Ceiling-mount panel curtains great alternative to room screen

The most gifted members of the human species are at their creative best when they cannot have their way.” Eric Hoffer (1898-1983), American Social writer, “The Ordeal of Chance” (1964).

Q: We’re moving into a rental home and the laundry is in the kitchen. It’s in a little nook off to the side of the kitchen, but it also opens up to where our kitchen table has to go. In my opinion, laundry doesn’t belong in the kitchen, but remodeling is out of the question. I don’t know whether to try to disguise it or try to blend it in. What are some options that we can try without making structural changes?

A: A lot of older homes had the laundry in the kitchen. But at least that’s better than having it in a basement. I agree with you, laundry should not be in the kitchen but where the clothes and linens are. Sometimes laundry areas such as you describe are add-ons to an existing kitchen, or just bad design from the onset.

I’m not too sure how you would incorporate it into the overall kitchen design, so I would opt to disguise it. You’re actually lucky it’s not right out there next to the stove — at least it’s in a little nook. That placement actually gives you a lot of options.

The small nook is just like trying to enclose a closet, for instance. One option is a folding screen. The downside to that is you will have to open and close it each time you access the washer and dryer, and since a screen is not attached to anything, you run the risk of tipping it over. Not the best idea, especially if you have small children.

A relatively inexpensive option is curtain panels. An attractive curtain rod and inexpensive curtains would provide a nice break from your eating area, and you could match them to any other window treatment you may have in the kitchen. Curtains also would provide easy access.

If you are willing to spend a little more money, panels that move on a track system would be pretty to look at, and would certainly hide your laundry essentials. There are several of these systems on the market. One that presents well is from The Shade Store. The tracks are usually installed in the ceiling. The panels are flat and just move like a sliding door would. You can check out panels at www.theshadestore.com.

You have inherited an awkward situation, but one that is certainly not insurmountable. As inconvenient as you think it is having the laundry in the kitchen, at least the washing machine is in the house and not down the street at the laundromat.

Q: We have a small area in our kitchen that is meant to be a breakfast nook. We have three small children and it seems that the most economical use of space would be to have either a table with benches or a built-in bench in the corner with the table pulled around it. What would you suggest for a tight corner that has to accommodate a family of five?

A: As long as your children aren’t in high chairs, either of those scenarios would work. Benches and banquettes are good for a large number of people and don’t take up the room that five chairs would around a table.

In my opinion, benches work better for children than adults. I like sitting in a booth in a restaurant, but I don’t want to sit in one at home. There is too much maneuvering with adults and no one wants to have to get up to let another person in or out. On the other hand, children love the activity.

Carolyn Muse Grant is the editor of Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine. Her Inside Spaces column appears weekly in the Home & Garden section of the Review-Journal. Check out other decorating tips in Southern Nevada Home & Garden magazine, which is published the first Saturday of each month. Send questions to cgrant@reviewjournal.com.