Dreaming Spaces with addend

I see my relatives both passed and still physical in my dreams.  In my dreams, we’re just all together with no distinction as what side of the veil we’re on but I have noticed something about my two passed grandmothers… 

My maternal grandmother is living a big house in a woodsy place as she used to on this side of the veil and hosts big family get-togethers while bustling in and out of her kitchen and the very lively large dining room.  This is her all over.  She always loved her kitchen and having family get togethers.

My paternal grandmother lives in a house that reminds me of the double-wide trailer she and grandpa lived in on this side of the veil and, like they did here, their get-togethers with family are very small… several people tops… and she spends no time whatsoever in the kitchen.  In fact, last time I saw her this way, I got very curious about it and went exploring.  There was NO kitchen in her house whatsoever.  When I asked her why not, she got a playful grin on her face and said, “Because I don’t have to cook here EVER!”

I should explain here that my paternal grandfather was a very tall, large boned but slender, direct descendant of the Viking, Eric the Red, who was hypoglycemic and had a HUGE appetite so Grandma was constantly cooking for him.  He ate a minimum of 7 meals a day.  All of which is to say, I think Grandma got tired of cooking long before she was incapacitated with alzheimers toward the end and Grandpa finally started cooking for them both.

So as I’ve been sitting designing various houses on my HGTV program, houses I’ll probably never see built on this side of the veil, I can’t help musing about what I’d like there to be in my house if I didn’t have to worry about physical concerns anymore. 

Like my maternal grandmother, for instance, I’m pretty sure I’d want a kitchen.  When I’m not too tired, I really enjoy cooking.  It’s a creative endeavor for me.  And I like it when people like my creations and when they look really good even if only to me.  I even like simply hanging out in the kitchen.  Don’t ask me why.  I don’t really know.  There’s a coziness about it.

So I’ve been considering, among other things, the sort of kitchen I’d like to design and am posting some pictures here of ones I like best.  Tell me which one appeals most to you?

1 

I like the mantle framing of the stove but dislike it being a gas stove (gas scares me for some unreasonable reason) and the closed in feeling of this kitchen, cozy though it definitely is.  This is a kitchen that gives bear hugs: very nice but a little suffocating.  Also, my HGTV software won’t allow the use of mantles beyond the fireplace.  Bummer!  They should fix that.

2 

I like the range hood on this one AND my software allows for it as well.  I also like the lamp (though my software doesn’t allow for it), the cabinet detailing (nor this), and the physical, though still cozy space.  Psychologically, though, it feels just as close as the item 1.

3 

I love the bright cheerfulness of this one, the shiny clean red and the white … but it’s not practical under the circumstances.  I can’t keep my husband Jeb out of the kitchen.  That’s a fact of life.  He loves to cook, he’s quite pushy about it, and this kitchen is definitely too small for the both of us.  We’d likely hurt each other with all the pushing and shoving that would ensue.  If I didn’t have to share it though, I would LOVE to have this kitchen.  Unfortunately, though, HGTV won’t handle the customization of this one at all… I don’t think….

4 Love the openess of this one and the wonderful artsy fartsyness of the island and stools.  Kind of has a feeling of belonging in a really too-big sort of house though.  Not sure why that would bother me, but it kind of does.  Maybe just the thought of having to clean the attached house.  T’would be a bit much methinks.

5  I like the practical arrangement and airyness of this one.  Don’t like the colors much though.

6  This one has a pretty good layout and, except for the chairs, I build a pretty good approximation of it on my HGTV.  The colors are dull though.  It needs more contrast.  The placement and detailing of the refridgerator is downright interesting – also something I can easily do on my HGTV, out-of-the-ordinary though it is; but I’m not sure I entirely like it.

7  Ooh… Breezy, open, sunny, spacious.  Might even be able to share this one with Jeb.  Maybe.  Then again, no island nor island sink and not much open countertop space and we could possibly end up elbowing each other out of the kitchen anyhow.

8    This one is Jeb’s favorite for the island and the island sink.  I like those aspects too… also the big open window and the warm but elegant color contrast, especially the shiny black countertops.  The little cook-book nook is kind of neat too and that pot-rack wrought iron chandelier is wonderful.  The detailing could stand to be more interesting, but overall, it’s a pretty great kitchen.  The only problem is that the kitchen is a social place in my house whether it’s a amenable for extra butts or not not (as my real-life kitchen is not) and there is notably no place here for guests to sit out of the way while still socializing so it wouldn’t actually work for us in the real world.

9  Bright, cheerful, good color contrasts, too small.  T’would suit me well, though if only I didn’t have to share it with another butt, not even that of guests.

10  Ooh pretty!  But it looks attached to house that’s probably too big.  I like it a lot though.  I’m also getting a kick out of pan rack/cupboard, the ships’ lanterns and the two-tone color contrast.   Love this one overall.

And I have designed a kitchen in my HGTV that utilizes all of the above details.  Maybe I’ll add the picture of it to this post tonight.