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Post by lkeriegirl on Jan 2, 2015 13:06:37 GMT -5
Hi old friends!
Is there a group consensus about whether a stove should ever ever be installed under a window? We're thinking about opening up the wall between our kitchen and dining room with a cased opening, for the benefit of making the space more open and also the dining room more welcoming.
That wall is now my 15-B Silverlite and the narrowest fridge we could find. That puts the broiler next to the kitchen entryway, which with three busy kids is pretty dangerous.
We're thinking of switching the sink and dishwasher to an island where the wall is now, abutting the furnace chimney i.e. no way to get more room there w/o changing out the heating system and demo'ing 55 feet of chimney, (not happening at this point).
The sink is centered (sort of) on the opposite wall below a window, between two upper big cupboards. It's the logical place for the stove, but I'm not sure about a) the aesthetics and b) the safety/use of a vent hood.
We don't have a vent hood now. I'm not convinced we need one but am open to persuasion. . . Yes the upper cupboards get gritty but they're open, we took the doors off when we moved in. The renovation will include closed shelving.
We could also take the window out and redo the whole wall of cupboards to accommodate the Chambers wherever we want.
PS she does not have a name, I promised lowracer not to name her until we did the safety system.
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Post by chipperhiker on Jan 2, 2015 15:26:27 GMT -5
Welcome back!
I can see why you'd want to get the broiler away from a busy thoroughfare, especially with little ones running around the kitchen.
OK, so this is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt... I have never found a vent hood to be a mandatory piece of equipment. Nice-to-have, yes, but not essential. Do you do a lot of frying or broiling and find that the cooking smells are an issue? Ideally, the particulates produced from burning fuel and cooking are best removed from the house, particularly if there are asthmatics in the house, but that requires outside ventilation anyway, and a lot of houses just don't have that option available. I've lived in houses without vents with both gas and electric stoves and never found it to be a problem, but I know that other people feel differently, partly because of how/what they cook and their own health concerns.
Full disclosure: I currently have an outdoor-vented hood. I use it sometimes, such as when I first fire up the oven, when there's a lot of steam, such as with canning, and when we're broiling, but not every time I cook. I'm glad to have the hood, but use it maybe 10% of the time. I really don't like the noise.
And for even fuller disclosure: I don't have my safety system in yet, either. I know very well how important it is, too. Hanging head...
Back to your kitchen - Would losing that window in the kitchen be a hardship for you? Would it make the room dark, or are there other sources of natural light? Can you remind us if the 15-B Silverlight has a high backslash? Maybe a couple pictures?
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Post by cinnabar on Jan 2, 2015 20:31:47 GMT -5
Is the window in question one that is operational? I think if it were say a transom type up a bit it might be very nice. It would let the light in, where as a lower one would get spattered easily. I would not want a stove under a window that would be getting opened, hard to get to and drafts while cooking and mess with flames. When the east wind blows through my kitchen it can put out a low flame easily. Like a wind tunnel here. When we moved here the electric glasstop stove was next to the back door, everything landed on the glasstop. I got that out within a month. Your broiler sounds like the same deal, not the best in a high traffic location. Yes indeed, pictures. cinnabar
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Post by donmattera on Jan 3, 2015 8:58:00 GMT -5
Have you considered putting the stove in the island , instead of the sink and dish washer?
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Post by nana on Jan 4, 2015 19:52:24 GMT -5
The wall where the stove and fridge are now is what will become an island between the kitchen proper and the dining room once you take out the wall, right? I like the idea of the stove in the island and just move the fridge somewhere if you can. My brother's fridge is actually around a corner in a mudroom from the rest of his kitchen, which is a departure from the "work triangle" but not as big of a pain as you might think, once you get used to it. It's on his list to someday redo the wall there and have the fridge opening into the kitchen, and the back still in the mudroom. Like a low rent built in. With the stove by the window wouldn't your back be to everyone else while you cook? And with just the stove in the new island, you could have a little smidgen of counter right next to it too.
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Post by vaporvac on Jan 4, 2015 22:19:24 GMT -5
I'm thinking she wants to keep the silverite back and lights, but maybe it could still work somewhere else. My fridge is built-in off the main kitchen and it's no problem at all. I have a little basket that I fill with the food I need to carry in the kitchen. A floorplan and pics would help with this dilemma.
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Post by lkeriegirl on Jan 9, 2015 7:28:48 GMT -5
Tragic 1960s speckly counters and all? So embarrassing. I'll work on it.
I can see how without the back it would be cool in the island, but I can't see doing that to her. They say a bungalow without a porch is like a face without a nose. I'm inclined to add: or a silverlite with its back off.
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Post by chipperhiker on Jan 9, 2015 12:04:43 GMT -5
I'm with you. Taking a backsplash off wouldn't feel right to me, either. Why be embarrassed by your kitchen as it is? It's worked long and hard and I'm betting that it's been part of a lot of good memories for your family and those before you. Aesthetics just change over time. Besides, you're changing it soon, anyway! Show it off and then you'll be able to share how wonderful it looks when you're finished.
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Post by nana on Jan 9, 2015 12:49:18 GMT -5
How high is the Silverlite back? Put it in the island anyway and decorate the side that faces the dining room. My grandson would be more than happy to cover it with stickers if you would like!!
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Post by vaporvac on Jan 9, 2015 15:12:36 GMT -5
The silverlite is about as tall as the 90C and vents out the back. Perhaps if one built a raised bar it would work. People have put the 11bs in an island, building around it and using a vent of sorts over the back section. It looked really good, but if one has the beautiful silverlite, it seems a shame to dismantle it. You should post your kitchen or at least a couple of schematics of it's layout and dimensions including a straight on view. It's the only way I've ever been able to design anything and have it function well and look good. I really like the older kitchens, so I'm the one who'll probably be sad to see it go.
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Post by nana on Jan 20, 2015 19:58:52 GMT -5
So anyway, what layout did you decide to go with?
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Post by lkeriegirl on Jan 27, 2015 18:32:23 GMT -5
We cleaned a little and it's less horrible. Does this work, posting the link to a flickr album? Here's what we're thinking: 1. Open the dining room wall with a cased or beamed opening to the chimney (seen next to the fridge). Install a 3' x 6' peninsula anchored at the chimney with sink at the far end and the dishwasher. Move stove under window where sink is now (leave window in place, the Silverlite back comes to just below the sill) Put in a little strip of countertop and a skinny cabinet underneath, then put a (shallower) fridge in to the right of the sink at the end of that run of cupboards (the breakfast nook is to the right). We took out a tall radiator at the left end of the counter and are thinking of closing up that big back window to get more upper cabinets in. That's an easy switch bc the siding is only like 6' long there. (as opposed to closing in the window over the sink/stove, which is on a very visible side elevation with 25' long siding boards. flic.kr/s/aHsmrDLNrj
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Post by nana on Jan 27, 2015 20:59:33 GMT -5
How big is the room at the end of the kitchen where you took out the radiator? I'm guessing there's a door to the outside, but what kind of a space is it otherwise? Because if there is room, and if you can put the fridge in there, you would not have to be losing cabinet or shelf space to the right of what is now the sink, or have the fridge looming over your breakfast nook. I like Vaporvac's idea of a raised bar with the stove staying on the side of the kitchen where it is now. My kitchen has a bar where the previous owners took out a wall, and that's where everyone sits and watches the goings on, and I can cook and hang out at the same time. How would it be with the venting if you made a bar top as high as the back of the stove and got some nice high bar stools for the other side?( And my offer still holds: my grandson is ready willing and able to cover the back of it with stickers if you so choose!)(And I'm only half joking about those stickers. He would love to have a canvas that wide open...)
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Post by karitx on Jan 28, 2015 10:52:10 GMT -5
You've got a fun and challenging project on your hands! It would be nice if you could keep the stove in approximately the same place (with a cabinet on the broiler side) because that would allow for visiting while you cook. However, it would take a mighty tall bar to cover the back (assuming that the back is approximately the same height as my C). How many Chambers are in your collection? Do you have a spare low back you could install there? On the other hand, having it under the window will allow for a "wow" factor when people walk into the dining room and see the B in all its chrome glory, shining in the sunlight. My only concern here would be for the window sill. Will the B's vent be too much heat for a wooden sill to handle? As for a vent hood, we have one in this house, but we really only use it when we first light the oven or when we use the broiler. If you want to get rid of odors or heat, could you install one of the vintage style through-the-wall vents above the sink? Having lived with our kitchen for a couple of years now, one of the few things I would change would be to have the fridge closer to the sink. The sink and refrigerator are on opposite ends of the kitchen, so there is a lot of back and forth between them. Obviously this is a first world problem, but if I were starting over, I would swap the location of the rarely-used wall oven and the much-used refrigerator.
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Post by karitx on Jan 28, 2015 10:52:56 GMT -5
P.S. Is that a built-in banquette I spy in your breakfast nook? If so, I will be very, very jealous.
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Post by vaporvac on Jan 28, 2015 19:06:53 GMT -5
I guess I'm the lone person that really likes the current kitchen with a little tweaking. I love the cabinets, sink, etc., but I like my kitchen separate. It feels cozy when everyone is in it and I don't have to worry about leaving it a mess. I do a lot of projects in there. Kari, my fridge is in another room...built-in and no moving it (or wanting to). I have a cute little metal basket that i keep by it to load up everything that I need at once. since I went to that system, it's much less back and forth.
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Post by karitx on Jan 28, 2015 20:37:52 GMT -5
Vaporvac, if I had your fridge, I would be happy to carry the basket back and forth!
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Post by lkeriegirl on Jan 30, 2015 10:52:36 GMT -5
P.S. Is that a built-in banquette I spy in your breakfast nook? If so, I will be very, very jealous. No, but it will be! We picked up a more modern booth set on craiglist (no padding, just light wood) but building in is the plan. Edited to add: isn't it annoying how they show "building a banquette" as a like 30-second Lowe's spot on the DIY channels? Like, it's soooo easy we're showing you how not in a show but in a COMMERCIAL during the show, you must be a real idiot not to have done it already. Thanks for that, DIY honks. I knew that already.
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Post by lkeriegirl on Jan 30, 2015 12:51:34 GMT -5
How big is the room at the end of the kitchen where you took out the radiator? I'm guessing there's a door to the outside, but what kind of a space is it otherwise? We built a fabulous little pantry with three tilt-out bins for trash, recycling and dog food and scored a little salvaged piece of carrara marble. Oh the work involved in posting photos! I will try. LSS not putting the fridge there. I'm not quite 64" tall, the Silverlite is 50" high. The purpose of taking out the wall would be to open it up, and give us that big flat countertop for party buffets and just general openess, so leaving the chambers there would not be practical. It's open the wall and move the stove, or don't open the wall. The problem isn't so much the kitchen but the isolated nature of the dining room, it's just not a popular space for hanging out or doing stuff, and the breakfast nook isn't always big enough for whatever's going on. I think the stove could look nice in the window space, but I wondered about functionality. I guess it will be like anything else, maintenance will be key. To vent or not to vent. . . We were planning to put a cupboard across over the window anyway, so that could still work. . . hmmm too many choices.
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Post by nana on Jan 30, 2015 19:05:48 GMT -5
Looking back over all the posts and pictures...since the Silverlite comes to just under the sill, it seems like the only real problem with putting the stove under the window is the need to be constantly cleaning the window of spatters and the thin film of grease that will inevitably build up on it. If moving cabinets and shelving, and removing and/or replacing the window are in your budget and level of comfort, have you considered a clerestory window (or two) to keep natural light in the room, and also keep the glass from getting greasy? We had to gut the bathroom in my daughter's house, because it was so awful. The house was built in the outhouse days, and they cut a dining room in half to put in that new-fangled indoor plumbing with the end result that the tub was against the wall where there was also a big window, which they painted over with silver automotive paint so people couldn't stand in the driveway and watch you bathe. ( They were car people--they also fixed holes in the plaster walls with Bondo,) Anyway, when we redid it, the tub had to stay against the wall, so we took out the window and replaced it with a window that was wider than the original, but shorter and placed high on the wall, right below the ceiling. When you stand in the tub, you can't see out of it, but it lets in a ton of light and the bathroom is sunny and bright, yet private. If you made the whole area where you have the picture above the sink now a clerestory window, you would still have light, and maybe even room for a range hood too; or you could put in two windows where the top shelves are now on either side of the sink. You're 5'4" like me--you ain't using those shelves too often, I'm guessing. Then you could have it all: an open kitchen, the Chambers as a focal point, natural light, and a range hood. Whaddaya think?
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Post by lkeriegirl on Apr 18, 2017 13:12:52 GMT -5
We decided to keep the same layout with all your input. It's coming along, we closed up the window at the back of the kitchen to put more cupboards/open shelving up. I'm back here bc I just acquired a second silverlite B and am trailering it back to cleveland from the Sharon PA area. She's wrapped up good but looking for some chambers karma. I'll post soon.
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Post by pooka on Apr 18, 2017 14:45:00 GMT -5
You've got the fever. Chambers stoves. You can't have just one.
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Post by nana on Apr 18, 2017 16:55:45 GMT -5
Hello! Now where are ypu gonna put the new one?
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Post by lkeriegirl on Apr 18, 2017 20:40:36 GMT -5
It's in the garage on a couple of harbor freight dollies, and I'm still married, so that's good news. It has porcelain issues basically everywhere but the silverlite top, which is where mine has it's only problems. They're a match made in ... western Pennsylvania. The timer on the new one is much nicer to look at tho I assume, nonfunctional. I'll order a cover spring and wire the lights... need to see what gauge that might be. Seller said it had a deep well pot but it's just an old Mirro pot. But it does have a bunch of replacement mobs and thumblatches, so the PO (begorectge guy I bought it from) must have also planned to redo it but not known how...
And the service cabinet falls open of course. Some things never change.
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Post by lkeriegirl on Nov 26, 2018 16:04:00 GMT -5
Hey! I owe you guys pictures. Your responses were very important to our decision making and it came out great. I just cleaned my stove and realized I do NOT need a canopy spring, the problem is that mine is pretty tight and doesn't let the top lay down, but that's better than the reverse! Any advice on how to post pictures?? Chambers forever!!!
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Post by nana on Nov 26, 2018 19:27:31 GMT -5
Welcome back! I either just hit the "add attachment" button when I'm on the reply(as opposed to the quick reply) page, or you could try vgy.me to add pictures.
Yes, you do owe us pictures. Better late than never!
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Post by lkeriegirl on Nov 27, 2018 4:30:43 GMT -5
This is really sad. I only have one picture of it finished! I will tidy up and add some. I'm eternally grateful for your thoughts & encouragement--your responses above really persuaded me to keep the existing layout. flic.kr/s/aHsmukcNnv
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Post by vaporvac on Nov 27, 2018 13:08:45 GMT -5
That looks fantastic... as if it were original which is always my preference. Really great! I can't wait to see more pictures and THE STOVE! : )Also, thanks for the update. It's disappointing not seeing so many of these finished projects.
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