(no subject)

[beatrice_otter]

Twenty years ago, my parents bought a (new to them) house, and the kitchen was atrocious, so they ripped it out.

My Dad is an amateur woodworker, so he was going to build new cabinets. But he was busy, so they put in some temporary stuff, including two old entertainment centers, two beehives stacked on top of each other for open shelves, a slab of MDO plywood for a counter, and various other makeshifts.

In 2020, he put actual countertop in, having given up on the whole idea of making cabinets. The entertainment centers officially became permanent. (The tops are the right height for counters, and the drawers are very sturdy, and they're nice looking pieces and it's not like we have any other use for them!)

He got a book on kitchen design for Christmas and now he is talking about taking the radical step of installing the light fixtures they bought twenty years ago and never got around to installing. (They've been using lamps for light.)

Well, I mean, you wouldn't want to be hasty about anything, right?

(My Dad, I should mention, is the one I inherited my autism from, and he has all the executive dysfunction that implies.)

Comments

[alexseanchai]

this sounds familiar

there were through iirc 2019, and given how many there were there probably still are some, boxes in my parents' basement that hadn't been opened since they were packed while clearing out my grandparents' house in 1997. and it was astonishing that Mom actually opened any of them in iirc-2019. I had more things to say about that before realizing there are boxes in my bedroom right now that haven't been opened since I packed them in 2018.

[beatrice_otter]

Time gets away from us so easily!

[birdylion]

Hi, reading this was interesting; it sounds almost exactly like my parents' house. (I can't be sure, but I'd say my father shows a lot of the criteria for autism, too.)
I find that sometimes, the makeshift solutions that become permanent can be really charming. Your parents' beehive shelves for example sound like they are.

[beatrice_otter]

My mom calls it "Depression Chic" but you know, stuff like "open shelves bolted to the wall instead of upper cabinets are in fashion now! (They weren't 20 years ago when the shelves were put up as a stop-gap until Dad had time to build the cabinets, but they are now!)

And she has very pretty curtains hanging from the counter to hide the recycling and other stuff stored under it.

[birdylion]

Pretty curtains can go a long way in making a home comfy. And the curtains are easier to change than cupboard doors if it turns out I find a fabric I like more.

[rmc28]

I have been "meaning to" get a new kitchen installed for at least a dozen years but at least we haven't ripped out the old one yet.

[beatrice_otter]

Well, the old one was designed to be used from a wheelchair, so the counters were not at a usable height for anyone who WASN'T in a wheelchair, and couldn't be adjusted without ripping them all out. It wasn't JUST that everything was atrociously ugly (though it was that, as well). Picture the absolute worst of the late-80s/early-90s colors and patterns, chosen by someone who could not match or coordinate colors or patterns to save her life.

[dewline]

No, you don't want to be hasty about anything.

[beatrice_otter]

Their plans for what they want the finished item to look like have changed a couple of times in the interim, as fashions changed.

[princessofgeeks]

This is soooo familiar. I hope they enjoy it, however and whenever it turns out.

[beatrice_otter]

They seem to be fine with it!

[viggorlijah]

That makes me a positive speed demon with the wallpaper still in the box! I actually love the idea of the beehives as shelves very cool

[beatrice_otter]

It works, and they have decided they like it, so it stays.

[senmut]

I empathize with this? I am the monarch of 'make random items work in spots'.

[beatrice_otter]

It's a kitchen that, when you describe it, doesn't sound like it should work.

But in practice, it actually works quite well, which is why they haven't ever gotten around to putting in actual cabinets.

[tielan]

If it works, then that's definitely a good thing!

[beatrice_otter]

It's functional! And now that it has a real countertop instead of a slab of MDO plywood, it doesn't look that bad, either!