kitchen design help please
We've purchased a 1915 four square. The kitchen has been cheaply renovated but luckily they left these cabinets alone. The two middle doors are open through to the dining room on the other side and the dining room side has a simple nice china cabinet. What would you do with these? Paint? What color? I have no design sense! How do you post a picture here? Thanks!
Comments (11)
Dianna Word
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Kitchen design help, please?
Comments (6)I am in LOVE with this layout! Thank you so much! I did have a baking area built into the old design, so you are so perceptive! May I ask you a few questions? What does p&p mean, and how big is the island? How many inches are between the cabinet and island? I think I want to scratch the whole old kitchen and use this heavenly plan! Again, thank you. I've been told by three designers that I can not have an island, so I very much appreciate your help....See MoreKitchen Design Help Please... second try....
Comments (13)I much prefer Jillius' 2nd example of seating but honestly, I'm not a huge fan of sitting and eating at the counter as a regular habit. Why not consider just abutting a table against the island like this: [Industrial Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/industrial-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2113) by Chicago Architects & Building Designers Besch Design, Ltd. This would give you the flexibility to pull the table away from the island and turn it to seat 6 when needed. I would do a 60" long table so that the people seated closest to the island don't feel crowded up against it. Your island arrangement looks crowded to me. Here's another table against an island: [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Vancouver Design-Build Firms VictorEric...See MoreKitchen Design Help....please?
Comments (16)Since all ideas are welcomed, I'll lay an unusual one on you. I don't think you have room for an island and comfortable aisles--42" should be the minimum, but some folks prefer wider aisles. This plan has a counter across the windows and above the heater on the side wall (if the heater is staying). The counter could be standard height, or could be worktable height (34" for me, but depends on your height), with room to store the rolling cart and a stool, if you'd like to sit while prepping. If you don't feel you'd need the rolling cart, that counter would have a great view, for seating for quick snacks. I moved the tall pantry to the end of the open counter, moved the wall oven down so that it's not immediately in the entry from the DR, and put cabinets there--that would be landing space for the ovens, and maybe location for a coffee station, with dish storage above and below, near the DR. There is a counter next to the fridge for a landing space, and possibly MW shelf, but that section could be switched with the tall pantry. It looks as if that side of the room is visible from the foyer, so having the tall pantry where I placed it would block the view of an appliance (toaster, KA mixer, juicer, etc.) in the corner. ETA, KA mixer sparks another idea--the tall pantry beside the FR door could be switched with the wall oven, or could be a separate wall oven, and the long counter in front of the window a baking area. I also moved the sink and DW down as far as possible, to give you more prep space between the sink and cook top. Without an island, but with lots of floor space, you might consider having deeper counter tops, for more room on counters. YoungDeb's pivoting/rolling counter/bar: Good luck! GW discussions--deeper counters. GW discussions--EZ Reach corners....See MoreKitchen Design Help Please
Comments (7)Some things to keep in mind... Even with the Mudroom doorway moved to the Office, you still need more than 44" b/w the seats and the counter and ovens - especially the ovens! Think about trying to open an oven with someone sitting right in front of the oven - not just in the way, but also exposed to the blast of heat that exits the oven when it's opened. I would prefer at least 54" b/w those seats and the ovens, but 48" might be doable - since you have no young children. (I probably would not do it, but it's up to you.) The only Dining Room is the space b/w the Kitchen and Family Room and it appears to start where the Pantry starts - which means there needs to be enough room for a table and chairs. So, you need an aisle b/w the island (if you have one) and the start of the Dining Room table. I recommend a minimum of 48" if you plan to have a chair on the Kitchen end of the table, 54" or more if you have seats at both the island and table back-to-back. . Here's my idea. It only has one seat, but I don't think your Kitchen can support more than that - not if you want wall ovens. (Zone map at the end of the post) . "...the possibility that we may reconfigure/enlarge that space and possible change the entrance to be into our current office..." It moves the Mudroom door to the Office. I think your idea of enlarging the Mudroom space is an excellent idea! The Office doorway isn't moved, it's just made a bit smaller. It's 35" in my layout. I suggest a sliding door b/w the two rooms so you can leave it open or close it - and the door will not be in the way in either position. The Kitchen... Aisle widths are pretty good. They're b/w the minimum for a one-cook Kitchen (42") and a multi-cook Kitchen (48"). The island could be made smaller to give you wider aisles, but I didn't want to make the island so small that it wasn't worth the space it would take up. If it's too small to really work at, then it just becomes a useless obstacle in the middle of the room. If, on the other hand, it's big enough to work at, it provides useful space and is worth being an obstacle in the middle of the room. Note that it's not a barrier island b/w the refrigerator & Primary Prep Zone or refrigerator & Cooking Zone, so it is useful. The aisle b/w the cooktop and island could be wider if you pushed the island "down" 3 to 6 inches, but then the table will need to be pushed "down" the same amount. Also, be careful not to put the seat in front of the oven - assuming you keep the seat. There is also plenty of room around the table for traffic to/from the door to the outside deck, Pantry, Foyer, Dining Room, Family Room, Mudroom/Office, etc. . Island seat...there's only one seat and it's located so it's not in front of the oven and where someone sitting in the seat won't be in the way of people using the Kitchen or going to/from the Office & Mudroom. Two seats won't fit - first b/c the island would need to be another 6" wider and, second, b/c you don't want a seat that's in front of the oven or in the way of traffic going to/from the Kitchen and Mudroom/Office. If you had another seat, I'd want another 5 or 6 inches of aisle width behind the seats. If you don't want the seat, and you don't really need it b/c the table is so close, then you gain another 24" x 15" of cabinet space - it could be a 15" wide spice pullout that pulls out toward the cooktop. . It has two Prep Zones, each with a nice stretch of workspace: Primary Prep Zone...b/w the sink and cooktop. There are 30 inches b/w the sink and corner (and includes the trash pullout) + 54 inches b/w the corner and cooktop. A very nice Prep Zone! Secondary Prep Zone...on the island. There's no immediate water source, but you can turn and use the sink behind it. I probably would have considered it the Tertiary Prep Zone if it weren't for the DW in the third Prep Zone. Tertiary Prep Zone...to the left of the sink. It includes the DW and is a bit far from the cooktop, so I consider it a third option, not second. . The Cooking Zone is protected from traffic and is next to the Primary Prep Zone and refrigerator. The ovens are a bit far from the cooktop, but they're located so there's no obstruction in front of them (e.g., island or seats!) and with plenty of landing space right next to them in the 30" of counterspace to the left (with 27" cabinets - base & upper). Optionally, you could include the MW in that 30" area - I suggest hanging it from the upper cabinet if you do so it doesn't take up valuable counterspace/oven landing space. . The Cleanup Zone and Dish Storage are separated from the Prep and Cooking Zones and ideally located near the Dining Room. There are 49" of counter space b/w the sink and the end of the counter run. . Dish storage is located in both the 24" base cabinet next to the DW and across from the DW in the island. I think there will be just enough room to have both the DW door open and the drawers in the island open at the same time. I strongly suggest they be all drawers. There have been several threads over the years that discuss storing dishes and glasses in base cabinets. One caveat: If you are a tall family, you may not like dishes stored in drawers; however, since you don't want an upper cabinet on the window wall, I don't think you really have any other option. I would not try to store dishes for serving/eating in the upper cabinets flanking the cooktop b/c it would draw people into your primary work space and those people will be in the way of someone else preparing a meal (prepping and cooking).! . The refrigerator is located on the periphery and is easily accessed from the Dining Room, Office, and Family Room without having to cut through the working part of the Kitchen. It's also easily accessed from the Primary Prep Zine and Cooking Zone. It's also nicely located when bringing groceries in via the Mudroom. . Zone Map: ....See MoreDianna Word
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoOh Wow! Thank you! we got this house in August after a full year and a half of haggling with the bank over the short sale. We just loved the house. The house is solid and beautiful but needs some major cosmetic help. We've put about 40k into the outside, tearing down rotten barns, reseeding and fixing up the back yard where the 2 barns were (we kept the original barn which is in not too bad shape and used to house horses), replaced the roof, new boiler, and are currently redoing the front porch to look the same as the original. Luckily the widow of the original owners son, who grew up here, lives across the street and remembers how the house looked mostly. Here are some more pictures of the entire kitchen. I do want to keep the cabinets the same and getting a wood expert is a great idea. I hate to think of painting them. The dining room side has the original shellack (sp?) which has bubbled. My husband loves it, me not so much but I can deal. It's bubbly looking and darker in places. All of the wood on the windows and trim is kind of like that. I'm so glad that the 2nd owner (we're the 3rd) kept things as original as possible. The kitchen itself is not large, but the dining room is a good size. In the spring, we are going to re-shingle the house with cedar shingles and then paint them...no idea on color for that either but I think just plain cedar shingles would be weird looking. I will attach a pic of the house itself too. Our budget is not huge and part of that 40-50k we've spent has gone into gutters and some outside repairs, we'll be working on this house forever and would mainly like to do the bathrooms and kitchen first. The floor is a fake wood cheap linoleum and the island top is formica. The kitchen sink used to be on the wall with the windows but was moved to the island. When we do the outside in the spring, we are going to replace that window with either a picture window or some kind of bay window. I am also thinking about putting the sink back over there but don't know if that is doable and I kind of like it being in the island...THANK YOU ALL for ideas and help! We are totally lost and the one interior designer we brought in and paid wanted to paint the cabinets in 2 different colors or replace them entirely....not going to happen! When you enter the kitchen from the staircase, you have to go down 3 steps to enter the kitchen. Same with the foyer. The downstairs bathroom is also there facing the staircase. I don't know why all of that (bathroom and staircase) is raised like that but it was how it was built so there is a reason. And yes, I made my own window treatments....and they are sheets. I can't really sew either. I'm sort of waiting to see what we do with those windows before I get window treatments. The door by the stove goes to the basement and also has a tiny hallway that takes you to a door to the foyer. The other door opens to the pantry where the washer/dryer and shelves are. The third door by the windows is just a closet.
Dianna Word
8 years agoThis is the house taken when we were having the new roof put on. Also a picture of the dining room side of the cabinets, taken after I had spent a full week (and gave myself carpel tunnel maybe) scraping liner carefully off the wood. That contact paper must have been put on with cement! It turned out beautifully I think. I love the pass-through aspect.
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