We have officially been enjoying the finished kitchen for a little over six weeks. While it is too soon to tell how everything will hold up over time, we have had plenty of opportunities to give the layout a workout and enjoy the design features that we chose. Today, I will weigh in on some of these topics.

The Appliances

I know. I just said it was too soon to tell about durability, and I mean that. However, I can share some thoughts about how they work for us presently.

Dishwasher

I still cannot get over having a dishwasher. It is one of life’s little luxuries that I do not take for granted. We chose the Bosch Ascenta 50-decibel (stainless) from Lowes. Overall, the layout works great. Every dish we own from stock pot to tiny paring knife fits well. Although the racks are adjustable, we have not changed the arrangement since it was installed.

This dishwasher is so quiet. Sometimes, I have to lean in very close to see if it is running at all. Since our house is not an open floor plan, we do not get to appreciate this feature as much as we would have in our California house. Both of the dishwashers we owned in that house were so loud despite boasting “quiet” as one of their main features. Due to the open floor plan, we found ourselves talking loudly in the living room while the dishwasher was running in the kitchen.

We are so impressed with the performance of the Bosch. The dishes come out immaculate, and we are not pre-rinsers. Maybe we should be, but come on, that is what the dishwasher is for, right? This model even obliterates the leftover disasters from nacho night.

The dishwasher does have some drawbacks. First, there is no option to turn off the water heater booster inside the dishwasher. Despite putting all plastic on the top rack, we have melted a few items, fortunately, nothing of importance. Second, the bottom rack goes off track when it is about 2/3 of the way loaded. We have to slowly pull it out or it will slip off on one side. Then, we have to lift the rack, heavy with dishes, back onto the track. This drives Andy crazy. I am still in the honeymoon phase with this appliance so I make it a game to see if I can prevent the problem with various loading strategies and careful maneuvering. The score I am keeping in my mind shows that I am winning. (Dishwasher: 35 pts, Me: 55 pts)

Stove

So far, we love the stove which is a Bosch 800 Series 5-burner slide-in also from Lowe’s. The entire appliance is easy to clean which ranks very high on my list of important features. The oven is right on temp, and I especially love the warming drawer on the bottom. It works perfectly for weekend pancakes when our pancake eaters come straggling in for breakfast over the course of a few hours.

We aren’t foodies, but the burner and oven layout works great for us. This range looks high-end and fulfills all of our cooking needs at this time.

The Cabinet Layout

This whole layout thing was really a leap of faith for me. When we started, I had zero ability to look at a room sketch and understand how it would look in real life. I was particularly confused by measurements. Our designer at Lowe’s used industry standards as her guide. To me, the path from the sink to the fridge looked too wide. The island looked too tiny, and I was not convinced that we could open the porch door if we extended the cabinetry to the middle of the second window.

Part of that is the fault of the computer-generated rendering. No matter what is input, the image still looks like old school Space Invaders vs. Star Wars: The Old Republic. Please excuse the computer game reference.

Ultimately, I had to place my faith in our kitchen designer, and she did a fantastic job. It turns out that the path between the sink and fridge is just right. The island size is exactly what I imagined, and the porch door opens with plenty of room to spare.

If I could change anything, I would widen the cabinetry on the refrigerator wall so it ends closer to the pantry door. I would also switch the cabinet under the microwave and toaster oven, to a drawer on top, cabinet on the bottom unit.

Neither of these things is a real problem. Widening the cabinets is merely a form issue, but I really could put another drawer to use on that side of the room if I had the chance.

The Herb Garden

About the herb garden… It has been a flop. Within two weeks, all of the herbs died. Thinking that the soil was packed too tightly around the plants, I bought more herbs and replanted the entire container garden.

A little more than two weeks later, everything was dead again. Let me be clear. I grow things. I have a house full of plants, and they are still alive. No one would give me the honorary title of Master Gardener, but Black Thumb is not how they would describe me either.

I believe that the failure is the result of a variety of problems including room temperature, the life cycle of herbs, and our pot choice (poor drainage). Rather than fight it, (I’m not a foodie, remember?) I did what bloggers do. I planted succulents, and we lived happily ever after.

These are my reflections thus far. Life is good here in the kitchen. If the kitchen is the heart of the home, ours is beating with a steady thump. If I have not addressed something that you have been wondering about, please feel free to ask questions. I love answering them.

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Special Note: Today marks the first day of week one of the One Room Challenge™ for the featured designers. Tomorrow will be the start of week one for linking participants. That’s us. Our situation is a bit unique this year since we have already revealed that we are renovating the dining room. Please come back tomorrow for all the details. We look forward to digging in and getting the job done.