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tinekerr

Help with kitchen layout please

tinekerr
9 years ago

Hello,
I would love some help with a new kitchen layout. We have just moved into this house and hope to be here for a long time (after having lived in 6 houses in last 4 years). We are a family of 4 - 2 adults 2 boys, 7 and 5. I cook all of our meals during the week, husband likes to help at the weekend.

My goals for the remodel:
- obtain functional bottom cabinets in sizes that we can use (current ones are weird tiny sizes that nothing fits into),
- obtain more space around stove for comfortable prep and plating separated from clean up zone,
- make better use of space in house and create more open layout
- lastly have it be super pretty and of course clean!!

I am working on keeping budget low, looking at veneer cabinets at Menards. Function is definitely our priority.

So here are my plans (the sketches are to scale, sorry I don't have graph paper but could get some)

And a couple of photos (please excuse the mess, we are dealing with a very pleasant blocked basement drain!!)

Looking from dining room to kitchen:

Looking from garage door through:

My notes for the "NEW" plan (see numbers in circles):

Overall extend the kitchen by 3.5', doesn't sound like a lot but I think it meets our goals and I can't really see an alternative that fits in with our constraints, 2 windows and maintaining formal dining room, can you?

1. Remove wall between kitchen and dining room but keep peninsula for the counter space and bit of separation from dining room. We eat all our meals - everyday and holiday - there.

2. Remove upper cabinets over the peninsulas, also remove existing soffits, new layout will have 4 wall cabinets only on back wall

3. Move stove, I can only fit 30" between stove and sink, but I'm hoping that with clean up space on opposite side of sink and long counter after stove on left side that this will be enough for comfortable prep and plating, & husband can make his guacamole on other peninsula in comfort!!

4. Move fridge to open up space

5. Add bench seating & bookshelf for homework, art, breakfasts and lunches etc

6. Create "mudroom" - bench with cubbies, coat hooks, bag hooks etc in passageway between garage and rest of house. Everything (groceries, muddy children) will come in through garage!

7. Desk/ table in one of these locations with microwave, fruit bowl, and drawer for placemats!

In the kitchen I plan to have 2 bases of drawers and the rest simple cabinets. Wall cabinets in glass. Hood over stove.

Questions:

- Is there a better use of the space? I can see the option of running cabinets down back wall instead of peninsula and having table orientated other way, but I think I want to have a formal dining room

- My husband wants seating at the peninsula between dining room, my m-i-l has this and I dislike how the stools are on top of the table chairs, and how people are sitting right on top of food prep, also it cuts room up even more. I want to leave it out, do you think thats a (costly) mistake?

- What is the main advantage of wall ovens? For me its more oven space (cook turkey in one, veg in the other), option to use small oven for baking or pizzas and also cleaner look? I feel like I can't justify the expense and am planning on an electric stove, do you think thats a mistake?

This is probably a once in a lifetime chance for me to remodel a new kitchen and I'd like to get it right.

Thanks

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