The best thing about my kitchen is that it is still functional. The worst thing is everything but that. We're in the beginnings of a remodel.

I was almost too embarrassed to post my kitchen Cynic !
But....it works me and it is what it is and hopefully someday it will look better than it does right now.

Worst things....The walls are made out of cement blocks and its not insulated. The floor is cement too and ugly, but we can fix that. Its small and only half painted.
Its not attached to the rest of the house, but that's a lot to explain, so I wont even get into that.
A new sink would be nice too. Maybe just bull doze the whole thing and start over ? I HATE the swamp cooler in the summer, its always running and the noise gets old real fast, but we cant live without one either.

Best things.....I feel at home, we don't get many visitors so the size is okay too and I do have a dish washer. I can reach everything easily. We can use it as a "guest room" when my son comes, as it has an attached bathroom. It gets lots of sun and I like that because I like to have lots of house plants around me.
I have had 2 really nice, huge custom kitchens, and for some reason I am just as happy in this funny looking little one :-)

My husband and I spent many months planning our kitchen layout while waiting for the architect and engineer to finish the building designs for the 1000 square foot addition to our 2 story colonial. Our original kitchen was an OK size but it had 7 doorways which just about rendered the space useless (to the dining room, hallway, family room, laundry room, powder room, basement and backdoor)- honestly what was the builder thinking? Could be why this was the only model in this style that he built.

The end result is a wonderful kitchen measuring 28 x 18 that is indeed the heart of our home. And we managed to combine 2 of the doorways so now it only has 6. Our kitchen has 2 overlapping triangles and room for several cooks. We put in a 12 x 5 island that can easily sit 6 at the counter - it has a 6 burner Dacor rangetop and a prep sink. We have a double wall oven at the end of the kitchen where it's nicely out of the way. I have a huge single bowl sink under a bay window with lots of counter space on either side.

One of our best decisions was to go with 2 separate Sub Zeros- the 36" wide counter depth refrigerator is within the work triangles and the matching 36" wide freezer is on the opposite side of the island. There is 8' of cabinets and work counter next to the freezer along with a smaller bar sink- works great for parties since we can set up the beverage station outside the work triangle. In the eating area we have an 8' wide walk in bay window.

We put the addition on over 20 years ago and it still funtions beautifully. My only regret is that we chose a very light oatmeal colored matte finish porcelain floor. The tile is fantastic and we used an epoxy grout that doesn't darken or stain. I just think a warmer tone would have nicer than what we have. So I now have beautiful Persian rugs strewn about the kitchen and they do add the warmth that I was missing. We enjoy the kitchen so much that we seldom eat in the dining room.

Lavon you have nothing to be ashamed about! The point of a kitchen is to have a room for cooking and a functional one that's like yours or mine make more sense than a fancy one that doesn't get used! A friend of mine would seldom cook. She hated cooking but had a rather fancy kitchen, all high-end appliances. The only one that got used was the coffeemaker, the rest she said were all props! She had no idea how to use many of the features on the fancy-schmancy stove even after living there for 3 years!

But you mentioned one thing I really would like to have and that's a bathroom off the kitchen. Seems like a no-brainer in so many ways. Wash your hands? Bathroom is close. Eat my cooking and think you're gonna lose your lunch or get an attack of Monte's revenge? Bathroom is close. My aunt/uncle's house had a 3/4 bath between the living room and kitchen so it worked for the front door and back door. They were avid gardeners and lawn workers so they could walk in either door and go right in and clean up. It was great. I looked at a couple houses that had a bathroom off the kitchen and that was a big selling point to me. Sadly too many other things just didn't sell it!

Few Minnesotans know what a swamp cooler is, but I do! :D Are you in Arizona by chance?

Thank you for the kind words Cynic ! And your right, many people dont know what swamp coolers are. We live in the desert in Southern California, not too far from Joshua Tree National Park.

The best thing is that it's very neat and organized. Everything has a place and we know where to find what we want, unlike before the remodel.

The worst is I'd love more cabinets but we have too many doors, doorways, windows, through window that takes up so much wall space to allow more. Changing the footprint in our 3 year old kitchen was not an option.

Do have pics Maire_Cate?

I love how my kitchen looks but is a bit too dark. Not a big deal at night because we have a lot of lighting. But during the day it sorely lacks shine. When we did our remodel three years ago we took the only window in the kitchen (a small 1 foot high under cabinet view of the trash cans) sealed it up and covered with backsplash. The kitchen is still 'work in progress' and once we open up the eating area to the back yard it should let in a bit more light. If not we will add a Solartube in the middle of the kitchen.

Jodi-

I love my kitchen! We redid it 2 years ago and I love what we did.
Best ever thing is the pull out trash cupboard, no more looking at a trash can!!!!!
Put in a small pantry, that sure is useful!
Worst, is that the eating area is small. If we have a full table of people, we have to pull the table out into the kitchen area.
I have very few drawers, so have to have a crock to hold many of my utensils.

Well my last house the kitchen was huge allI got done was cleaning it.So in my old 1700 farmhouse its just right.I like the wormy chestnut cabinets with granite counter tops,I had 4 windows put in above sink,Wide board pine floor,Got the new fridge 2 doors on top 2 drawers on bottom love it,I have big pantry,I have an aga stove black,the 4 oven model.,set back in a big brick arch .I like my kitchen

I love my kitchen but if I were to add more features:

*a second sink
*Tiled in mosiac rugs on the floor, one in front of the stove & one in front of the sink
*foot controls for the water
*tile under the breakfast bar stools
*Lighted hutches under the breakfast bar overhang

Best......... new cabinets and all new appliances. Remodeling but not finished yet..

I love my new big pantry..

Worst. I would love to open up the wall between the kitchen and livingroom and have a bigger window.

I like that every overhead cabinet has lighting underneath.

I like the corner sinks with the wall of windows behind where I can stand and look out on a small pond and lots of open space.

I like that the dishwasher is elevated about 12 inches.

One thing that I do not like is the combination pot rack and light fixture hanging by chains over the island. No matter what is hung from there it is always unbalanced. It would be far more useful if it were suspended with some sort of stationary rods. I hang nothing from it now.

I'm a simple girl with a compact, u-shaped kitchen that is just right - no granite, no backsplashes, no island - very easy to work in and keep clean. What I wish I had is a broom closet.

I keep my small appliances (blender, toaster, food processor, mini processor, KA mixer, coffee maker & grinder) on my counters. My DIL does not; she has a beautiful huge kitchen and puts everything into cupboards. DIL and I are both good cooks who cook and bake a lot. I recently got a large charge when she told me how easy it is to cook in my little kitchen! Well, duh! Everything is available! It is much more important to me to have a functional, well-organized kitchen than a gleaming minimalist one.

I love my DIL dearly. This past spring I spent several weeks living in her home, caring for her young family while she was very sick in hospital and then recovering at home. But it about drove me nuts to have to pull out the coffee maker and toaster every morning and polish all that granite a dozen times a day. I did start leaving the appliances on the counter as I used them, but I never did figure out how to keep the granite gleaming. I just do not like that stuff. I am visiting here again this weekend, and all the appliances are hidden in the cupboards.

Diff'rent strokes I guess; I prefer function. It did make me laugh though when when she told me my kitchen is a pleasure to cook in!

Best is my DCS 36" all gas range with built in griddle.

Worst is counter and cabinet height. I can only reach the first 2 shelves (barely) of my uppers and the standard 36" counter height is to high for a 5'1" person to work at ergonomically. I do most of my prep at the kitchen table. I have to have my Kitchenaid mixer on a cart because on the counter I have to stretch to see into it.

My dream is to make a center baking/prep island at 30" and have uppers hung 3" lower for more accessibility.

We live in an APT, and I have learned the art of creative storage, and multi-use of things. To give you an idea of it's size,,,(I don't have a camera or scanning) I can stand in one place and sweep the whole floor. The one thing I don't like...let me correct that statement..... I HATE about this kitchen is ..it has an electric cookstove. Even after 6 yrs, I'm still not used to it.

Best thing about my kitchen is the wall color, poinsettia red, which I chose when I moved in. Worst things are lack of counter space and cupboards and the smooth top electric range. I want to get a gas stove. My kitchen is galley style.

It really surprises me that more dishwashers aren't raised up. Even in senior apartments (when so equpped - don't seniors ever use dishes?) they're not raised. But then I guess grab bars are uncommon too.

I raised my dryer up and wish I had done that 30 years ago. So much more functional and I'm one where form follows function.

The best thing about my kitchen is my dishwasher! I have a fairly small galley kitchen. The worse thing is lack of electrical outlets on some walls and the 40 year old tile on the floor all over the downstairs. You can never get it to look good. Another bad thing is the counter top on the one side is also 40 years old. The third bad thing is the broken window that is taped that is above my sink.

Sue

Best thing? The under-mount sink and Silestone counter tops. Worst thing? Samsung appliances and the open floor plan with no way to keep the dogs out since there are no doorways. I hate having things in my way when I'm zooming around in the kitchen.

I have a great triangle, though, if there isn't anyone standing or lying on the floor in my way. (I wouldn't complain if Paisley was lying there, but she was so good and would move if you even gave her the look, she didn't need to be told.)

Best-my sink, stove. fridge and diushwasher are just a few steps apart.
Worst-only one person fits comfortably. Get out of my way!

Flamingo what don't you like about your Samsung appliances? We're thinking of getting their French door fridge. I hear you about the dogs. I don't mind the dogs but I don't like DH taking a shortcut through the kitchen when there is a perfectly good hallway next to it. LOL Pocket doors are on my list. With LOCKS!

Cynic I used to think a raised DW was out of the question. But has been put back on my list this past year or so.

My little kitchen has 2 doorways. One goes into the dining area as shown on my pic' no door.
The other goes into the livingroom, opposite the sink. It has a pocket door but I never close it.

I like my kitchen, as long as I'm the only one in it. I prefer to be the only one making meals anyway.

I don't know how many times DH just HAS to do something at the sink or something when I'm chopping veggies or preparing dinner. OUT!!! Flamey, I can so relate.

I do have to look down, though. Little Roxie often will come in and just lay there like grey rug, right in the middle of the floor.

Oh, I also replaced the old single pendant light fixture with a snug to the ceiling 4-bulb flourescent fixture with a white cover. I LOVE a bright kitchen. Neighbours have commented how nice it is. I like to see when I'm working!

I know about tripping over dogs as I walk around the island, but other than that, I love my kitchen. I hope so since I paid Plain &Fancy a lot of money to come up with a kitchen which would work in an 1840 crooked house. I love my soapstone counters and the huge deep farmhouse SS sink where I tend my many ivy and fern plants which sit in the big multipaned bump out window. It's a Pella in their historical collection, and we're putting another in upstairs in the back bedroom this fall we like it so much. I have two toned cupboards which are kinda the style now but weren't five years ago when we did this. I also have two different style cupboards..shaker and raise paneled. The colors are cream and sage green. I love the built in corner cupboard which hold all my pantry items at a glance. I like the pull out trash cans and spice drawers and pull out cutting boards. The refrig and DW are covered by wooden panels. The kitchen is really vintage looking and the day they wee done, it looked like it was there in 1840, minus the appliances..lol We left the old wood floors and the backboard is beaded..The sage green matches the original chair rail in the kitchen.

I mostly like my kitchen. I would like newer appliances (like a French door refrigerator and glass-top stove), but everything works so I should be grateful. The only time it doesn't work is when Harry decides he just have to have something and, of course, it's right where I'm working. Grrr! I've learned to walk over here to the computer and spend some time until he's finished.

I forgot the one thing I don't like about my kitchen. Above the refrigerator is the TV behind closed doors. It's a big space, so wide I have vases lined up on the sides. BUT...when we designed the microwave shelf, I had a wonderful small Delonghi I really loved. It was deco looking ..black and stainless. Did my tiny little mind think it would last forever? It didn't. Then the problem was to get one the same size which is not big. Small is okay for me. It does what I need but leaves me little options. I now have a cool small one but when that goes, who knows?

lily316 hope you'll post some pictures of your kitchen. Sounds nice.

Yeah, I'd like to be able to trip over my little doggie too but I know it ain't-a-gonna-happen again in this lifetime. Even the little fart Sunny stealing rib bones would be cute to cuss at again, but same thing.

Jasdip you brought up something about lighting. I require good lighting and do what it takes to get it. I'll sacrifice "style" to get what I want. My kitchen has a 3 bulb fixture over the main part, I added 2 lights under the cabinets over the peninsula counter, a fluorescent fixture over the "shelf" unit and replaced the "chandelier" with a ceiling fan/4-light fixture. My kitchen will light the neighborhood...when the power is working! I demand good lighting when I cook.

We remodeled our kitchen three years ago and I love everything about it. It's not perfect because I had to work within the footprint I had but I did a pretty good job designing a new one if I must say so myself. It's hard to pick out a best thing but if I had to, I would probably say the refrigerator drawers. We had to put in a counter-depth French door refrigerator and the only place for it was on the other side of the island...not too convenient. I countered that little piece of inconvenience by putting in refrigerated drawers on the island. I keep all the fruits and veggies in the top drawer and drinks in the bottom. Everything that requires food prep is right at my fingertips. If I had to pick out a worst thing, it would probably be the island outlet. Because of all the drawers in the island, the only place to put the outlet was on the back side of the island. It would have been more convenient on the side but it wouldn't fit. It's only a problem when I use my Kitchen Aid mixer, requiring me to walk around and plug it in. Not such a terrible thing since I don't use the mixer that often anymore. I went from a U-shaped kitchen with a peninsula cook top to a center island with six feet of pure work space. I love, love, love it!

Georgysmom
One of my favorite things are the refrigerator drawers also. And I keep the same things in them...fruit and veggies on top, drinks on bottom! Ours is at the end of a run of counter(the frig is at the opposite end) right next to the door to the deck, so the drinks are handy in the summer. Love them!