I like your basic plan and think it will work well. There will be posters who will try to get you to move your prep sink to get a better landing zone for your fridge, but if you want it to also be used by the beverage center folks, there's a balancing act to be worked out. (But in my book, cook's convenience always wins!)

"Most of the windows are very close to their current locations. "
Moving the windows 'a little' will cost every bit as much as moving them 'a lot'. Does moving them just a little bring you the necessary 'bang for the buck' to justify it? There may be a bit of 'flex' on your range wall.

Sweeby, thanks! The window size and location can be changed to suit the layout. They need to be completely re-framed with new windows due to rot and the condition of the current windows. The current windows on the short wall have to be moved; they would open into the new garage.

I am looking forward to a long run of prep counter, but may try adjusting the prep sink. 99% of the time I make the coffee, tea, smoothies for us. So cook convenience or barista (ha, don't I wish) are two sides of the same coin.

Cotehele, this looks MUCH better! You could tweek here or there, but all in all it should function well. I would swap the fridge and ovens and have the fridge face the island (TV over fridge), which would move the fridge closer to the dining room and the island seating and the oven would have better landing area, but then you would cut into the beverage center and pantry which you said you don't want. Either way I think it would work.

Good job! Also not doing major structural changes (like moving stairs, etc.) should also allow more money for "candy" in the kitchen. :)

you might want to turn the oven cab towards the island. Just concerned that if someone is in the frig and you want to get into the ovens, there will be a "conflict of doors" there.

I do agree though. If there is a way to get the frig and oven locations to switch, that would work better. It would keep everyone out of your work zone. Could you extend the yellow wall a little bit north and put the frig facing the island? Maybe cut a little into the aisle leading to the Garden and Storage garage and a little into the beverage center area? Maybe 6 inches for each. That would put the frig right next to the beverage area.

mom2lilenj, thanks!

I switched the ovens and fridge even though I was hoping to ''hide'' the modern fridge. I like it, and it will function better having the fridge by the BC. The BC cupboards were already 3ft. deep, so there was no encroachment on the aisle.

Much better. Question about the antique dish hutch in the corner over the sink. For me, it would feel a little claustrophobic looking at that big cabinet. Maybe you could do glass doors?

Where is your laundry now? Did I miss something about that?

Sorry to see the butler's pantry/beverage center I liked so much is now closed off and only accessible from the kitchen or the back door. I'm not sure an undercounter fridge will be of any use way back there?

Would you want the cooktop and Napanee switched? Just wondering.

Otherwise, this is SUCH an improvement from where you started and now looks like a very nice space.

How to get the corner hutch into the plan was I challenge I couldn't solve. The inspiration was a kitchen on the QCC gallery, # 8 in the queue. The cabinet will be new with glass doors and lighted. Sorry I wasn't clear; the dishes are antiques.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen gallery pic 8

Hi Cotehele. Your plan is looking great! I do, however, have a suggestion. If you are anything like me, I would prefer to have my laundry area behind closed doors. What about switching your washer/dryer with pantry cabinets and putting the w/d in the pantry room?

Oh, duh, now I see the laundry equipment. I, too, would find it important to be able to close it off, and think switching them with the beverage area is a good idea. Still wondering why you did away with the opening on the dining room side, and wonder what that other wall on the dining room side is.

I havent really been following this but I think it looks really great. Only thing I think would be a problem is hitting my hips or kids heads on the corner of the island behind the sink. Will it be rounded at all?

Rhome, we were writing at the same time (1945), I just read your posts. Switching the BR and DR required more construction (moving walls, creating doors) than the budget can manage. We decided to remodel only the back two rooms and leave the BR as it was (what the bev. center open into in earlier plans)and not convert it to the DR. I agree with you, the open beverage center and DR would be nicer.

I like the flexibility of the pantry space. The cat and dog will be fed in there, too. We will continue to use the UC fridge for cat food and soda pop cans, since the full size fridge is next to the bev. center. I'll try flipping the Napanee Kitchenet and the cooktop. The alternating colors would be more symmetrical.

Auchmedden & Rhome, Right now the W/D is where the counter and UC fridge sits in the new pantry. The dryer vent hose is so long and inaccessible to clean that the lint has overheated. On the outside wall it will have a short vent. I may enclose the washer and dryer in a cupboard.

Justadncr, thanks. I don't think it will be too tight. There is at least 48'' between the sink and island. Have to test it out with a mack-up.

I am grateful for how you all help think things through. I would never have this plan on my own.

Rhome, I like the cooktop centered between the window and the longer run of counter! The flow from prep to cooking to clean-up is better, too.

The laundry and pantry are separated from the kitchen by a wall and pocket door. It is more of a multi-purpose place. A shallow bench and coat hooks may fit on the wall behind the fridge. And the open shelving may need to be covered to keep things clean.

I'm not sure about the finish of the corner sink and corner display cabinet. What do you think? Wood, black, or the lighter color? The antique dishes are white, white & blue, some delft, and flow blue. I don't think they would show as much in a light-colored cabinet.

FABULOUS! Rotating the fridge and separating the laundry area with a pocket door are great improvements!

One little suggestion is to mount an attractive chrome / brass or ORB closet rod high up in your pantry doorway. This will allow you to stand in front of the dryer and hang clothes as soon as they are done drying, eliminating the need to iron in many cases. And the location of the hanging clothes is inconvenient enough to assure it's just a temporary spot - that things won't accumulate there. ;-) If you go that route, also make sure you have a cabinet that's deep enough to store clothes hangers in. We mounted one of those long stainless steel cabinet pulls upside down in a deep upper cabinet to store clothes hangers in our laundry room.

Great space -- Functional and very attractive --

I REALLY like this layout. I also think the pocket doors separating the laundry room will be useful. Great job.

It is such a relief to finally get there! Thank you for your tremendous help.

Sweeby, you are right about hanging clothes. Only the bulky things (sheets & towels)and the little pieces (undies, socks) go in the dryer. I use 10 ft. of door trim where a closet was removed. Clothes hang on both sides of the doorway. I was thinking about putting a thick trim around the pantry door, and hanging a rod inside the pantry, too.

Wow, wow, wow. This is going to be one great kitchen. I really like the changes you made since the top of this page.

But now I've lost the dining room. How far is it? Will it be the same distance you are used to? Not that any of this matters, just curious.

Just looked at the inspiration photo in the QCC gallery. Very nice! Did you notice the hutch behind the sink is raised a bit higher than the counter? That's good, I was worried about water getting back to it. I thought the black might be too heavy right in your face like that, but this kitchen is lovely...Worth a thousand words, as they say!

I'm just so excited for you. I hope you love this plan so much better than where you started (in the last thread), as it seems we all do. None of our excitement matters unless it's what you want and will love.

MUCH better - and I'm sure this will be kinder to the budget.

BTW, my island prep sink is in a cabinet on the end of the island. It is about 15-1/2 square and we mounted it to the side away from the edge of the island. The island has slightly eliptical edges (about 2-3 inches longer in the center than at the edges, which were also rounded just a bit). That gave us 12" of counter to the edge of the sink without sacrificing as much as we would have by putting another cabinet on the end. It also maximizes the use of the space underneath the sink -- that's where we store dog and cat food. The sink is at the end of the island near the fridge and ovens -- similar to what are war looking at now, and it's just enough space to give some landing space, but leaves most of the island still pretty clear for working or serving. And it doesn't feel like my sink is about to fall off the island. That's a detail you can look at as you finalize and see if it would work for you.

I've added a link below so you can see how it came together -- not finished int he photo, but you can see the fridge and the oven handles.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Rhome & Lascatx, this is fun! Better enjoy it before the hard work begins :) Thank you, both, for your help!

Rhome, don't worry, the DR is not moving. When we can afford more work, a double door entrance may replace
the closet. I'm glad you like the inspiration kitchen. One thing I really like is the symmetry and balance. Unfortunately our walls are not 12'' deep; the sill would be fantastic for pots of herbs and African violets. It looks like the backsplash and window sill are the same height. I'd love to use soapstone, but will see how the budget holds up. This is what we are starting from:

Lascatx, I love your kitchen. The blue pantry is stunning. Having the prep sink away from the island edge would work well. Is your island countertop elliptical? Then are the cabinets forward or deeper, too?

I think a more accurate term for the island would be bowed. I just went and measured it, and it only comes out 2 inches at the center and that's stretched across a 3 foot width. It just softens it a little and adds a little interest without being too obvious or taking up much room.

The fridge wall is all 24" deep. We have a utility cabinet (step stool, dog leashes, dustpan broom and hand vac) with a divided cabinet above for trays and cutting boards. The second cabinet is a 24" pantry with rollouts and a shelf in the upper portion. The one on the right is a 12" pantry pullout tower with wire baskets. I really love this pantry arrangement.

There are 2 27"high storage cabinets above the pantry/utility (one cab with doors made off center to match the cab below) and the fridge. You can see the bookshelf turned sideways over the end pantry. We didn't think anything that narrow and deep that high up would be very useful, so I have a row of cookbooks on the bottom shelf (I can just reach them, so these are not the most used books) and display above. We have about 44" between the fridge and the island. I think we barely had enough to push a fridge in before (can't remember if we had to take off the door), so it feels like a huge space to us now.

I wasn't sure exactly what you were asking about the cabinets, so I hope that covered more than you needed to know. ;-)

Wow this kitchen looks great! And I think it's going to function great too. I really so like the pocket door addition and the fridge/oven placement.

I hear you on not wanting to see such a modern beast (fridge) in a period kitchen. When I was designing my new kitchen, I told DH if I just didn't have to have the fridge in there it would look great, LOL. Darn modern conviencies.. What made me feel better about it was talking to a guy who lived in my house back in the 1920's-60's; he said my house used to have a HUGE 3 door gas powered commercial refridgerator.

Wow! Why did they need a huge refrigerator? Of course, we are more aware of period rehabilitation. In the 1920s people were trying to change and update late 19th century homes. For some of us, it has come full circle.

Lascatx, thanks for the rundown. The storage space is very well organized! I understand enjoying a larger aisle. I've got about 30'' between the island and the sink. The DW is in the island. That's one fix I am looking forward to making. Does the island overhang make access to the cabinets underneath more deliberate? It sounds like an additional inch on both sides.

I'm not certain, but my guess is they got a good deal on a commercial fridge and used that. There used to be a store on the property. I don't really know. It does make sense that people in the 20's where trying to update something 20-30 years old. Now a days we look at something built in the 70's and 80's and think it looks dated. Not old enough to look quaint, but too old to be in style.

That's how I feel, out of style but not quaint. HS graduation was 1972. :)