House: White siding all over
Every so often doing the blog I stumble over a Dezeen piece on a house, so here’s one called Park Ex House that’s entirely clad in shiny white siding with stingy, ill-placed windows. And there it is, the breakfast bar.
-
Kate
Reply
Josh 17:23 on 2021-04-29 Permalink
I will admit to being puzzled by your relationship with the breakfast bar, Kate. I grew up in a house that had one, and in retrospect I can see for my parents how it would’ve been very handy: Helping me with my homework while cooking, serving breakfast, talking to guests who arrive before dinner is ready, etc.
Having trouble thinking of a single con for breakfast bars, actually!
CE 18:02 on 2021-04-29 Permalink
That house has been there for a while now and its ugliness has always puzzled me. I can’t figure out why would anyone choose to live in such a structure!
Kate 18:12 on 2021-04-29 Permalink
Josh, it’s just the pervasiveness of the thing. I can only assume budding architects have to take Breakfast Bar 101 in architect school. Houses with perfectly fine tables only a step away are equipped with them. Upscale mansions have them. Tiny condo layouts still wedge one in, so tightly that the users of the breakfast bar would practically be sitting on the shoulders of the person at the dining table behind them.
Besides, why would anyone want to eat breakfast with their legs dangling off a bar stool, when there’s a perfectly good table and chairs right there?
Phil M 18:37 on 2021-04-29 Permalink
The counter height makes it easier to eat standing up, which can be helpful if you’re in a rush. Regardless, if the “breakfast bar” keeps being sold, people must like it.
As for the house, while the cladding might not have been my first choice, aesthetically, I like the overall look of the house.
dwgs 19:38 on 2021-04-29 Permalink
Speaking as someone who is employed by an Architect School I can say that not only do they not teach Breakfast Bar 101 but the whole idea of designing something as boring and utilitarian as a house is both sniffed at and frowned upon.
Kate 07:25 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
dwgs, what are they meant to aspire to?
Blork 09:21 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
The breakfast bar has almost nothing to do with breakfast or even seating. In open concept kitchens it is very practical and desirable to have a large “island” counter, which is convenient AF and becomes the centrepiece of the kitchen. That’s where most of the work happens because it is large and open, and there’s plenty of room for cutting boards, bowls, scales, etc.
The idea to stick a few stools there is almost an afterthought. And it creates a nice social atmosphere when one or two people are doing the meal prep and another person or two are sitting there talking with them, or doing homework, or having a drink, etc.
An open concept kitchen that did NOT have a large island would be as silly and awkward as a bathroom without a sink. It just doesn’t make sense. So it’s not about breakfast! It’s about being a modern and highly efficient and organized kitchen!
Kate 10:37 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
Blork, I’ve long suspected the kitchen island’s popularity comes from a desire to feel like a TV chef. But then, I watched as friends installed one in a kitchen that had barely enough room to move around it, and I didn’t find it much of an improvement. Maybe if you have a really big space.
Blork 17:38 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
It’s not so much about the size of the space as the arrangement. When the kitchen is open to the living area (as opposed to being in a closed room) it’s both a delight and a must unless you’re in a little studio apartment. Not only does it visually separate the space, but it provides a large glorious workspace.
I have a fairly large kitchen, but it’s not fully open to the other rooms, so there is no island and no room for an island. And I am constantly running out of counter space. It drives me nuts. Seriously, I love cooking but I’m always running out of counter space. The mythical kitchen reno (which might never happen) involves taking down the wall between the kitchen and dining room and adding a goddamn island!
Bearing in mind that the average middle-class home cook prepares more sophisticated meals than they would have a generation or two ago. It’s not just a matter of boiling your veg and frying your pork chop. Between all those food channels on TV, food web sites, etc., people are doing more interesting things at home. Not “fancy” just more interesting, and that usually means more fresh veg (therefore more space needed for chopping and setting aside) more pans on the stove, and overall more mise-en-place before you even turn on the heat.
And all that “mise” just begs for counter space!
Josh 18:22 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
Blork: And you’re not even mentioning kitchen appliances! In the last five years I’ve acquired a fancier coffee maker than ever before (with a larger footprint), a stand mixer, and an Instant Pot. All these things have to go somewhere, but some of them wouldn’t even fit through the clearance on my 70s-era kitchen cabinets were I even inclined to store them there! Add in a drying rack, a knife block and a few other odds and ends and you can be out of counter space before you even begin.
I would *love* an island or peninsula just for the extra, practical, kitchen real estate it would provide.
GC 19:09 on 2021-04-30 Permalink
Yeah, even if you don’t actually put stools under there and use it as a bar, it’s extra counter space. And I’ve never lived somewhere and thought “Gee, I wish I had _less_ counter space”. I am a fan of mine, however, and eat there often. My friends put their wine racks under theirs, which meant they still had the extra counter space but also repurposed the other side for something more useful to them.
I wholeheartedly agree that the outside of that house is an eyesore, however.