Thursday, May 24, 2012

My Mother's Kitchen

cloudy and cool with thunderstorms tonight.|Wind Speed: 10 knots
Sea State: Light chop | Ocean Temp: 55 F | Wave Height: 7 ft



I love the plain simple cabinets and the checked curtains in the window and in the dining room beyond of this kitchen at Posie Gets Cozy.

Isn't it clean and neat and orderly looking?  I love simple and clean lines.
The school house lights are wonderful too.

My Mother's Sink was like this. 
My mother's kitchen was a simple metal sink/drainboard combo from the 50's.
 Above that sink were 3 cabinets like Posie's (the ones dead center in the photo)   held the everyday dishes and glasses and that was it for cabinets.
Other china was stored in the basement for holidays, etc.
Next to the sink was the stove and across from it, was the  kitchen table up against the wall under one of two windows that flanked  the "ice box". Because when I was a kid many still called refrigerators 'ice boxes'.
  At the other end was the entrance to an old summer kitchen that had a sink on the wall , and at first,  a pot belly stove.
 in Victorian times you cooked out there in the summer. It was a small room about 10 X 10 or so with a kind of sloping roof.
The stove was removed, a gas heater put in and my older brother lived in that room until he married and then it was a kind of little catch all /reading room that lead to the back steps.
 In the main kitchen was a long thin pantry wide enough for one person.  The  same base cabinets from the Posie photo with a formica counter top  were in there.  Three long  white shelves over that went  up to the ceiling in an "L" shape (they wrapped round the corner of the little room.)

Staples and canned goods lived on those shelves. Pots and pans were on an indentation in the room that was created by the outside door to the cellar.The bottom cabinets held tons of crockery and pie plates of all kinds.
The drawers held the everyday silver.
A door that had lead from the kitchen to the front hall ( it was a small Victorian house with many entrances, nooks and crannies, French doors and a tiny stained glass window on the stair well) was plastered in , much to my chagrin.  On that Mother hung her pots and pans.

The kitchen  was tiny.   One person at a time tiny.   But the best meals came out of that kitchen, unmatched anywhere else in my estimation.

Pie crusts were rolled out on the kitchen table. Vegetables were cut there, potatoes peeled and pans filled and set to cook on the stove.
There my mother cooked for the extended family and friends at every holiday. Big dinners that everyone raved about.
  The 'new' stove we bought when we first moved into that little narrow Victorian house on the hill was great..wide and had a warming oven on one side.  It replaced the old black coal stove that had been there.

 Kitchen's don't need size, they need a skilled cook and lot's of love to go into the meals prepared there.

What kind of kitchen is your dream?


6 comments:

  1. I am pretty happy with our kitchen, it has quite a bit of cupboard space and cupboards - it is not an open style though. I would have liked an island but maybe that will be in a future house!

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  2. I have fond memories of my grandmother's kitchen of her first home. My kitchen is nice in size but hubby brought in a rolling island workunit and it gets in the way. I hate the floor because the tile is full of nooks and crannies that just love to hold onto food and it is hard to keep clean. I need a bigger refrig too. I like your windchime!

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  3. Happy Friday Annie,
    I use to think a small kitchen was fine since I grew up with fairly small ones BUT when my son built is gorgeous BIG kitchen I fell in love with the new kitchens they design nowadays. My sister is a kitchen designer by trade now and designs gorgeous kitchens. Hope you have a wonderful Holiday weekend.
    Hugs, Dru

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  4. Hi Annie! Happy Friday! What a charming post. I enjoyed every bit of it word for word. :) I could imagine it all. :) Our current kitchen is huge with lots of open space but I'm not a fan of it. It's a bit worn and needs some TLC which I will eventually get to. I don't like our 70's counter tops at all and I would love to have a new floor installed. I absolutely agree with you about size. Our old house had a small kitchen and I loved it more than I do this great big one. The old kitchen had charm and personality. :) Have a wonderful Holiday weekend!

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  5. Hi Annie;

    Boy if that doesn't bring back memories of my Mom's kitchen. We too prepared dough & dinners on the kitchen table. My kitchen is just big enough for the stove, sink very little counter space and refrigerator. I still prepare on my table which sits in the combo dining/living room. Definitely an apartment made for one. Hope your weekend was a lovely one and today is a blessing for you. Hugs

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  6. Ciao Annie, Happy Memorial Day!
    I an not happy with the kitchen we have here, it's so tiny (but I don't mind it) and dark (no windows - quite depressing). I dream of a kitchen with lots of light :) where I can fit some "ugly" but care to my heart memories of my grannies. :) Maybe, one day...

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