TOP CHEF

The photos above show two things: 1.) I never completed the task of painting the trim from last summer and 2.) we have another whammy of a project planned for this year: renovating our kitchen. Before our house was introduced to our sledge hammers it had two small kitchens and one big chef with nowhere to cook. The original kitchen was outdated, poorly planned and cramped. Years later an outside porch was enclosed and converted into a second kitchen with newer appliances, a simple floor plan and big, beautiful windows. Because it was never intended to be the main kitchen, it too lacks square footage, storage and proper prep zones. We prefer it to the original kitchen, however, because of its proximity to the dining room, the wonderful natural light, and easy access to the backyard. While we knew we wanted to gut the original kitchen the second our Prada's stepped foot in it, a year ago we thought we'd knock down the wall between it and the old entry and make one grand, gourmet kitchen. As the seasons changed so did our minds about how to use the space. Today that wall has come down between the old entry and original kitchen to create a family room/Parlor with a media built-in, fireplace and comfortable furniture. While the top chef of this house (Joe) has produced fantastic meals from our small kitchen, we're busting at the seams. Our plan: turn the converted patio kitchen into a year-round space adding enough to incorporate plenty of storage, an island with cooktop and prep sink, new refrigerator and double ovens, a fireplace, table and chairs and new, large french doors opening onto a patio. Where to start? I headed to town hall to get all of the rules and regulations of what and where we can add on (where to place a chimney, for example, so it is within code, how far we need to be from the property line, etc.). I then headed to the Home Depot and grabbed a can of lawn spray paint, came home and mapped out our plan in the back yard. Originally we thought we'd expand ten feet (represented by the first line) but legally we can go as far as fourteen, so I marked both scenarios and started zoning out areas for table and chairs, fireplace, appliances, etc. This is a great place to start in the design process because it will dictate what can physically fit in the space and, inevitably, will evolve into your final design. With sketch book in hand, we turned on Top Chef and while Joe planned his next culinary masterpiece, I tried to design a top notch space for him to do it in.

TIME TO COMPLETE TASK: Spraying lawn to map out space: five minutes

COST: Lawn paint at the Home Depot or Lowes: $2.49

STRESS LEVEL: Cooking up a good plan: LOW