Without major changes, you are not going to fix the traffic jam in there.

Short-term physical change: putting a microwave to the left of the refrigerator would make it more accessible in a 2-cook kitchen.

"Husband and I have crazy work schedules so we are often both in the kitchen together trying to get everything prepared, cooked, cleaned efficiently" It's a lifestyle problem. Can you shift some prep to a different time - do more meal planning and focus on things that can be prepared ahead and then cooked?

Make sure you are using the whole kitchen. It's tempting to do it all between stove and sink, but if one person is the designated "prepper/cleaner" and stands at the end of the counter by the DW doing the prep and putting things in the dishwasher while the other person is the designated "cooker" and has the main workspace.

Learn to do "mise en place" - fancy French for :"get all the ingredients out before you start to cook". Have the spices and oils you use the most next to the stove in smallish containers - refilled from the larger containers in the pantry as needed - so you don't have to cross the kitchen to get something from the pantry.

Double check your rationale for having things where they are stored. Put the stuff as close as possible to the point of use so you don't have to dash all over the kitchen. It's as critical in a small kitchen as a large one.

I'm having a hard time picturing things in the $3000 range so it might help to know your thoughts on scope. My mind goes to pushing the peninsula over and making a 'u' but that involves flooring, plumbing, $$$.

Is there a sink in the beverage centre?m

This post was edited by robotropolis on Sat, Mar 8, 14 at 7:25

How is the stove vented? Could you at all reasonably put the fridge where the stove is and make a stove run on the wall where the fridge is now? It would put the stove in the traffic path, which is not at all optimal for a permanent solution, but would separate the work areas more for now.

lazygardens: thanks for your thoughts. i agree, a new local for a small microwave will help. and I do think that we could more strategic about where are some other items are stored.

robotropolis: no sink the beverage center. i think i understand your comment about reshaping the peninsula. it may fall in our budget since my husband could DIY much of it. but obviously we wouldn't want to do that if our long term plan was to switch the kitchen and dining.

i suspect that i may be in over my head here. perhaps i should look around for a local KD for consultation and come up with long term plan. i have no idea what that costs - or if a KD will even meet with us if we dont intend to do a major remodel for several years?

rhome: agreed, that would spread things more for now. the range is on an interior wall now, but it does vent to the outside. the duct makes a 90degree and runs above the cabinets to reach exterior wall. it would be doable if we are willing to give up that venting for now.

I think you have some good ideas for a small, inexpensive plan. If you ever decide to do something larger, here's a quick idea. Might not help, but thought it would be fun to do a 'what if' layout :)

Microwave could go in several possible locations...with windows or not on either side of range. The sofa is now a built-in banquette (more room) but added a chair and small table/ottoman. Also moved beverage area to side of pantry, with hutch on side wall. {{gwi:1753652}}From Kitchen plans

This post was edited by lavender_lass on Sat, Mar 8, 14 at 16:33

Wow, I would save until I could do Lavender's plan--the flow and use of space is excellent!

Anne

I agree, Anne!

Lavenderlass, your layout hit the nail on the head! I had a feeling that flipping the kitchen and dining would be optimal but hadn't quite been able to tackle it. many thanks!

(flip the pantry door in Lav's plan too--so it is better accessible to the kitchen side).

Great layout LL!

On second thought . . .

It looks like there is no basement in this house--is there a crawl space? If it's on a slab, it will be expensive to switch the utilities over to the other side. At this point, there's no way of knowing where you'll be regarding jobs & finances in a few years. If you're in better shape, you may want to move, and the cost of a large kitchen renovation like LL's plan, even with a lot of DIY would not make sense for this house unless you're going to stay and enjoy it.

In fact, after looking at your pictures, the size of this house, and time you'd need to save for a remodel like the one LL has suggested, I'm going to go back to addressing your $3000/immediate needs. We've DIYed 2 kitchen renovations smaller than the one LL has proposed, and the costs add up faster than you can imagine. So the following would work very well with a smaller amount of money and your DH's DIY skills, and would very quickly improve the function of the existing kitchen, which sounds like it's very important. As is, that kitchen would drive me nuts!

Build a new pantry (build side & front wall, put in door) in that angled corner next to the fridge. If that's not a load-bearing wall and if your DH's DIY skills are up to it, square off that wall to get more space in the kitchen where you need it, instead of in the LR where you don't. Otherwise, the angled pantry would still be a better location, and you don't really need deep shelves for a pantry. Quick fix would be to build open shelves for pantry goods in that location.

To the right of the fridge, extend the wall so it ends lined up with the nook and laundry wall (or you can make it shorter), and add upper and base cabinets. (As long as you're adding a wall here, you could redo the angled corner at the same time, since the mudding and sanding of the drywall is a pain/mess, and it's easier to do it all at once, IMO.) Put a large prep sink, the MW, & toaster on this approximately 7' long counter. Then you'll have a second workspace and your most used areas freed up for not a lot of cost.

Anne

If you'd be doing a long-term fix, I'd get rid of the existing pantry walls to get the ~7' counter/cabinet space to the right of the fridge for better functionality. However, for a quick fix to see how you like it, you could put a small narrow table, rolling island, or base cabinets about 4-5' wide to the right of the existing pantry, put a small MW and your toaster on it, and see if that relieves some of the congestion. Normally in a kitchen this size, you wouldn't put a second sink, but with 2 of you prepping at the same time, the beverage area where it is, and the choke point due to the angle of the sink, it would help immensely to have another sink outside the existing work triangle, if you ultimately decide to go with this configuration.

Anne

Thanks so much Anne!

There is a crawl space under the house. We may be able to remove the front/side walls of the pantry but the main wall, including the angled part, is probably load bearing. I"d want to have a professional check that situation out before changing those walls, but we're certainly open to it.

Not sure if the changes I'm suggesting will be within the 3K range or not (I've no idea how to estimate costs for DIY projects) but here's an idea for you.

I bumped the peninsula a foot or so farther towards the table so that you have more room for 2 butts in the sink/range area. This will entail some minor plumbing changes.

The range and venting stays where it currently is so no cost incurred here.

I eliminated the angled wall to give you a larger expanse of counter and cabinets next to the fridge. It also allows you to have a slightly wider doorway to the play space/living area.

I recessed the fridge into the wall, gaining you a couple inches or perhaps a bit more in the kitchen area. You could opt for a counter-depth fridge instead. The goal is to get the fridge to intrude into the kitchen a bit less than it currently appears to do.

I moved the beverage center up to the top wall (couldn't tell if this was existing or planned) and moved the table out of the corner so that you will have more room all around it (NKBA recommends a minimum of 44" aisles behind diners for walk behind space).

One other change: I switched the powder room door swing so that, even when the door is open, the toilet should be hidden from view.

Here's a tweak on the above plan:

I reduced the size of the beverage center from 8' to 5' and placed it against the powder room wall. This will help give a sense of space between table and bathroom (and perhaps a bit more privacy to those using the bathroom).

You still have ample aisles for moving about the space, hopefully making it easier for you two - and eventually your daughter - to work in the kitchen.

thanks, Lisa_a! Some great little tweaks for us to consider here. I never even considered switching the bathroom door!