I'll admit, the galley and the living room are close together - intermingled, you might say. The fashionable term is "open concept". Okay, the couch and the kitchen are on opposite sides of a common aisle. I happen to like it that way. What guy doesn't want to be able to grab a cold one from the fridge without getting off the couch? The galley is compact, but has really everything I'll need:
Baskets, let's talk about baskets. You may have noticed a few in the image above. First, let me say I may not actually have that many; think of this design as a study of what's possible rather than what will be. In part, the baskets are there to make up for the pantry and galley shelf I deleted when I went on a weight-cutting spree. The baskets under the counter are a system by Elfa sold through the Container Store, similar to what is shown here:
They're 10" wide and come in a variety of depths. I expect they'll hold as much or more than the pantry they replaced. To keep them closed during travel, I intend to install magnets on the frame and the back of each basket. The baskets above the counter are a coarser mesh:
They seem like just the thing for fresh produce, and may turn out to be a nice decorative element. The baskets on the countertop I'll keep in place with something no RV'er should be without: museum wax.
While we're on the subject of baskets, you'll also see smaller plastic (bluish-looking) baskets dotted around the interior. These are from the Command line of products and can be adhered to a surface, then removed later without harm if you change your mind. The one on the left end of the upper cabinet is well-positioned to hold small items as I go in and out the side door. The two just to the left of the microwave in the first image will provide a convenient place for cooking utensils. Notice, that the swing-up door for the upper cabinet has to leave clearance for these; I'm giving Sportsmobile (SMB) a custom instruction to inset the doors of all upper cabinets 3.5" in from the end of the cabinet. Below those two baskets is a spice rack I found at the Container Store.
There are other, chrome racks that look nicer, but the acrylic shouldn't rattle as much when I'm driving. I was amazed to discover I currently have more than 20 different kinds of spices in my kitchen cupboard.
Not surprisingly, the upper cabinet is where I'll store dishes and cups, hopefully with some room left over for a few of my pots and pans. My intention is to carry only four place settings; I don't ever expect to entertain more than that for dinner, and if I do, there are always disposables. My daughter, Amanda, has already bought me a set of attractive, but virtually indestructible, plastic plates, cups, and... goblets! To save on space for cookware, I've discovered a line of collapsible items called Squish:
The end of the upper cabinet is also home to some switches and receptacles.
The leftmost switch controls an exterior "porch" light. The next switch controls three ceiling lights in the front part of the cabin, as well as two under the upper cabinet (visible in the first image of this post) shining down on the counter. Beside the switches are 12V and a 110V receptacles. These are for small appliances I may use on the countertop. The switch at the right is to turn the water pump on and off.
The countertop will be a solid surface material, Corian or something similar. Here's a sample:
I've been asked why, if the rest of the decor is shades of brown, I decided to go with a gray countertop. I don't know. Contrast? Avoiding too much brown? Lighten the interior? Pick your favorite reason, I just thought it looked the best. Notice that I'm indicating a backsplash along the rear of the counter. SMB is usually reluctant to put one there because people have a tendency to use it as a grip as they're entering the side door and it pulls off, but I can just imagine all sorts of goop running down the back of the cabinet, making a mess. My solution is shown here:
Look carefully and you'll see that the outer board of the cabinet runs up behind the backsplash, making the construction much more sturdy. I believe I'm the first one to suggest this; I asked the SMB designer and he said they could certainly build it that way. Incidentally, the black circle on the lower right is a possible placement I'm considering for a speaker.There are fewer good locations than one might expect. Though I deleted a swing-up solid surface countertop extension to save weight, I may sometime later install a swing-up butcher block. Not only would that be more useful and lighter weight, but I've seen some artistic designs that are quite attractive.
In any case, it would be short enough to leave the speaker uncovered.
The black area at the end of the counter represents the stove with a protective glass cover folded down over it. Here's what the stove looks like with the cover up:
Though I do intend to cook, and hope to get good at it, I think two burners is the most I'll need. Needless to say, this is a propane stove, supplied by an eight gallon tank under the van. For reference, backyard BBQ tanks are five gallons. The RV furnace and water heater use propane, too. I hope to have a hookup for an outside grill as well.
The photo above shows the sink, too. It's a one-holer, really just big enough to set a plate down in the bottom. That's fine with me. I intend to stick to a wash-immediately-after-use policy. The sink faucet extends on an hose, which makes it convenient for rinsing things. With the van's side door open, the hose will easily reach outside for quick fill-up of a campfire cooking pot, or even rinsing off hands and/or shoes before entering the van. (Just to show that this exercise of writing everything up in great detail for this blog is worthwhile, I didn't realize until I was rereading the previous sentence that I'd better have the water pump switch handy if I want to use the sink hose for an outside rinse off. So I added the switch to the end of the upper cabinet, within reach from outside the van.) There's a matching solid-surface cover for the sink when it's not in use. Underneath the van, there will be a 10 gallon gray-water tank that the sink drains into. A second 10 gallon tank will catch run off from the shower on the opposite side of the van. Each tank has it's own valve to empty at a dumping station.
Cooking in such a confined space could quickly fill the entire van with fumes, so in the ceiling over the galley is a vent fan:
The brand name is Fantastic Fan, and from what everyone says, it really is. It has three speeds of exhaust and three speeds of drawing air in - nice for cooling off when the air conditioner would be too much power drain. The fan can be set to run automatically when the interior temperature rises above a threshold, so coming back after leaving the van for a day in the sun, it shouldn't be blazing hot inside. The outside cover closes when it senses rain, and opens again when the rain has passed. The cover and the blades of the fan are transparent, so it doubles as a skylight. Quite a clever device.
Cabinets under the counter will be used for more pots and pans plus small appliances. I'll have one adjustable height shelf on each side:
The shelf on the left is inset so I can have a hanging trash can on the inside of the cabinet door:
On the inside of the righthand door, I'll have a rack system with baskets that will be perfect for storing eating utensils:
Moving aft, there is what SMB calls Cabinet S7, home of the 7 cu.ft. refrigerator and a convection microwave oven. How much does a 7 cu.ft. refrigerator hold? This will give you some idea:
Looks like plenty to me. Remember, when I go grocery shopping, I can take the cart right out to the van in the parking lot, so it's easy to restock. I like that this fridge has a separate door for the freezer, so you don't lose the coldest air every time you open the lower compartment. This refrigerator works on either 12 VDC or 110VAC. Some RVs include a fridge that can also work off of propane, but these have leveling concerns that I'd just as soon do without. I've done a calculation, and if necessary, this refrigerator can run off the van batteries for at least five days without having to start the engine to recharge. The one hitch in this plan occurs when I go on travel abroad. I'll either have to leave the van where I can connect to external power, or eat my supplies down to zero before I leave.
Above the fridge is a convection microwave. I've never used a convection microwave, but I understand they can do almost anything that a conventional oven can, including bake a pie, cook a pizza, grill a steak, or roast a chicken. I can specify any model I want as long as it fits the cabinet. Heres one I've had my eye on:
A microwave oven is a bit of a power hog, so I probably won't do anything that requires more than a few minutes of use unless I'm connected to external power. I am grateful that SMB includes an electrical inverter that can handle the load, many RVs can't without starting up the generator. Oh, here's something I hadn't realized: All microwaves open to the left. I looked and looked for one that opened to right, which would work better for my design, but couldn't find a single one.
The height of the refrigerator plus the height of the microwave is a little less - 5 or 6 inches - than the height of the ceiling, so there's an odd space left at the top of the cabinet. I think I'll have something like this installed:
It will be a good place to keep long-handled cooking utensils.
Several times above, I've mentioned small appliances. What sort of small appliances? Here are a few I've got my eye on:
The first is something I already own, a breadmaker:
Like many of the other items I'll list here, this seems like a luxury. But good food ranks high on the list of pleasures I expect as I travel, just below the scenery I'll see and the people I'll meet. I've already enjoyed this Kenmore breadmaker a lot in the year that I've owned it. There's nothing better than the smell of bread baking and the way it tastes warm and fresh. This one is compact (just about a foot cube), lightweight, easy to use, and produces great results. I'm sure I'll have the room to take it along, so why not? The only downside, shared by several other items on this list, is that it requires considerable power to run, so I'll only use it when connected to external power.
Soon after I bought the breadmaker, I realized the biggest nuisance is slicing the bread. I like to do all the slicing at once so I'm making crumbs only one time, but cutting more than a dozen slices by hand can be tiring. So, of course, I had to buy an electric knife:
Endorsed by Wolfgang Puck, no less, it works great for me. Maybe even better than slicing bread, I've found I can use it to cut frozen pizzas in half. Now I get the serving size I want and don't have to eat left over pizza ( which I have a strange aversion to ).
What other accessory do you need for a breadmaker? A toaster, of course. I love toast, and I hear it's becoming a new food fad. I don't currently own a toaster, per se, I have a toaster oven. I'm resisting taking it in the RV because it's big and clunky, and its oven capabilities (I expect) will be duplicated by the convection microwave. I like this toaster:
because of its compact size, and I think it will be fun shoving bread in the top and having toast slide out the bottom. It's gotten mixed reviews on Amazon, but I'm willing to take a chance on it. I'll keep you posted on my experience.
The next item is even more of a luxury, but I like things with interchangeable parts:
It slices, it dices, it whips, it blends, it mashes. I'm hoping having something so versatile will inspire me to try recipes I wouldn't otherwise attempt. It certainly takes up less space than the individual appliances would. The power for them all comes from that black handle on top of the bowl.
If there's one iconic image that comes to mind when I imagine the best of my travels, it's sitting in a comfortable camp chair with a beautiful view, under the awning of my RV, sipping an iced beverage. Among other things, that requires ice. I'm just not sure my little fridge will be able to keep up with my ice requirements; I can easily down two or three jumbo ice teas in an afternoon. So, just in case, I found this:
Looks a lot like a breadmaker, but it's an ice maker. Like the breadmaker, it's just about 1 cu.ft. This won't be among my "original equipment", but if ice starts running short, I'll know where to go. On the subject of iced tea, I'm hoping to get back to making sun tea now that I'll have the time. You may be wondering why I haven't mentioned a coffeemaker. Well, I don't drink coffee, never developed a taste for it. If there's space, I may get coffeemaker for visitors.
I don't know if it qualifies as an appliance, but I've picked a grill for outside cooking:
Did I mention I like things with interchangeable parts? That's probably why I like this. It's made by Cadac, a South African company, but available in American stores. Using the base alone, it's great for boiling a pot of water. Add the next piece for barbecuing steaks and other meats. The two items below the lid actually show two sides of the same piece: one side is a ribbed grill and the other is a skillet. The lid itself can be turned over and used as a wok. All surfaces are non-stick coated. It's not large, as seen here:
but just the right size for one person, or maybe two. If I like it, I'll probably get a second one. And there's no reason the various cooking surfaces can't be used on the indoor stove, too. For outdoor cooking, I hoping to have a propane outlet at the right rear of the van that I can hook it up to.
I also expect to do a lot of cooking over a campfire. Experienced campers swear by the Dutch oven, with a huge variety of easy and delicious recipes. I found this single serving size:
At just 3/4 of a quart, it's another item where I may end up buying two.
A campfire cooking essential I have had extensive experience with is the pie iron.
I already own two of the square kind and two of the round. I'll take all four along. Great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, they crimp two pieces of bread around a filling of your choice. That can be anything from bacon and eggs to apple pie filling. On a camping trip last Fall, I tried using pancake batter instead of bread, and that was a big hit with me and my friends.
Whew! Maybe it's my love of food that motivated such a long post about cooking. At least, I should have convinced you I won't be going hungry. I'm counting on daily exercise to keep the weight off.
The "room" covered in the next post is where I'll spend the least amount of time, but important in its own right: the bathroom.
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