I’ve often heard that the kitchen is the heart of the home. That’s certainly true for my family. I remember standing on a stool beside my grandmother as she was cooking, watching everything she did (and sneaking a taste when she turned her head). Both as I was growing up and in my family now, the kitchen table was the place where we took a little bit of time away from our busy schedules to reconnect and recharge with each other as we worked on homework or over a snack or meal, taking tea time or making crafts and playing board games together. Every special family celebration begins in the kitchen as we prepare family favourites and every party ends up with everyone huddled in the kitchen, talking and laughing.
I have to admit though – I am dreaming of an upgrade for my current kitchen. You see, the house I moved into is definitely one of those ones you might call a “fixer upper”. Oh sure, it’s a cute little house but the people who owned it before me rented it out to students and clearly, as landlords, they were trying to cut corners in any way they could. The flooring they put in the kitchen? It’s actually outdoor tiles – meant to go around a swimming pool. They’re designed to be non-slip so walking across them is somewhat like walking on sandpaper. They’re also nearly impossible to keep clean. Oh and they put them right on top of the previous flooring so there’s a little ledge in each doorway that I stub my toe on at least once a week. The kitchen cabinets? They appear to have been handmade out of scraps of wood that have seen better days. No matter how many times I sand them, I regularly end up with splinters in my hands from touching the doors. And the counters? Floor tiles. Yep, they used floor tiles for the countertop. Trying to keep the grout lines between the tiles clean is a never-ending chore.
I do adore the pass-through as does everyone who comes to visit. It’s so handy and keeps me a part of the conversation with my guests in the living room while I’m in the kitchen cooking.
I also love the open shelving – I can store and display my prettiest dishes all at once.
And the “bar cabinet” – well it’s nothing special but for some reason, it really tickles my fancy.
My dream kitchen would retain these elements while upgrading the flooring (I just love bamboo!), the countertop (not positive what kind I want but it HAS to be easy to clean), and I’d really love to change the standard stainless steel sink to a farmhouse style one that reminds me of my grandma’s house. A floor to ceiling combination pantry and china cabinet, some new updated lighting, and a replacement for my – are you ready for it? – 1970s Harvest Gold stove would make my kitchen dream complete.
Recently, I had the chance to try out Finish Quantum Lemon Sparkle for my dishwasher and boy oh boy did I put it to the test! I’m VERY fussy about what I use in my dishwasher – I’ve tried many many kinds and had limited success with them. I also expect a lot out of them – I know people who scrub their dishes first and then put them in the dishwasher. I think if you’re going to go through all that work in the first place, what’s the point of having a dishwasher at all?
So, I decided to try out Finish Quantum on the Thanksgiving dinner dishes. That hadn’t been rinsed at all. And that had been left sitting out. All night. (My dish crew got tired.) Oh and did I mention that usually when using the tablet or capsule type dishwasher detergent, I have to put TWO of them in to get dishes that are even remotely clean. I only used ONE of the Finish Quantum capsules and guess what? The dishes came out clean, spotless, and smelling fresh.
That’s because Finish Quantum has these amazing scrubbing micro-beads to soften stuck-on and burnt-on food. There are Powermax Bleach granules in it that go after the tough stains (do your kids leave cups of tea sitting around, half empty for DAYS on end too?) and a rinse agent built right in (no more adding it separately!) to give your dishes the sparkle you’re looking for. All of this in one easy to use capsule – no measuring, no mess.
Right now you can try any of the Finish® suite of products (Quantum, Powerball and Gelpacs) for yourself because they are BOGO (Buy One Get One Free) with mail in rebate. Even better than that when you send in your rebate form, you can also enter to win one of 10 prizes of a $10 000 Ultimate Kitchen Makeover from Finish and Bosch! Wooohooo!
To get the rebate form, all you need to do is to head on over to the Finish Canada Facebook Page. Once you like their page, the form will display and you can download it from there. Easy peasy! 
So, what would YOUR dream kitchen look like?
Leah says
Living in a house designed with students in mind sounds very frustrating. Hopefully some day you’ll be able to design a great functional kitchen.
Cyn Gagen says
We bought new flooring today so step one is underway. Next up, new countertops and backsplash!