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Ok am I seeing in my mind what you just told us? If I were you...I wouldn't do a table in that lower area..I'd make it a bake center (same height as table) and skip the uppers on this wall, instead going for a nicer hood and making it a focal point. I wouldn't take your sink from center in the other window...I personally love that my sink is in the window (mine is in a corner window with no cabinets...centered on the corner).

As I've drawn it here, it's not "unbalanced or lopsided" it's a feature of a well designed kitchen (a bake center).

I can change this for you later today if you'd like to see it drawn another way (with cabinets on top etc).

Hard to put it better than igloochic, agree that sink centered with window is better. If you're off by only a little, going with a 33" sink base instead of a 36" can help as long as you don't want an oversized sink.

would it be strange to have the sink and base cabinet off center from the window?

yes, it will. the room will feel strange and out of balance. if igloochic's diagram is accurate, i think that's a perfect solution.

possibly the most essential part of a KD's job is to turn design challenges into focal points. there's always a clever way to work around these things, and it's often to use the thing that's posing the challenge as a central feature in the room.

hence....the baking center with the lower countertop. very smart.

I don't like the wall with uppers, but here's a view with them (and of course I'm just guessing from your description). I still have the sink centered here..which is a must imo:

{{!gwi}}

Now we'll shift things to the left and right (no uppers):
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I'd move my window before I'd set that sink offcenter!

I think IglooChic's first pic looks the best as well, but if you really need the cabinet space, the one with the upper cabinets also works.

Either way and if it will fit your budget, I would definitely get a very nice hood (they can be pricey, though).

Are new (different sizes/shapes) windows an option? If not, I think it's going to look asymmetrical no matter what you do. I defer to igloochic and other more talented people.

I'd rather be asymetrical than NOT have my kitchen sink under the window. A quick look around would provide quick confirmation that 99% of America agrees, LOL. If the kitchen has a window at all, it's pretty much guaranteed to have a sink under it. It's tried and true and our eyes expect to see that, so in striving for cabinet symetry, you're giving up another kind of symetry. I think in years to come, not having the sink centered will bother you a lot more than the cabinets, which will remain just as functional!

nice mockups. that really shows how out of sorts things feel with a sink uncentered under a window.

i like the one with the uppers, purely from a functionality standpoint, since the uppers are right above the DW.

This is a VERY rough view of what my kitchen will look like. (I was learning the program while working on this). The view is our focal point...but we have the range (and your KD would say it's unbalanced) on a wall full of windows. As you can see, I have a corner to turn, so I tucked the sink there, but the range area would have looked bad with cabinets so I just left it alone and went with a focal point hood (which is plaster and granite).

{{!gwi}}

Unbalanced...well sure...that freaking hood is 58" wide. But I feel like it works (it's better in real life) and haven't worried about the weight being on the left :) I did balance that weight on the other walls...but you still end up with half of our kitchen full of windows, and thus no uppers, and the other half, FULL of cabinets.

What's outside your window igloochic?

A lake :) We have gorgeous views winter and summer. In the old program I couldn't import my own backdrop...in this one I can, so I have to bring the pictures over from the laptop to this computer. So this is just a generic lake...verses my real one :)

This is my old kitchen part way through demo:
{{!gwi}}

You know we all discussed this to death and the OP never returned heh heh

Igloochic --

Holy cow! I just posted yesterday and didn't get a chance to check back until after lunch today. I was shocked at the number of responses and just blown away by your pictures. (What design program are you using?) Fan-flippin-tastic!

Okay, first of all, you really got the gist of my kitchen layout. The window to the left of the range is a bit larger (2 windows, actually), and to the left of that is a door to the front hall, otherwise, killer interpretation. Secondly, you and the others confirmed my misgivings about shifting the sink. It really is my window to the world, and I spend gobs of time there.

For what it's worth, there will be a large island (8-9 ft. long) running parallel to the wall with the range. The range will be blocked, but the sink area will be exposed if you're standing on the other side of the island.

I like the idea of a nice range hood, but I'd miss having cabinets on that wall. Your pics really help me visualize it all. What about if I ran square columns that have doors for spices down from the range hood? I've seen these on some designs.

Thanks for all your input!!!

shift the sink and DW to the right to allow him to have "balanced-looking" wall

Won't that mean you're crammed up against the wall when you're at the sink?

Also--how far back can you stand and look at that wall? Most people can't get back far enough to see the entire kitchen in a single eyeful.

In one of igloochick's pics, she put a door frame--will there be one? If so, then REALLY no one will notice balance.

And if there's an island, nobody can see the dishwasher, right? So who cares where it is, visually?

Also, sinks are just not that visible. They don't stick up much above the counter; on the faucet does, and it's never perfectly in the middle, etc.; it migrates around as you move it and bump it, etc.

More important is that it's comfortable for YOU when you're STANDING at it.

Some elbow room. A nice view out the window, or at least one that doesn't make you feel like you got a wall in your face.

"balanced" is stupid, in my opinion. Function is much more important. AFTER function, then you can worry about balance and symmetry.

But usually, people are so busy when they're in or near a kitchen, they don't really notice anything but the worst of oddnesses--and they probably assume those are really neato design choices, LOL!

Go for function, not "balance"

(oh, and I like the bake center)

Ellen I'll play with the cabinets a bit if that would help you visualize it :) I can do those pullouts I think...(I'm new at this LOL) I'm wondering...is there room above the sink for cabinets (above the window)? If I had real measurements I could do a bit better for you visually. It's not that big of a deal to change once I flip out a layout.

I do like the island idea :) You'll love that. Honestly though, on that balance issue...talley sue is right, you notice when I use a vector view camera...but that puppy is placed high in a wall (on my computer) to be able to take in the entire legnth of the wall...in a real kitchen, it's just not an issue, but little things...like the sink being off center to the window...that stuff really catches your eye quickly!

I'm using Chief Architecht. I just bought it and was playing when I read your post ;) It's a great deal of fun!

Thanks, Igloochic! If you're really game, I'll get you some better measurements, but that's really above and beyond...

We only have 8-foot ceilings with no hope of raising them, so there's not a lot of room above the kitchen sink. We're thinking of havng a shelf put up there with the trim. The cabinets will run all the way to the ceiling.

I was already noodling the baking center idea for under that big window. I don't plan on having a table there, just something that is table height (perhaps a custom, free-standing unit unless we can find a neat antique baker's cabinet or some such thing.)

We're opening up 12 feet of the wall opposite the range wall to create a great room out of our kitchen and living room. This will give us room for my big ol' island and, truly, you will be able to stand back far enough to take it all in. The island will be my barrier for guests yet allow me to participate in conversations while cooking---something I've sorely missed.

To answer Talley Sue, there is a corner to the right of the sink that will wrap around a few feet before running into the fridge, but it's not a huge amount of space. I'll probably have an appliance garage in there somewhere.

Thanks, all! I really love this forum and appreciate all the lively input. E

You have to watch out for us Ellen...we all get a bee in our bonnet and we start redoing other people's kitchens behind their backs :oP

I'll hopefully be murdering a granite guy tomorrow...which may take some time, but this weekend, before the cops find me I'll be around to play KD :oP So go ahead and post :)

I like the idea of the trim above the window. It helps to tie all the cabinets in. Is there room enough to put a cabinet up there as well on that corner above the garage? That would really make it look nice surrounding the window...(just knock out some walls and make me happy ok?) heh heh

Well, good luck with that. If you need a Safe House, you can give me a call. :)

Okay, so here's my set-up starting from the left side of that wall you designed. 35" of wall from the corner (if you turn to the left, there is a doorway, then about 107" of wall on which I will have a 36" pantry and some additional counter and cabinets). Continuing to the right: 71" of those big windows (including trim); 70" of wall (including a 36" range); 55" of window over sink (including trim); 34" of wall to the corner; turn the corner and you have 110" of wall before you hit the door to the garage. On this last wall, I will have a 36" refrigerator and I'd like an 18"-wide tall closet/cupboard between the fridge and the that door.

I do want wall cabinets to the left and right of the sink, as well as something in the corner and around the corner to the fridge. That appliance garage may go to the right of the corner instead of in the corner. Sorry, no room for cabinets above either window--just enough for a shelf. -- With the current space issues, there may be enough room for a 9-12" base and upper cabinet between the big window and the range.

My island will hold big drawers, a mixer cabinet, a shelf for the MW, and more drawers. On the ends of the island, I'm thinking of having 6" deep cabinets for canned goods put in.

Appreciate your interest in this, though I'm beginning to think this site is either the cause or therapy for a sickness we all have. DH is calling it "kitchen porn" (a phrase we lifted from another post), and is starting to worry about me. :)