Really want to improve my kitchen layout…
lisakro
9 years ago
I was hoping to get some ideas as to how to layout my kitchen. I have read a ton of posts but haven't seen any similar layouts. I would like to avoid major construction and keep appliances where they are if possible but am open to any ideas that would improve the space. I love having a table for family dinners and don't want to have the only option for seating at an island but would love at least 2 stools for island seating. Right now the kitchen is crammed for 2 people to cook in and very choppy with 3 separate areas. I have a pond in the back and would love more windows along the back wall. Also have a deck off the kitchen that would be better with a slider but don't want to give up my table. Putting stools on that side of the peninsula is crowded with table. I have considered adding a bar with stools on the family room side but right now the range has an island hood. I am looking to replace cabinets and floor but keeping appliances. We are a family of 4. I definitely need more storage than what I have now as I have overflow in the basement with platters and small kitchen appliances. I love the look of no upper cabinets with just windows above but really need storage space. I cook every night and the family spends a lot of time in the kitchen together. Any ideas would be so appreciated
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Hillside House
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Anyone want to help me design my kitchen layout?
Comments (12)Okay, now we're cooking. So, this is the layout of our little house. We don't live there yet, we are gutting it for a total redo. This is what the floor plan will be when we are done. We can't add to the footprint r/t our proximity to the river and we don't really want to anyway. It's about 1100 sq ft. total. We are retiring here (someday:) and this is our last remodel so we are committed to doing it the right way, no cobbling or short-changing quality/desires. The living room will be knotty pine walls and ceiling in a honey pine finish from Buffalo Lumber in New York. My DH has his heart set on it and it's okay with me. Seems to suit the setting. Of course, the kitchen and living room need to work together. The entry will be the honey pine ceiling with whitewashed K.P. on the walls. Now, they offer a darker stain called fruitwood that I'm also considering for the ceilings. I've seen it on Houzz and LOVE the look. As in this: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/by-hardrock-construction-traditional-laundry-room-toronto-phvw-vp~37184) [traditional laundry room design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-laundry-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_753~s_2107) by toronto general contractor HARDROCK CONSTRUCTION The doorway to the entry will stay where it is drawn..just enough to end the cabs and allow for door trim. The doorway to the porch can move E or W just a bit and the south cabs can shrink a little. The opening to the living room is wide open to possibilities. I would like some type of peninsula set-up there for daily meals and putzing on the laptop, etc. On special occasions, we'll be setting up a table on the 'river porch' as we call it. I cook from scratch a lot. We grow gardens so fridge space is necessary. (I like the idea of a counter-depth fridge) I make big shopping trips mostly and also buy in bulk for lots of items. I will have basement storage for that kind of thing. An 18" DW will be fine for the 2 of us... don't mind doing dishes by hand and kinda want a Dishmaster faucet. We do recycle and compost, so some kind of plan for that space would be good. Let's see: The only appliances I'd like out are my kitchenaid stand mixer, my food processor, my coffee pot, toaster and coffee grinder...wouldn't be opposed to an appliance garage for the last three. Oh, and the knife block or some other easy access solution for knives. Love open shelves for my bowls and whatnot... have them now and find them very useful. We have a 39" wide green Chambers stove: that is more mint green than the pic shows (at least on my computer)and will be on the south wall. The only window is over the sink on the west wall... the river porch will be solid windows facing south but the kitchen proper just has the one. If I could keep the window centered it would look good from outside, but the further to the right the sink goes, the better my view. (or the wider the window gets, but 4' wide is about it... possibly a little wider) I'm trying to cover all the things you guys always ask people so I'm not wasting your time. And I hope I'm not being presumptuous in thinking you all will help me... :) The flooring for the whole house other than bath and master is leaning heavily towards marmoleum ploughed acre with some thoughts of a small diamond inset design in the kitchen just for a little fun. Our budget is... well, I'd love to get this done for less than 20,000. Anything more than that makes me feel itchy and nervous. Not a huge fan of granite but having said that, we are repurposing some granite and quartz stones from a wall in the kitchen for the fireplace surround in the LR. There is a lot of red granite in there. The prev. owner worked at a local quarry in the 70's, so there is granite galore on the exterior. As far as appliances, we'll be purchasing a fridge/freezer or an all fridge/freezer drawers or something. An 18" dw, range hood and sink. Don't use microwaves. What else can I tell you? My mission statement is: I want my kitchen to function efficiently, be easy to keep clean and organized, feel like it belongs to the house and will inspire and energize me. I hope someone can help. Should I upload a closer view of just the kitchen?d Thank you!...See MoreWant your ideas on my Kitchen Layouts!
Comments (13)Thank you all for your ideas. Yes, mama goose_gw zn6OH -- I struggle with moving the refrigerator back into the old position. It would be a little better without the pennisula that tightens up the space so much right now -- but it worked out to such a nice design on the bottom wall (yes, not as functional, but nice). I can't give up the pantry cabinets to have a rolling cabinet in that space (on the bottom wall next to the oven). So I struggled with the layout this morning and came up with the following. https://www.flickr.com/photos/55684220@N04/20404381375/in/dateposted-public/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/55684220@N04/20404383395/in/dateposted-public/ This puts the refrigerator back in the original position - but leaves a space about 10" between it and the corner cabinet. Only have one choice with Ikea -- an open 9" "wine cabinet". This puts the pantry cabinets on either side of the wall oven. (Will this be a problem for heat??) I really love an island -- it is my extra work counter/storage. yeonassky The rolling island idea could work, if I had a spot to store it. But, this would cause me to lose both my wine cooler and at least a 24" drawer cabinet that I was counting on. practigal - the "closet" is a little misleading. It is really just a shallow space (about 18-24") with wire shelves. It currently has a folding door in front of it -- so I can put any flat panel door in that space opening either way. I can't go into the back wall as it borders on the powderroom with plumbing in that whole wall for sink and toilet. Thanks for your feedback. (I am a neophyte at posting. I have now copied the HTML code from Flikr for the two photos. But I don't see the "preview button" they talk about on the help posts -- so don't know if they will show up. If someone wants to tutor me -- it would be most excellent....See MoreHow can I improve my layout?
Comments (17)Thank you for your thoughts, buehl! I had considered moving the microwave to the desk area but it seems so far away. I liked the idea of having it next to the fridge since I often will microwave something out of the fridge or out of the pantry nearby. Making that upper cabinet deeper would also work well next to the fridge wall. But again, I don't have any real purpose for that desk corner- other than junk collection and occasional dessert serving at parties. Those cabinets mostly contain school papers for my kids and host of miscellaneous stuff. My vision regarding a hutch style was something like this- minus the glass cabinetry. We use the counter next to the fridge for drinks at parties. Obviously I could change things up and our entertaining isn't a weekly thing, but it has worked well like that in the past. Actually moving drinks over to the desk area may happen since I currently keep wine glasses and other specialty glasses next to the fridge where the microwave may go. As far as the ducting in the pantry, I was thinking that I would just have them put cabinetry butted up to the ducting and I would lose the dark corner. Not a big deal if I gain better storage configuration within a functioning cabinet. The other issue is that the ceiling of the pantry does not go as high as the ceiling in the kitchen, again due to duct work. I was going to ask the cabinet maker about making false fronts or more shallow cabinets so that I can have a nice built in consistent look in line with the other cabinetry above the fridge and microwave shelf. I'm thinking I need to cut away some drywall to have a sure idea of what is behind there before he comes on Tuesday. Buehl- the selves in my pantry now are 10" and yes, I have a lot of clutter on the floor. I do have some baskets in there, but admittedly, it isn't organized. I'm sure I could make better use of the space within the closet, but I'm also thinking cabinetry would just look nicer. My problem is my dream kitchen is much larger and much more grand with large lengths of countertops, lol. Something like this But what I have space for is more like this. Buehl- Many of my older relatives had kitchens with those little shelves next the sink! I actually just read a thread where you recommended a counter top level window and I LOVE Michelle16's windows on this thread. Counter height windows. Something like that would tie into the windows we have in our kitchen table area and the bit of extra space behind the sink would be awesome! We just built a beautiful pavilion with fireplace next to our pool last summer and a view out there would be nice!...See MoreHelp with Kitchen Remodel to improve layout
Comments (23)I tweaked your space and did my best to meet space guidelines, but I don't know how feasible this is. The two big assumptions are that you'd move your laundry machines upstairs and that you'd change your formal dining room to a "study" like all the new build homes seem to have at the front of the house. I basically created an entry hall from the garage entry to the stairwell. mudroom lockers are recessed into the former formal dining room. Powder room is moved to the laundry room in as small a footprint as possible. I moved the back door to the present kitchen window and I assumed you could put a large new kitchen window on the patio wall with a clean up sink below. I was thinking the cabinet to the right of the clean up sink could be a pretty built in hutch-look unit. I think everything else is self explanatory. I hope this sparks more ideas......See More
lisakro
9 years agollucy
9 years agolisakro
9 years agoHere is the whole downstairs with dining room, living room and front hall. They are not drawn to scale but just so you can visualize. Thank you so much for your help!!
sheloveslayouts
9 years agoI rotated your drawing (a really great drawing, by the way.):
I love your table and can understand why you want to keep it. The vaulted area is neat and the light is so pretty in there, but it makes expanding the existing kitchen tricky.1) Is the door to the left of the bay window your only access to the backyard?
2) It looks like there is a hallway to the left of your fireplace? Is there a guest bath down the hall? Basically wondering, would you give up having a powder room in the kitchen?
sheloveslayouts
9 years agoMy best friend's laundry room is through her powder room, so I thought I'd take that idea for a spin to remove all the doors from your potential kitchen space:
llucy
9 years agolisakro
9 years agolisakro
9 years agollucy
9 years ago
sena01
9 years agoWhat if you keep the U, but move DW and sink to the counter on the eat-in side? I'm thinking a banquet seat behind that counter. Something like this with storage under the seat.
Insidesign Project 6 · More Info
Also, you can consider having storage b/w the studs on the laundry/bath wall (I assume plumbing is b/w them, not on the eating side).
100 Square Foot Kitchen Remodel · More Info
Drawers, instead of doors in the kitchen. Toe-kick drawers can also be useful.
Cooking Station Hardware · More Info
Uppers can be deeper than 12.lisakro
9 years ago
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