Appliances

We have a propane refrigerator which we acquired used at a decent price. It is a Crystal Cold which are built by Amish folks. It has the quickest cool down cycle of any propane fridge we could find and also has a decent amount of square footage in both the fridge and freezer. Tiny freezers and slow cool down typically plauge propane refrigerators.

We run a propane stove as well. Got a really good deal on it at a funky used furniture place in Flagstaff. It is truly huge which lets us prep and cook just about anything. It has a center griddle. Only drawback is that the oven thermostat requires some electrical power which means we have to keep an eye on our oven usage during the winter. We also cook outside in the summer and on top of our Little Dragon (the wood stove) in the winter.

The kitchen sink was a big plastic utility sink on four legs. It is really too low to do dishes in comfortably and has only one big basin; but at the time it was what we could afford. We now have a stainless steel double sink installed in the counter top like most civilized people.

Cabinets & Countertops

Initially the rest of the kitchen was made up of a stack of crates, a bookshelf, and an old entertainment center cabinet. Pots and some utensils hang from a rack over the stove and other than that we got pretty clever about how to put things away, but much of my kitchen gear was still in boxes in storage. We looked at pre-built cabinets at Home Depot but it is really hard to fit them into the odd angles and short runs of wall around the dome riser wall. With the new Jonathan custom built in deep shelves and one column of drawers, all the kitchen stuff from storage has been unpacked. The shelves are full, but pretty much everything we need is available now.

Originally the only countertop space is a narrow five foot marble table. We prepped food and eat in that same table space, and the way we handle dishes is to wash them, carry them across the kitchen (two steps) and then put them on a towel on that very same table. Dishes were then hand dried and put away immediately. Not a very satisfactory situtation overall as you can imagine.

Countertop sprawls luciously in a full U around the kitchen now. It is built of inexpensive wood, painted and sealed. It isn't butcher block or granite, but it works great for us.

Refurbished Kitchen

Floor
• Natural product - cork or bamboo
• Definately not tile (things break when you drop them on tile)
• Resiliant, padded, or soft subfloor - easy on the knees.

Countertop
• Maximize available counterspace
• Counter space on both sides of the stove
• Rounded front edge, no sharp corners
• Standard height for working at
• Backwash all along the entire countertop
• Not tile, maybe stainless steel or high quality sealed wood - would allow whole surface for chopping
• "Return" with shallower cabinet and countertop overhang so we can sit and eat there
• Countertop must be sanitizable

Cabinets
• Shallow silverware drawer, 2 medium deep utensil drawers, 1 deep misc item drawer
• Pull out drawers / baskets in some cabinets, full extension when opened
• Easy open cabinet doors/covers to keep dust / sand out
• Lazy susan in corner cabinet
• Storage space built in next to and over refrigerator
• Storage space for odd size things - box of tinfoil, broom
• Upper cabinets on one wall
• Insure any hanging racks/baskets are w/in Lillith's reach
• Trash and compost containers under countertop - in pull out drawer?

Appliances
• Countertop for dish drainer to the right of the sink
• 6 AC electrical outlets accessible from kitchen counter
• DC power lighting over sink, stove, and countertop
• Shelter refrigerator from the sun and insure access to pilot light (back/bottom) - remove part of kitchen/bathroom wall and back refrigerator into that space

Colors & Finishes
• Seal all wood parts to be dirt and moisture resistant and washable
• Rich gold tone wood stain
• Lapis / dark blue
• Burgandy