The Real Kitchen....

kitchen - modern Italian kitchen
@polachicago (18716)
United States
January 7, 2010 8:05pm CST
When I was small, my parents kitchen was not big, but my mother used to cook every day. The kitchen was not modern, but functional and always busy. We cooked a lot. I do remember home made food like pasta, soups and deserts. Today I took a look at modern kitchen design. Modern kitchen is too cold and in most cases design for show not for functionality. In reality, the nicer kitchen people have the less likely they cook in the kitchen. Do you cook at home? Is your kitchen functional?
9 people like this
18 responses
@BinaryKat (735)
• United States
8 Jan 10
Majority of the time, I cook at home. The kitchen in my apartment is a bit small but I can get everything I need done. I would love a kitchen like my grandparents have in their apartment. It has a country feel to it and the counter space is marvelous. They also have a small kitchen table and nice size pantry. I remember all breakfasts, lunches, and dinners when I was smaller. Just recently we were there and I just hang out with my grandma while she washed dishes walking down memory lane.
2 people like this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I bet your grandma likes to cook...
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I wish she is around for you for many more years...
• United States
8 Jan 10
Actually she bakes better than cooking she told me one time. Grandpa handles the cooking of the meats and she does the sides. Although every year she keeps saying she not cooking and somehow is cooking a little something something. Even though we ordered Home Run Inn Pizza for dinner when we were at her house on New Year's Eve, she still had the old stand-bys. She baked a German Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Wafer pudding. I savor those desserts when she makes them because there may be a day when she can't do it anymore. My grandma turns 79 at the end of this month.
1 person likes this
• United States
8 Jan 10
My kitchen is way too small. I can't stand it. You can't even turn around with out bumping in to someone. I do cook at home a lot but I say to others get out of my kitchen especially when I am trying to make my husband a surprise he always tries to peek!
2 people like this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I used to have very small kitchen, I couldn't even turn around, but I was able to cook every day.
1 person likes this
• Lubbock, Texas
8 Jan 10
LOL. Get out of my kitchen is a family phrase around here. It just seems nobody in my family can cook with anyone in the kitchen. Fortunately most of us have kitchens that can be seen from a dining area or living room, so we can communicate while one person cooks.
@34momma (13882)
• United States
8 Jan 10
i cook at least 5 days a week. and my kitchen is a nice size for an apartment kitchen. i have a table that sits 6 in there. i think it's very functional. my daughter loves to bake so we do alot of that on the weekends. i love my kitchen.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
Good that you are happy, many people are not. My kitchen is narrow and has an exit to back yard and entry to second floor...not much functional, but not sterile looking. With ambient lights it looks and feels good.
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
9 Jan 10
You must be a very good cook..
@lorelai (1558)
• Italy
8 Jan 10
I agree with that. I think that great looking kitchen are just for show off. I have a regular, rather old kitchen in my rented apartment but I don't mind it as long as it is functional, although I must say that I'd prefer if the cupboard was at least 5-10 cm wider. Anyway, I cook almost every day, I rarely go out to eat because I find that a big waste of money, I have enough time to cook so why should I go to a restaurant and pay 10 time more for something I can cook myself and pay much less for it.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
You are from Italy, so you know what I am talking about. Kind of kitchen that people can cook home made pasta and ravioli....
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
8 Jan 10
We have what can be referred to as a galley kitchen in our house. It is small and very narrow. However, it is also perfectly functional. I cook all the time at home. We did replace the stove when we moved into the house to a newer (and yes, much nicer one), but that doesn't mean that I don't cook. Our next goal is to replace the floor and the cabinets and the other appliances to make the kitchen nice. But, that is actually so I will want to cook not so that we will have a kitchen that is for show only.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
as long as you like it, people make it functional...
@madteaparty (2748)
• Japan
8 Jan 10
My kitchen is too small so sometimes cooking is a little difficult, but I have my very own tricks. I know how to use the corners to put dishes without them falling, and sometimes I use the washing machine to hold dishes too while I'm cooking. Everyone learns to survive if they need to
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
washing machine in the kitchen?
• United States
8 Jan 10
I love the older kitchens. There was always plenty of cupboard and counter space. The room was small though, but there was a dining room big enough to hold the largest gatherings. The kitchen was a warm place where happy memories were made. My kitchen is too small. Needs more cupboards and larger counter space. But, I have cooked up many memories in that kitchen and in the kitchens I have had in past years.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
yes, so you know what I am talking about....oh, I miss it a lot.... we used to have kitchen storage with home made food for winter supply...
@crazynurse (7482)
• United States
10 Jan 10
I so agree with you with regard to your statement that the nicer the kitchen the less likely it is used for cooking! I know so many people who have remodeled their kitchens into bright, modern, state-of-the art rooms...yet, they never cook! I honestly do not see why having the most modern of kitchens is necessary to cook a good meal. My mother and grandmother cooked awesome meals in very 'plain' kitchens. A good meal is more about the quality of the items cooked rather than the decor of the room!
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
12 Jan 10
maybe they don't want to create mess in the kitchen, because it looks perfect.....
@worldwise1 (14885)
• United States
8 Jan 10
When I was growing up, pola, we did have a real kitchen for a time. It is the one I remember the most fondly. The only electrical appliance was a refrigerator. We had one of those big old cook stoves that used wood and coal. I spent countless happy hours in there while my aunt cooked(seems there was always something cooking for most of the day). I especially liked canning season when she would get out the huge pressure cooker and put up fruits and vegetables for the coming winter. There was such an array of wonderful colors from jams, preserves, veggies, etc. They would then be stored in the storehouse for winter. It was the end of an era when the old cook stove was replaced with a modern electric one.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I think we have the same memory. My parents kept wooden stove for a long time. I wish they did much longer.... HUGS
@applefreak (3130)
• Singapore
10 Jan 10
here where i am, it's the opposite. you'll only get big kitchens in old apartments. when i was young, we had a big kitchen where my mother cooked. we children were allowed to try our hands at cooking too. my mother believes that everyone should know how to cook. we shifted two years ago into a bigger apartment but the kitchen is only half the size. we still cook but now it's me who is doing the cooking. the kitchen was renovated to be functional more than good looking. love the kitchen in the picture you posted but it's way too small.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
10 Jan 10
I like functional kitchens, my kitchen is not functional at all...
• United States
8 Jan 10
Hi pola, I love the older kitchens! I find the new one's are too sterile and cold looking, and it doesn't matter to me how big they are. Just don't like them. If it was up to me, I'd have a fireplace in my kitchen, haha. My kitchen here is a very good size for just me and the kitty. I have plenty of cupboards for what I need, a kitchen table (an old 40s enamel), a corner table that holds my microwave, and a built-in kitchen corner hutch where I have pretty little collectibles that I like. I love it. Actually, the whole apartment building was built back in the 40s with much of the original work still in tact. I just love it, as it's very bright and cheery with lots of windows to bring in the light, which I need. My mom's kitchen was not big or small, and I remember all the cooking too. Things sure have changed.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
Oh, I would like to have fireplace in my kitchen...40's kitchens are very warm and will go on style soon.
@tawny_24 (341)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I love modern kitchen design and modern appliances. When it comes to kitchens some people remodel or design for resale value, and some people do it for the love of cooking. I have this dream kitchin in my mind. The countertops are four inch thick etched glass, and there is a lot of counter space. The Fridge is plated in shinging gold over stainless steel with a freezer on the bottom. There is a chandelier over a center island and a double oven in the wall. I know it doesn't sound funcional, but there are too many details centered around me and my style to go on. In essence I dream of a huge kitchen with lots of room to chop and roast and knead. There's a row of stools for people to congregate around what is to my mind the hearth of my dream home. I love thinking about this and thinking about it coming true. I would love a kitchin that screamed comfort and smelled of cinnamon and curry.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I don't have dishwasher, my kitchen is too small...
@tawny_24 (341)
• United States
9 Jan 10
YOu want mine?!
@tawny_24 (341)
• United States
8 Jan 10
BTW. I cook everyday and my kitchen is not functional. WE have one of those dishwashers that hooks up to the faucet and I am constantly moving it out of my way. I spend more time pushing that friggin thing around than I do washing dishes! I just want to blow that thing to smitherines!!!!
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
9 Jan 10
My kitchen is rather functional. And I know where everything basically is. The saucepans and plates and cups etc.. everything at all. Another thing is that I love to help my mom in the kitchen. She has this really neat freak habit, and I tend to follow her in that.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
9 Jan 10
I am coming for dinner...
1 person likes this
@zed_k4 (17589)
• Singapore
9 Jan 10
Fabulous.. I'll have the tables ready..
• Lubbock, Texas
8 Jan 10
I grew up in a farm house with a wood cook stove, a water pump to pump water into the house from the cistern, a work table and one free standing cabinet. Cooking was a necessity, but the kitchen was rather small, so either my Mother or my Sister of I cooked, but we rarely all cooked together. My kitchen now is functional, lots of cabinet space, lots of counter space, but I have no dining area which is only a drawback when I have lots of company.
1 person likes this
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
wood cook stove was the best, food tastes much better, but took much longer to make it ready for cooking...
@mimpi1911 (25464)
• India
8 Jan 10
The real kitchen for me is the place where my mom enlivens with her magic touch. Your description of kitchen reminds me of ours. It was a big old unfashionable house with the kitchen ever busy and the oven is always on. Lot of people whom we knew and do not knew ate every day. My grand mother used to cook our favorites and my mom was the manager. We had one cook who was superbly loving and used to cook with all the care on earth. we still have her and she has become a member of our family. Years later, as we grew up, the house was renovated to a modern one but the kitchen, on request of my grandmom remained the same. We still have the same old kitchen, the same 'Mashi' who cooks for us and my mom always on her toes making things special with her magic touch.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
Mashi is her housekeeper? I noticed that many people in India have servers at home, is it right?
@zandi458 (28102)
• Malaysia
8 Jan 10
The modern homes now have two kitchens, wet and dry kitchens. The dry kitchen is somewhat for show where the latest kitchen cabinets are build in, refrigerator and a set of marble dining table are placed.While the wet kitchen is where heavy duty cooking is done. My kitchen is the most used area in my house. I spend most of my time in the house doing something in the kitchen. Either it is cooking food or baking cakes and bread. I have small island in the kitchen where I have friends coming over having a cup of coffee while I do my cooking or baking. My kitchen is fully functional and has the heaviest traffic in my home.
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
2 kitchens? is it something new? wet and dry? hmmm
• United States
8 Jan 10
L.o.L. Yea kinda it is just so small!
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
do you mean your kitchen ?
@vandana7 (100886)
• India
8 Jan 10
Ah! I am inclined to differ with this. :) I think nicer kitchen with good house help equals more of cooking. :) Cooking is something that a person likes or doesn't like. :) A person who likes cooking and is beauty conscious would be happier and more inclined to cook in modern kitchens than if he or she were to settle for a congested one. Likewise, a person who doesn't like cooking would shirk the chore irrespective of which kitchen he or she had to manage with. :)
@polachicago (18716)
• United States
8 Jan 10
I don't like modern design, makes me unwilling to cook and spend time in the kitchen. I am referring in this discussion to old kind of kitchen with wood stove and ambiance...