I can't read much about what's where... the things I can 'see' - the diagonal upper corner cab (are you having 2 of them?) - have you looked at the EZreach upper corner cabs? much more accessible. No losing things in the back or stretching to reach something in the back corner.

what are you doing w/ the blind corner?

there looks to be a wide span on the upper run - is that at the window?

how will your pantry be set up? slide outs? 24" deep is looking to lose lots of stuff...

I have no problem at all with a comfy chair in the kitchen looking out to a lake. Actually, looking anywhere - I know the need for one!

Yeah, I got a bigger picture -- I am computer picture challenged.
I will have 2 diagonal upper corner cabinets, and I am pretty much used to them (I use the triangular edges for storing multiples of the items I store down the middle.)

The blind corner cabinet will have an RO pressure tank in the corner and a pull out trash/recycle bin next to the sink. By pulling the 42" away from the corner, the 15" wide door (converted to a slide out) should clear the bank of 24" drawers next to the stove.

That span on the top is the window. I don't know if I should put in a valance or whatnot..

The pantry will be 24" deep with full pull out drawers in the bottom 6'. I will use the upper portion for bulk paper storage.

Is it worth the extra $1000.00 to get a counter depth fridge there? I just hate the thought of a huge lump in the middle of my room.

BTW I am planning walnut cabinets with brushed nickel hardware, SS appliances (I want an induction stove). I will use formica counters - Magma black. Vinyl floor to be determined.

This is mainly DYI on a budget, so no real high end products. This is the retirement home - will be there up to 20 years.

Did you consider centering the stove on that wall? Especially if you are raising those upper cabinets, the symmetry of centering it may be nice. There would be some tradeoffs with the lowers this way, but at eye-level it might look more centered on the wall. If I understand the dimensions right you could reduce the 24" lower to the right of the stove down to 18", and add a narrow 6" wide lower cabinet or pull-out for storage for cookie sheets, near the left side of the stove. Then you'd have two 18" uppers on each side of the stove. One other thing - don't forget to order/make an extra end panel to cover the exposed side of the dishwasher. Looks great and I hope you enjoy your new kitchen!

Is this better?

Not much to add, envy you for the lake view lol!

Since it is a retirement home, maybe you can consider a raised dish washer.

I don't see major flaws.

I just think that you could tweak for several improvements.

--

Q: what's your plan for the 42" base w/ 2 doors?

Big fan of drawers, instead of having to stoop down/reach into the doors.

--

1. No, I do not spending more $ to get less fridge storage is great, so get a standard depth fridge, and pull out those base cabinets on the fridge wall out to be flush w/ the fridge.

2. Then that means that the range should be more centered.

3. Wish I knew how to draw to show what I mean:

For base cabinets:

so from upper left:

- 24" x30deep pantry

- 36" standard depth fridge (w/ a full depth cabinet over it, so the fridge looks flush/built-in)

- 24" base 3drawer

- 24" base 3 drawer

- 24" base 3 drawer

- fillers

- dead-corner that corner

then turning right toward range:

- 12" pull out (oil/spices)

- 30" range

- 18" spatulas/etc

turning the corner to sink:

- dead corner that corner

- 30" base 3-drawer

- 36" single sink w/ 18" pull-trash under

example: trash pullout under sink

- 24" DW

4. You also have a lot of small uppers, which are not great for storage.

use these instead of the angled uppers:

90deg uppers

questions?

Amanda

Lots of good feedback. Thank you.

The plan for the 42" cabinet with 2 doors is to use it for all my pots and pans. My last house had a large open cabinet under a cook top and I loved the space the 42" gives me. My husband installed a great 1/2 shelf the full width and put short racks on the side walls and door for the pan lids. For the last year I have had all my pots hanging on a 24" x24" x 72"H chrome rack on wheels. I'd like to get them inside one cabinet.

I had not thought of pulling out the base cabinets -- not certain how that would work, but could certainly consider a 30" deep counter in front of the window.

I did make an error on labeling the size of the upper to the right of the stove. It should be a 24"36 upper -- not a 12X36. There is a 12X36 on the left of the stove.

The only reason we are not centering the stove on the wall is that our prefinished cabinets do not have a 6" size available.

The above kitchen is what we have torn out. Ugh....

so much easier to pull out for pots/pans, than to reach in:

easier: drawers for pots/pans

have to stoop down to reach into door-cabinets

Why can't the sink be moved? The most obvious change that should happen is swapping the locations of the dishwasher and pantry and swapping the locations of the fridge and the sink.

Right now, your longest stretch of counter is between the fridge and stove, and it would be significantly handier if that counter were between the sink and stove. Plus that would put the sink on the exterior wall, so you can have a window over it.

I assume all of this has occurred to you, so I am just curious now as to why you can't move the sink.

I can't improve upon the suggestions you've received. But if you're really running your cabinets up that close to the door to outside, please measure, measure, and measure some more. And have a plan B ready in case during install you find that your cabinet run is a tad too long to fit.

I know I'm often an oddball but I like your quirky old kitchen. Lots of vintage character. If you had fridge and range enameled to match the red on the cabinets, it would have been super-cute. Probably not very functional though so I don't blame you for wanting a change.

ETA: I agree with Jillius re sink/DW placement.

The plumbing for the sink is coming out of the wall right behind the pull out trash in the blind corner cabinet. We are built on a slab, so we can not route the trap and water supplies to the other walls without tearing out the bathtub. As it stands, if I get a fridge with water or ice, we willhave to run the water tubing behind the toekick, then around back of the range, then back around the toekick again. Choose not to run it on top of the cabinets because they are visible from the loft above. FYI, the range is on that wall so it can be vented directly outdoors. When remodeling, we have to work with some structural constraints.

Jillius - I'm not clear why it would be handier to have the longer stretch of counter between sink and stove? I thought it was logical to have dirty dish landing over the dishwasher, coffee corner/toaster between sink and range (access to water and trash), and my major food prep area between the range and fridge.

The dishwasher is an addition to this kitchen (along with half the cabinets and counters!) The former kitchen had only 6 linear feet of open countertop. In the old 9 x 9 L, we had to fit in 33" fridge, 4' of counter, the double sink in corner, 18" of counter, then the range, and the 24" wide full height pantry.

Huango - the trash pullout is exacting what I want. I have a unit that will be 2 bins deep. I got quotes on another cabinet line that had deep drawer bases, but it was over triple the cost. I REALLY wish I had the budget, but we do not have that kind of income. I'm happy to see there are not many flaws. Oh if it we only two feet wider and two feet longer!

Funkycamper -- we should have a couple of inches to spare -- but if all else fails, we can put in an 18" wide pantry. We measure again next weekend and will need to place order for cabinets soon.

Engrgirl - got a special note to remember to order the end DW panel! Thanks.

Oh, slabs. We really don't have homes around here on slabs. Too wet, I guess? I understand the limitations they cause. The reason for Jillius's suggestion is simply that most prep work is done between sink and cooktop so it's nice to have a longer stretch of counter there. I can't imagine doing prep without using my sink. Maybe you have adjusted to doing things differently?

lots of good ideas from huango - and others.

if a retirement home, definitely do the lowers drawers (I'm retirement age and believe me, if I get down too close to the floor I'm not getting back up w/o help!). I plan to have a 2 door lower cab changed to 3 drawers this next yr (for my few pots/pans, mixing bowls and plastic containers).

and the raised dw is also a wonderful idea! Much easier on the back in loading and unloading it. I'd do that if I were remodeling. I seldom use it so not a big problem for me.

Do think a lot about the aging in place changes. I don't get on step stools anymore either. If redoing a bath have inner walls reinforced for grab bars.

You can also put in a slider/drawer under the sink - a few here have done that. I put my stuff in a plastic bin so I can pull it out to get to things in the back. Under my kitchen sink things are on a large tray - again so I can pull it out and slide it back in.

Funky camper is exactly right. Typically when cooking, everyone does this in this order:

1) Get the food from the fridge (or pantry)

2) Wash/chop/mix/peel the food using the sink and a stretch of counter next to the sink

3) Cook the food using the cooktop or the oven

Therefore, if possible, it is best to set up your kitchen so everything in it is in the same order as your activities. Namely, you should place these things in this order:

fridge --> bit of counter (a landing spot) --> sink --> big counter with trash under it (primary prep zone) --> range --> bit of counter (a landing spot)

You spend the least amount of time doing #1 (get the food), so if something is going to be a bit out of the way, it should be the fridge. You spend the most amount of time doing #2 and #3, and usually you go back and forth between the sink and range often while cooking, so it is most important that their spatial relationship is good.

This is why the ideal prep location in a kitchen is a stretch of counter that is 5'-7' long between the sink and range. Having that means you can drop all the food on that counter, and then you never have to move again. You can wash, prep, and cook, all from right there because your big counter is flanked by both the sink and the stove. Aside from not running you ragged, a set-up like that where you aren't moving around and crossing the kitchen a million times also means that other people in the kitchen are less likely to cross paths with you and be in your way while you're cooking (or you in theirs). On top of all that, having both the sink and range handy to your main prep counter also means you are ideally positioned to rinse your fingers/utensils while cooking or clean-as-you-go while cooking.

In your current kitchen plan, things flow like this:

fridge --> big prep counter --> range --> bit of counter --> sink

I can only think of one thing I could cook where I'd go from the fridge, need a big stretch of counter to do a bunch of prepping, and then cook it out without visiting the sink. That is grilling whole ears of corn. I'd get the corn from the fridge, shuck it, and then grill it, and I'd never need water. So your kitchen currently would have an ideal flow for that.

However, everything else I'd ever cook that involves a lot of prep work and would require that big prep counter, I'd also need the sink while prepping. I'd be astonished if that were not also true for you.

If you leave the layout as it is, you will be going to the fridge, then crossing to the sink, then crossing back (this time dripping whatever you've just washed across the floor) to use your main prep counter, then going to the range to cook.

It's not ideal. And when you pair that with the fact that most people prefer/expect a window above the kitchen sink, AND you have lake views that you could see more of if there were a window where the fridge is? Moving the sink to where the fridge currently is just makes a lot of sense in your kitchen. Architecturally, functionally, aesthetically, and resale-y.

All that said, I understand if this is not financially feasible. If you don't have the money, then you just don't have it. I happen to have compromised greatly on very similar points in my kitchen. My main prep counter is where I have a view, rather than between the range and sink where I would have been staring at a wall. (However, it my main prep counter is right next to the sink -- it really is super-annoying not to have the sink next to your main prep counter.) And there is no window above my kitchen sink. Usually adding a window is a couple thousand dollars, and I'd have sprung for that in a HEARTBEAT. However, for us, that wall happened to be a shear wall, which is a specific type of wall engineered so the building will react in a safe way to an earthquake (we're in California). It would have cost $16,000 to put a window in that wall due to all the reinforcing we'd have had to do so as to not compromise the structure in an earthquake. Our entire kitchen budget was $15,000, soooo....

For a pic of a drawer used for casserole type dishes I'm posting a link to a smaller homes post where Shelayne posted 2 of her lower drawers. one is for those dishes and 1 for plastics. Scroll down about half way... maybe a bit more...

lower dish drawers

All this has already been said. Easy reach corner cabinets. You say you are use to them but that doesn't mean they are the best choice. Drawers, drawers, drawers. Counter between the sink and range is prime prep area.

It's funny, I showed my husband all your comments, and he was surprised that everyone was so focused on drawers! He said "you only have one real base cabinet for storage - the rest are drawers, sink, susan and trash! He did say that if I want slide outs under the 42" cabinet, I could. Since they can be retro fitted, I may just try out them without and see.

He did come up with a great idea for the pantry. Since the slide outs are nearly full length pullouts, he is adding more than it normally comes with. He will mount them about 1/2" higher than my typical cans and canning jars so I won"t have to stack cans two high like in the old house.

I will need to keep our normal size fridge for a about a year while finishing off other rooms. Perhaps I may get used to that size fridge in that cabinet run and then just get a full size SS one when the funds come in. (We converted 2 garage stalls into a LR and a bedroom - need to finish them on the insides. Now we have a 2 bedroom house-with room to add lots of closets for day to day storage. This was a 1 bedroom lake cottage with the bedroom loft over a two car garage.) We are adding year round heat too! $$$$$ all around.

It's funny --in all the homes I've had, I've never had the space to do prep work between the sink and stove....I am always carting a heavy pan of water over to the sink to drain it....I guess the food being prepped would always get in the way of the bottom of the pasta boilers.

I am lucky to have the under the stairs pantry (currently the only closet in the house). I plan to put wine racks across the shallow end and shelves along one long wall. I will put my huge pots, pans, and appliances there.

We are all so focused on drawers because we have been there and know that drawers are SO MUCH MORE functional than an open cabinet. Your storage will be more organized and much more accessible than any open cabinet. Even with pull-outs you have to open both doors and then pull out the pull out, where as with drawers just one action of pulling open the drawer. I have big 37" drawers next to my range and all my pots/pans/skillets fit in those two deep drawers. I would never willingly go back to open cabinets. I also encourage you to consider the easy reach upper corner cabinets. I chose it to avoid the "in your face" feeling of the diagonal corner cabinets and it may seem like a small change but it makes a big difference in how it feels.

loonlake: you will hear a lot of people here say that drawers are SO MUCH better than roll-outs. I have both and I don't find the opening of the 2 doors to be too onerous. But either one is a zilliont times better than rummaging around on a low shelf. And I'm not one who minds bending over to open an oven or a dishwasher, either-- some people hate that as well. I actually find my rollouts work well for nested pots and pans because I can reach in and grab a handle from the side, without even pulling them all the way open. However, for my new kitchen, I guess I "drank the kool-aid" because we have all drawers (most of the pans on their sides, so no nesting.)

Just wanted to point out that not everyone thinks drawers are the only way to go for absolutely everything.

But I agree that you can get used to a lot of things that are not optimal and if you are doing a kitchen over, you may as well improve what you can. I was happy to get rid of the diagonal uppers, but my husband wasn't sold on the easy-reach so we did something I'd call a "half blind/half dead" option-- wow, that sounds negative, now that I type it! There's a small dead area in the very back corner and a small area that is tucked away like a blind corner. We put one of those wire shelf racks back there and stack some backup pantry items there. They are not "hidden" but don't need to be at our fingertips.

It's a lot to think about. You'll get a lot of good advice here, but you do have to weigh it all and figure out where your compromises need to be. There always are some!

I tried to find pictures of two kitchens similar to yours, one with angled corner upper cabinets, and one without. Both are very similar in layout and size to each other and to your kitchen. (I wish their finishes were more similar, but we can't have everything!)

You can see that the first kitchen's cabinets are pressing into the kitchen in a way that the second kitchen's are not.

Another thing you can do to appreciate this difference is to go stand in front of an angled corner and make a sandwich (or whatever) on the counter under it. Then, go stand in front of a normal straight upper and make a sandwich (or whatever on the counter under it. How much more crowded do you feel with the angled upper in your face? Having things looming at you at eye level in particular really makes a different to how large and airy your kitchen feels.

The other difference is functional. Instead of having an especially deep upper that is hard to reach the back of and hard to make full use of the depth, you'd have this:

Also, again, I understand budget constraints, but it just seems like SUCH a missed opportunity to have a single small window and a fridge and a bunch of upper cabinets on a wall with LAKE VIEWS. I mean, by all rights, that should be a wall of windows with your sink and a long stretch of counter under it, so you can enjoy those views every time you are either doing the dishes or prepping a meal. That would mean a lovely view and lots of natural light for 90% of your kitchen activities.

Like these kitchens:

Here's an entire series of before and afters of someone who added extra windows to take better advantage of the view: http://www.thekitchn.com/kitchen-before-amp-after-reader-kitchen-remodel-186826

I totally spaced on the fact that you have lake views. I would downsize possessions and bite the bullet to pay for the plumbing changes and window install to open up the views. I would even live with the old cabinets, maybe moved around a bit and old appliances for a few years if I had to in order to afford those changes. Your lovely view is a backdrop that will vastly improve your interior, IMHO.

Let me get this straight, you're going to have your sink face a wall rather than a view of a lake because you don't want to run plumbing on top of wall cabinets in a small kitchen? I'm trying to wrap my head around this one. My house is on a slab, too, but I paid a plumber to move the sink and make my kitchen much more functional. My house is only 1500 sq. ft. so we're not talking about having deep pockets to throw at this additional expense. It was simply critical to the function of my space. Why can't a piece of 3/8" skin, purchased from a lumber yard, be used to cover the plumbing on top of the cabs so it isn't seen from above? If there's crown molding, the skin could be installed horizontal to the molding at the top.

My kitchen before the remodel had a half shelf for pots and pans. I had to almost stand on my head to see what was down there. Please get drawers. You will be able to store so much more and access will be like a dream with full extension drawer slides.

By the way, I greatly envy your recliner facing the lake.

Main Line - Your advice about the filler and end panel are well taken. My husband is intrigued about putting in a 24" deep upper over the fridge with a side panel to close it in like a built in. Would that look OK even if I have to go with a standard depth Fridge? I know it would be great with the counter depth.

Texasgal47 - Yes, I would rather face a wall when doing dishes rather than ripping up 10' of concrete slab trying to put in a new sink drain. Besides - who does dishes that long? That's what the dishwasher is for. I spend far more time on my prep counter baking, canning, and chopping up stuff. And there I will have my small window to look out. If I want to look out at the lake, I'll take a couple of steps into my dining area and look out my 7' window at the lake, as I sit at the table or rest in the recliner.

The kitchen window is a 2' wide full extension casement window - it can even be used as a pass thru to the porch.

I do have limited square footage in the house to work with. Here is the before, and the almost-after shots of our exterior remodel. The front of the house was built incorrectly by the original owner and the front face was all rotten around upper windows, down to the header over the two lower windows and the patio door. (remodeler could push his hand thru the header in spots.) Had to remove all the windows and shore it up to the peak. We added a full width porch too. The last two pictures show the old garage stalls that are now a bedroom, a living room, and the utility room. The footprint of the house is only 960 sq ft -- with a bedroom loft.

It looks like a cute place. Our first home was about that size. If you have good storage, it is a nice, cozy size for two people.

I can understand you not wanting to lose storage in that small of a house and I certainly understand needing to keep to a budget but I thought I'd throw out a few ideas for storage AND windows.

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Wow - that is an option instead of a valance over the window in the kitchen! I have colored art glass that would be lovely! I was planning to put in Stainless shelves along a backsplash was for spices in 1/2 and 1/4 pt mason jars....I thought of these by Floating Ledge...

By the way, here is the view.....

Now we're talking! Gorgeous view(s)!

If moving the plumbing is truly a no-go, then I encourage you to splurge on widening your small window. You could also put some of your more utilitarian items on open shelves if you like the looks of them like your everyday dishes, mugs, some glasses, maybe mixing bowls, etc. Or splurge on some new ones that you do like to look at!

I also think you should at least get a quote on moving plumbing. It might not be as much as you fear. And, yes, people spend far more time prepping then washing dishes these days. Yay, dishwashers! But I still don't understand how you prep without having a sink right by. I bake, chop and can and I can't do any of it without constant use of my sink. I think if you got your kitchen space more functional, you'd fine how much time you will save doing those activities. It would be money well spent.

Like I said before, I'd delay and/or find other places to save. For my own remodel, doing very slowly as we're doing it DIY, we are repurposing our kitchen cabinets and bought the additional ones we needed at Habitat Re-Stores. We'll be painting and buying new doors/drawer fronts. I'm saving about $4000 over buying new at IKEA...which is fairly inexpensive in the cabinet world so my savings over other cabinet suppliers is likely much greater.

It wouldn't hurt to price it just to see. Hope you're pleasantly surprised that it's more affordable than you imagine.

Wow! Stunning view. You must immediately move your kitchen to the porch:-)

I can show your upper diagonal cabinets vs easy-reach in my kitchen.
Before (and note the useless cab above the fridge):

After: I vastly increased storage space by bringing my cabinets up to the ceiling, putting in drawers wherever possible, and making a full-depth pullout over the fridge:

42" base cabinet (with pathetic half shelf), before:

Pots and pans drawers, after:

I put pullouts above my fridge - perfect for lightweight items like cereal and paper towels, or a little-used stock pot. At 5'4", even I can reach.

AnnKH - your before and after pix show a beautiful kitchen. I also can easily visualize what my kitchen will look like if I use some of the advice given on this board. If you were to switch the placement of the sink and range, and put a full cabinet over your sink area, you have a very similar arrangement to what I want. The added height of your cabinets was a great idea - my 36" vs the normal 30" height will be a good idea. I do use a hand held "reacher" device to get things down in any kitchen I have ever used, so the added height will be used.

Although your kitchen may be perfect for you, I see items that make me return to some of my original plans.

I would not want the angled corner lower cabinets -- that, to me, squeezes in the kitchen visually far more than angled uppers. With squared cornered lowers and angled uppers, I will actually be able to reach corner storage better (being shorter). Using the wider cabinets around the window was a good idea -- I would have made them even wider, to frame the window even more.

Although you did add length and needed storage by adding the pantry next to the fridge, the full size fridge does intrude into the room too much for me. I will pay the extra to get a counter depth fridge. The pull out for the cabinet above the fridge is a good idea.

Regarding the 42" lower, I have already had one in my old home, and it was very well organized. I guess it make a difference what is placed in the cabinet, my pots and pans either stacked well, or I had lid holders mounted to the doors and sides.

I like the yellow tone of your kitchen - it makes it "happy". I am looking for a yellow or caramel tone that will match the warm browns of my cabinets and the knotty pine cathedral ceiling over the kitchen. An enlarged picture of my old kitchen above will show the 10' side walls of the kitchen and the soaring knotty pine ceiling above.

Your house is super cute and love the location. If it were mine I would prioritize those views above all else but it sounds like you like your plan just the way it is. I hope you enjoy your new kitchen!

Instead of the diagonal corner uppers, you could do a blind corner. Your wall cabinet near the window would still be 24" wide, and next to that you'd have a 24" cabinet that goes to the wall, with a 12" door. That allows you to have a very useful 24" cabinet on your stove wall, or maybe a 30" cabinet. You said you needed 6" more inches to center your range. I have 24", 12", and 28" in my corner. I think you can see how crowded it is even without a diagonal. You also only have 12" in your base cabinet to stand to reach into that diagonal cabinet. I have an 18" base and that's tight (photo makes that wall appear smaller than it actually is). IMO, the diagonal uppers close in the kitchen just as much as the bottoms, maybe even more so because they're right at eye level.

The other thing I don't like about your layout is the fridge between windows, which will block some light.

Loonlake, thanks for your comments on my kitchen!

Some folks really have strong feelings about an angled cabinet. I chose it for a few reasons: first, I wanted to maximize my storage space, and I felt that a full super susan would be better than a 3/4 size. I also really wanted a drawer above it (since my cabs were custom made, I could do that). I have a knife insert in that drawer - one of the goals of my remodel was to minimize clutter from the counters, and eliminating my two knife blocks served that goal. Finally, I put a small MW in that corner, and the angled counter provides more working space in front of the MW.

I'm 5'4", and I don't have any trouble reaching the lower shelves in my easy-reach cabinets, in either corner. I have a great little folding step-stool under the sink for when I need to reach into upper shelves.

I know what you mean about the fridge looming out into the kitchen. My electrician actually suggested recessing the fridge into the space behind - there's a hallway there, but I might have been able to gain a few inches. We have 2 teenage boys, and we still have a lot of leftovers, so I don't think a smaller fridge would work for us. Another option I considered was to bring the cabinets on the fridge side forward, to fridge depth, but my kitchen isn't really wide enough for that.

Loon Lake- Love the recliner! The windows and views are wonderful. Where is your lake? We have a Loon Lake in Washington state...about an hour from my house :)

Oh...and I wouldn't touch a slab. Why borrow trouble? Who knows what you'll find...along with the bath tub issues. Keep the sink as is and enjoy that view!