Where do the various doors/doorways lead?

How does the kitchen relate to the rest of the house, in particular, the first floor?

Are the dimensions of the kitchen space 10'2" x 12'4"? It's a little difficult to read the layouts b/c they're so dark and a little blurry.

Where is the "load bearing column"? Is it that blob near the bottom of the 12'4" wall on the right?

Sorry for the blurry pictures, I will try to post better ones when I can scan in the layouts (they are phone photos).

The door in the kitchen lead to the outside patio area. The doorway in the 'Great Room' also leads to the patio area, we are probably eliminating the one door and putting in a window wall with sliders to open up the room.

The kitchen space is 10'-2" x 19'-8" total, with the one long wall on the right being 12'-4". Adjacent to that kitchen wall is a hallway which leads to the bedrooms/bathrooms. And adjacent to the kitchen (same level) is what we are calling the 'Foyer/Sitting Room', the front door opens into this room. It used to be the old living room before the addition of the Great Room. The 'Great Room' is only a couple steps down so we can expand the kitchen into the room, but I'd prefer not too.

The load bearing column is the blob. It's about 3 feet from the end of the wall, we moved that wall out 3 feet but needed to leave the column in for load bearing.

So, right now, the kitchen is open to the 'Great Room' with a pony wall. We plan to use the 'Great Room' as a dining area (where the window wall will be) closest to the kitchen and the opposite side will be living area.

I'll try to post some more pictures of existing and better plans on Picasa.

I just uploaded better resolution photos

Here is a link that might be useful: Roemama's Sketches...take 2

bump

Hi!

I am sorry that I am not so helpful with layouts unless I am physically in the space, but our finished kitchen shares similar measurements and limitations (supporting walls...posts...beams). So, I figured I would share the link to my before and afters with you. I went a bit untraditional with my layout but it gave us a really great sized kitchen that is extremely functional. I love our galley!

Good luck working around those structural limitations. You can really make them features!

Here is a link that might be useful: before and afters galley kitch

Wow, Sabjimata! Gorgeous!

Your kitchen is wonderful! It's so light and makes great use of space. A real cook's kitchen yet beautiful in the details. I would want to be cooking in there every day!

You were very creative in space planning, knocking down partial walls, creating flow, making a dramatic change...what was your decision process on your layout?

I'm getting stuck in the limitations of my current layout, though I'm willing to make major changes (remove or replace walls, change doors and windows)...I'm still coming up with a very similar layout as to what I have now, just slightly bigger and updated. I'd really like to get more creative but am stunted...designer's block I call it.

Thank you for sharing your kitchen, now I'm wondering if I can incorporate a structural column into the design.

Bump...with better layout and pictures

In the plan that I can see, I would switch the location of the pantry and the refrigerator.

Roemama,

I think you're going to need a new thread. It would really help if you put your next round of sketches on graph paper so that people can see the scale more easily.

What I will say about the current sketch is that putting the sink, stove and fridge on separate walls in a U shaped kitchen, even a narrow one, unless it's only galley wide, doesn't usually give the most comfortable workflow pattern. It's doable in your case, with about a 6' aisle, but it's pushing it. There is a lot of sense in putting the fridge accessible to the eating area.

You might want to give some consideration to work zones. In this sized kitchen they'll overlap, of course, but it might help you figure out how to organize things. Most people have a prep area for getting things ready to cook which needs knives and other tools, cutting board, bowls or whatever you put things in that can't go right in the pot, etc. A clean-up area where things that need to be washed go. A baking area--even if you don't "bake" you probably make a quiche or sweetpotato pie or something bakish. The baking area is for your mixer, rolling pin, scrapers, staples, baking pans, etc. The cooking zone needs pots, stirrers, seasonings spices and oils that you use at the stove, etc. Beverage/toast/snack zone for breakfast, coffee, and nibbling.

If you can figure out which things you need to reach when you're standing in which spot, you'll be able to plan your storage accordingly.