How large and how heavily used is the garage? Can you recess a refrigerator 20'' or 30'' into the garage?

An 18" drawer base will more then adequately hold utensils. 18" DW are very effective and from what I hear, don't hold all that much less... especially if you get a higher end European one that is engineered well. I would do as many drawer bases as you can. I waffle on the blind corner vs. the corner susan. I was going to go with a blind but ended up with a corner susan. It just fit better into my plans. I have a non fancy two tiered carousel in it and it holds all of my small appliances (food processor, all attachments, steamer, immersion blender, mixer, can opener, a ton!) I'm pleasantly surprised it worked out so well.

Johnliu, thanks for your post. I almost forgot about that possible option. DH said he would try and recess the fridge into the wall that is shared with the garage if we put the fridge in that corner; however, on the other side of that wall is the interior door to access the garage; we looked into switching that door to a pocket door but it's not an option. It might be easier just to buy a smaller fridge.

But you could recess the refrigerator at the mid-point of the garage wall, without interfering with the garage usage?

I'd think that with just two in the household, that an 18" DW should work. We have a 24" DW for six people, and it gets run once (or occasionally twice) per day.

Of the two layouts, I'd much prefer to work in the second one (with an 18" DW next to the refrigerator), especially if you are able to vent to the outside from there. I don't think the first one has enough countertop around the range. The second has the best stretch of countertop between the sink and range, right where I'd want it.

Johnliu, regarding the shared garage wall, there is a huge three door antique mahogany cabinet that is on that shared wall between the kitchen and garage that can't be moved. I use it as my pantry storage. The fridge would have to go in the very corner where the stove is now and would only be able to be recessed about 6 inches back to allow for the interior access door to the garage to still open fully and I'm not sure that it would be worth cutting into the wall like that although it would stop the fridge from sticking out so far and that's a good thing.

Remodelfla, do you think it it easier to access the full susan rather than the blind corner? The blind corner would allow the sink to be more under the window and would give me about an extra 12 inches on that wall to put towards something (blind 39x24 or corner susan 36x36). I was going to get the fancy pull out for the half susan and keep my pots and pans there. I see that some corner susans come in 33x33 but the door opening is about 3 inches smaller and this may not work so easily for the skillet or dutch oven? I see that you have your smaller appliances in there - do you also store the pots and pans in there? I don't think I have many accessories: the food processor (basement - rarely used, this is probably why), KA stand mixer (basement - brought up for the holidays and kept on top of the fridge) and a toaster (top of fridge) but when I want to use it I have to unplug the coffee maker to make toast. It would be nice to have a place for these in the actual kitchen but I have to be realistic about the footprint I have to work with, don't I?

Mnerg, I don't know why I am struggling so much with the thought of an 18 in dw. I know I want a DW and when I went to see an 18 next to a 24, my thoughts were not much difference, most visible on top with one less row for cups, glasses or small dishes but we seem to use so many more glasses during the day than actual dishes! And thank you for the comment about the best stretch of counter space - that did not occur to me but makes great sense - you open the fridge, close the fridge and you are done. The stove is in constant use while cooking and having more than just that 18 in between the sink and stove on the outside wall may not be enough and is actually a throwback to my parent's kitchen growing up - my mother's kitchen was an L and big enough for a table with 4 chairs but on the short L she only had the wall, the stove, 6 inches of counter, the sink and then the blind corner with a stack of drawers, the 24 in dw, then the fridge and a small pantry. She always complained about lack of counterspace when cooking. Personally I don't think she needed to squeeze a table in there but that's what she wanted.

Thank you everyone for taking the time to post. I appreciate your comments.

I have my pots and pans in drawers under my cooktop. I know there are + and - for both a blind corner and corner susan. People on here have debated both. I based my choice on which allowed me the best overall layout since I knew that either would work and hold stuff.

Thank you for so much good information on what you are trying to do.

Of the 2 layouts you have pictured, I much prefer the second one, as I think it offers better function. Here is why.

1) easy to get something out of the fridge and has a nice landing area between sink and fridge. There is room for someone to be in that part of the space doing prep, and they are not in the way of someone cooking at the stove. Great prep space.

2) Area by the stove large enough run of counter to plate up food for meals. (In the first layout you would have to move over to the counter area from the stove to plate your food.) Also you have a nice view through the window while standing are at the stove with the stove in the second option.

3) Suggestions. Consider a single bowl stainless sink with integrated drain board on the right side. This would visually place the sink area more evenly under the window, and also is very functional as it gives a counter area that drains into the sink without taking up space below the counter. Pick a single bowl sink large enough to get a frying pan with handle flat in the bottom. I have this from about 10 years ago, so not sure if still available.

Something like in the link blow.

Corner storage. It may be low tech, but I have a hinged cabinet that opens to ....fixed shelves. The upper is mounted at the height so that the kitchen aid mixer fits on the lower shelf. I have tons of pots and pans, and found that the additional storage was worth the inconvenience of not having a pullout.

Window--I think paying attention to your window-sill and getting one that has a nice 5-6 inch sill for herbs, ripening tomatoes, etc will add a bit of extra space you will appreciate.

Best of luck!

Here is a link that might be useful:

I had a blind corner before my remodel and changed to a corner super susan. No comparison on ease of use. I think I could probably store as much in the blind corner, but it was like going spelunking trying to get anything out. My whole family heard about it when I needed to get some seldom used item from the back of that blind cabinet. Now mine didn't have any fancy mechanism like some here have (magic corner or peanut thingy), but I so much prefer the super susan. Mine is 36" x 36". Some are 33x33, and the access to those is narrower and more difficult - not sure which you are considering.

I also wanted to mention frameless cabinets. I know you want inset, but to maximize space, frameless is the way to go. You just have to decide on form vs function... If you aren't familiar with frameless, do a google search on this site and you'll find lots of info.

Best of luck to you!

The 2nd mock up seems nice: are frig's meant to rest on outside walls..[temp variation]..don't know..I guess they say to put a range and vent on outside wall so it can be vented outside as an option...either plan seems fine-small is small-but try for a 24 in dishwasher and smaller sink-counters less cluttered-put the stuff IN the dishwasher-pronto-and you will feel like there is more counter avail.

A few decisions have been made . . . a few more questions - will it ever end? I am back to considering a corner sink although I was really against them for some reason primarily because I have heard they are hard on your back and only one person can work at the sink at a time; however, I am now thinking in my small space that this may give me the most counter space to work with AND rather than dealing with the blind corner cabinet with the pull out susan or trying to squeeze in a 36 inch corner lazy susan into my small space and a DW, I can now have a 30 inch two door cabinet for my pots and pans. The corner cabinet was the ONLY place to store them and I don't know how happy I will be navigating that opening and although I would really prefer the full susan I am having trouble getting in the 24 inch dw but I want a 24 in dw as the 18 in high end model is not in the budget. I currently have all my pots and pans in one 1-door 24 inch cab which seems to work very well for me. What are your thoughts on my corner layout? Another concern with this corner layout is that I was going to put a small microwave on the shelf; however that may be troublesome reaching over the sink now although I think I could switch around those wall cabs. Thank you.

{{gwi:1870003}}

This layout is so much worse than #2 above. Inadequate landing space from the range, inadequate prep space even with a corner sink, open shelving above the range (where you normally store things that are not very sightly) and cabinets with doors rather than drawers???

Marcolo, don't hold back now! :-) Although I don't fully follow . . . Layout #2 is really no longer an option unless I give up venting the stove to the outside as that layout places the stove on the inside wall which has the garage on the other side. That said, with the corner layout I have 40 inches to the right of the stove being on the outside wall and 34 inches to the left of the fridge not including the corner sink cab. With Layout #1, I have 18 in to the right of the fridge and 24 in on one side of the stove and 9 on the other side of the stove and for Layout #2, I have 24 inches to the right of the stove if it is placed on the outside wall so I am thinking I have more countertop run with the corner layout - I know it's hard to look at the drawing without the measurements of each item. There are no open shelves other than the one shelf in the corner which is where I would put the micro but that is a glass door cab above the dw to the left of the window which happens to be next to the stove. The stove has a cab with a range hood - nothing open above the stove. As far as the drawers v. doors . . . I have only one cabinet to work with for pots and pans and I feel that I can jam more stuff in a door cabinet since I can stack and stack and stack as I do now. I do all my work now over the one 24 in cab with the 1 door and 1 drawer. The drawer holds all silverware and tools, the single door cab holds all my pots, pans, cookie sheets, salad spinner, etc. This is all I have to work with and I was considering the corner sink as I don't have to fight a corner cab to get to the pots and pans. The footprint is only 110x101. With this explanation, do you still think this layout lacks function?

I like #2, with the sink and refrigerator on one wall and the range on the other. I have only two drawers for everyday flatware and gadgets, the rest of the tongs and spoons and spatulas live in crocks by the range. I would think a 18'' dishwasher would suffice for two. If you can recess your refrigerator a few inches into the wall, and/or use a counterdepth model, it would not loom into the kitchen so much.