Long have I wished for a dedicated space in which to make my preserves.
After many years (about 20!) of working in our kitchen, my husband and two boys scooting around me, I now have my own space. I have a Still Room!
We are in the midst of renovations. We are redoing our downstairs powder room and the kitchen; taking down a wall, putting in a window and changing the flooring on most of the main level. During one of my brilliant husband’s brainstorms, he thought of converting part of our garage into a working kitchen to serve us while we demo and rebuild, because (of course) we use our garage for storage of small appliances, pantry items and some of his wood supply – not for our car (who else does this?). With a small kitchen, we could keep going with the mandatory routines of food prep and cleaning, while in the throes of a full kitchen gut. But wait, there’s more! This new space would become “mine”! I could preserve in it to my heart’s content without having to stop for someone to get a snack! (Insert image of Bobbie doing the Happy Dance!) What would this new little kitchen look like? what would my new STILL ROOM become?!? There were many ideas, much designing and lots of Pinterest scrolling.
What is a still room? Short answer: A still room is a separate room in a household traditionally used for preserving food, distilling liquids, and preparing items like jams, herbal remedies, and cleaning solutions.
My still room is 9′ x 10.5′, a little less than half the size of the original garage. Michael and Nico worked at raising the floor first, then the electrician ran the wires. We worked with a designer at Home Depot to plan out the still room and ordered their Eurostyle Oxford cabinets, uppers and lowers, in white. We ordered the counter from Granite Island Inc and found the flooring and tiles at Million Carpets and Tiles.
Pictures of the still room transforming! I will also post a video on my YT Channel.
I didn’t want the whole room to look pre-fab, so I asked Michael to make a special piece for me. I wanted somewhere to put preserving items and to decorate. He built this beautiful hutch and we painted it a deep yellow from BEHR called “Bière Ambre”. It really makes a huge impact in the still room!
I added a desk for myself opposite the window between the cabinets. Both the desk lamp and the hanging light are thrifted, as are the frames I used for my photographs. Michael made me a drying rack from which I hung my lavender.
Watch a short video of the still room in process on my Bobbie’s Home Preserves YT Channel while we were still working on it. I will also post one of what the still room looks like now that it is completed.
Let me know what you think of my still room – I LOVE it!
I’m off! I’ve got Herb Salt to make.