I'm going to be watching this with interest. I have my own layout issues in an old New Orleans grocery store. ;-)

Are you the architect?

grlwprls--- And I've been watching yours! Nope, I'm only the first-time remodeler and am working with a fresh-out-of-school architect for the flat-rate fee he offered plus the modern perspective. We're both learning on the fly...

I'm not sure what style my kitchen is, and I'm intrigued with what you wrote, "I'm hoping for "farmhouse modern," simple and utilitarian but not country". Could you elaborate on what farmhouse modern is? What does a country kitchen look like?

Could you explain where the dining room is and the peninsula that you speak of? Sorry I have more questions right now than advice.

Can you restore the original front entrance?

It sounds like the floorplan is such that the main entry to the house, as well as most of the traffic inside the house, all goes through a small kitchen. Maybe this works better than it sounds, but it really does not sound very good. Either from a function standpoint or a resale standpoint.

If that fundamental layout situation should be fixed, and can be fixed, I would consider whether that is more important than remodeling the kitchen. Before you go spending lots of money on the kitchen, do make sure you are addressing issues in an appropriate order of priority.

I like it and I get it (could be memories of architecture school). The only cabinet I'm not sure about is the one perpendicular to the fridge. It might be better to keep just one cabinet right next to it. It will either prevent the door from fully opening or create a little cave if the door opens the other way (which might be ok--easy to set things down on the counter). You could have a full height cabinet there, and then a shorter, 12" deep bookshelf perpendicular along the stair if you like the idea of having that small L.

judydel--- Ah, I can see that the dining room might not be obvious. ItÂs the farthest left. The "peninsula" is the white rectangle left and 90 degrees to the sink, where the flooring transitions from "tile" to "wood." As for "farmhouse modern," IÂm still working it out myself. Simplified shapes and surfaces, not so much molding and decoration, color. Check out the website of that exact name for some inspiration photos. More questions are good!

johnliu--- Indeed, weÂve looked at putting the entrance through any of three out of four sides of the house! The "original" is not clear, and would have just entered directly into living space anyway. The two issues now are 1) IÂd have to remove one or two of the largest trees on the property to gain access somewhere else, and I think I may be constitutionally unable to do that, and 2) plumbing. The old front of the house now has the laundry room and the only bathroom you can stand and shower in, and short of adding on thereÂs no where else for them to go. As for resale, well, itÂs not in the plans particularly. WeÂre finally getting to come back home after seven itinerant years, the kitchen is on itÂs last legs, and the monetary value of this place is in the lot, not the house. So, youÂre absolutely right, and yet IÂm not sure thereÂs any feasible way around it. IÂm also more than halfway convinced that I like the "honesty" of entering into the kitchen (though not the muddy tracks). The vegetable garden is fifty feet away; itÂs farm to table.

histokitch--- That fridge keeps getting wiggled this way and that. I think weÂve got it pulled forward enough now that the door will swing all the way 180 degrees to the right. The counter to the left of the fridge seems essential for incoming groceries and outgoing snacks. WhatÂs really going to be awkward is that IÂm planning to put the microwave there, just to the left of the fridgeÂ

I'm just laughing about the drying sippy cups. We did our remodel 2 yrs ago when DD was 2, and sippy cups did figure into our equation. (unfortunately, drying sippy cups live in the dish drainer on the - ugh - counter).

Love the funky house + new architect + new remodelers combo - I bet your house will be amazing.

No useful comments on your layout, but thanks for mentioning the farmhouse modern blog. Love that aesthetic. Now I'm feverishly trying to find a metal sink and caged pendant lights like those in the blog photos. I look forward to seeing how your space evolves!

You can find those caged pendants at NapaStyle, pickle2

Thanks, grlwprls! I need to bookmark that site. They have great lighting though for the some reason, the cage pendants aren't available for sale (not that I'm ready to buy). Love their antique insulator pendants too.

pickle2--- Thanks!

Caged pendants also at, you guessed it, Barn Light Electric.

Mell Lawrence, an architect (though not mine and no association), has some more inspiring farmhouses on his site.

I love the Farmhouse Modern style and we are remodeling a rancher from the 1950s to have that same aesthetic. Took everything down to the studs and added about 1000ft to a 2600 sq ft house. We are about 9 months into a 15 month re-do.

No comment on your kitchen because I don't have anywhere near the experience designing kitchens that the GWers have--I come looking for advice not to give any :)

In any case, just thought I'd pass along a few other names in case you need other inspiration (you might already have these in your "inspiration" folder)....

--Howard Bracken: THE guy who does Farmhouse modern here in CA, He designed Solage Resort and a number of other wineries and resorts.
--Walker-Warner: Another CA architect firm that does this same style and they did a terrific Sonoma farmhouse that is to die for. My kitchen designer knows Brooks and I gather he said, "I design unaffordable housing"....which is why I can't use him but his design is what inspired me to take down the rancher we bought 10 months ago.

Some fun pics that I like of the same style. We are going to have this as front door:

This is our back door off the kitchen to the backyard:

We just had our steel roof put on and the battens are going on this week. Just about ready to purchase 8 outdoor lights from BarnLight too!

firsthouse mp--- I looked through your album... you're SERIOUS about remodeling. How brave! Do you have a blog with more details? Thanks for the inspirations, some I've seen, some are new. About the green door: do you know the manufacturer? (I'm also looking for single light with bottom panel doors.)

Have you considered...would it be possible, to switch the kitchen and dining room, or some such thing?

It would be so nice to have the main door and the stairs in a reception room rather than the kitchen.

What you've drawn looks possible, but a bit twisty and cramped. With this much remodeling, it might be worth doing a bit more...

I am sorry to hijack the OP's thread, but I just wanted to comment to firsthouse_mp....... we love the farmhouse modern aesthetic as well, and are also renovating a 50's ranch, so I looked at your album. Wow!!! Can't wait to see more!

We also have chickens, I remember reading your chicken post earlier. My daughter had to fight city hall when she was 10 to get the ordinance changed to allow us to have chickens in our old town. It was a huge campaign and fight but she won. We moved, and have 8 hens now. We're hoping to sell this renovated home sometime in a few years and get a proper farm, actually. Meanwhile, living in renovation chaos. My daughter was looking at the photos with me and she said, "if they're doing that much renovation, I feel really sorry for her kids!" and then wondered why they look happy in the pics. We realized you're not actually living there (which would clearly be impossible!) and she's so jealous ;)

Anyway- looks wonderful and I'll be very interested to see more photos as you progress!!

Stacey

Here is a link that might be useful: chicken website

Sorry this doesn't address your post. I have been lurking for two weeks and am so very grateful I found all of you while I'm still in the planning stages of our remodel. I'm so impressed with how incredibly helpful everyone is! I must admit I'm a little addicted. Okay, I'm a LOT addicted. I think my home is going to turn out so much better because of you.
firsthouse_mp, I just looked at the Howard Bracken website.. and omg, everything in there is gorgeous.
staceyneil just wrote that she enjoyed firsthouse_mp's album. I can't figure out how you look up someone's album. I searched for the name under the photo galleries and that didn't work. I've tried to do this for other posters as well with no luck. If anyone could give me some guidance, I'll really appreciate it.
Gee, I was hoping my first post would be something a little more deep :) THX

Could you switch the range and Sink/DW?

That would take the DW out of the main triangle (but put it more in the main traffic aisle) And allow food to move more logically: fridge to sink to range to serving penninsula, or fridge to sink to prep penninsula to range. The cook at the range is better protected by penninsula and more out of traffic as well.

Moving the sink plumbing and the stairway spilling into open DW and the open DW in traffic path could be deal breakers... but you are going to have to make some compromises.

Am I the only one who gets a '403 - You don't have permission to access' message when trying to go to the farmhousemodern.com site?

It's not just you. I get an error message, too. I even get the message when I click on the link that pops up in a google search. It's not nice to tease us! LOL

Ellabee_2016--- No, you're not! That started yesterday. I'm not the computer literate one in the family so can't tell you what it means. The site seems to have been revamped and then gone pretty inactive. Still, there are plenty of good shots on the other websites above of Mell Lawrence, Walker-Warner, etc., however. Here are some links:

Mell Lawrence Wild Haire Ranch

Mell Lawrence Anita House

Walker-Warner website

clkw--- Just click the "Menlo Farmhouse" hotlink under firsthouse_mp's pictures and it takes you to her Picasa web album. And, welcome!

I used to love Farmhouse Modern and it doesn't seem to be functioning! :(

While not ideal, your remodel is definitely an improvement and makes better use of the space you have.

Lazygardens--- Thanks for the encouragement. I'm afraid "not ideal" could be the name of this house, love it though I do.

celticmoon--- I sure like the idea of the range being more "protected." The new window box over the sink would have to move down, though, and would then give a view of the wall of the little foyer extension. So, hmmm...

pllog---I couldn't agree more. I sure would be nice to not enter through the kitchen. It's just not in the cards right now, and I think I'd rather start all the way over than to continue trying to whip this house into submission. We're looking for improvement, not perfection. BTW, I think it was you a few months ago who suggested the Kohler Karbon as a wall-mount + sprayer faucet. I'd dismissed it because of the look which I'm concerned will become dated, but function is winning out here. So, thanks for giving me pause to reconsider!

Within the scope of what you're doing, I think you have a plan that will live well. Maybe a few tweaks, but good overall.

Karbon isn't cheap and has the separate controller, but it's very functional. Farmhouse spirit includes using what works, so from that point of view I think the style can be ignored. There are a few old fashioned looking wall mounts with side sprays but they are also very dateable and have droopy hoses.

I'm looking forward to seeing this come together. It may be a challenge, but at least it's interesting!

What a fun project!

Here's a suggestion - put the MW in the pantry. I did that in my renovation and my pantry isn't as big as yours. It is one of my favorite aspects to my kitchen. We had a dedicated outlet run to the pantry and the MW sits on a shelf. I need as much counter space as possible so this was my solution.

I also put a light which is activated when the door is opened (not motion-sensor, there's a little pin thingy (sorry about being so technical..) that gets pushed in when the door closes).

Had a friend who bought two Karbons off eBay and said they were fine....just a thought in case you go that route. I think they were around $500?

I have one suggestion ... remove part of the wall and the door between the foyer and the laundry room, leaving just the L-shaped short wall to conceal the equipment.

I envisioned a kid scurrying in from the movies and having to make it through THREE doors to get to the toilet.

Didn't mean to hijack the OP, but thought I'd post a pic of the steel roof which is very Farmhouse Modern. Sweetgum: How's the layout going?

Firstmmo, Do you happen to know your roof pitches?

Marlo, do you realize that this thread is nearly 6 yrs old? It's highly unlikely that you'll get a response from firstmmo. I haven't seen firstmmo post in years.

looks like a 5/12.

Casey