Putting in a kitchenette

[Teagansmom]

First of all Happy Friday!

This weekend I will be adding a little kitchenette in my dc room. When I bought the house in October I thought I would be able to bring the kids up to the dining room while I prepare lunch, and we would eat up there as well. However my dining room has been taken over with dc stuff and I like to keep my living space separate.

I just bought a used ikea kitchen which has 3 base cabinets, 3 uppers and also comes with the counter top sink and faucet. I paid $150, it's in great condition. I'm planning in placing the kitchen under a window.....I would like to cook down there but I will not be installing a stove. I'm thinking about using all electrical cooking appliances. I have a electric skillet, toaster oven, electric griddle and I'm thinking about getting a double electric burner unit.

I should also mention I will not have running water in the kitchen. The laundry room is close, and I will have a water cooler in the area. My husband is handy and said he would magiver something together where I can fill the sink and it could drain in a water container which I can dump.

Does anyone have a similar set up who can offer me some input, advice? I'm really looking forward to this at it will help out a lot.

Thanks

[Crayola kiddies]

Hi I have a kitchette in my basement daycare ..... Same sorta as yours but I have 3 upper cabinets and the lower part is one cabinet,a drawer stack and a bar fridge. I do have a sink too and it is plumbed in so I can wash my dishes down here too. I have a toaster and a microwave and I used to have a two burner hot plate but ... The big burner stopped working and so I had to use just the small burner and what a pain ... The lower voltage of the smaller burner increased cooking times .... So at Christmas I treated myself to an induction burner .... I totally love it!!!! It heats up so fast and cools down almost instantly .... You do need induction compatible pots and pans but they are not overly expensive .... I bought a 10 in fry pan for $20 and a medium Sauce pot with a clear lid for $10 both at Walmart .... I wish I had of known about these burners sooner .... I got my burner at Costco for $60.

[5 Little Monkeys]

I have a full kitchen downstairs and I think your idea sounds great! I very rarely use my stove and it's really just taking up space! I cook a lot on the weekends for the coming week and just reheat it for lunch. The odd time I use the stove/oven but the appliances you are planning on using would do all the same and at least you could store them in the cupboard when you're not using them.

As for dishes, if your husband can't get something working, you could always use a tub to store all the dishes in and take upstairs to wash during naptime? Or get water from the bathroom and boil it to use in the sink....if it had somewhere to drain though!

[mickyc]

I have a kitchenette in my basement. I just have a row of4 large bottom cupboards and 2 drawers on top of that. I then have my microwave and dishes on a shelf above. I have a bar fridge that sits on my counter. I do have a sink though a bit off to the side with another cupboard underneath it. I don't know if I would want to go through all the work of dumping water. There is a plumbing type thing that we had to install in order to put the sink in though. The sink drains into a small tank that has a pump in it. When it gets full it pumps the water up into the other pipes. I think it cost around $500 at Menards (in the US) but well worth it. My dad is a plumber so he installed it for nothing. They also make a similar type thing for toilets now - there have been a lot of commercials on TV lately promoting it.

As far as cooking I use an electric frying pan and a 2 burner hot plate. If I need to bake something I just run upstairs and put it in the oven up there.

[Teagansmom]

Thanks ladies, I think we would drain the water into one of those large water bottle cooler tubs. It wouldn't bother me much dumping it every day into the laundry sink.

Which hot plate would you ladies recommend? I've been reviewing some and so far their don't seem to promising. I like the idea of the induction ones but are a little out of my price range at this moment. I know later I would be open to purchasing those. They have great reviews. I also do have a microwave and bar fridge. I was thinking about having an electric kettle to help with boiling water to cook with, do dishes etc.

[mickyc]

I have a cheap hot plate from Canadian Tire. I think I paid about $20 for it. I have had it for 3 years already and it is still going.

I would seriously consider putting running water to your sink and the drain. I can't imagine boiling water to wash dishes, hauling water back and forth for dishes, washing the table, kids washing hands etc. I imagine you will get sick of all the added work.

[Teagansmom]

Thanks mickyc, I will eventually put in the plumbing but right now I don't really have the funds to do so. I'm planning on also to put a toilet in my laundry room for the dc kids to use. When I do this I will also put the plumbing in for the sink but that will probably happen sometime in the summer. I'm also worried that the plumbing would be on the outside wall, kind of concerned about freezing pipes especially after this cold winter we have had.

[Ultimer]

I have heard that particle board can cause breathing difficulties in children. Does anyone have information about this?