Full kitchens in basements for entertaining??? (Detroit, Wyandotte: fit in, apartments, city hall)

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

Another thing unique to Metro Detroit is giant new homes built on extremely busy streets.

In the Middle East, having a home on a busy thoroughfare is a sign of wealth. Many Middle Easterners who made it in Metro Detroit did the same. I'll never forget the first time I saw a mega mansion built right on top of Telegraph.

Dearborn and Dearborn Heights have a lot of these sprinkled throughout.

[Coldjensens]

I am still trying to figure out why someone would ant to entertain in their basement.

"Here, climb down into this hole in the ground. It is the best part of my house to have people. And look at the awesome views from here"


People used to poke fun at my daughters becasue their bedrooms were in the basement. Their rooms are bigger and nicer than most bedrooms despite being underground and they have big (6') widows. But still there is a stigma about being the basement. Partly because there is no getting around the damp/musty, even with a bunch of dehumidifiers and great drainage, fully finished walls and floors etc. You still know you are in a basement.

[Retroit]

The original owners probably had a clear plastic cover over their upstairs sofa. Someday the queen might be over to visit and they would take it off.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by Retroit

The original owners probably had a clear plastic cover over their upstairs sofa. Someday the queen might be over to visit and they would take it off.

My husband has an aunt down in southern Ohio who lives exactly this way. The only thing they do on the main level of their house is sleep in their bedroom at night, otherwise they have a family room and full kitchen in the basement where they spend the rest of their time. Her living room, dining room, and kitchen on the main level look like a museum. We visited her a couple of months ago and she is a very sweet lady but she seemed almost nervous about us sitting on the living room furniture.

I don't get it, but different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[lynnc99]

This is the funniest thread I've read in a long time!

[Meemur]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

I am still trying to figure out why someone would ant to entertain in their basement.

Certain cultures have rules about who can see the hair and faces of their women. Sometimes these women live in the basement while the menfolk entertain upstairs.

[newdixiegirl]

Originally Posted by North 42

Full kitchens in basements were very popular here in Windsor back when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. Windsor has always had a huge Italian population, and most of these basement kitchens were popular in the the Italian community, as well as from the those from Balkans. Growing up, many of my Italian friends mothers did most of their cooking in them, I was always fascinated by this. They would use the basement kitchen almost 100% of the time, while the main kitchen was rarely used and thus stayed in a pristine State. I'm not sure if many people now a days still put these in anymore. I guess immigrants are coming from different parts of the world now, so I would assume this may be a thing of the past soon.

This.

I grew up around Toronto/Hamilton, Ontario. Southern Ontario, from north of Toronto down to Niagara Falls and into Western NY, has always had a huge Italian population. The many Italian families I knew used their downstairs kitchens for entertaining, yes, but mostly for their massive annual canning projects. This was true especially prior to the days of central A/C. Processing all those tomatoes in the late summer/early fall was much more tolerable in the cooler basement than in the main floor kitchen.

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by newdixiegirl

This.

I grew up around Toronto/Hamilton, Ontario. Southern Ontario, from north of Toronto down to Niagara Falls and into Western NY, has always had a huge Italian population. The many Italian families I knew used their downstairs kitchens for entertaining, yes, but mostly for their massive annual canning projects. This was true especially prior to the days of central A/C. Processing all those tomatoes in the late summer/early fall was much more tolerable in the cooler basement than in the main floor kitchen.

I grew up in Montreal and all of the Italian families did this as well.They spent the entire day in the basement. All of the basements had doors so they came in and out through there.

[leroythelion]

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

People used to poke fun at my daughters becasue their bedrooms were in the basement. Their rooms are bigger and nicer than most bedrooms despite being underground and they have big (6') widows. But still there is a stigma about being the basement. Partly because there is no getting around the damp/musty, even with a bunch of dehumidifiers and great drainage, fully finished walls and floors etc. You still know you are in a basement.

When I was a teenager, my bedroom was in the basement and loved it. I had my own door, which came in handy on more than one occasion.

[OyCrumbler]

Maybe it's to isolate the heat and lingering smell of cooking? That red gravy can smell pretty good, but maybe not if you're going to sleep and waking up to it all the time.