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freckles81

Help with very small kitchen layout

freckles81
11 years ago

Before moving into this house we redid the kitchen fairly cheaply using stock off the shelf cabinets before moving in because the previous kitchen was just not usable. Unfortunately we do have granite countertops that cost more than the cabinets, ideally we could sell it on craigslist. We used the same footprint as the old kitchen and since living in the house have realized that it would have been better to knock out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room so that the two spaces aren't separated from each other.

The kitchen is small about 11' x 11' and currently has three entrances which can't be moved or closed. I'm attaching a few pictures of the current kitchen and here is a link to the {{gwi:1873263}}.

I envision a custom kitchen which will help to utilize every square inch of this small space. I would rather the cabinets run all the way to the ceiling to avoid the awkward dust catching space above the current 30" uppers. Flipping the layout and opening the wall also allows for a larger 36" vs the current 30" fridge. And adding one or two large pantry cabinets in the dining room adds more much needed space for food storage.

New layout 1 and 2 are similar with the exception of sink/stove placement. The microwave also serves as the vent hood and currently is not vented outside because it's on an inside wall. With either of the new layouts it would be able to be vented outside. With either layout there will be a very narrow space between the fridge, I was thinking maybe it could be filled with a pull out spice rack. Unfortunately it seems that I would have to give up one of the two current windows. Currently we have an Ikea Stenstorp island in our kitchen. These new layouts include an island with three 24" w x 16" d cabinets and a 12" counter overhang for stools. The odd sink cabinet size is due to a stainless farmhouse sink. The wall we would be removing is a load bearing wall so there would be a visible support beam.

Possible Layouts
{{gwi:1873264}}

{{gwi:1873266}}: I'm not sure if having the stove so close to the refrigerator would be a problem. But this option allows for a window on the side allowing for a cross breeze between it and the dining room.

I did consider a third u-shaped option with a half wall open to the dining room. But that still seemed too closed off.

Does anyone see any issues with these new layouts? Is there a certain amount of space that should be between a fridge and stove? Does one seem better than the other? Additional suggestions? Can anyone think of a way that I don't end up losing a window? Open shelving might allow for another window, but things get too dusty so that is not an option.

My other concern is that the dining room has hardwood floors, the kitchen has black tile. Opening the wall brings the two rooms together, how do I deal with the transition between the two different floors? We could get rid of the tile but I feel that hardwood in the kitchen is not a good idea.

Thanks in advance for your help. I'm still in the very early thinking and planning stages and we may end up living with our current kitchen for awhile but I would love to get some other opinions on how to make things better if and when we do another remodel.

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