A summer kitchen is typically a small kitchen located in the basement of a home. These kitchens were once used to prepare food for the family during the hotter months, when the main kitchen was too warm to use. Today, summer kitchens are often used as secondary cooking spaces or for entertaining guests.
How to tell if a house is a summer kitchen?
What were summer kitchens made of?
What were the buildings that slaves used to cook their meals?
Why did they build a small kitchen?
Can you use a restored summer kitchen for a wedding?
See 2 more
About this website
/183881184-56a75c5d3df78cf77294fcf5.jpg)
What is a summer kitchen?
The summer kitchen is a rectangular, one-to-two-story, usually gable-roofed structure that is closely related to the main house. Sometimes it is a wing, but usually it is semi-detached or completely detached.
Why do people have basement kitchens?
A basement kitchen can be used for entertaining a large number of people especially during special occasions. You can cook in the space as you entertain without the need of having to run up and down the stairs to get something from the main kitchen.
Why did old houses have two kitchens?
The 1767 kitchen dependency was built separately from the main house. This helped reduce the risk of fire damage to the residence, while also keeping the sounds and the smells of kitchen activity out of the main living quarters.
What does outdoor kitchen mean?
As the name suggests, an outdoor kitchen is a space outside the house where you can prepare and cook meals plus easily handle the cleanup. An outdoor cooking area includes outdoor appliances such as stoves, grills, cooktops, and ovens.
Does a kitchen in the basement increase home value?
Improve resale value A home with a basement kitchen is more valuable than one without. Money spent on your basement kitchen will produce a return on investment up to 85% of your expenditure.
How much does a basement kitchen add to home value?
Creating a basement kitchen makes for an excellent financial investment. It increases the resale value of your home significantly – up to 85 percent of the expenditure! Planning for basement remodeling?
What is a 2nd kitchen called?
A work-in pantry, or “prep kitchen,” is a second, usually smaller kitchen that's hidden away around the corner from or behind the main kitchen. This second kitchen is sometimes called a “butler's pantry.” The main kitchen has cupboards, counters, a sink and all or most of the major kitchen appliances.
Why did people have summer kitchens?
Summer kitchens provided an extra safety measure. They were an extra precaution against a house fire since they were separate from the main house. In addition to preparing meals… they often included a dining table to do other chores such as folding laundry or sewing, making them very useful.
Do Italians have kitchens in the basement?
Many Italian North Americans have two kitchens in their homes: one on the first floor, and a second in the basement. While this set-up is pervasive in cities across North America, homes with two kitchens are uncommon in Italy.
What are the disadvantages of outdoor kitchen?
3 Cons of Outdoor KitchensSpace. An outdoor kitchen requires space. ... Weather Protection. All outdoor equipment needs protection of some sort. ... Security. Security can become an issue with outdoor kitchens.
Why do people want an outdoor kitchen?
Keeps your Indoor Kitchen Cool and Clean With an outdoor kitchen, there's no need to swelter inside your home just to cook a meal. Instead, you can fire up the grill and enjoy the open air and breeze as you prepare food, and then return to a nice, cool home and mess-free kitchen when you're done eating.
What are outdoor kitchens called?
Basic Patio Kitchen A basic patio kitchen usually features a grill, a sink, and an under-counter refrigerator. These are the three most common components in the best outdoor kitchens and usually where most folks start with their kitchen design.
Why do Italians have a 2nd kitchen?
0:262:46Why do Italians have two kitchens? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipBecause they have enough area to lay everything out. And they don't have to be cluttered by theMoreBecause they have enough area to lay everything out. And they don't have to be cluttered by the normal. Things that you see in a kitchen coffee maker or you know different things on the calendar.
Do Italians eat in the basement?
Many Italian North Americans have two kitchens in their homes: one on the first floor, and a second in the basement.
Historic homes 101: What exactly is a ‘summer kitchen’?
Editor's note: This story was originally published on June 16, 2016. It has been updated with new information. Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between roundups of historic homes on the market and answering questions we’ve always had about older structures.. A little while back, while falling down a Zillow rabbit hole, we happened across a late-1700s eyebrow ...
YouTube
About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features
What Is a Summer Kitchen? - The Spruce
A summer kitchen is a small outdoor building next to a house, built for the purpose of cooking, preparing, and storing food, mainly during summertime.
Why do we need a summer kitchen?
But even more than that, the physical separation of a lit stove or hearth from the primarily wooden house meant that summer kitchens also reduced the risk of house fires.
When was the summer kitchen used?
Used primarily in the late-18th and early-19th centuries (though exceptions can be found), the summer kitchen had a number of practical applications in residential life. At its most basic level, the outbuilding physically separated hot kitchen activities from the rest of the house during the warmer months—a key way to survive the summer before the advent of modern air conditioning.
What was the significance of the separate kitchens in the mid-Atlantic region?
The separate kitchen structures of the mid-Atlantic region, which were used by enslaved workers, also held social significance, as it physically separated the enslaved in a space that often was capped by sleeping quarters in its attic.
Can summer kitchens be used for laundry?
In our conversation with Carlisle, she noted that in addition to being an auxiliary space for cooking, summer kitchens could also serve as a year-round location to do smelly chores like laundry.
Why do you need a kitchen in a basement?
There are many reasons for including a kitchen in your basement finishing project — as part of an entertainment space, a student or in-law suite, a rental unit or even a home business. Basement kitchens require the difficult design choices and practical building challenges of main-level kitchens, but with below-grade ramifications.
What is a kitchenette?
In others, a kitchen is defined by what's included in it (a space with a range, sink and refrigerator). You'll hear the term kitchenette bandied around quite a bit in basement construction because it's often used to describe a small kitchen where basement space is limited.
What appliances can be used downstairs?
Refrigerator, dishwasher, range, microwave — all the usual kitchen appliances can be used downstairs as well as the fun ones like a kegerator, wine fridge and pizza oven. That said, what is actually necessary? Designer McKinley Miller says that during this stage of planning she urges homeowners to consider the distance from the main level kitchen to the basement. “If you need to use the cooktop, for example, can you just walk upstairs instead of the cost and construction to create a second cooktop in the basement?” If space is at a premium, size is likely the top consideration in appliance selection. Small doesn't necessarily equal inexpensive in the appliance world and installation requires the same work no matter the size. The good news is that if you research your appliance selections well ahead of time, they may be on sale at some point during your design deliberations. Don't forget to consider utility line obstacles when planning appliance locations.#N#Cost: Appliances run the gamut in price, from a $50 microwave to a $10,000 refrigerator or range. HomeAdvisor estimates that you'll pay roughly $190 for each appliance to be installed. Together with those service line considerations we examined, this portion of a kitchen installation accounts for the biggest project expense.
Can you use a downdraft range in a basement?
McKinley Miller, a designer with FBC Remodel in Chicago says she would never recommend a downdraft range for a basement kitchen simply because of the added expense of the exhaust, explaining that “you have to vent through the outside of the house, which adds considerable cost and need for construction.
Do you need a smoke alarm in a basement?
Hardwired smoke alarms are required in all finished basements; the amount will depend on the size and layout of the space. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) says to install the basement alarm away from ducts and drafts and 10 feet from any cooking appliances in kitchens. A carbon monoxide alarm may not be required by code, but the NFPA recommends it, especially if you have a gas appliance. You also are not required to have a fire extinguisher but if you're an aspiring contestant for Worst Cooks in America, you may want one.#N#Cost: Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can be purchased cheaply, but if your local code requires the hardwired variety it could cost $100 per unit to install.
Why Do People Put a Kitchen in the Basement?
Building a kitchen in a basement beside the main kitchen on the ground floor can increase the resale value of the house.
Do I Need a Permit to Put a Kitchen in the Basement?
Yes, you need to obtain a permit such as building permits, electrical permits, and plumbing permits, etc., from the Building Department to put a kitchen in the basement.
Is it legal to have a kitchen in the basement?
Legality or illegality is determined by the rules guiding the ways things are done in a state. Many cities don’t see building a kitchen in the basement as an issue once you have followed the rules guiding buildings in that city. Other cities issue permits for building the kitchen.
How to tell if a house is a summer kitchen?
The telltale sign of a structure being a summer kitchen was one or more large chimneys rising from the roof. Smaller summer kitchens of the average homeowner were much more modest, and while some were built with quality materials, such as stones or timbers, many were constructed from inferior wood or rough-cut logs, ...
What were summer kitchens made of?
Large summer kitchens built on sizeable plantations and estates were often made from timbers or stones to match the style of the main house, and some featured second-story sleeping quarters for slaves or servants. These kitchens also provided extra room for other activities and chores, such as laundry and sewing, and it wasn’t unusual for them to feature 1,200 square feet or more on the main floor. Many had dirt floors and a few included excavated root cellars for housing root vegetables and canned foods over the winter. The telltale sign of a structure being a summer kitchen was one or more large chimneys rising from the roof.
What were the buildings that slaves used to cook their meals?
Outdoor structures resembling one- or two-story barns were constructed next to the houses of wealthy landowners, many of whom also owned slaves. Outfitted with a large fireplaces and stone bake oven, these early summer kitchens, located mostly in New England, were designed to be used by slaves or servants for cooking the big meals necessary to feed all the people living on the property. Like separate servant or slave quarters, summer kitchens found on estates and plantations served to keep the cooks and their helpers separate from the main house while they prepared meals.
Why did they build a small kitchen?
The single main reason for building a small summer kitchen was to keep the main house cool by preparing meals elsewhere. At this time, there was no air conditioning, and cooking was done exclusively on wood-burning stoves and fireplace hearths, both of which radiated intense heat.
Can you use a restored summer kitchen for a wedding?
Like properties with other historic outbuildings, such as carriage houses, blacksmith buildings, and tenant homes (small structures with boarding quarters), houses with restored summer kitchens are often used for entertaining and may be rented out for special events, such as weddings. Few are used for cooking anymore, but if those that are have usually been retrofitted with modern appliances and flooring installed over original dirt floors. Some homeowners have opted to turn the structure into a private art studio, gallery, library, or guest house.
