My Kitchen Faucet
Shortly after we moved into our house I was forced to replace the kitchen faucet and sink, as I was breaking dishes left and right. Our dinner plates did not fit into the sink basin and I was banging the edges into the center divider every time I attempted to rinse the plates off before putting them into the dishwasher. Now that my 13 year old is responsible for loading the dishwasher, it’s a good thing we replaced the sink and faucet, as otherwise we would probably be on our second or third set of dishes by now!
The sink was original to the house (1939) and measured about 10.5″x13″ on either side with a depth of 9″, and a 3″ wide divider between each basin. The faucet did not include a sprayer, which resulted in a very wet counter and floor. Definitely not ideal for a girl who likes to cook and entertain, and generates lots of dirty pots and pans – BIG pots and pans to cook things like gumbo and paella.
This is where my problem solving skills as an interior designer kicked in. I had to have some kind of sprayer to be able to clean my pots but and pans, but unfortunately for me, there was no room for a deck mount faucet and the choices for wall mount faucets with sprayers were VERY limited (I counted three, and all three hadn’t been updated since the ’60s) I wasn’t about to do a total remodel, since it was either remodel the kitchen or pay our boys’ school tuition. My boys are so stinkin’ cute that we opted to forgo the remodel (as if that was ever an option!) Lucky for me after refusing to settle with something I didn’t even like, I held out and eventually came across this beautifully designed Kohler Karbon faucet and immediately knew that I had found the solution, where my desire for form and function were both satisfied. I have always been very happy with Kohler products, so I purchased the faucet, brand new straight off an Ebay auction (see- I’m resourceful, too!)
The Kohler Karbon faucet is available as either a deck mount or wall mount, and there are several finishes available. It contorts itself to cover pretty much every angle with ease and has a nice and steady stream when the sprayer button is depressed. When I’m in the kitchen, I can’t be bothered with having two different knobs on my faucet – one for hot and one for cold, which is why I love the Kohler Karbon . You simply flip the handle up or down, and to the left side for hot, right side for cold – so simple I can even do it with my elbow or the back of my hand.
Random Snapshots of my Kitchen
And for those of you who ask how I keep my house so neat and clean? Well the truth is, the cleaning lady just left before I took these pictures, and I do the best I can but it is far from the gallery that it may seem in the pictures above. As I told someone on Facebook yesterday, “What you don’t see is the pile of junk that I am shifting from side to side. And the occasional “shove everything in the closet” trick doesn’t hurt either.” That is the beauty of the camera – you only see what the photographer wants you to see! And you know how sometimes you get a bit envious of your friends on Facebook who seem to be leading fairytale lives and are always posting pictures from exotic locales? I have to keep reminding myself that everything is not always what it seems! Uh oh – I think a few people are going to be “unfriending” me after that last statement.
The picture above is my favorite. It was an impromptu shot that I took tonight as I caught Little B sneaking into the fridge to nibble on mango while I was cooking dinner. I couldn’t resist and snapped a quick picture of him -this one with my iPhone, which I had right next to me.
Round two with the camera and I am feeling a bit more confident behind the lens. Can you see any improvement? I’m proud to say that I still haven’t read the manual. Baby steps…
Now to go out and find that new microwave. I never liked it anyways, so it’s almost a blessing in disguise!
Happy Thursday to all!
Jeanne
