Comment by jonnycomputer | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jonnycomputer | Hacker News Reader

So, I happen to be planning a kitchen remodel right now, and I happened to have up a picture of my kitchen while reading and comparing. And while I can agree with the aesthetic argument the author is going for, I think that it misses something too: primarily, what kitchens are for, which is cooking food, and sometimes the eating of it. In my kitchen, if I have to chop something, I have to shove something aside. Sometimes I use my stove top as counter space. What would I give for some of that void the author critiques, just so I could chop the onions, or turn around and not knock something off the counter, or trip over the can. And trust me, "easy to clean" is no bad thing. I'm sure some might think that the aesthetic joys of cleaning food from between cracks and beneath appliances gives the richness to life that the rich cheat themselves out of somehow, but no. Its an awful soul sucking waste of the one life you've got to live.

Real-estate isn't interested in making things personal, because they are trying to sell something for others to personalize. Go look at real lived in kitchens if you want to make the critique; not real estate ads which are selling a dream.

(I'm the author)

For what it's worth, I designed my own kitchen (and house for that matter), and me and my wife spend upwards of 2 hours a day in this room because we cook almost every single day, making and baking and preserving a large number of foods from scratch.

I simply think that using the kitchen doesn't just have to be easy, it has to be joyous. If it's one of the rooms we use the most, and entertain guests in too, it should be beautiful as well as useful. I am not against counter space!, but against a material drabness that seems to make spaces less than alive.

All the kitchens I see have a fridge covered in magnets from holidays, photos of children, and children's paintings. Items on every surface, signs of life. Except when they're emptied to take photos for selling the house.

I haven't seen magnets on a fridge door in years. Decades even.

I find that quite surprising.

As stainless steel finishes became popular, magnets didn't work anymore.

Manufacturers have wised up though. We just got a brand new Samsung with s/s finish, and lo and behold: magnets work.

I don't know if they're using it's-not-really-stainless-steel, or if they are backing with something more ferrous, but either way, fridge magnets are back, baby!

Many different alloys are classified as "stainless steel", and some are magnetic. [0] The ss sink in my kitchen is not magnetic, but the our ss range IS magnetic. Just as you report, new ss refrigerators are likely to be made amenable to surface magnets.

[0] https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pdf/Article%20-%20Magn...

Fair enough. Thank you for your courteous response.

I get what you're saying. For a bunch of reasons my wife and I also spend a lot of time preparing meals. Real-estate folks describe ours as a "galley kitchen", not well-endowed with counter/work space. Having dinner guests is a real challenge. It resolves to KISS principles, but with some planning it's amazing what can be accomplished.

As to design, we've gravitated to a relatively spare approach. Though not at all imitating "industrial" space, after all, we actually live in our home. Linoleum flooring, quartz composite countertops, stainless sink/range, laminate cabinets, etc., are "homey" enough but also durable materials.

One thing is crystal clear: in small kitchens storage is a precious resource. Dedicated cooks prefer buying supplies in larger quantities, spices, flours, etc. That means a tightly managed pantry with little empty space. Sometimes having "too many" cabinets can be a good idea.

But understandably tastes and needs vary, so no doubt others would do something entirely different with the space our kitchen occupies. Then again, if I was designing our kitchen from scratch, well, it would be so MUCH better, but WTH, when wouldn't that be the case.

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