I'm putting my desk in the mudroom just off the kitchen and putting it at counter height with a stool. I don't think I would ever sit at a low desk like you see in most kitchens. 90% of the time I'm just running by my computer checking email or a recipe (or Gardenweb, but I sit for that :)

I'm curious if people actually use them?

Anita

I have one in my current kitchen but I never ever sit there. In fact, the chair was removed 10 years ago. But it is essential to have. We call it kitchen central: phone, files, phone and cookbooks,near the bulletin board. In the new kitchen (different house) it is planed NOT to have a seat- just the shelving/storage cause I find I always stand when I look thru the stuff or sit at the counter which is close by. Gotta have a place for "desk" stuff- just never sat there.

I really like the idea of having this "desk" at stool or counter height because I too don't sit down for these things very often but I do want space to write stuff down or check a website or email while things are cooking.

We took ours out of the kitchen. It was just a waste of space and ended up being used for big pots and pans stored below...not terribly tidy! I hated it.

In the land of wireless, I just don't see the need. I can have my computer anywhere in the house and access the net, and I don't want the clutter of goober that ends up in a desk taking away valuable counter top.

In our house/kitchen remodel, we put in a "Command Center". It has a slanted desktop to prevent big piles and it's standing height for quick glances/writing, but also with a stool in case I find a moment to sit.
It has worked really well for us and is one of my favorite kitchen features.
Here's a link to our kitchen blog entry. You'll see pictures of the command center at the end of the post.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen with Command Center

I think part of the answer depends on whether you have kids and, if so, how old they are. Once kids reach school age and become involved in more activities, you will have a need for some sort of "command center" as pchow put it for paperwork, notes, schedules etc and living wirelessly or having just a space for a phone and a notepad, in my opinion, won't cut it. Just my thoughts...

We are adding one because between 4 kids, we just cannot keep things straight in this house!

We have a 30" wide lower cabinet going in the lower area next to our fridge. A wine rack and double glass door cabinet will go above. I'm going to store my wine glasses in the cabinet with the glass doors and use the base cabinet for all of the kids papers, homework, crayons, pencil sharpeners, homework folders..etc. Out of sight but still accessible.

The backsplash on just this one area is going to be corkboard or I may look for a real wine cork board (to kind of tie into the "wine" theme) so that we can still pin up important papers.

We decided to do that because I just cannot give up my bulletin board. I tack up the papers that I will need for that week (field trip permission slips, prescriptions, invitations, notes to eachother or the teacher....) If I left all of that hidden I'd forget everything!

We have a small kitchen but that area is going to be the most used area I'm sure.

PChow, Can you provide more measurements? How far is the front of the desk from the floor? The back of the desk? How far is the bottom of the upper cabinets from the floor? The top of the upper cabinets? Thanks!

I figured it would just be a place to collect junk in my kitchen. I know me. With laptops, the kitchen table is a fine place to sit if I must be on my computer in the kitchen. Otherwise, I have a separate office. My in-laws have a desk in their kitchen and they love it.

If I had a perfect spot for one, I might have done it, but I didn't so didn't go out of my way trying to figure one out.

pchow, your "command center" is awesome. Thank you for your inspiration.

I don't use the kitchen to plan. I use my office, or I plan while sitting in the living room. Therefore, no command center. I know it would just get overrun with piles, anyway, though I love pchow's slanted-top center.

Have to agree with Igloochic - I'll bring my laptop into the kitchen if I need a computer there. Most of the time, if I'm just checking a recipe, I'll use my cell phone, which has internet access and can access my main computer.

That command center IS great. I've always avoided sitting facing a wall, but strolling up and tending to some quick business there would be quite a different matter.

Bluekit, I work at home and have a full office downstairs, but I didn't want to pay the bills, etc., there, and I also definitely didn't want them and the rest of the mail in the kitchen. Our kids are grown and gone, BTW. Instead, I tucked a little old mahogany desk into the sitting room between the kitchen and the entry hall, and that's household biz central. Pretend the wall isn't there and it's just as close as one in the kitchen--but not. And it has pretty views and comfy seating for others.

Chrissymw, I read the best book on organization EVER, about 5 years ago and since then I do not set out papers that I need or am going to need in the future. The book is called Order from Chaos and it had one section on creating a "Pending" file. To make it short, nothing goes in the pending file that is not noted on your day planner first. For instance, I noted the date of a wedding that I'm invited to on my calendar, tossed the invite but kept the directions to the church and hall. I also have some concert tickets for an event next month. I have some paperwork my doctor wanted me to fill out before my next visit. I have paperwork on things I have ordered, but have not yet received (tentative dates pencilled in on the calendar). When I am looking over my calendar and see the circled "p" I know I have a corresponding piece of paperwork in my pending file. No more losing things!

Sorry, don't mean to hi-jack the thread! Paper clutter is a huge problem for most people. I eliminated a good percentage of mine and filed the rest out of site when I stuck with this technique. I love it! Took me a while to break hubby of the habit of leaving things "out" so he didn't "lose them."

I am looking forward to taking out the desk in my upcoming remodel. It is a messy area that everyone would encounter right as they came in our back door. My kitchen designer suggested a floor to ceiling "locker" of sorts, without a locker look. It will match my other cabinetry. Basically it's 30" wide floor to ceiling cabinet filled with pull outs. Some will be deeper to hold a big basket of my kids shoes and book bags and others will hold baskets for mail, bills to pay, phone books. Really though you could customize the inside of your locker any way that suits your needs with cubby's or fixed shelves and all the mess is behind doors. It's not a place to sit - we have an office for that - but more of an organizational tool for all the stuff that doesn't have a home somewhere else.

Ours is counter height with a stool, which is especially helpful to use as an extra stool for the island, without taking space there all the time. I don't sit there much at all, but I have on occasion.

We have two offices, one for me and one for DH, so our kitchen desk doesn't get cluttered. We use it as a place to jot down notes and a place to store non-kitchen items. We keep note pads and pens, scissors, measuring tape, etc., there. I have a shelf for my cookbooks just above it. I keep a clipboard out with several copies of our shopping list.

Speaking of organization tips, my best ever is the way we do our shopping list. I made a list on my computer that includes everything we get on a fairly regular basis. The list is organized by aisle in the grocery store. Under each aisle's list, there is a place for "other" where I write in anything unusual. Whenever we discover we are low on something, we immediately go put a blank line next to that item on the list. I write in specific directions (e.g., how many, which brand) next to the item's name. Before going to the store, we go through the whole list quickly to see if there is anything else we need. As we shop, we put a check on the line as soon as we put the item in our basket. With this system, shopping is a breeze and we never forget to buy things we need.

Here is a link that might be useful:

pchow, you're a genius! I love the slant top idea.

holligator, great idea with the grocery list! I do something similar with our lake cabin that we use mostly on summer weekends (because I forget what I left up there!) Also with weddings and graduations it is sometimes two weeks between trips so I need the pre-printed information. Don't know why I haven't incorporated this into my everyday home, though. Thanks for the tip.

BTW, I don't have a kitchen desk but I have a 5 X 7 notebook which is a dayplanner that I keep notes in and couldn't live without.

I ended up replacing the "menu desk" in our new kitchen with a bank of cabinets which incorporates a built in "secretary". The desk top will flip down to reveal our "menu" laptop, cubbies for mail, audio input for a MP3 player, phone, key hooks, etc and then flip back up to hide the mess. I found that I also never sat down at our old desk, but it sure was handy to have the laptop there and a place to stash recipes and take out menus.

This is ours, computer work, filing, office billing, recipes, homework and a screen saver of our photos running all the time. Comptuer also has a TV tuner so I can see it when in the kitchen. Couldn't be with out it.

{{!gwi}}

sue36,
I hope you got my email, but in case you didn't here is the info you requested:
The front of the desk is 38" from the floor.
The back of the desk is 41" from the floor.
The bottom of the upper cab is 56" from the floor (so about 15" between the desktop and the upper cab).
The top of the upper cab is 86" from the floor.
We have 8' ceilings and I left approx. a 10" gap between the ceiling and the top of the upper cab.

mnhockeymom, very good point! We have 3 school age kids so there's lots of artwork, school paperwork to file, plus all the kids' sports/after school activities to put on the calendar. Having it all in one place and easily accessible from the kitchen (where I spend a lot of my time) works for us.