Quotable Tuesday: Old Timey Kitchen Design Video Edition

I'm amazed by how it is both laughably dated and yet full of still-relevant advice.

That's what Epicurious blogger James Oliver Cury has to say about the USDA kitchen design video he posts here. The video is long (13 minutes) but it's full of fascinating stuff, if you're into kitchen design (or research).

It's interesting how many elements suggested in the video are worked into our new kitchen design - but also interesting how many elements would've been impractical in my kitchen, knowing how I use it.

The kitchen in the video is designed for baking - it seems efficient, but since I don't bake much, some of the features would be lost on me. Our kitchen was built with two things in mind: cooking at the stove and hanging out. When we met with Virginia (our architect), I told her I wanted two things: a pull-out double trash can (so we could stop keeping our recycling on the counter) and an island big enough for our friends to sit around while we hang out. She delivered. I no longer have piles of cans scattered throughout my kitchen, and Virginia's "Irish bar" concept island is the center of our party house. There's a plug on one end for the iPod (and my computer) and the whole island is long enough for three separate conversations to happen around it at once.

Anyway, if you have 15 minutes to spare, check it out.