Kitchen design feedback

14 years ago

We are looking to renovate our VERY outdated kitchen with something much more functional, optimal for entertaining, and allows for great flow of light. The kitchen is literally the center of our house as the whole ground floor connects to it on either side. We have a great view of a small lake and would like to maximize that and the fact that our kitchen faces south, so it gets some good light. The wall that the fridge is currently on will be removed and potentially the wall that the stovetop is currently on as well. Pictures of the existing kitchen and potential design are below.

Must Haves:

-Wall behind the current location of the fridge open to the living room behind it.

-a bigger window over the sink

-darker wood cabinets (husband hates white cabinets)

-a butler's pantry located to the upper left of the drawing through the door for additional storage (that design is somewhat taken care of)

-all new stainless steel appliances

Potentials:

-recombining stovetop and oven into a range

-I don't want my microwave located over the stove/range nor do I want it below a counter (husband and I are both tall)

-two sided upper cabinets on the wall the stovetop is currently on (that wall faces an informal eating area, formal dining is to the lower left of the kitchen in a separate room)

Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

Here is a link that might be useful: Current pictures and design

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Comments (6)

rhome410
14 years ago
Can't see your pictures without signing up for Snapfish. Can you make the album so it is public and doesn't require a password to see it?
alainatrace
Original Author
14 years ago
Hopefully this will work now?

Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Picture Album
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Comments (30)
As much as I'd love to save some space and finally settle on something, I haven't been convinced that the bench attached to the island is something that would work for our family/cooking style, so I'm going to abandon that idea for now. Mama goose, the area above the WC/Kitchen is a wide hall/entry with not a lot of natural light, so wouldn't make a great living room. Plus, the kitchen/dining/living room is 35' x 20' (minus the bathroom, of course), so it seems it should be plenty big for all three uses for our family. I've attached two more ideas with the following changes/ideas: - I changed the cookstove/masonry heater to more accurately reflect what it will look like (our planner had drawn in the other one). - I moved the doorway into the kitchen over to the left by about 8 inches to allow more space next to the range. - The kitchen is an L open to the both the woodstove and the dining table, and the two variations on the island are both appliance-free for prep/baking/canning/etc. - One plan has the fridge again near the door, which I'm worried crowds the range a bit. The other has the fridge at the other end of the kitchen, which gives more space to the range on the top wall but then rather separates the window seat from the kitchen, which I'd hoped to avoid, but maybe is fine? - And the thing I'm most excited to have thought about is the phone charging/family command center cabinet in the doorway! I know it's not super ideal to have a cabinet in a doorway (even with a 40" opening), but this way it opens up that desperately needed space on the top wall of the kitchen without me losing the general location the phone charging/family calendar space, and since we're moving that doorway and the wall will be reconstructed anyway it seems perfect. (And I don't think it's a cabinet we'll use when we have people over, either). I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts and ideas, and helping me see what I've overlooked or forgotten! Nessa
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Comments (69)
Also remember one important thing. Humans are very adaptable. It's how we've survived so long. However one thing that adaptability managed to do is make us believe that we have something that works well, when in reality we can do better. For example, your island is a barrier. How much better would it be if you didn't have to walk around that small island every single time to get from your fridge to your sink? Right now you don't think it's a problem because you've adapted. Those who have MW's over the cooktop think it's ok because they've adapted. I have one in both rental's right now. I have to reach up every time to grab hot bowls out of the MW (and I'm vertically challenged). I have adapted though so really don't think about it. However, I know that in reality for me a drawer MW works better because I'm not reaching up. In my rental kitchen here in FL my corner butterfly sink is literally right next to the stove. There is no space between them. And to the left of the sink, is not enough space to prep. The only space to prep is to the right of the stove on the peninsula. However, I've adapted. I wash my stuff, and then carry it past the stove to the peninsula. I grab utensils and bowls from all over the kitchen since there is no place close to put most of the stuff I need. However I've adapted and now that I've been cooking in this space for several months, I tell people it's not as bad as I thought it would be. But the reality is, that if I had a well laid out kitchen, DH and I wouldn't be constantly bumping into one another (especially at the sink) and all movements would flow better. I wouldn't be dripping water and who knows what on the floor each time I cooked. I wouldn't have to keep running back and forth between the sink and the only prep space. So really think about whether you've adapted or if your kitchen really is the best laid out it could be and the most efficient.
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Comments (5)
Very nice layout--if not for the narrower-than-minimum recommended aisles. Maybe since it's just two of you they will work, depending on your cooking style. I don't mind having the sink and cooktop in line, as you will be spending more time prepping to the left of the sink, than rinsing items in front of it. If you want to ease the aisles around the island, you might consider a corner sink. I know a corner sink wastes space, but I think they are nice with corner windows as you have them. Is that the location of the existing sink? You would need to add another stub wall to match the one beside the pantry, in order to accommodate the DW. I made it full-height, with space for dish storage in an upper cabinet, but it could be a pony wall or just a mini-peninsula, which would also be convenient for serving to the dining table. That would put the fridge and sink a step over the NKBA max distance of 9' apart. The minimum depth for the island should be barely over 40", IMO--24" cabs, 15" seating overhang, cabinet skin for back cover, and 1" front overhang.
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Comments (4)
I'd prefer that the DW not be in the prime prep space between the sink and range, but with the locations of the windows, I don't think that can be changed. The fridge is too far from the sink--NKBA recommendation is 9' maximum between appliances. I like a side-loading pantry, for convenience, but I would put the fridge beside the beam, and create a coffee/snack/serving space to the left of the fridge, with MW in an upper cabinet, or a drawer model. That will keep snackers and grazers out of the work areas. That reduces the trash pull-out to ap 15". I flipped it to the left of the range, to make it closer to the sink area, but instead, you could put the trash to the right of the range, in the prep space. That would be ideal, but not as convenient to the fridge and snack area. Or, if you have a second pull-out under the sink, keep the trash next to the fridge. It just seems that it would be awkward trying to use a trash pull-out under the sink, while scraping dishes to load to an open DW. Since you would lose the side-loading pantry, could some of the shallow cabinets across the room be utilized as pantry space? NKBA guidelines ETA, an idea to put the DW to the right of the sink, with dish storage on the same side of the room. In this layout, helpers can unload the DW, or gather dishes to set the table, without interfering in prep and cooking tasks.
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rhome410
14 years ago
I think it could be very helpful to have a current plan to compare to the proposed plan...and with some view showing of the rooms around the kitchen, so we can better understand the flow of the house...And the plan you posted is really hard to see, so maybe heavier lines?

What style fridge are you planning? What way will the door swing? If the hinges are on the same side as that wall section next to it, you might not be able to open the door fully and get the drawers out past the door racks.

Do you want a range instead of wall oven and cooktop, or would rather keep the 2 separate units?

Is the 34" walk through area what you have now? Is it working OK? On the plan it looks like it could be tight, but if it's existing and works, maybe it's fine.
Buehl
14 years ago
Is there a reason for that "pony wall"? I takes up space and may force you to have filler b/w it and the cabinet next to it.
You have upper cabinets over the peninsula... Are they short cabinets that won't be in the way (no more than 12" tall)? Or, are they taller cabinets? Taller cabinets will make it difficult to interact w/others on the other side of the peninsula. You will have to bend over/down to talk/see. Unless you plan on leaving those cabinets empty, glass won't help b/c the items in the cabinet will still block the sight line. This issue will have a greater impact if you're tall! (Even if you leave the cabinets empty, they will still be an obstacle for communicating b/c they will still be solid objects blocking the way.)

When we were planning our remodel we talked to friends in our neighborhood who had those cabinets and every one of them told us not to do it! They all wished they had not. (We weren't planning to anyway b/c my DH had already said he didn't want to be leaning/bending to see over/through the peninsula, but it was good to hear others say the same thing.)

The above also applies to passthroughs.
chicagoans
14 years ago
You commented that you don't want an under-counter MW because you're tall. I was concerned too (DH and I are 6'3" and 5'11") but we got a drawer MW and it's great, because you load and unload from above - no bending over.

Also FWIW we raised all our counter heights (kitchen and bathrooms) to 39". It's much more comfortable for us; might work for you too.

I agree with the comment about the cabs over the peninsula; unless they're very high, I think you'd be unhappy with how much they block the view.
Buehl
14 years ago
Tall family + MW Drawer here & we're very happy with it! (Height range is 5'10" to 6'6" and still growing!)

Kitchen design feedback

Comments (6)

rhome410

alainatrace
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Kitchen design feedback

Comments (6)

rhome410

alainatraceOriginal Author

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chicagoans

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alainatrace
Original Author