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A summer kitchen is a small outdoor building located next to a house, built for the purpose of cooking, preparing, and storing food, particularly in the hot summer months.
What is considered 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. Sometimes, farm families also ate their warm weather meals in the summer kitchen.
Why did people have summer kitchens?
The summer kitchen also helped to keep cooking smells away from the main living areas of the house. 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.
What is a summer kitchen in basement?
Summer kitchens are basement kitchens usually found in homes formerly owned by Italians.
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.
Why do some old houses not have kitchens?
Older homes had separate kitchens because they generate heat and often get messy. Guests did not want to be exposed to either. The downside is that the cook/hostess is isolated from the guests while working in the kitchen.
When did outdoor kitchens become popular?
It wasn’t until the late-1990s that outdoor kitchen cabinet manufacturers such as Danver Stainless Outdoor Kitchens entered the scene. The idea of creating a built-in space that could house all types of grilling products for a one-stop-shop experience appealed to homeowners.
What were colonial kitchens like?
Tapping into styles from the 17th and 18th centuries, a colonial kitchen is an example of early American classic kitchen design. These kitchens use white cabinetry, understated paint colors, exposed brick walls and natural wood flooring.
When was kitchen invented?
You could say, the kitchen as we know it, began in 1802 with the invention of the range oven. Prior to that, and for hundreds of years, the cooking space was simply a room with a hearth, a wood fire and pots suspended above the heat.
Should I put a kitchen in my basement?
A basement kitchen can serve multiple purposes. Obviously, if you plan to rent out the basement, you need a full kitchen. For long-term guests, a full kitchen makes sense too. However, a kitchenette without major appliances such as a stove might make more sense as an add-on to a family room or for entertainment.
Can you have stove in the basement?
Wood stoves are designed to heat the area around them and cannot adequately circulate air to heat living spaces on different floors. A wood stove is also a poor choice for an unfinished basement. Unfinished basements are poorly insulated, causing much of the heat the stove creates to escape outside.
Can I put a gas range in my basement?
Also, be sure to research how to safely use a gas oven in a basement kitchen. One drawback to adding a basement kitchen is that the basement is more likely to flood than any other area within the house. Flooding can ruin much of the equipment that is used as part of a functioning basement kitchen.
What is a second 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 do some houses have a kitchen in the basement?
Our top three reasons for a basement kitchen are: Entertainment Options: For homeowners that love to entertain their family and friends, you’ll know that the kitchen somehow winds up as the most frequently used room for gathering—often beating out the living room in popularity.
Why do Portuguese houses have two kitchens?
Houses in certain climatic areas tended to have two kitchens in order to control or use the heat of the cooking apparatus. A summer kitchen would take the heat out of the house proper so that the house would remain cooler.
Can you build an outdoor kitchen on top of pavers?
The center of the outdoor kitchen is the grill, with a variety of other materials for food preparation and serving. With a bit of planning and some technical information, you can build your own outdoor kitchen using inexpensive material, such as paver blocks.
What is an English basement in a house?
An English basement is an apartment (flat in UK English) on the lowest floor of a building, generally a townhouse or brownstone, which is partially below and partially above ground level and which has its own entrance separate from those of the rest of the building.
Why are kitchens in the back of the house?
Most kitchens are placed in the rear of the house. Access to a rear kitchen door allowed for faster disposal of waste and easy ventilation; also, deliveries could be made directly to the kitchen to save labor.
Why are British kitchens in the basement?
When large 19th century houses were built, designed to be fully staffed, the kitchen would be ‘below stairs’ and the cook would prepare the meals for the family which would be brought up by the staff or by the ‘dumb waiter’ food lift to be served in the formal dining room.
