. And I remember the first McDonalds in our area and White House Burgers. Yet, most of our food was still prepared and planned by our mother.
I think it was more due to the expansion of manufacturing ready made foods. What a lot of advertising and pushing to make things "easy" on mother. Some ads even made the father of the household feel bad that he didn't get mother and the family out of the kitchen and into a restaurant. Oh, those diners were vary popular.
So you have decades of manufacturers to brainwash people about easy food, fast food and the heck to nutrition and pesticides and so on. Today, we are paying the piper. Our society is always sick with something or other mostly because we are obese or overweight. We have learned to be a sedimentary society relying on easy to eat foods. And now we require computers, smart phones and gadgets that will shut off lights and start the laundry or turn on the oven and lock the doors & windows.
People no matter what their gender do have time to plan meals. They can buy fresh produce and fruits, legumes and fresh meats & fish. And spend 30 minutes or less preparing meals. I know I do and my weight and my late husband's weight were the same as they had been in college days.
It's a choice each one of us has to make - what kind of life do we want? What type of home do we want? I refuse to let the mfg tell me what I need.
KD
hace 6 añosOr maybe the people riding scooters at Walmart are disabled and being able to borrow a scooter means they can actually get out and do things where in the 1950s they would have been stuck at home or institutionalized or dead.
Yes, we are mostly far less active than we used to be, but can we try to talk about that without shaming people who are disabled and making use of modern technology to actually try to have a life anyway? (And no, you cannot tell by looking if someone is legitimately disabled. I have bad arthritis and I look fine and healthy. My mom has cancer and also looks fine but she has neuropathy in her feet from chemo so walking some days is incredibly painful for her. I know someone else with MS who is young and doesn’t look sick, just very overweight - but her weight problem is from taking steroids and other meds for the MS.)User
hace 6 años@PrivateFoxy: I wasn't talking about those with medical problems. Taken from CDC (Center for Disease Control). The more obese someone is without a medical problem, the more likely they will start having medical problems.
And yes, some people become diseased and sick and yes, they are average weight for height and bone size. And yes, taking certain medications can put on weight. A girlfriend of mine has severe arthritis and has trouble with back spasms and walking. She isn't overweight. BTW, steroids don't MAKE a person gain weight. What is does is - oh, heck read it yourself. I'm sorry your mother is battling cancer and I do hope she beats the odds. A friend of my in her late 60s is also battling cancer - stage 4, but she keeps on ticking - walking down the road when she can, eats fresh foods and stays away from manufactured dinners, sauces, breads and other chemically laden foods. Doctors gave her 6 months - this is now working on 2 years. She looks good, has kept a nice figure - not too skinny (many chemo/rad patients tend to lose weight) and she exercises when and however she can, from sitting in a wheelchair using 2# weights to hiking down the road with her "stroller." And yes, she's on a ton of meds including steriods and every so often has more chemo and radiation. Right now, everyone is hoping she gets approved for a new treatment - immunotherapy.
My mother died from cancer - always kept her weight in check. Shall I go on? No, I don't think so. And yes many Americans are obese: 1 in 3 are overweight; more than 1 in 3 are obese; and about 1 in 6 children under age 19 are overweight or obese. Now, if you want to consider that shaming go right ahead if it makes you feel better. Those are the facts whether you like them or not.
PS In the 1950s, one of my grandmothers had brain cancer. She had surgery. She was disabled and would die from the cancer within a year. She couldn't drive, so someone would drive her to the groceries, hairdresser (and she had 3 wigs!) and other places she wanted to go. My other grandmother in the early 1960s lost her leg to diabetes. They didn't have treatment back then. She was disabled, but 10 years later, I would drive her around to her favorite places to shop. The station wagon my folks had worked nicely for her wheelchair. Everyone learned how to transfer her from one sitting place to another or to the shower or bed. So, no, she wasn't sent away or was home bound. That's what family is all about.
Jason Shepard
hace 6 años@celestina89 :
"People no matter what their gender do have time to plan meals. They can buy fresh produce and fruits, legumes and fresh meats & fish."
No, not everyone has the time. Many are working 2-3 jobs in order to just pay the bills since wages haven't kept up with cost of living. In fact, there's a map out there that details how many hours per week a person would have to work in various areas of the country just to pay the average rent cost - and it isn't pretty. Check it out here:
http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/OOR_2017_Min-Wage-Map.pdf [PDF File]
No, not everyone can afford to purchase fresh items. That's a luxury those on food stamps and limited incomes that are struggling to pay the rent just don't have since fresh produce prices are far higher than pre-packaged goods on a $-per-pound basis, especially if they live in rural areas where choices are limited, prices are higher and public transportation is non-existent, requiring that they have a car and associated expenses as well - which reduces even further the amount available to spend on food. I would love to see how you would live on a food budget of $110/person/MONTH, which is the maximum allowed by food stamps in our state. Or, how you would survive on $735/MONTH of income, which is the maximum for our state in SSI disability payments.
It's pretty obvious that you have little to no knowledge about the living conditions of a large portion of United States society - the poor and elderly. Start with this link and move on from there (or simply do a Google search for the statement: "How expensive it is to be poor").
https://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21663262-why-low-income-americans-often-have-pay-more-its-expensive-be-poor
In our case, it would actually be healthier for us to have a kitchen in which we could mingle. Right now, with the isolated location of it in our home, no one really wants to spend a lot of time there cooking, separated from the rest of the family. And, with its current size, you can't exactly have help because there is no room for more than one person to work on the meal at a time. So, as a result, even though we do eat healthier than many, it's still not what it could be with a decent-size open-concept area that this poll is asking about. In the tiny homes and apartments that many of our poor and elderly live in, this is likely another cause that you haven't considered.
I hope you choose to get educated on this subject rather than spouting off bigotry against the overweight based on insufficient knowledge and outlandish, inaccurate assumptions. Good day.Jason Shepard
hace 6 años@PirateFoxy :
I love your response. Well done.
My wife has a herniated disc in her back and severe Sciatica. You can't see her problems from the outside, but everyone assumes, when she is in a wheelchair or one of those scooters, that it's just because she is overweight. In fact, some of the hatred we have experienced from people while out and about has caused my wife - a prior social butterfly - to become a hermit. We only go out shopping now at 24-hour locations at about 2am when few people are out because of it (which has increased our costs because we need a babysitter for our 10-year-old in order to do so), or I just go alone which means my wife sits at home, depressed because she can't participate.
Thank you for your understanding of the situation and for speaking out.judygilpin
hace 6 añosLet's just face the facts, the restaurant portions are "Super-sized", Americans, for the most part exercise less, eat more, spend more time sitting, drive their cars if they have to go more than 100 feet, buy processed "ready to microwave" foods, think fast foods are exceptable and then then complain about illness!!!!! If we reduced portion amounts, ate healthy foods & exercised daily there would not be as many suffering from health issues. Let's face it, we've become a lazy nation and spending time in the kitchen (which this article is about) has nothing to do with it. Stop with the excuses already !!!
User
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 años@Jason Shepard: Not sure what working side jobs on top of normal 8 hour days have to do with eating healthy, but go for it...... And yes, there are people who totally depend on SNAP (food stamps) and hand outs from food pantries that don't always allow them to eat healthy. It's the bane of the society. Then there are those who are homeless who rely on free handouts of not always healthy. Just all those in Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and others that lost their homes are in many cases not eating healthy. You can pick and choose any group of people you wish. It doesn't negate the facts of the CDC and the NIH.
This isn't about disability. It's about eating healthy and exercising. I eat healthy - my food bill is approximately $200 ($40-60 @week) per month. And I even have people over for lunch or dinner on my dime. I eat a balanced diet and give my body all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy as it can. It isn't that difficult if you know what to buy instead of stopping at the fast food place or the gas station for a burger or "snack".
So instead of making excuses, try learning how and where to buy healthy foods that are fresh and doesn't come loaded with added sugars, salts and unhealthy fats. Lean what good nutrition means. If you don't know how to cook, there are free courses at your local Ag Extension Service and other places. Help your wife out and learn how to cook good nutritional meals.
"fresh produce prices are far higher than pre-packaged goods on a $-per-pound basis" says Jason Shepard
Pound of dry beans depending on store about $1.39 cooked: serves 6.1/2 cups
Amount varies per type of bean.
Pound of canned beans filled with unhealthy added salt (not really a full pound as it is average 15 oz can: contains 1.5 cups of beans or 9 ounces. Depending on the brand and variety perhaps $.72 per can.
I'll let you do the pricing. Hint: You'll need at least 4 cans to match 1 pound of dry beans. Dry beans are healthier and cost less than canned beans. Sodium alone for canned beans that you buy in those 24 hour stores is about 800-900 mg per cup. Cooked dried beans have about 300 mg of natural sodium per cup. The average daily intake of sodium for Americans is 3,400mg per day. Your body only needs 1,500 mg daily. Those who intake more are at risk for heart disease.
You can help your wife by giving her healthier foods, a balanced nutrition and correct servings. You can begin today by downloading FREE 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines. Follow them and you'll soon begin to see a difference.
Jason Shepard
hace 6 añosYou've conveniently chosen to ignore about half of my posting that goes against your diatribe. How nice.
Yes, people should eat healthier IF THEY CAN. However, the fact of the matter is that not everyone can afford to, has the time, or the resources available to do so. This could be because of limited funds (fixed income, food stamps, exorbitant rent and utilities, etc.), it could be because of limited time (multiple jobs tends to keep you from having the time to shop, cook, and eat appropriately), or simply not having the place to do so (homeless, rent-a-room with no kitchen or just a kitchenette, etc.). Or, it could simply be due to location.
For example, I live in a small town of 2200 people. We have a grocery store right here in town, but the cost of groceries there is 2.5 TIMES what any other store in the area charges. However, you have to drive a minimum of 25 miles one way to get to one of those other grocery stores. Due to our location, public transit isn't an option. So, unless you have your own car or friends you can rely on, you have to buy your groceries here in town at 2.5 times the cost. We spend quite a bit of time transporting friends to and from other grocery stores to save them money, but most don't have this available.
In fact, I have improved our diet ten-fold. My wife has lost 60 pounds over the last 12 months. That doesn't change the fact at how much more this new diet is costing us. It has increased our food budget by 75%. That's not affordable for a lot of people.
Instead of lambasting people because they aren't eating properly, how about you learn the reasons behind it and start to accept the fact that not everyone has it as good as you do and can just go out and buy healthy foods right now to improve their diet.
Now, I'm done here because we are WAY off-topic and this has gone on long enough. I've been around long enough to know your type and know that I'm not going to get anywhere continuing this conversation with someone who is willfully ignorant of reality with regards to the vast majority of US society.judygilpin
hace 6 añosJason, You are correct.....this is WAY off topic. But, believe me, you can eat healthy if you stop with the excuses. Our grocery store has fresh berries (blackberries, raspberries, etc.) for 77 to 99 cents for a 6 oz. box. Tomatoes are 99 cents a lb. Even the 99 cent store has fresh vegetables for 99 cents for cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, bell peppers and so on and so on. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and start investigating all of the options of healthy eating. Excuses will get you no where.
KD
hace 6 añosYou clearly haven’t been to places where you’re lucky if there IS a local grocery store other than a 7-11, nevermind one that has fresh produce worth buying. (And last time I was in a 7-11 in a city, the produce was bananas and oranges and they were both nearly $2 a piece.)
People have actually studied this issue - some urban areas are practically begging supermarkets to come set up shop, but no one wants to because it’s easier and cheaper to follow the Walmart example and build a huge mega-market outside of town where taxes are lower and real estate goes for a song. Plus you can have all the parking you want to rather than be limited by the space you can find between existing buildings in town. (Which is handy because the only way to get to Such places is driving.) On the rare occasion when a city does manage to convince a supermarket to set up shop, at least around here, it’s usually a boutique place that caters to white collar professionals who work in offices and need to pick up something at lunch or before they head home, which means limited hours and ridiculous prices. (I mean, I won’t even shop at one of the ones here on principle because the mark ups are so high, even though we could afford it.)
In my city in the summer months now, the city actually subsidizes farmer’s markets to set up in less well-off neighborhoods so people can get some fresh produce that way - but only a limited time of year. (The program is apparently pretty successful, though. Neighboring parts of the city where there is more demand for a farmer’s market to begin with don’t get one, so that draws people to the ones that do exist, which helps support the market and encourage people to have stalls. So as the program goes along the amount of subsidy required from the city has dropped since people are getting used to the markets being where they are. The markets are also set up by the city to use food stamps in some way or another, I’m not sure how that works.)
And as for shaming disabled people - you just did it again. Not only do you apparently see people using scooters and instantly think “fat lazy cow” rather than not judging the person and letting them get on with things, but now if someone has a health problem of any significance and isn’t out running marathons in spite of doctor’s advice and doing great at it, they’re Just Not Trying Hard Enough or some such, because you know this person who... Because the person you know is how everyone is, not an anomaly. By that metric, when doctors give patients a poor prognosis they are always wrong, since a doctor told my late husband he had six months to live and instead he was around for 16 years more. He did it, so everyone will! Right? I WISH that was how it works.
Serious illness and disability is awful and complicated and no one dealing with that stuff needs your judgement heaped on top of it - not even about their weight under the guise of being concerned, because it’s not your business. (Here’s a shocker! I know overweight people with serious health problems who’ve been told NOT to try to lose weight by their doctors, because weight loss programs mess with the body and losing weight in and of itself can change dosing requirents for medications significantly. So the last thing a doctor managing a serious and difficult to treat problem wants is the patient adding more variables by changing eating or exercise habits or losing weight intentionally. But I guess you know better than the doctors dealing with individual patients because the CDC and the NIH have issued blanket statements about health?)
As far as kitchens - I do think we need to continue to move away from strict one-person kitchen designs, as some older kitchens are. Even if you don’t hang out in your kitchen, one of the things that is leading to not-great eating habits is people not knowing how to cook, and one way to improve that problem is to have kids involved with meal prep growing up. You don’t need a giant kitchen for it to be safe for two people to cook in helping each other, you just need to be planning it out so two people can fit without being so close that it’s unsafe. (Some kitchens these days do look rather more like an entire football team could cook in them without trouble, which is probably a bit excessive. But for example my grandmother had a fairly small kitchen but it was still arranged such that I could hang out safely out from underfoot but where I could still see what was going on, and she could give me things to help with. I learned an awful lot about cooking just from watching her make dinner when I was visiting for a weekend or a few days in the summer, because it was easy for her to cook and show me what she was doing at the same time.)
tooky58
hace 6 añosI would love a large kitchen with a breakfast nook that seats 4-6 but, not open concept. I'm looking at my kitchen right now while sitting on our couch and I do not like it. At all. And yes, I do like company while I cook.
Jason Shepard
hace 6 años@judygilpin :
I find it interesting how you failed to read most of my posts and instead jumped onto the assumption that my discussion centered around MY family. It doesn't.
I *drive* the 50 miles round trip to a reasonably-priced grocery store because we have a vehicle to do so. I actually drive *others* to such stores on my dime so they can eat healthier and have enough to last them the month.
We've cut out all deep fried foods except french fries (because we love them, but we use real potatoes that we cut up ourselves in Canola oil rather than Vegetable or Corn oil).
I'm *not* referring to my family. I'm referring to all those families that don't have the ability to do what we do. It's not excuses; it's REALITY.
By the way, I'd *LOVE* to see those prices. Fresh berries are $2.50/pound here. Tomatoes are $1.89/pound at the cheapest store 25 miles away. We don't *have* a 99-cent store anywhere within an hour's drive of us. I just went to the local grocery to pick up hamburger - it was $5.29/pound. To get it for less ($3.89/pound), you must drive 27 miles southeast to Aldi's.
We live in the second-largest town in our county (at 2200 population) surrounded by agriculture, yet the closest farmer's market is 35 miles north of us that happens once a month and does *not* take credit, debit or link cards - cash only (except for 2 very small stands that have portable credit card machines linked through their cellular phones).
I'm beginning to think that people who live in the city believe that rural areas just plain don't exist......User
hace 6 años@Jason Shepard: You drive to the nearest "reasonable-priced grocery store" a bit more than I. My round trip is 42 miles. I go into town once a week (sometimes with friends) for all my purchases from livestock, hardware/lumber, staples, and groceries. I also schedule doc visits the same trip (not every week, though).
Each area is different as to what is available. In some cities, believe it or not, there are grocery store "deserts". No grocery stores within reasonable walking distance, so many are forced to buy high priced non-healthy foods from local corner stores.
Being rural, I'm sure you have your own gardens and store much of your foods with canning and root cellar or basement. I'm lucky as we have three season gardens.
Jennifer Dube
hace 6 añosI live in the city and can't wait for the day Amazon drones deliver fresh-picked farm fruits/veggies at my whim. In the meantime we do Blue Apron and eat out at finer restaurants that buy from local farmers. And shop in between at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, which is just down the street. Since living here, I've never bought groceries at a 7 Eleven nor at a Wal Mart or other huge supermarket. That was only in the suburb days.
Patricia Crawford
hace 6 añosi'm Mom to 5 young adults that mostly live with me and so my kitchen, dining, and family room are all comfy, relaxing simple spaces for us to connect and enjoy each other's company. 10 foot dining table and 12 foot peninsula overlooking the lake make it impossible for us to want to leave these rooms. It's been 3 years since the renovation, and there is but one thing i would change... if i had the money, the bank of doors facing the lake would be sliders, so we could fully open the house up to the outdoors. even though my kids are my everything, i could not love this house more!
Rivka Shore
hace 6 añosI just finished my remodel and for the first time in years my whole family actually fits in my kitchen. I am so happy. I really love it. Just to give you an idea of the size difference, I went from 1/2 a meter of counter space to over 12! And a small table.toystory
hace 6 añosÚltima modificación: hace 6 añosWe are moving and of all things I will miss the most is the kitchen. I have always loved large kitchens (I love to cook and bake) and when we built this home 22 years ago we went with the open concept and have never regretted it. Here are a couple photos of the great room with kitchen. The large table we used to have, it opened to 90" has been sold but I think you can still get the idea. My mother had a small magnet on her refrigerator that sums it up perfectly: "No mater where I serve my guests, they always love the
kitchen best".
PROAnthony Perez
hace 6 añosAs a kitchen designer I can say that there is no one single layout that works for everybody. the kitchen should be designed based on the clients's lifestyle, taste, budget, the layout of the house or apartment. e.t.c. An eat-in kitchen is a nice feature for some, but it also presents some challenges such as hiding the mess, providing proper counter space for the cook and sufficient clearance for traffic without interfering with the meal preparation, a good designer should be able to provide solutions that will solve these challenges. Having said that, a warm place with delicious aromas, and conversation can be very inviting.
thatgirl65
hace 6 añosAfter 15 years of living in our 120-year-old house, we are planning to redo the kitchen. A leak in the butler's pantry ceiling started this slippery slope. Anyway, I contemplated lots of options, weighing in resale of the house and our family's needs. I always prefer to "restore" than to modernize, if possible, but a kitchen does need to be usable. That said, we are keeping the kitchen closed off from the rest of the house. We're moving the refrigerator and adding a small table so we can eat in there. (Our daughter started college and it's just the two of us for most meals.) I enjoy alone time, and I like having separate spaces so we can interact when we choose, but also have alone time when we choose. So, our remodel will change the daily dynamics of the kitchen, but not the general concept of a separate space.
Bev
hace 6 añosNo we don't! I spend most of my day in this room, which has my computer, sewing machines, TV, and so forth. I'm only in the kitchen when I'm preparing meals. I've never felt the need to hang out in the kitchen!
elsamathew_1
hace 6 añosE.M.
Although I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, we, as a family, spend more time near the kitchen. I love an open concept room of any kind. If I had the money to buy a large barn-frame structure, I would keep the main level completely open with area's where people can gather and a balcony above to access the bedrooms and more private area's. However, I feel that if you remodel an existing home, you shouldn't wander too far from the existing style. For example, I wouldn't turn a classic Victorian style home into a modern-contemporary style. I would cut back on using wild colors and keep it more neutral, or, if the inside had a great deal of woodwork I might decide to modernize some of it by lightening the stain, or perhaps a fresh coat of paint. If I had a ranch-style home I might add a front porch and some dormers for a little height and light, or paint the brick and add some warmth using wood pillars for the front porch and for the front door. If you prefer a certain style, then look for a home that would best fit, or, can be made to fit your style.
mjconti
hace 6 añosKathi Steele, I like your stripped runner you have in the kitchen. It adds color to your all white kitchen. Been tempted to buy the same one - Mohawk? Not sure of the thickness, if it lays flat, and is washable. Sorry I'm off topic, but it is important to have a cheery kitchen to hang out in for ourselves and for anyone else that visits!! It says 'welcome'. That's what is important.
Kathi Steele
hace 6 añosSorry, I took some time off!!
My husband actually found it for me! We got it thru Wayfair.
Yes it is machine washable with cold water. It does not slip or slide. And it does lay flat. I love the color it adds!!
artsyphartsy_home_maker
hace 6 años.
Ravensmom13,
You look as if you live in puppy dog paradise!
Cute fluffy pooches galore!
helsharmar
hace 6 añosOddly enough, another family lives in my kitchen. I don't know who they are and wish they'd leave.
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