Nice, but I see 2 things I'd change. First, not a good idea to keep spices exposed to daylight; they age quickly. Second, having the space enclosed by those pillar-like sides leads me to think of constantly bumped elbows! But the basic concept is good and just needs a little rethinking.

leel, good idea about the spices--thanks. Our space really is not inclosed like the picture is. As you can see below, it is in the corner of the kitchen at the far right, then it turns the corner and the shelves continue another 2 feet I think, then there is the fridge. Maybe the shelves will look strange if they are not the same depth as the cabinet next to them. Thoughts? Thank you!

In addition to leel's comment above regarding spices, the mixer makes clouds of flour...I'd put doors on the shelves with glass fronts if you want to see the jars.
The last thing I would want to do is dust all those little jars and bottles.... :+)

I would definitely want room to have a canister toward the back and still be able to knead bread, roll out cinnamon rolls, etc. in front of it so a deep counter would be good.

I love the look!

Deanna

I would love it to have a little pull out garbage bin so you can save steps throwing out egg shells,butter wrappers, papertowels etc.

Your design looks great, but I'm just confirming that you've also posted over in the Kitchens (design) forum. We certainly cook and bake over here, but some of those people are have a great eye and good ideas!

I like the look of the example you've shown...would it be possible to utilize a portion of the side walls for hanging the hand mixer, bench knife, etc..like maybe a small chrome rack? Is there a way to add decorative hooks to hold the cords up and away from your work space? I don't see lighting in the center, is there any? And how about a pull out cookbook holder that's attached under the shelving?
Ooh, I'm envious of your project!:)

Oh my, all of your ideas are so wonderful!!
deborah ps, yes, I hope to have undercabinet lighting. Thanks for the reminder.
compumom, yes, I did post on the kitchen forum also. I posted at both places because I thought you both would have great ideas.
Thank you for your time.

trudymom, glad you are planning convenience and beauty!

Being 61" tall, I chose a 30" high counter (quartz), with only drawers underneath. The drawers hold the smaller baking supplies and spices. Sheets and pans are above the wall oven on the perpendicular wall.

My baking counter is 30" deep. (The upper cabs are 15" deep on this wall.) The extra 6 inches in depth allow the KA mixer and tool crock at one end...without compromising roll out space for kringles, pizzas flat breads, etc. At this point, I have not decided on the undercab shelf as I am thinking that I will tile the back wall and then put up a full length shelf. This is my dream baking space.
Enjoy!

Adding to Deanna's comments: I also would be leery of all the splatters coming off the mixer, too - so whatever you have behing the mixer, make sure it's simple to clean and wipe down. You might consider cabinet doors over the shelving so the appearance would be a cleaner, neater look and more uniform - less clutter showing. Or maybe just one shelf uncovered towards the bottom and the rest covered up??

The picture shows what is above the baking center but more of the storage is below
so think about how that will be used. I'm short, 61" too, but perhaps because my
arms are also short, I would find a 30" high counter a bit too low. I do my baking
prep on a 36" counter but something around 33" would be good too.

In that picture, it looks like the shelf with the measuring cups is more than 6' above
the floor. Reaching back into the corner makes the distance a bit farther so you might
want to plan to put less frequently used items up there and have measuring cups closer
to hand.

The corner position of your baking center may work out nicely since the stand
mixer can tuck back to the corner out of the way when not in use. Will you do a lazy
susan type cabinet below or something else? What you need to store near the baking
center depends partly on the kind of baking you do most often. I'll describe what
we have.

Our baking area is on the counter to the right of this picture:

The KA mixer lives under the edge of the cabinet toward the window (if you look
closely, you can see where we had to stop the light rail to get enough height for
the mixer) and the bread machine lives between the mixer and espresso machine.

The trash compactor provides a handy place to dispose of egg shells. It's more than
30 years old, we haven't decided whether we will replace it with another or just a
trash pull-out when it goes. It almost died recently but my DS and DH fixed it. It
is 18" so we have thought of replacing it with a 12" wide compactor or trash pullout
and putting a 6" pull-out shelf to hold more items close to the baking area. Also the
filtered water faucet is on the sink near the baking area to provide water for baking.

Baking sheets, cake pans, and cooling racks are in a tray cabinet on the corner
of the island opening toward the baking counter so I just have to turn around to
get them. I do most rolling out and loading of pans on the island. The cabinet
next to the range top has pull-out shelves for oils, vinegars, vanilla
extract, etc so they are pretty close at hand too. I find there are too many
cross-over spices to split my spices into baking and non-baking so those
are all in a drawer on the far side of the range, but that is where the mortar
and pestle are too. I don't mind one trip to grab the spice bottles I want and
to pound any whole spices that need it.

Here is mine

wow, I'd love a baking space. I agree on the undercounter lighting, I don't have any and it's difficult to see the recipes sometimes.

I'd also want plenty of electrical outlets so I'm not having appliances jockey for position around the plugs and I'd want the counter to be deep enough to knead bread or roll out cookies and pie crust, or hold an entire package of phyllo dough when unrolled, plus the pan I'm putting it on.

I'd be bad with too many things on countertops, I need places to put them out of my way or I'm constantly moving, rearranging and frustrating myself.

Annie

What plans do you have for storage/cannisters of flour, sugar, etc. I would want either a deep enough space to have them on the work surface at the back or drawers just below the work surface to hold the flour and sugar. You don't want to have to lift down heavy cannisters each time you need to measure flour, do you?

Leave room in a drawer below for boxes of parchment paper and Silpats if you use them. I would mentally go through a cookie, bread, cake, and pie recipe and jot down all the things you would need in making each, from the basics like flour and sugar to spices, gadgets, pans, mixing bowls, appliances, etc.

teresa nc7, great questions! As for storage of flour, etc., I was thinking about those large mouth, shallow containers from restaurant supply stores that I can put in the drawers below the work surface. Great idea about thinking about parchment paper, etc.

Thank you!

I don't know what kind of space you're working with but storage is at a premium in my kitchen. I spent a lot of time thinking about how I work when I cook when planning my kitchen. Aside from not having room for a specific baking area there's a lot of cross over with spices & things that aren't used solely for baking so I like everything living in one cabinet.

Agree about the doors over the spices. It's better for the spices & things can get messy and/or crammed. It may not always look picture perfect. Plus keeping those jars clean is going to drive you nuts, not to mention the potential for dust etc to settle in the baking cups. My upper cabs are 11" deep and I have risers in the spice cabs that look like little steps. Basically I can see 4 rows of spices on one shelf, the only concession is that I write the names of the spices on the sides of the caps since I can't always see the labels.

If you don't have room for a pull out trash in your baking area you can always do what I do I use a "garbage bowl" while you work. Trash gets tossed into the bowl then carried over to the garbage when all is done. I've found this to be really handy! Things like eggshells & butter wrappers just get tossed into the open bowl as opposed to having to open a door or pull out.

Here's a picture of my kitchen before it was finished (notice the dixie cup pendants) but it gives you a good idea of what I'm working with.

The upper cab to the right of the stove is where the spices, oils & flavorings live. On the counter directly underneath I keep a few canisters & my stand mixer (I keep it underneath a fabric cover to keep dust out). The base cabinet beneath them is all drawers & they hold cooking utensils, measuring spoons, rolling pins, parchment, etc.

The actual prep work is done on the peninsula (underneath the dixie cups). This way I have room to spread out. This is my work area for everything. I still have counter space to either side of the stove (which I didn't have before) and plenty of room to spread out.

See those open shelves up top? I wanted them in order to display some Fiesta and also as a callback to my mother's kitchen which had open shelves like that on either side of the window. I love having them but they are DUST MAGNETS! All of the dust that can't get into the cabinets to settle on the spice jars must settle there.

Good luck with this. You're going to live it when it's done.

Cloud_Swift- I recognized your gorgous granite before I realized that it was your post! too funny.

Nina

Great ideas! Wish I was in this situation.

How about plugmolding? Do a search on the Kitchen Forum for PLUGMOLD.

What an interesting topic. Wonderful to realize how each of us needs to manage our 'givens.' Though I am 61" tall, my arms are long!...so the 30" height baking counter is just right for me...and the grandkids who always like to play with real dough!

In my kitchen, all flours, nuts and many ground spices are in the frig or freezer. For cooking use, some flour and cornmeal are in recycled spice shakers.

For undercounter lighting that is not hardwired, there are several battery models that are handy, effective and much less expensive than hardwiring (unless you are new construction.) Since they are battery powered, a friend suggested they are not to be used as mood or nightlights!

As I have not yet tiled the back of my baking area, I was surprised at splashing with the KA use. I do not have the cap on my mixing bowl-but do not see any spots on my pale wall...am I a "slow" cook/baker? LOL...though I do wish I had a second KA bowl!

cella jane

Isn't that original picture from MomTo4Kids kitchen? We did our kitchen about the same time that she did - I remember her pictures from the Kitchen Forum. She has an awesome kitchen. By the way, where is MomTo4Kids?

socal ann, you are correct--the picture is momto4kids' kitchen.

I'd love to hear more ideas--you guys are great!!

This is to randi66 who posted pictures of her baking center on 4-2-08.

I am VERY interested in the one picture of the "lift-up" shelf that you have for your KA mixer. I have searched the web for something like it and am not finding it. Could you please let me know if there is a brand name or where to find such a shelf. What a neat way to store this wonderful, but heavy mixer.