Is the window staying put?

OT-were you on American Idol? Noticed the # on the frig :-)

Yes, window is staying put. The house is brick and would cost too much to modify the masonry outside. I thought about pushing out the wall for a larger kitchen but a kitchen addition would be $$$$$$$$$$ multiplied by 10 lol. I'd buy a new house before that happens haha.

American Idol... well, it was part of my Halloween costume that I stuck the sign on the fridge as it was magnetic :)

Understood. I had originally not wanted to move a window in a small galley, but what I did was keep the old opening and add on to the left so that the sink could be moved down and still be centered on something. Stick frame house - much less $$. I couldn't tell from the picture, but is the DW adjacent to the window wall? From the plan it looked like there is 9" base cab there. I think I'd rather have those inches between the sink and cooktop. I currently have about 42" and it is a nice space to prep. Excuse the bad photo, but my wall is similar to what you are thinking about, but only 129".

I have a range and find myself untroubled by the "lowness" of the ovens. Mine is a pro-style creature so its ovens may not be as low as some consumer-styled ones with the broiler under the oven.

I'd update your range with one a bit more powerful; put in a proper exhaust fan. I'd also suggest putting cash into the range and fan now and keeping the fridge until it dies before replacing it.

Then change the pantry this way: Move the fridge to the extreme right. That solves door swing prob at no cost. Then rearrange (buy new or repurpose) the pantry cupboard area so you have storage under a counter in all the remaining space from fridge to wall. Place MW on a shelf at least 18" above counter along extreme left edge of space. (All MW hinge on left and open to right.) That way MW and fridge can share same landing space. Have well-designed storage space (perhaps even atypically deep, i.e. as deep as MW, as upper cupboards above the landing space to the ceiling (and storage above fridge, too.) Toaster can live on this counter, too.

Aside from decorative changes (new cupboards if a different design wanted and changing counter tops) which can all be done later, this means your costs right now are reduced to: better range and good fan. Along with any cost involved in rearranging the pantry wall cabinetry which may be almost nothing, but certainly not very expensive. You could see if IKEA cabs fit the bill. You might also consider slightly deeper lowers to make the fridge feel more built-in.

HTH,

L.

Great shot. I like that range, is that a GE? Also, what about your upper cabs? Any more counter space to the right of the range?

I should have posted the plan was something a local store did as a design. This design had a 30" sink but it was before I put in the 36" larger sink that replaced a double sink (I hated that thing!). There is no 9" base cab next to the DW. My DW is and will be setup similar to yours tucked away next to the wall and left of the sink.

Eliminate wall ovens-place range to the right of sink,getting more counter between sink and range as in your sketch. Push frig to the right with a counter/cabinet run where pantry/toaster is,but allow for 15 in cabinets with counter to the left of frig.The blank wall to the left, as you walk into kitchen should get an open shelf high up[with interesting brackets] and a counter ledge lower down-even if only 9 in deep or so, since it is a walkway. This will add a little visual interest to your space and the frig is furthur over now which allows you to work with this wall a bit.[floating shelves are nice too]

Shhh...don't tell anyone, but I only have 9" to the right of the range (which is a GE Cafe). Sized to accomodate wok handle and longest handle on saute pans. That being said, I do have a countertop over the staircase that is to the right of the stove. Not sure what you're asking about upper cabs, only one on that side. Rest of space will have a deep hood. The other side of the kitchen is floor to ceiling cabs, frig, 42" "baking center".

Great suggestions, sounds like the consensus is lose the wall oven and get a range. Also move the fridge over to the right, but one person says extreme right while another says 15" right.

From my measurements I can fit a 30" counter top between the "chimney wall" and where the Fridge would be (after moving it to the right). Heck, I could put the existing 30" OTR microwave above this and just disable the fan.

But the corner, here's what's existing as the walkway wraps around. It would leave enough space for some kid of angled cabinet to "soften" the corner. This is what is there now (pardon the clutter). If I swapped the fridge it would come right up to where the lower drawer cab ends.

try on graph paper 3 ways:frig dead in center with equi-distant on left and right, frig a little more to the left[still keeping 15 in cabinet to the left] and as far as you can take the frig to the right-with 9 or 12 in pull out pantry cab below some counter....There appears to be no soffit on the frig wall-are you aware of the Liebherr frig-this would be a 24 in wide and taller frig-very good unit for your space-stainless-more costly but dynamite feature when you go to sell. It's an efficient machine-organization is great inside. If you stayed modest with Ikea cabs-and modest counters this would be a good place to put some of your budget-then you'd get even more counter usage on this wall.

Fixing the fridge door swinging the wrong way is a fairly easy fix. Most of the top freezer fridges are setup so that they handles and hinges can be swapped. It took BF less than an hour to do my old refrigerator.

Here is a link that might be useful: how to change door swing direction

One thing we did when we redid our backsplash and needed to repair the plaster years ago was to build builtins between the studs. I only did two but wish i had done more. Altho, narrow and shallow they could house the coffee maker or a toaster. I put one next to my stove for spices. It frees up quite a bit of the counters and cabs in my small kitchen. My kitchen is dark and dated now but you could make them more modern and in any finish or tile to compliment your other design elements. They could also be flush with your counter tops.

Love that idea roarah! It's amazing what a few extra inches can give you.

How wide is your aisle? My galley was luxuriously proportioned compared to yours, but using 30" deep lower cabinets on one side (and 18" uppers) gives a LOT more counter as well as storage (if you splurge on deep cabinets instead of empty space behind them). You could put the deep cabinetry on the fridge side, making a full depth fridge into a counter depth one.

At the very least, I assume you'll be tearing out those soffits and putting cabinets all the way up. (Can you?)

Can you provide a sketch of your space with measurements?

Herbflavor- I will try the 3 sketches. I've heard of the Liebherr, might be a bit out of range, $3000 for a freestanding 24", also sounds like service maybe expensive too. I do like the counter depth and compactness it would provide though.

Katsmah- great idea, although the fridge door swinging how it does makes easy access to beer when I'm in the next room over (living/dining room). Moving the fridge towards the right may address this though.

roarah- Another great idea! Except my sink/cooktop wall is an exterior wall, I may not be able to do this depending on what's behind there, but I can do it on the opposite wall. Also- a standard studded wall is 3.5" deep, how did you fit a toaster here?

fori- Aisle is 49" wide from edge of existing countertop to countertop. I may be able to get a few (3) more inches by taking out studs on the fridge wall. It's a non-bearing wall, I planned to do this with the 'fridge anyhow so it doesn't stick out as far as it does now. I'll see if I can fit 30" depth cabinets but I dont think there's going to be enough space, not to mention the added expense.

Yes, cabinets all the way up to the ceiling is in the plans, and yes I can, there's nothing behind there but air. On the existing fridge wall, the soffit stops at the pantry.

I made a graph paper sketch, I'll have to find it and scan it.

cluelessincolorad0- Nice kitchen. Is it walnut? Can you tell me, is that a full depth fridge or counter depth fridge? What I was really wondering was, how deep are the cabinets that your fridge fits into? It looked to me like the 42" baking center was less deep than the pantry area.

Thank you jenhp and sorry for the OT ericwww! The cabs are walnut and it's a counter depth frig on a funky wall. The pantry cabs are in front of a electric panel that we didn't want to move when we bumped the wall back a foot. They are 15" deep. The frig is housed in a 27" cab and baking area is regular 24" base cab. HTH :-)

no prob with the hijack, I like seeing other people's setups, esp if it's similar to what I'm doing.

I was doing some thinking I may not be able to do a 'fridge on the extreme right side of my wall, the way it wraps around to the back door, basement stairs and another room, it's going to create a huge "wall" there and block the view out the back door. And, if the dishwasher is open, someone could trip over it trying to get by. That's probably why there is no soffit or upper cabinet there now, with the rounded corner lower open shelf and countertop.

I think I'll definitely need the angled corner cabs for both the base and uppers. That also means I'll have to get a more expensive line of cabinets since the lower end ones dont have those. Then, keep the 'fridge where it is now, and put the microwave either above where the DW is now, or continue to use it as an OTR (as much as I'd like a hood, this Kitchen I feel is just too small).

Pic (pardon the lack of trim, I just replaced the back door).

I saw this and thought of you.
http://www.crown-point.com/Floor/041610.html
You should also try to price out custom cabs, I think you might be pleasantly surprised at the cost and then you can use every last inch ! An angled cabinet like that could provide the eased entry into the kitchen and allow for the frig to come up next to it with a counter run beside it.

Here is a link that might be useful: crown point angled end run base cab

Other ideas regarding maximizing the utility of a small kitchen are to:

- install a pot rack (over the sink window would work...convenient for hanging pots to dry after washing as well as near the stove)
- all drawers in the lower cabinetry
- get pull-out cutting boards or bread boards in the lower cabinetry (convenient for chopping as well as extra counter space as needed)