New old house - would love input on kitchen design!
This fall I purchased a 1920 craftsman that I just love but that also needs love. I'm preparing to gut the kitchen - adjacent laundry, back entry, and half bath will be involved too. The kitchen is small with three doorways, two large windows, and a chimney. The few cabinets are missing all doors and the countertops are gross. Zero function. Oh, and everything is purple - cabinets included! Photos from when I purchased and design plan are at the end.
I've been working on design plans for a while and would love any input before I order my kitchen. I've chosen off-white Bodbyn cabinets from IKEA (thanks in large part to research here!) with Hammarp oak butcher block countertops. The floor will be replaced with hex tiles and extend into the other rooms listed above - and hopefully have electric radiant heat. I will be closing up the door to the laundry (French door that is actually part of set original to the dining room) and opening a new one in the back entryway. The budget won't allow for removing walls or moving windows, and I am really uninterested in either anyway. The chimney is shown as the blue box in the plan but will be exposed.
Since I can't place the sink under the window, I plan to leave it where it is. I'll be swapping the fridge and range because it's miserable working in that dark corner. This is also why I do not want uppers on the range wall. I plan to use butcher block for open shelving in the corner by the chimney. I'm worried about the space between the pantry and end of the sink cabinet run. I could use 15" cabinets on the end instead... Is that enough space?
There are plans to modify the pantry and refrigerator cabinets so that everything lines up - 80" pantry topped with 15", use 5" drawer at base, 60" door, then 30" door; use two 30" doors for stacked refrigerator cabinets.
I expect the chimney cabinets will have to be modified to fit. Also considering ditching the corner cabinet for drawers and dead space by the chimney...
All advice appreciated!
Comments (26)
Buehl
8 years agoAllison B
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Thoughts on my Kitchen Design? Would love input
Comments (22)Thanks for the responses! Interesting... Okay, to answer a few questions -- yes, there is a pantry. It is thru the mud room entry, and is virtually right behind where you see the wall ovens. It is in a different room technically, but close by. It's the only place we could make one fit. We had this huge kind of fridge in our last house and we got spoiled with it... BUT, I don't want it to be the elephant in the room! As far as where the microwave is located, instead of going with double ovens, I'm doing the stack with micro/convection oven on top, and oven below it. I'd be willing to nix the desk, I guess. My husband will not agree, but I'm the one that spends the most time in this room! I definitely want it to function well! Thanks for your input. Keep it coming...!...See MoreNew to the group & would love your input on my layout/renovation
Comments (10)First...with this new design you will have a lot of counterspace...so I think you can easily give up 30" for a tall oven cabinet for either a double oven setup or a MW + single wall oven. Second, lower island counters...be sure you have enough room under a lower counter for the plumbing for a sink...check with a professional on this. IIRC, there are minimum lengths for some pipes...but I'm definitely not an expert! Also, be sure you have a deep enough overhang for comfortable seating. The NKBA recommendations for seating overhang are a minimum of: 18" for table-height seating (30" high) 15" for counter-height seating (36" high) 12" for bar-height seating (42" high) If your island will be lower than 36", then I recommend an overhang of 15" to 18"...the lower the counter, the larger the overhang. Pantry cabinet...if you have a good sized walk-in pantry, then I would not get a tall pantry cabinet. They aren't the most efficient storage for pantry items b/c they're so deep. Even with roll out tray shelves things can get lost. Think about a 24" x 24" raised surface with things stacked on it...easily seeing and getting to those items in the middle (or even the back) can be iffy. I think the better idea is the tall oven cabinet. If you need to store a few pantry items in the kitchen proper, use a drawer. You might even consider a drawer for storing baking supplies if you bake often enough to take up prime storage real estate for them. Refrigerator...if your refrigerator is a counter-depth or standard-depth, you will need to be sure the doors of your refrigerator extend out past the counters on the side...that is, if you want to be able to open the doors fully! So, you can recess only up to the refrigerator carcass (box). Also, plan for a 36"W x 72"H refrigerator even if you don't have one now. Refrigerators narrower than 36" and shorter than 72" or so are become less and less common. Plan for the future since refrigerators, unfortunately, no longer outlast remodels. You will most likely need a new refrigerator 10 years or so from now, even if you're buying it new now. So, make the recessed area that size as well as build the "surround" for the refrigerator with an alcove that size. If you are not going to have any upper cabinets on the wall with the refrigerator, then consider building in the refrigerator with walls instead of finished end panels. When you have upper cabinets, I think finished end panels look better, but when the refrigerator is "stand alone", I think dry-walled walls look better...they don't make the refrigerator stand out and scream "refrigerator". However, walls are approx 4.5" wide, so you will need 9" of space for those walls. Remember, too, that counters are actually 25.5" deep, not 24"...they extend approx 1.5" past the cabinets so they cover the doors and a little bit more. This is to protect your cabinets & doors from spills...the overhang directs spills past the......See MoreNew house kitchen layout..input please
Comments (7)Thank you all for the input. Remodelfla: It seem like every house here has angled counters. Part of the reason is that we have a great view of the mountains that direction. I currently have stacked ovens but hate leaning over the hot oven door as I am only 5'2". But the new kitchen will have a steam oven with a side opening door so that will not be an issue. My favorite part of the stacked oven is the drawer right under the cooktop for pots and pans. About the freezer in the pantry, we currently have a subzero fridge in the kitchen and freezer in the adjacent mudroom which is only made tolerable because we have an icemaker next to the fridge. Lisa A: the island will probably be a little bit bigger. Our builder just dropped that in. We have yet to meet with the cabinet people. The prep sink was oriented wrong. I want to access it from inside the corner. The plan was it to be DH's space. A place to make coffee in the morning, wash and prep veggies(next to fridge, sink and butcher block top.) Also, it could serve as bar area while entertaining. I plan to have glasses in that area and keep the liquor cabinet there as well (but not accessed from the outside as show.) As far as the desk, I totally agree. We currently have a kitchen desk and it is a clutter magnet and is rarely used as a desk. I do use the printer there and a laptop which is most often on the table or counter. I mainly want a place to keep the printer, a place for pens and paper, and to hide the laptop when company comes. I was thinking of secretary desk, armoire, or hutch with hidden desk. More of a furniture piece rather than integrated into the cabinet desk, like we have now. We will have a study off the master that will serve as the main desk area. I also plan to eventually put a desk in the mudroom to serve as either/or a crafting area or homework desk area. Marcolo: I have thought about what I do when I cook. I am currently in a kitchen that is a dream for a single cook, but add a second person just getting a glass of water and it is a nightmare. My plan was to have 2 functional areas. DH's zone (and I may even mark the floor with tape haha) would be by the fridge while I am by the cooktop, near the other end of the butcher block for extra chopping, by the sink to wash as I go, load the dishwasher etc. I also placed the sink and dw close to the main eating table and close to plate, glass and flatware storage. Bmorepanic. It is a nice design, but we have a great view off the back deck and anticipate spending lots of time outside and thus want a bathroom close by. Also a desk isn't a must have. We also placed the FP more centrally for heat. We now have a woodburning stove in our kitchen and I love using it to heat just the space where are most. We are a family of 3, 2 adults who like to cook and a 9 month old. I entertain for bigger groups 12-16 once maybe twice a year. We have family and smaller groups over (4-6) maybe 2x/month. Our formal dining room rarely gets used (3-4x/year). As with most, everyone ends up hanging out in the kitchen. We will eventually have outdoor kitchen as well on the covered patio. DH (and ex�s) house is currently on the market so we are doing a 2 (or more) stage construction. We are building the basics and planning for upgrades (the outdoor kitchen where we will plumb for water, gas, sewer and leave it with just our basic gas grill for now; an unfinished basement, hold on the mudroom and laundry built-ins, etc). Once the house sells, we will complete those. Here are the plans with a little more info on how we plan to use the space. Overall kitchen placement Zoom of kitchen...See MoreNew Build - Kitchen Design Input Please
Comments (10)I think you want specific answers to your questions, so: Combining questions 3 and 5, I'd have the coffee maker next to the fridge, because I take milk in my morning coffee. For the rest of that countertop, cookie jars. Filled with cookies. It's kind of useless for the kitchen, actually, so I'd use the space next to the refrigerator for dish storage, and the rest for special servers and the far end for a bar. Question 4: That's where I'd have a small bar sink, not a prep sink. But then, I've never had a prep sink so I can't speak to their need or placement. Question 6: For that perimeter space between the pantry and the pool door, I'd probably have patioware, the melamine trays and cute napkins and iced tea glasses and beer bottle openers that you carry out to the pool, and for placemats, napkins, and candles for the dining table. Question 2: looks like a lot of kitchens, but the placement is poor, being a pass-through. But I'm looking at it from the "I'm moving into this house that someone else built, where does my stuff go?", since HOW I use a kitchen wasn't taken into consideration. I've done enough moving into existing homes and having to change how I do things. If I were building my own home, I'd build it around how *I* do things, not how a drafter, or even the neighbors, do things....See Morebanana suit
8 years agoAllison B
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHere's the layout with all dimensions.
EDIT: I had the wrong dimensions on the wall with the fridge/chimney. Sorry!
Allison B
8 years ago
sheloveslayouts
8 years agoAllison B
8 years agosheloveslayouts
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agobanana suit
8 years agowritersblock (9b/10a)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAllison B
8 years agoAllison B
8 years agoHere's dimensions for the kitchen and surrounding rooms.
This one may be off a little but is pretty close, so you can see what I'm working with as is.
Please see the edit on the kitchen layout dimensions. The numbers were read to me and I didn't double check. Sorry!
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHave you looked at any threads where they've put cabinets in front of low windows? Would that be a possibility?
GW discussions--cabinets in front of low windows.
I know you don't want to make structural changes but since you might be open to moving the DR door, here are a couple of ideas. The one on the right involves moving the door and using the space in front of the large window, but it improves the flow from the hallway to the back door, and keeps traffic out of the work area. The DW is in the corner--not ideal, but dishes can be stored in cabinets to the right. ETA, forgot to mention the shallow storage--it looks as if you plan to recess the fridge, and you can recess the storage cabinets in the stud bays for a little extra depth, too. A matching panel or cabinet door across the chimney would disguise it (red line). You could have hooks on the wall between the door and the end of the shallow cabinets for hanging skillets and utensils.
click to enlarge:
The plan on the left just moves the sink over, leaving more space to the right for prep. By leaving the range in the current location it's just a step and pivot to dropped prepped items on the top. Since you are planning an off-white kitchen maybe the corner will not seem so dark.
sheloveslayouts
8 years agoI had more trouble than usual with the planner last night and still today- it wouldnt accept the increased ceiling height so I wastn't able to try to stack cabs in this drawing.
This floor plan requires moving two doorways and maybe shifting your sink plumbing a bit (not sure) so it might be more changes than you're interested in.
The goal was to make an efficient, least disruptive path from the dining room to the back of the house and maximize storage on the wall across from your window. I didn't do anything to the dining room side of the chimney because it might be a nice place to store a step ladder type of stool and maybe hang your apron above. A kitchen cart in front of the window should still allow you to open base cabinets but can be used as a worktop and with wheels it can move if needed.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agobenjesbride, the cart is a great idea. I will shamelessly borrow that for the layout in the lower right, which does not necessitate moving the back door to the kitchen. Unless the back exterior door is also moved, space for a closet on the left is lost.
I just realized that the laundry will have to open to the back entry, if the door to the kitchen is closed off. Never mind about the closet. :[
Allison B
8 years ago
sena01
8 years agoWould you consider moving the laundry door a little to the left and re-size it? Maybe 8" b/w the wall and the door and a 36" door? Then on the wall b/w the 2 doors you can have the fridge and a pantry cab (24" with as many drawers as possible). Across the windows, DW, 30" sink and shelves in front of the chimney. I'd have upper shelves b/w the chimney and DR wall, leave the part under the counter void and have 21" drawers on 2 sides of the 30 range.
For more storage and counter you can consider a drop leaf island on casters.
Allison B
8 years agosena01
8 years agoAllison B
8 years agomama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agosheloveslayouts
8 years agomama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years ago
cpartist
8 years agoAllison B
8 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH