Any chance of re-locating that bathroom you currently have in the laundry? 2 reasons: 1) the laundryroom could also double as a mudroom to drop off coats, etc. (and maybe the outside door could go there?) and 2) it would get the bathroom a little further from your kitchen.

Outside of that, a dividing wall in front of that door, with cubbies on the door side would keep the hats, shoes, etc. in the "mudroom" and out of the kitchen.

Any chance you can embed the picture in the message? You'll probably get more responses if you do. [I tried to find the HTML code or the the direct link to the picture (w/a JPG extension), but no luck. You probably have to be the owner to get that info.]

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

Right click on the image to get the image location:

{{gwi:2108573}}

(1) Are you going to tell us your budget is $12.50 Canadian?
(2) Even if its ugly, can you perhaps post a few photos from inside?
(3) Can we see the second floor plan?

Dang!

What are the dimensions of the walls/doors/closets/windows in the kitchen & "mudroom" area?

What are the distances b/w the walls/doors/closets/windows?

Is there currently a wall b/w the kitchen & mudroom (it doesn't look like it)?

What are the individual dimensions of the DR & LR (same type of dimensions asked for in the kitchen)?

Is the "walk out to deck" the back/main door you mentioned?

Is the parking area right next to the deck?

Is it possible/in the budget to... Relocate the parking area if it's in the back?
Bump out the "top" wall to make it flush w/the PR/Laundry Room?

Putting a door in the mudroom would be great my only challenge and then of course cost is relocating the bathroom. It is a big asset having a bathroom on the main floor.

Someone also mentioned moving the parking, but I a probably one of the 5% who actually has parking and the city in my area will not allow any more residents to obtain parking or modify what they have. It easily adds $40K to the value of the home. Ridiculous city rules but they are out of my control.

Here are some pics of when we bought the house. Our furniture is more contemporary.

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2323/12582290/22382130/371432572.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2323/12582290/22382130/371432565.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2323/12582290/22382130/371432555.jpg

I was thinking along the same lines as rubyfig about putting up a divider wall to make more of a mudroom area. I'd want cubbies, coathooks, and a message area. Something like this...

This plan minimizes the structural changes necessary. I'd prefer it if the wall at the end of the peninsula could come down to make that opening roomier, but it may be load bearing. If it is, perhaps a column there would look better. The area to the left of the fridge could serve as additional storage for things coming in the back door, a broom closet, additional pantry space, or just regular base cabinets and uppers and a place for the coffee maker and microwave. The area to the left of the counter seating could serve as additional buffet service area, or you could put in a base and uppers made to look like a hutch.

That's a good direction to be going. It looks good so far.

However. :) If you could bring the kitchen off the right-hand wall, so that you marched straight forward to the dining room, you'd convert some really valuable square footage from zig-zagging traffic to more functional area and get traffic out of the kitchen altogether.

It would allow you to set the dump-area off to the side so that you entered through an area nice enough even for those people who don't live there and don't have to use it all the time, i.e., visitors.

If there's anything to look at directly out back, it would add a view in that direction to the living areas. If you have a patio or garden there, it would invite people out. If only parked cars are right there, then stained glass with some clear up higher, or a solid door with glass higher (to edit out parked vehicles) would also create interest, bring in light from that direction, and make your whole home feel larger.

Thanks everybody...this is helping a lot.

None of the walls/dividers are load bearing as none now acutally go to the ceiling. It is an intersting 80s reno as you can tell from the wood ceiling. They are 9ft ceilings in the living room but they actually lowered it to about 8ft for the old pot lights in the dining and kitchen areas.

The back wall is the only source of natural light with the glass door and a 3x5 foot window. I think it would bring a lot of light in to add 1 or 2 on the wall were you put the stove. Off the back is the patio and little yard.

Holligator..just wondering what software you used to mock that up?

I agree with shifting everything to help keep the zig zagging down. Don't forget the space behind your door is useful for things that are flat or very shallow--the message center or hooks to hang things could go there. How about a bench with storage underneath your proposed message center? It could be used as spot to place something as you open/close the door as well as a place to put on boots.

Also, I don't know what the building codes are back there, but most places don't encourage placing a stove/cooktop underneath a window. I also know that it is considered bad Feng Shui as well. Check out some Kitchen Feng Shui websites for ideas too. Most of the information is very common sense but we have a tendency to forget about things when we are struggling with designing our own spaces.

If you want to create some visual separation on the end of the counters, try a column or a narrow shelf unit would help do that without being too space intensive. Possibly a place for your cookbooks?

Can you switch the door and window on the parking wall?

I like holligator's LO. I think the 'kitchen' should come off of the left side so there's a straight line PAST it to the bathroom. I don't see a window on that side - that's the exterior wall for venting also.

maybe that backwall for the cubbies / coat hooks could be a 3/4's wall? A bench under the window would be nice - then boots/shoes could be slipped under it so no one trips on them. The wall behind the door could be a corkboard or blackboard for msgs, calendar etc.

if you don't need a bench to sit on etc then you could put a shallow cabinet there with shelves or drawers or both to put gloves, keys, etc. if there's a socket on that wall you could use the top for a phone recharge center.

and maybe a shallow shelf over the coat hooks would be a place to put gloves when coming in - to be found when time to leave again.

I think the back window where it is would allow more light to filter over to the 'hallway' area.

it's a lovely home - great space and lots of nice windows on the front and side also. having a lower wall toward the front will allow the light from the front & side windows into the kitchen area also. It should brighten it up and look more spacious.

Holligator..just wondering what software you used to mock that up?

I don't have design software, so I just use the drawing tools in Microsoft Word.

I didn't even notice that the wall didn't go to the ceiling--I suppose that should have given me a clue that it wasn't load bearing! So, that leaves many more options open.

I really like the idea of flipping everything to the other side, but as you mention, that could be a problem with venting. Could you add in a soffit across the mudroom area or through the bathroom/laundry room to vent out the back? Do the stairs lead down to a basement or more living quarters? This is a really interesting space with lots of possibilities, but I guess we still need to know a bit more about the limitations we have to work within.

Can you switch the door and window on the parking wall?

Yes...shouldn't be an issue.

No individual dimensions?

{{gwi:2108575}}
No seating - not enough width.

Cool. Bmore drew what I was going to suggest!

The only thing I would do is extend the kitchen even further towards the dining room. I would turn the door under the stairs 90 degrees and extend the pantry right up to that wall, and extend the kitchen as far down as you can and still have room for your table.

The only comment I have about BmorePanic's is that if it were my family, everything would end up either on the island or on that counter to the left of the door...it wouldn't make it to the drop zone. The counter that's closest always seems to end up being dumped on.

If that isn't a problem, then this might work.

Would you be willing to close in the deck to give you more room for a more substantial mudroom? You say you have a small yard, so I can understand if your deck is part of that backyard and you don't want to close it in...but I wanted to present that as a possibility.

If you closed in the deck and added it to your home's interior space, you might even be able to separate the Laundry Room from the bathroom.

Thanks everybody again. This is really helpful. Unfortunately living in the city our yard is really small so I am hesitant with 2 young kids to take away any of that space. I hate to box in that area for a mudroom as we would lose so much light and visibility to the yard, but not sure how else to create that seperation we want.

Can you add windows? I was thinking for light you might add some windows flanking the range hood. If it's not a desirable view, you could use a translucent rather than transparent glass.

Another factor against walling off that end is that when the kids are playing in the backyard you would probably like to keep an eye on them...I know I did when my kids were young (actually, I still do even though they're 13 & almost-15).

I hear you about the yard, too. We moved to the country 14 years ago (today!) b/c I really wanted our children to have a place to run & play, have their own play yard, & have camp/bonfires in the summer.

Could the washer & dryer be moved upstairs where the bedrooms are?

Do you have an upstairs layout?

No room for the washer and dryer upstairs but there is a possibility of moving it downstairs. Just wondering what you think that would gain me by moving it?

I probably will add some windows to that wall to get some more light and you are right about watching the kids. They are still very small and we always have to keep an eye on them when they are in the back. We are lucky that we live right beside a 400 acre park so that somewhat makes up for the postage stamp city lot.

I like holligators drawing. Maybe you could switch the door and window then leave the area where the coat hooks are as an open wall. That would give you a U to work with in that corner to arrange message center, closet, cubbies/hooks and you would still have the view through the back when you are at the sink?

Perhaps an internal window in addition to a separating wall? That would give you the separate space, but still give you light and a way to watch the kids out back.

Instinctively, I really want to move the bathroom out of the laundry (bathroom perhaps closer to the stairs?) and put the outside entrance door in that little room (making it a mudroom/drop zone/laundry room).

This is what I was thinking...

Personally, I really dislike PR/Laundry Room and Mudroom/Laundry Room setups...I don't like airing my "dirty laundry"!

So, I made some changes...

Powder Room:

• Removed the washer & dryer

• Moved the sink & toilet to the "top" wall

• Reduced the size of the PR to use that space for the closet in the Mudroom as well as give you more "floor" space.

Mudroom:

• The Mudroom has 54" of floor space

• Switched the door & window

• Increased the width of the window from 3' to 5' wide (bigger view, more light)

• Put a bench under the window

• Hung some hooks on the left wall

• Added a Message Center using a 36"W x 21"D base cabinet with a 21"W x 12"D to ceiling upper cabinet (to match kitchen) with no door.

  • That gives you a 36" surface for answering machine, keys, cell phone charger, pens/pencils, notepads, etc.

  • In the open upper cabinet, you could put in a chalk, magnetic, or cork back and use it to hang messages and/or a calendar.

  • The "bottom" of the upper cabinet would give you a shelf for chalk or markers for notes on the calendar and/or stick pins, clips, etc. for sticking things up.

  • The open counter b/w the kitchen & Message Center would give you access to or at least a view of the answering machine from the kitchen. You will also be able to see the calendar from the kitchen

• Next to the Message Center is a row of cubbies 48" high to (1) give you some definition of space and (2) a place to hang backpacks and store boots/sneakers/sandals/shoes. The cubbies are 18" deep.

• The closet is 5' wide on the inside so there should be plenty of room for hanging coats/jackets. It's also almost entirely in the Mudroom area.

• Note: If you're OK with 48" of floor space instead of 54", you could increase the cubbies to 24" deep and the Message Center base cabinet to 27" deep (or make it 24" and have 3" of "dead space" b/w the Mudroom cabinet & Kitchen cabinets.

Kitchen:

• "U" shaped with 54" b/w the two legs of the "U" to allow 2 or more people to work in it at one time.

• The sink side is 27" deep to give you a little more room b/w the sink/faucet and the back of the cubbies in the Mudroom.

  • The cabinets can either be 27" deep as well or they could be a standard 24" and then have 3" b/w the Mudroom cubbies & the kitchen cabinets.

  • This 3" will be especially important if you put a backsplash on the back of the Mudroom cubbies and/or a counter on top of the Mudroom cubbies.

• The "top" leg has the DW, sink, and a trash & recycle pullout. This location makes the trash accessible from the cleanup zone (sink & DW), prep zone (b/w the range & sink), and the cooking zone (range).

• Dish storage could be in the drawers of the "bottom" leg's cabinets...w/a 54" aisle & approx 30" DW door & w/baskets pulled out, that leaves about 24" to have a drawer open, you stand next to both & unload the DW directly into the drawers.

• Alternatively, you could store the dishes in the upper cabinets to the right of the range hood.

• I...

do you have cold,bad winters there? need a block from the door when coming in during the winter, rain?

some people do and some don't care. it's a big loss of heat tho.

Wow....thanks buehl. There is a lot there that I think can really help and make this work. I really appreciate everybody's thoughts and effort.

I'm also thinking of having the door swing out to give us a bit more room.