apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Look: Secret Kitchen Compartment

050908louiskitch01.jpgI recently had the pleasure of checking out my good friend's new apartment, a stylishly furnished 30's era Spanish style 2-bedroom unit with all the architectural fixin's that had us weak at the knees upon entry. While snooping around his place during a house warming party, I noticed his kitchen pantry seemed to hide something behind its closed doors...and of course I had to investigate.

050908louiskitch02.jpgI kid you not, people audibly ooh'ed and ahh'ed when they saw that the kitchen pantry cabinet hid a compact washer and dryer setup behind it (we're no doubt an easy to amuse bunch). It was funny to watch people stop whatever they were doing in a middle of a party to come over and ask me to open and close the doors of the kitchen cabinet. It's a beautiful and surprising detail especially appealing to the renting set. And with a house full of actors, actresses and others in the business that evening, you know there were plenty of apartment dwellers as envious as myself who love the idea of having laundry options secretly hidden away.

[photo: Louis Changchien]

Comments (18)

GENIUS!

posted by little flower on 2008-05-09 17:03:40
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Really clever built-in storage is a rarity in apartments (as many of us know all too well) - I would have oohed and aahed myself!

posted by brenjay on 2008-05-09 17:05:32
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Fantabulous!

posted by swanygirl74 on 2008-05-09 17:07:10
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I "oohed" & "ahhed" myself when I saw the second photo...
Very Nice.

posted by cojaclynsy on 2008-05-09 17:16:13
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Oh, nice!

posted by DahliaCactus on 2008-05-09 17:25:19
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What washer and dryer is that? Silly question, but I'm inheriting a stackable from the 1980s and they look perfect for our space...

posted by ee2485 on 2008-05-09 17:45:44
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I "oohed" myself. As I get older (late 30s) simple things get me all excited. It's FAB-O.

posted by Mr. Dangerous on 2008-05-09 17:52:06
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add me to the list of people who "oohed" when they opened this post! it's so cool!!!!

of course, i also LOVE the tv show "secret spaces"

posted by MoxyThunder on 2008-05-09 18:27:20
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That rocks!

posted by megnyc on 2008-05-09 18:43:21
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LOL! I ahhh & ooohed too!!!

posted by *heather leaf* on 2008-05-09 20:16:53
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Reminds me of how many people fail to use the 16" wide 4' deep space between the studs all over their apartments.

posted by quiltmaster on 2008-05-09 21:07:58
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Could you not fashion something like this (storage of any kind) in an already existing closet? I mean with the front and the shelves that look like a barn door or anything.

posted by K T G on 2008-05-09 21:21:28
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i love that. cute and funny! though i'd rethink the light cocoa and cream combo..go for something with a little more panache.

posted by indiasoup on 2008-05-09 23:02:59
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Oooh! Aaah! :)

posted by Lisa from VA/lsaspacey on 2008-05-10 10:31:30
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Ooh. I think it would be even cooler to mount cabinet doors on the fronts of the big doors, so you had a normal pantry (and then could open the larger doors to get to the laundry).

posted by eeka on 2008-05-11 14:14:33
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Real cool!!!

posted by danze on 2008-05-11 16:02:30
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ee2485 those are by Maytag and they're only 24" wide, great for small spaces. I almost bought them myself and I am familiar with them. I ended up getting Kenmores that are 27" wide, they have a larger capacity.

posted by weezerad79 on 2008-05-12 03:23:21
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oh great! thanks for the info weezerad79!

posted by ee2485 on 2008-05-12 10:18:46
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