the news is that we have been (my husband, mostly partly me) asked to "make over" a 20-year old poorly maintained concrete house. the fact is, it is owned by my parents. also, it's what i consider my teenage house (we moved there when i was 13); our childhood house (about 4 blocks away) has long been demolished. technically, there's really nothing ancient in there that should be preserved--that's one major consideration off our shoulders, at least.
truth is, my husband was just asked to design the addition, which happens to be the "dirty" kitchen. as per situationer, the kitchen is a health hazard in the sense that the beams do not anymore connect with each other and are probably being held together by really thick cobwebs, reinforced by soot from the firewood powered stove. i would like to believe that it is true because when i was younger i was made to believe that roofs in the kitchen side of the house tend to last longer because the soot makes them stronger. I would like to explain why it is true and why it is not true, that but i fear i am digressing.
the conversation went like this:
mom: when do you think you can produce a design for the kitchen renovation?
me: when do you plan to have it renovated?
mom: as soon as we can. if we have the design (herein called: the plan) as early as now we can start the construction by phase.
me: how do you want the new set up to be?
mom: well it's just basically gonna be a kitchen and at the same time a dining area where enough to accommodate guests for dinner.
take note: it is going to be a Filipino kitchen.
and if you want to be more ancient that the above, here:
additional background:
the kitchen is being a "dirty kitchen" is where the scaling of the fish, the chopping of the chicken's head, the peeling of coconuts and the grinding of coconut meat for coconut milk, and the peeling of jack fruit happens. so we are gonna make a kitchen that can accommodate that and at the same time accommodate the guests.
next question:
me: how do you imagine that would be?
mom: well, it's just gonna really be a kitchen. the way it is now but a little bigger because we're gonna move the whole dining stuff there.
me: and what else do you plan to do with that space once its been renovated? with the kitchen?
mom: what else it's use gonna be, you think? for cooking and eating, of course.
me: no, what i mean is, will it serve other purpose other than just eating and cooking?
mom: cooking and eating, that's its purpose.
dad: large enough to accommodate guests. the present dining room will be converted to a family room.
me: no, i am asking so we would know the actual foreseen use of the area. i mean, look at this house, the living room has been turned practically into a packaging center and the dining room into a part time office. i just want the whole programming to be done according to how you will actually use the space.
one important note: the present dining room is at the center of the house. i repeat, at the center of the house. it will be turned into a family room--the center of the house. but there will be guests to entertain. in fact, the parents always entertain guests--farmers mostly. i don't know how they expect to entertain farmers inside the family room. i suppose they will be entertained in the kitchen cum dining room?
mom: just go ahead and make the plan so we can start with the works.
i'm not sure dude. i mean, with this kind of reactive attitude the whole renovation i'm certain will lead to another design fail and it is because the clients refuse to see the space as it is, and imagine instead facelifts similar to what is seen in home makeover magazines and tv shows: modern kitchens. given that pre-planning conversation, i'm certain that the clients imagine they will chop the heads of the chickens somewhere, in a makeshift shack, do the dirty kitchen work in a makeshift bamboo counter under the mango tree, and realize after a decade that they'd need a dirty kitchen for the dirty kitchen work because the addition failed to serve its purpose.
and because you can't entertain them guests in the same place where you chop them chicken heads.
----
Filipino kitchen article and some pictures: impressive: http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2007/04/post.html
FIN.
truth is, my husband was just asked to design the addition, which happens to be the "dirty" kitchen. as per situationer, the kitchen is a health hazard in the sense that the beams do not anymore connect with each other and are probably being held together by really thick cobwebs, reinforced by soot from the firewood powered stove. i would like to believe that it is true because when i was younger i was made to believe that roofs in the kitchen side of the house tend to last longer because the soot makes them stronger. I would like to explain why it is true and why it is not true, that but i fear i am digressing.
the conversation went like this:
mom: when do you think you can produce a design for the kitchen renovation?
me: when do you plan to have it renovated?
mom: as soon as we can. if we have the design (herein called: the plan) as early as now we can start the construction by phase.
me: how do you want the new set up to be?
mom: well it's just basically gonna be a kitchen and at the same time a dining area where enough to accommodate guests for dinner.
take note: it is going to be a Filipino kitchen.
 |
| and filipino kitchens in rural households are expected to look like this. link to the wonderful picture is here. |
and if you want to be more ancient that the above, here:
 |
| picture can be accessed here, from this site. |
additional background:
the kitchen is being a "dirty kitchen" is where the scaling of the fish, the chopping of the chicken's head, the peeling of coconuts and the grinding of coconut meat for coconut milk, and the peeling of jack fruit happens. so we are gonna make a kitchen that can accommodate that and at the same time accommodate the guests.
next question:
me: how do you imagine that would be?
mom: well, it's just gonna really be a kitchen. the way it is now but a little bigger because we're gonna move the whole dining stuff there.
me: and what else do you plan to do with that space once its been renovated? with the kitchen?
mom: what else it's use gonna be, you think? for cooking and eating, of course.
me: no, what i mean is, will it serve other purpose other than just eating and cooking?
mom: cooking and eating, that's its purpose.
dad: large enough to accommodate guests. the present dining room will be converted to a family room.
me: no, i am asking so we would know the actual foreseen use of the area. i mean, look at this house, the living room has been turned practically into a packaging center and the dining room into a part time office. i just want the whole programming to be done according to how you will actually use the space.
one important note: the present dining room is at the center of the house. i repeat, at the center of the house. it will be turned into a family room--the center of the house. but there will be guests to entertain. in fact, the parents always entertain guests--farmers mostly. i don't know how they expect to entertain farmers inside the family room. i suppose they will be entertained in the kitchen cum dining room?
mom: just go ahead and make the plan so we can start with the works.
i'm not sure dude. i mean, with this kind of reactive attitude the whole renovation i'm certain will lead to another design fail and it is because the clients refuse to see the space as it is, and imagine instead facelifts similar to what is seen in home makeover magazines and tv shows: modern kitchens. given that pre-planning conversation, i'm certain that the clients imagine they will chop the heads of the chickens somewhere, in a makeshift shack, do the dirty kitchen work in a makeshift bamboo counter under the mango tree, and realize after a decade that they'd need a dirty kitchen for the dirty kitchen work because the addition failed to serve its purpose.
 |
| "Modern" kitchens which is only appropriate in Filipino cities, IMHO. taken from this site. |
and because you can't entertain them guests in the same place where you chop them chicken heads.
----
Filipino kitchen article and some pictures: impressive: http://eatingasia.typepad.com/eatingasia/2007/04/post.html
FIN.
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