The current issue of Better Homes and Gardens features the delightful home of the Curci family. We were particularly intrigued by their idea to extend the kitchen counter through a window to be usable from an adjacent porch...
Clearly this idea isn't relevant for most people but if you're undertaking a kitchen renovation and you spend a lot of time entertaining on an adjacent porch, this might be a fun idea to consider. (We do wonder about air leakage and how to create a tight seal at the bottom of the window when it's closed in the off-season.)
(Image: Reed Davis for BHG)
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Our kitchen counter extends into an outside bar with a sliding glass window that opens sideways. The inside counter is generic formica, and the outside counter is tiled.
When we renovate the kitchen, the silestone will continue through seamlessly. In our case, we'll likely re-use the window, and don't see any issues with air leakage, because we'll have a caulked track all the way around.
However, it was interesting to learn that the counter will apparently pull the heat out of the house in the winter. (We are in Florida.) We'll see what happens -- I've considered making a quilted "cozy" for the outside part.
That's cool...not sure how they got around building and fire codes.
What kind of a draft does it get in a Boston winter?
super cool! my dream house is to have something similar..
with built in bar stools on the other side..
just beyond that will be the fade entrance pool!!!
want! love!
"not sure how they got around building and fire codes."
Yeah, 'cause you know how this is such as safety and fire hazard...
:-/
Not sure how it would be a fire hazard?!? My best friend growing up in Louisiana had something like this. It doesn't get very cold there in winter, of course, but I don't recall ever noticing problems with air leaking out when it was closed. It was a bit of a pain to clean the track along the bottom IIRC, that's all. It totally made sense there, since the porch was pretty much the main dining space unless it was truly raining hard or there was a very formal event! It was the same as having a passthrough from kitchen to dining room.
Love it!
We had similar on my childhood house to the back porch. Makes prepping for picnics a lot easier!
I'm dying for glass Moroccan stars like those, has anyone seen them anywhere for sale?
MariaBelle, if you Google "morovian star" or "morovian star light" about a thousand hits come up... I don't know what the quality brands are either though, anyone else's recommendations are welcome, because I want one of these for over my dining table.