I am doing square foot gardening with a twist...I use to live in the country with lots of room and did the Ruth Stout gardening technique....but with less room, I am doing the square foot garden this year...I have harvested so much form just one bed it is amazing,,,we have four 4x12 boxes and a long 12" wide bed in the back where I have these wonderful Sunflowers...I plant a few marigolds here and there too..I don't know if they help with the bugs but they are pretty. I tired to plant just the number of plants two people will need, so I have a variety but not too much of anything. I love this method,,,no weeding,,,and mulching everything the way I do,,,,I really am not watering that much although it is in the 90s here now. Right now, I have squash,,several types of beans, broccoli and peas are just going,,cabbage,,onions, peppers, hot and sweet, basil, tomatoes, carrots, mustard, eggplants, bausch, and I just noticed I have little watermelon and cantaloupe...I also have strawberries, only six plants, and cukes,,pole beans (Kentucky Wonder and Contender) and patio, cherry tomatoes,,I tried to grow lettuce but only got one picking,,,I think it got too hot... Here is a link to my blog...

There was a thread on this topic some months ago--see below. There are some good photos of niches. Our project is bogged down, but I have a few additional comments since I posted... Because we have to watch our pennies, I'm shopping in bargain places. One problem I have encountered is that oddball lots of tiles often don't include bullnose pieces as well as regular field tile sizes. The niche that we have roughed in will require some cute tricks to make ordinary tile edges seem attractive and classy; we don't want to just snip tiles and leave raw edges. DH, my sweaty equity, did not finish the niche smoothly when he created it in drywall because we knew we would cover it in tile. Now, we're thinking that we might not do the tiling right away and he'll have to pull out drywall tools and make a proper corner edging around the niche. This kind of "go back and do over" gig is getting very frustrating. [Meanwhile, I've found a smashingly exciting tile that of course only comes without trim pieces. It's sitting right next to me, thinking. Unfortunately it has a decidedly unfinished raw edge and will require tricky handling if we choose to use it. I just covered it over so I can't see it tempting me there on the table. Have to be more practical. ] Tile shops do carry a metal edging that can be used to finish off edges when no bullnose is available, but I haven't seen examples of it in actual use on a range niche. Would love to see a sample photo to reassure me. Also, remember that if you choose to work with a thick tile or a remnant of some kind of rock from countertop on the back of the niche, that will cut down the depth of the niche shelf. If you want the area above range/cooktop to be an artistic focal point, I humbly suggest that you either make a niche OR some kind of tile design but not both. If you choose too fancy a niche back, the items standing within the niche will compete with the tile design for viewer's attention. Mine will be a working kitchen, so we're planning to put oil bottles, vinegar bottles, salt shaker, etc. there and they are supposed to get top billing. Don't forget that you can suspend a second shelf in the niche if there's room. Here is a link that might be useful: Niche topic thread

Thanks! We are planning to store small(ish) kitchen electrics there (rice cooker, blender, etc.). We don't use them super frequently, but much more than once a year, certainly. I hadn't thought of doing the 36" cabinet with a fixed shelf and skipping the pullout all together, but that's not a bad idea---we actually really like the two blind corners in our vintage kitchen now, but I realized at one point that they work because the adjacent counters are only 15" deep, so effectively they're 48" cabinets with two 15" doors and 15" of blind corner, with fixed half shelves inside. Very easy to get into, but no way are we having 15" deep counters ever again! :)

I'm on the fence on whether to put a BC pull out in our new build. My current blind corner houses some rarely used things. I think the key is putting things there that have a specific purpose so it doesn't matter if you forget about them. In other words, the items will "tell you" when they're needed. When the time arises to use one of your blind corner items then you'll know. I've got my chafing dish, a huge roaster pan, a big tupperware cake transporter, punch bowl and a couple of other biggies all with specific purposes. If I put things like pretty trays or serving dishes back there then I might forget about them and never use them. On the other hand, when the need arises for the punch bowl, chafing dish, etc then I know right where it is.... nothing is back there that I have to remember to use..... if that makes any sense! I'm wondering in the new build if I'd be more irked by my big things not fitting in a pull out unit than having the occasional inconvenience of having to fish back there for something a couple of times a year.