Years ago, I was reading an article in a design magazine and the designer (name lost to time and memory) said that she likes to set up what she calls a “matina,” i.e. a spot where the family breakfast can be executed without having to wander around the kitchen to one place for coffee, one place for the toaster, etc.

When we moved into our new house, as I described in a previous blog post about living in the fixer, there was an odd little closet between the breakfast room and the family room, really just an alcove with a calico curtain in front of it. It was an obvious spot for cabinetry, and I really needed more cabinetry. I probably had about a tenth of the cabinets in the kitchen of my new old house versus my old modern house.

I made the decision to put all of the cooking items in the kitchen proper, and build a butler’s pantry with cabinetry to hold all of the dishes and flatware. As it turned out, that became the perfect place for a matina. I wish it were big enough for a vegetable sink so I could make coffee in there too, but I guess that’s for the next place?

There are always challenges with an old house. See that big galvanized pipe? It goes to an air conditioning vent that no longer exists. I had it capped so we could fit two standard-sized cabinets side-by-side. Sometimes in the summer, I can feel a little whisper of arctic air on my feet as I’m making toast, but I don’t miss it.

It turned out really great and I love how it’s a little jewel-box-like space, not unlike a powder room, where I could put in fun wallpaper and a gorgeous slab of green quartzite. And it’s also nice to keep the kids’ Nutella messes out of the cooking area.