I’ve always been a voyeur of sorts. As a child, I loved to ride in the back seat of the car at night peering into brightly lit homes while making up stories about the lives of the people who lived there. I’d wonder if those bright yellow walls in the living room made for a happy home or if the pink bicycle on the porch belonged to a girl about my age.  I still like to peek into houses at night, so close your blinds if you have anything to hide. There are lots of us out there looking in.

Now that you know I’m a peeping Tom (and I suspect that you are as well), I thought I’d give you a peek at my kitchen. Like most houses, it’s in the back of the house so looking through my windows as you drive by won’t quite do it for you.  But before I show you more pictures of my kitchen as it looks now, I want to show you my kitchen as it looked 5 years ago before the remodel.

What a difference a remodel can make! Since I essentially live and labor in this space it was the gift of a lifetime to be able to upgrade it from the 1960’s and fast forward to the 21st century. People often ask me what I consider the important working facets of a kitchen. So, even though you haven’t asked, I thought I’d show you the best things, from my perspective, about my new-ish kitchen.

My very favorite thing is my dual fuel Wolf range. It could be about having enough btu’s to rival the sun, but  it’s probably the simmer feature since I like to cook stews and braises stove top. And I love the big, big oven. And convection. I love convection. It’s really hard for me to roast or bake in conventional mode when testing recipes (but I do). Convection is great because it cooks fast and browns ever so evenly. If you have this feature on your oven, try it. You’ll become addicted.

Next up on my fave list is my KWC faucet. It’s all metal and has terrific heft. It pulls out so it’s easy to fill large pots  or to rinse out the sink. The single handle makes it easy to turn on or off with a bump of my wrist. It will last forever. I also love my instant-hot because it gives me hot, hot water in, well, an instant.

Another plus is the extra counterspace my designer wrangled for me by moving the refrigerator to a back/side wall. I finally have space to roll out doughs and spread out.  I fell madly in love with the handmade green tiles I used on the backsplash. It was a splurge, but thankfully they still make me happy every time I look at them. I’m sure the design professonals on tv would tell me that it is too much green and if I wanted to sell my house that buyers wouldn’t be into it…but I don’t care. Each tile has a crackled finish and a deckle edge so they look old and a bit worn in 6 shades of green. They inspired me to collect old crockery in the same colors. I use those bowls all the time.

I always wanted a couch in my kitchen so that people could sit and talk to me while I cook, so I managed to fit one in the old eating area. Leroy, my little dog, likes to sit there when he’s not in my lap, but when the kids come home there is always someone on the couch, which is a good thing. In the winter when the sun is low I get really nice light there and in the summer the light is dappled by the enormous trees outside. It’s a favorite spot.

I didn’t expect to like my sub-zero fridge as much as I do. I looked into the counter depth refrigerators and thought I’d just go along with the less expensive option, but I got a super deal on the sub-z and now I’m glad I went the extra mile. I was needlessly afraid that the shallow space wouldn’t offer me enough storage, but that shallowness makes it so much easier to organize and find things. Plus the ice cubes don’t get funky because they are made with filtered water and the crisper drawers keep veggies fresh for days longer than my old behemoth of a refrigerator which now chills wine, beer and pop in the garage.

That about does it for the short list. And now for the thing I wish I had done differently; I wish I’d put in the soapstone countertops that I truly wanted. I was talked out of it by a salesman who told me that soapstone is soft and chips so I went with the granite for no fuss maintenance. I don’t like the shinyness of it, but my husband loves it, so there you go.

The Nosey Nellie  in me wishes I could see all your kitchens. After all, kitchens are where life happens. Why don’t you send me a picture of your kitchen and tell me what you love about your space? I’ll post some of the pictures in the coming months and we can all be voyeurs…together.