Total kitchen reno, help please!

12 years ago

Hi everyone,

I am totally re-doing my kitchen for the first time, never done this before and have obsessed for MONTHS over the new layout. But now that we are actually moving forward with it I am scared of overlooking something that I will regret later! My GC is nice but he is a builder mostly and not very good at walking me through this process/hand-holding a nervous first-time remodeler!

We are gutting our current kitchen, turning it into a mudroom/laundryroom entry (right now you walk from my front door straight into my kitchen), and pushing the kitchen straight back into the back half of my DR. The future mudroom is 13x12ft with a built-in pantry. The pantry must stay and I am just changing the shelving to make it more usable. We'll be putting in a stacked washer/dryer set, a utility sink where the current kitchen sink is, and a big coat/boot rack area. The future kitchen will be 15ft7" x 12ft and I am putting in an L-shaped island which will house the range. One arm of that island will be USABLE butcher block (as in, can cut right on it), and the other kitchen countertops will be quartz, Dupont Zodiaq in Savory. Sink backaplsh will be Chateau marble tiles, and the hood will be the centerpiece, in Antique Copper by Modern-Aire. Fridge will be counter depth Samsung, range is 36" DCS, and sink and DW are not picked out yet but will be stainless. I am still waiting on the range hood quote and investigating butcher block sources (waiting on samples from Hardwood Lumber Co.), and need to find a place to get soapstone that I like! Cabinets, as per GC recommendation, will be Omega/Dynasty. I have a door sample ordered in the Bellehaven style on Knotty Alder in Nutmeg stain with Coffee glaze.

Pics and details are linked below.

So, what do you all think so far? I would love some input on what I have so far, and some help in what NOT to overlook! Thanks so much for any help you can give me!

Here is a link that might be useful: Current kitchen and plans

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Comments (7)

winomama22
12 years ago
I am right there with you. Doing this for the first time and scared out of my mind! For some reason, your link isn't working. Can you repost? I'd love to see what you have in mind!
NatalieChantal
Original Author
12 years ago
Yup sorry about that! Here is it is again below.

I have every pic titled and an explanation of the plan along with it! Let me know what you think, ok?

Here is a link that might be useful: Working Link for current kitchen pictures!
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I too couldn't help but notice the soffit, that appears to be 24" deep. Yikes. You can trim that down to 12" but it's a lot of work and very dirty, dusty work at that. You don't need to move the cab over the fridge, you need to enclose the fridge with plywood on either side, and then pull the cab forward to be flush with the wood and the front of the fridge. You can do this for the price of plywood. Also, an over-the-range microhood is no way to "update" a space. If the hood you have now vents to outside, it is a better choice regardless of its appearance, so I've saved you $$ there. Leave the counters alone. If you upgrade them beyond the builder-grade cabinetry, it will look odd. Besides, they appear to be in decent shape. I think your budget of 2K for new counters, floors, hardware, lighting and faucet is unrealistic unless you are able to do the installation yourself. All of this strikes me as a little premature. Perhaps you could paint the walls and cabs, definitely change the light box, and live with the layout for a year or two, all the while saving up to do a proper reno. By that I don't mean a horribly expensive reno, but one that improves form and function. Any changes you make now will improve the look of the space a little, but there's no point making cosmetic changes until you know how the space works for you. Best of luck whatever you decide.
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benjesbride, thank you for the suggestions – I appreciate all ideas. I should have included an earlier render of the layout in the TV room (including the largest double recliner we’ve found but not purchased). I’ve added it below. To give DH his dedicated coffee making area, buehl put a coffee bar in the tv room, suggesting we make it a combo snack bar (love this). Yes, this room is for TV viewing only, but also works as a small man-cave (other than the coffee bar) – we have another tv in the Great Room. We’re going with a double recliner because: We don’t entertain - it’s just the 2 of us; Not there now, but as we age, circulation issues may arise, so legs/feet in elevated position; Wish to make this room about comfort for DH, thus, a (double) recliner. In the current location below: the recliner won’t obstruct the passthrough view as it sits lower in both positions. It’s the perfect location – I can easily see DH and talk to him at the passthrough (or close it off for noise buffer)! This is DH’s dedicated room, and he loves the ‘vintage industrial’ look, so we are building the tv/coffee-snack bar as a large cabinet. I built furniture, refinished antiques, and was a decent woodworker 2 decades ago, so have experience, and DH can build pretty much anything mechanical/metal. We intend (for now, plans change!) to go with a distressed copper countertop to make the coffee bar masculine/bar-like for DH, add shelving to display his man-tiques (masculine antiques/collection), enclose the mini fridge, snack, and bean storage areas, and I’ll refine some of the industrial look to go with our whole-house décor. As you wisely mentioned, that’ll be a narrow room and I’ve been very concerned about this. We’d marked it off with painter’s tape, but that’s not adequate. Last weekend we brought a large (temporary) sofa from storage to the room, got his huge tv hooked up, and have loved the set-up! The distance is perfect: no scanning the tv (moving eyes side to side for complete viewing), and in the reclined position, the higher position of the tv will also be perfect. We’ll build vintage wall lights at each side of the recliner. cpartist suggested a mantlemount, and we are keeping this option in mind to raise and lower the tv. Later, when all is done, we’ll decide if we have room to add simple seating if DH wishes to have a hangout area with more than 1 friend at a time… as well as more wall display areas. Tho’ I love the idea of a window to view the herb garden, windows aren’t conducive to tv viewing (on weekends during daytime sports). If you see any flaws in what I’ve described, please point them out to me! Thanks!
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Thanks so much for all the great input! @einportlandor - I get it! :-) I'm really, really uncertain about the peninsula which is why I was really pressing for input. It does seem a bit awkward to me.. just sort of unnatural. I do like the extra countertop space... can never have too much of that. I might just end up adding one more cabinet next to the dw and keep my pub table. We like the counter height seats, if it becomes problematic in the future, we can always get a lower table. The view is better from counter height though! @rantontoo, @benjesbride & @bpathome - the wall between the DR and kitchen is loadbearing and has hvac. Expensive to remove. Regarding the view: We have a better view from the LR slider and from 3 seats in the DR, we have that view too. I know the DR looks pretty dark in the pic I posted, but it's not that bad. It gets tons of light from the slider in the LR. Since the windows in the kitchen and the LR face west, we have solar shades and use them in the afternoon to cut the glare and heat. We wouldn't lower the window. Here is a picture from the table which shows the tennis courts and clubhouse in our view. It really is a small ocean view.
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blfenton
12 years ago
I can't comment on the actual kitchen plan as I am having trouble reading it.
However, I, personally, would not want my mudroom/laundry room open to my kitchen that much. A door way is fine but open that much, no. It means I would have to keep it neat and not smelling. Our mudroom/laundry room has ski stuff, smelly shirts and cleats from ultimate, my wet running shoes and dripping running jacket, long underwear and running shorts etc drying on the rack because they can't go in the dryer. Not a pleasant picture and one I wouldn't want to look at when cooking or eating dinner.

Just one "form" thing that I don;t like and that is the cabinets that come across from your fridge. They look like they are going to fall over. Oh I think you are removing those -yes?
NatalieChantal
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks blfenton. Yes, all the cabinets are coming out. So you think I should build a wall between the rooms? The thing is, I can't change which door is used for the front door, and it leads straight into my current kitchen/future mudroom. So, should I just accept that it will look awful when in use and at least block it from view from the kitchen, if not to incoming guests?

I'm sorry the plans are hard to read. The pics of the plans are kind of fuzzy, but the last pictures are just photos of my space so maybe those would be easier to read. If I could I would make those the first pics in the album, but I couldnt figure it out - maybe I'll goo play with it some more and try to solve it.

Thanks for the input - good point to consider!
houseful
12 years ago
I think you will regret keeping the mudroom that open from both the front door and the kitchen. If you made a 42" hallway from door to kitchen and closed up the kitchen side, you would still have an 8 foot wide mudroom.

Are you trying to avoid moving doors and windows? If you made one large window in the kitchen, you could put your frig on the end by the other door, the sink in the middle, the range against the mudroom.

I love your wood ceiling, btw!
dancingsams
12 years ago
Overall, I really like what you are doing. I have a ModernAire copper hood and love it!

If you want a bit more division between the mudroom and kitchen, instead of a hallway, and instead of an open shelf, you might consider making that a set of hanging cabinets with glass doors on the kitchen side.
NatalieChantal
Original Author
12 years ago
Awesome thanks for the feedback everyone! Houseful, yes I am avoiding structural changes as much as possible. We have a log home and are unwilling to cut it up too much, so whatever doors and windows and major walls are there, are there to stay and none will be added. DH refuses to even consider making more. So that's why my current layout took me months to plan, also because I really want the range in the island so I can look into both the LR (there is a door at the far end of the DR looking into LR) and the mudroom while I cook. I was keeping it open because DH will want to bring it small projects to work on in there, and we might out in a small table for the kids' arts & crafts, and that way I can keep an eye on everything while in the kitchen.

Dancingsams what copper finish is on your hood? After getting samples we are going with the Antique Copper, it looks so pretty in person and does NOT show marks as the brushed and polished samples do. Can I ask you for your hood specifics? Size, island/wall, blower etc? I've only seen these online but fell in love before even planning the rest of the kitchen. There is a picture online of a brushed copper wall hood with lip band, "straps" and rivets, and I want that exact design in an island hood and the Antique Copper. Quote so far is 6k and I have nothing to compare it too... Does that sound right to you?

Thank you so much for all the feedback!

Total kitchen reno, help please!

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winomama22

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