To me, it looks like the first German kitchen was set up for a cook who spent a lot of time prepping or canning. The work surface in front of the window and next to the sink is perfect for that kind of work. The cook could sit on the stool instead of having to stand up for over an hour while sorting berries for jams. The sink was handy for rinsing the berries or whatever produce was to be prepped for canning. My family did a lot of canning in summer. As a teen I spent countless hours helping sort through and tear stems with leaves off blackcurrants, gooseberries or strawberries. Typically there would be 3-10 kg (6-22 lbs) of berries heaped on the kitchen table. I still make jams (we have mulberry trees) but it's a pain to stand by the kitchen counter for two hours while sorting the berries. Different heights helped contain mess. When sorting berries, I would put a pot on the raised part on my left, if I were sitting in front of the window. I would scoop berries from the sink filled with water and place them on the work surface. As I processed the berries one by one, I would toss them into the pot, and the mess of juice and debris would be contained on the surface in front of me. The pot with the berries would stay clean. So far as I know, Germans have a longtime tradition of garden allotments in cities. Also, I imagine that in the 20's or 30's most foodstuffs required more prep work since there wasn't much food packaging. Grains like rice or buckwheat had to be sorted and debris picked out by hand since they were sold by weight from large sacks. Again, an hour of work before your rice was ready to be put in a pot and boiled. I think storage space is more of an issue now that people have more stuff. There are also more appliances to house. There are several sides to the "dated" concept: 1) Technology development. New appliances and materials make cooking and cleaning easier. Novelties like pull-out shelves make for more efficient storage. Better lighting like can lights banish dark corners. Again, adoption of novel technologies varies by culture. While dishwashers are standard in American homes, many Russians opt not to have them and spend the money on something else - like fixtures for a sauna at a dacha. At the same time recessed lighting is wildly popular in Moscow apartments. People put them even in bedrooms. Which is no surprise given the long and dark winters. 2) Cooking habits and traditions. A family who has a large garden would have different cooking habits than a family that gets all their food from supermarkets. Culinary preferences evolve with time, as well. Some foods that weren't common 50 or more years ago, have become a daily staple. 2) Changing esthetics. This is a highly subjective category, and probably more emotional than practical. Some designs and decors withstand the test of time better than others 3) Societal attitudes. Pre-WWII kitchens were purely utilitarian and separate from the public areas of the home. The modern German kitchen pictures posted by circuspeanut make me think that Germans still tend to be mostly utilitarian about their kitchens. On the other side, many Americans treat their kitchens as a part of the public space and thence as formal showpieces. For Russians, kitchens straddle the boundary between utilitarian and public. Open floor plans aren't as widespread in Moscow, and many people prefer to have kitchens that can be closed off. If there is no formal dining room, formal or holiday meals are usually set up in the living room. However, kitchens are the place for casual (and cozy!) socialization with a friend or two over a supper and/or a cup of tea. That encourages people to make their kitchens presentable to visitors, but not overtly formalized.

i am a doormat. have been for most of my life. and i usually don't mind. i'm very agreeable and hate conflict so i've been known to just go along with everyone else's plans no matter what i feel. i'm starting to learn to stand up for myself, but there are some things that i just don't feel like fighting over and what flavor cake we have at our wedding just dosen't seem like a good use of time to me. all i have to do is say okay dear and we're on to the next thing. i love my fiance and i couldn't picture my life without him and if he wants to plan this wedding (strange as it seems to all of you) then i'm going to let him. and if he wants to take care of me for the rest of my life then you can be sure that i'm going to let him (although i'm quite sure i can take care of myself... i think). he's been there for me when nobody else has been. he was the one who, when my grandpa died, sorted through my emotional wreckage and helped me pick up the pieces and make peace with it... he loves me. he's not abusing me or our relationship, he's just being himself. he is my rock... all i wanted from you guys was an answer to the question do you prefer a sit down dinner or a buffet and what are the pros and cons of each? is there much difference in cost? that's it. i did not request a full analysis of my relationship based on what you know of one situation. our relationship is fine. we are conflicting over what sort of dinner to serve at our reception, let's not go into full meltdown people, i think that our future is secure. it's dinner!!! so if you please, i would not like my relationship to be judged anymore by anyone, much less people who don't know the whole story or the people involved. this site sucks. maybe i'll just ask my parents what they think. thanks for the advice, ya'll, but i think i'll be moving right along now!

Well thanks, GYPSIE and FIDDLE: FIDDLE - I read MOST every post EVERY DAY. Would you say that's an addiciton? If you'd read the posts, you'd know that I made two others and couldn't get it to where I was not embarrassed to send it to my friend. Still don't like it, but it's the best I could do. In a conversation w/ROSIE this evening, she said I was too intent on copying the image. That was a lesson for me, ROSIE. If I had time, I'd do it again and forget the image I was sent to replicate, and go w/something completely different. NOT gonna do another one, though.

These are some very good suggestions, but we don't want to add a rug right now. This is our summer home and considering our two dogs that shed a lot I like the simplicity of the hardwood floors. I ordered the swing arm lamps, and am still considering what size and shape of pillows to get. We sleep on standard pillows and have two king size ones to prop in front of them. Those can be covered in the white cases that go with our white sheets, or I can search for colored cases or shams for them. Then, thinking of how small the room is and knowing they will end up on the floor at night, I would like just one or two pillows for the shot of color the bed needs. I still am thinking about this fabric I found the other day. I like the colors and the playful Chinoiserie pattern which goes well with all the Asian art in the rest of the house. Having it made up at Calico was somewhat pricey, but a few Etsy shops seem to offer it, too, so I just need to decide if I can get by with one long rectangle or need a couple of squares. Once this is decided I'll look into a throw or something for the foot of the bed.