I saw this magazine at Borders last weekend. Atomic Ranch. See if you can find it, maybe it has ideas for you.

Also, did you see Sarah's House on TV? Her last renovation was a 60's backsplit. I loved it. See if you can find it on HGTV's site.

{{!gwi}}

Thanks! I'm not looking to preserve the 60s look like poster dmwbcc; I'm just looking to maximize the functionality of that shape/size kitchen.
I love Sarah's House and will have to start recording it. They don't seem to re-run that as much as shows like House Hunters, which seem to be on every time I turn on HGTV. :)

My friend did a gorgeous gut job in his split level. The key was taking out all walls on the main (middle) level. No pictures but this is the best I can describe:

He took the floor down to the concrete and acid-washed it to a leather look, then opened up the ceiling to the vaulted, beamed ceiling. Open railing overlooking the lower level where windows run along the back of the house.

The refrigerator, oven, pantry and wall cabinets are on the exterior wall. Parallel to that is a long counter that runs to a wall on one end. One more long counter running perpendicular on another exterior wall. Without barstools there was room to put a long Ikea dining table in the open space before you get to the railing.

I had never known split levels could look so cool and sleek.

We are in the middle of renovating the kitchen & dining area of our 1979 split level-entry home (stairs going up & down from the front door). We have 2 small kids and were really lacking storage and usable countertop. There is an entrance to the kitchen at the top of the stairs & one into the dining room towards the back sliding door. It was an L shape with a pantry closet, fridge, & range on one wall the sink & dishwasher on the other. That left 2 empty walls with nothing. We took out the pantry closet and put in a broom closet, moved the fridge down, added a deeper cab above the fridge, moved the range over giving us room for a corner lazy susan and a bit more countertop. We took out most of the wall between the kitchen & dining room. The remaining empty wall we placed a pantry cabinet and to the left of that an open shelf cabinet. There will be a peninsula of cabinets being put in there between kitchen & dining room. The microwave going under the open shelves and on top of the counter. The remaining wall will hide the micro from the dining/living area. The peninsula & pantry are going to provide a lot more storage for us, much more countertop, and a place for the kids to pull up at the counter. We also took out the big rectangular fluorescent lightbox and installed 2 solar tubes in that recess, and recessed lights around the perimeter. I can already tell this space is going to work so much better for us and we'll be able to see the kids better in the other rooms while we are in the kitchen. We really tried to utilize all of the space that we have. I will post some pics when we are done, right now it's a mess (Mostly DIY project as well).

kdw-I am doing it! Our 1960 split level-- kitchen has 3, yes, 3 doorways-back door, to dining room and to foyer. Kit is in front of the house. Also has three big windows and it is 10 x 18 for the kitchen and eating area. Big skylite in cooking area. Unfinished attic above kitchen.
I don't want a 60's k- I want a modern one.

I did not want to give up my formal dining room, actually an 'el'. I do not like open kitchens. I like kitchen messes private while eating/entertaining in d.r. No, I don't want company while I cook.

I was worried that we'd have to eat standing up! BUT the solution is great-drum roll, please.

On the blank wall of the eating area we are installing cabinets, floor to ceiling, 12 to 15 inches deep. Open wall in the middle, 31 inches wide, for a tv and two shelves below it for a computer, phone, etc. Under the shelves will be a 30" wide, flush to the wall, rectangular kitchen table, 56 or so inches long--jutting out from the newly cabineted wall.

I hope I have clearly described this. I don't know how to post anything, photos or drawings. If you have 12 or more inches from the blank wall to the beginning of the window, it could work. In our case, we needed new windows anyway, so we made the windows smaller and drywalled the former window area, about 5 inches, so we can have 15" deep cabinets

I'm most excited about this new cabinetry. I am going to make one 'hip high when standing' drawer into one with file drawers. Our mail gets dumped into the front facing kitchen and I'll better manage some stuff with file folders. And after 33 years in this house, I will have a tv in the kitchen.

I once saw a new kit in a raised ranch. At the top of stairs they removed the wall that went across the kit. (One structural beam was put in place at the living/din corner). An L shape of cabs and appliances started immediately to the left of the opening at the top of the stairs and went around the back wall. Then They did a large island with stool on the side of island where wall would have been. Din stayed open as it was.
I am not fond of raised ranches but this one was so different it was really nice and functional.

I just redid my 1950's kitchen in my split level. We kept the L_shape configuration. I am able to have a table that seats four on the empty wall. Some neighbors used the empty wall for more cabinets and a penisula by opening up one wall.

Thanks! I am excited that there are some good options out there!

funny, but one house we saw has almost the exact same kitchen as the cover of Atomic Ranch magazine. Same color/style of cabinets, and a miniscule oven. The owners must never have cooked; it's all in pristine condition and it's older than me. :)

I love that oven on that Atomic Ranch cover - any idea who makes it?

I've always liked split-level houses - they make the kitchen and living room feel more attached to both levels, being only a half-staircase away.

Splits that date from the 1960s often have oversized (for typical modern usage) dining rooms that can be reappropriated to the adjoining kitchen.

I LOVE Atomic Ranch! I stopped buying it cause I become so love sick over everything it it, I sit and groan as I read it and then I feel sad I can't have my mid-century dream house!!

My inlaws have a split level that used to have a tiny kitchen. There was a wall and the dining room was on the other side of it. They took the wall down completely, I think maybe they extended the outside wall out a little? Not sure. Put in a center island, took a closet out to add a pantry. It really opened the space up nicely but if you like a formal dining room then this is not a good idea cause now it is just one huge open space.

Here is a project I did in a 1950s development of ranches and splits. This is a ranch but the splits only vary by having half a flight down where the stairs are and half a flight up where the hallway is. This was originally enclosed.

The wall betweeen the old dining room and kitchen was removed, but that was the only structural change in this area. It was a very limited budget project.

Before (stairs are to left of photo)

Before: wall to right removed. Refrigerator was freestanding in corner to right.

Conceptual drawing: there were some changes made in the final design.

Check out the finished kitchens blog. I especially like what honeydiy did with their kitchen reno. Looks like some form of split level plus an addition.

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens Blog

Cool!! Thanks for all these ideas!
Palimpset, that "before" is nicer than my current "after" kitchen, and the "after" is really pretty.