Seeking input on kitchen redesign
Hi GW'ers!
I'm seeking input into this design. 4-person family with young kids, one cook. Below is a drawing of our current layout and the plan that's not quite to scale. We're removing the wall between the DR and kitchen to open it up and will extend the countertop and peninsula down to have more work space and breakfast bar. We're also closing off the center hall and relocating the coat closet and will sink the fridge and upper/lower cabs & mw into that space.
Pantry cabs seem like they're a hike, but I don't like pull-out pantry cabs and this is the only space I think I can put shallow cabinets. It's not a huge kitchen, so I don't think it will be much of a problem.
Uppers will be to the left of the sink only, including an easy-reach corner cab. We'll have a couple open upper shelves to the right of the sink to avoid the "cabinet in your face" situation for anyone sitting at the wall-end of the peninsula.
A friend mentioned we might consider moving the doorway to the family room down a couple feet to avoid the seating at the end of the peninsula blocking the way of traffic. Does it look like this might be necessary?
Any thoughts or advice on this or any other part of this design is welcome. Thanks!
Comments (9)
mama goose_gw zn6OH
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoI think the FR door will be fine--there is space to swing around as one enters the kitchen. As a matter of fact, there is also space for a wider fridge. Young kids grow fast, and start eating more. A 12" square measures ap 17" on the diagonal, so you'd have more than 36" between the corner of the fridge and the corner of the peninsula. It's looks as if you might be planning to make the cabs beside the fridge deeper than standard, which is a great idea.
Click to enlarge.
Another thought, with an island. The fridge blocks the bathroom entry somewhat, and you could have a second door or swinging doors to further separate the bathroom from the kitchen. The work aisle would be the NKBA recommended minimum of 42". There's space to extend the island up to 24" for another seat, or to move it over, and a small corner pantry for frequently used items.
I'd suggest making the trash pull-out 18", and adding that to the cabinet to the left. 18" is much better for drawer space than 12".
greenbeetle
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Humbly Seeking Kitchen Layout Input on New Build...
Comments (16)livewire - Thank you SO VERY much for the plan! I loved it but my hubby instantly saw issues with the oven/micro combo right by the doorway to the hallway and the formal dining room. Hubby couldn't visualize the island for some reason. The guy who jokes at me about my vision skills cannot see what you meant. I think I know exactly what you meant, and the island would be LOVELY! Misiwa - thinking it over about moving the micro/oven combo. LisaA - I like your design, but unfortunately we are planning to go with a counter depth refrigerator. Do you think it could be pulled off with a counter depth fridge instead of a fully integrated? I haven't ordered our fridge yet, so you have given me something to think about! BP - You sound like my mom, lol! So worried about dishes and utensils. I appreciate the concern, it makes me think about something like Lisa's design with the main sink not in the island.... Jdez - Thanks for the vote of confidence. By "like it is" do you mean the original kitchen or something that has morphed since that point? Sena01- I personally really liked your idea. My husband just thinks I would miss my cabinetry on that side. Thinking it over... Okay, I hope I did not leave anyone out! I want to thank each and every one of you for your input and especially those of you that took the time to draw my kitchen out or design it on a computer program! I apologize for not being on here sooner. My tooth is killing me, and my daughter started back to school today. Had an emergency call from my builder and had to drop everything and meet him earlier today. Safe to say, it has just been a Monday! You guys really are so helpful. I am open to more ideas or critiques......See MoreSeeking Kitchen Design Input!
Comments (25)Hi All - Finally got the kids back to school yesterday, and had a moment to rework plans based on input - thank you! I was very tired Saturday night and probably shouldn't have gone online because I wasn't in the right frame of mind to accept the critiques!! My apologies, you are all so generous with your time and talent that I wanted to get that off my chest before anything else :) When I get to my office today I will try to scan my drawing and upload, but let me get the jist of what I have worked on out based on the original plan and your input. 1) reworked the powder room/pantry area to include w/d in the powder room (basically where pantry is) - the reason for the w/d on this level is because there is actually a basement level below this with two bedrooms/baths, and it is that laundry I don't want to carry up two floors to the other w/d. 2) moving the w/d gives me that whole space for a larger pantry - I will remove window there. 3) moved range down towards the window on the right as recommended, and increased space between range and sink. Also will have three windows on that side of range (I think, might make adjustments for shear wall) 4) ok, big decision made. I was silly to be insisting on eat-in area with dining room right there!!! I walked through the house and saw for myself that was short-sighted. So I am no longer stuck on that. 5) also walked through house and decided that my curved staircase was not only a big expense to build that I don't need, but interferes a bit with the kitchen - sooo 6) squared off stair wall and am thinking of something like upper/lower cabinets closest to dining room, then r/f (30"/24" respectively), then microwave in upper cabinet (more eye level) with lower below, then a prep sink??? , then a small counter which makes the turn where I can put two stools (can't quite let go of the eat-in!), and running the counter into the family room with perhaps a bev center or desk or something built on that wall. Any thoughts on that would be great, and I will try to upload my drawing (of course I did it on trace paper over plan, so it might be tough!!) But I will not give up - Thanks again!!...See MoreRemodel of my teeny kitchen - seeking input!
Comments (30)Wood floors - We put in natural Sassafras floors where the new kitchen is going - no stain - stain will DEFINITELY need touching up sooner than later in a kitchen. Sassafras is a light-colored wood with interesting grain, but it is soft (just barely harder than pine). Natural Maple is light-colored - very little grain though, so it is a more modern, clean look. Ambrosia Maple has character - worm holes and darker streaking. Where the new floor meets the antique Fir floor in the DR we will be adding a decorative strip between (probably Walnut and Ash). We hand-finished all our floors with Tung Oil; the benefit is that any wear-and-tear can easily be touched up with a bit of steel wool and new oil on just that area, rather than needing to re-do the entire floor. Search this forum for Tung Oil - there is one thread where I posted all the details on how to properly do it (April or March 2011). River rock tiles - the average price for those is about $10-$12 / sq.ft. Your link is in Polish Zloty, but I don't know the current exchange rate. I'm not Jewish, so I don't know the rules, but I agree that a small oven sucks! We have a 37" wide vintage Chamers Range, and the oven is SMALL! If I cannot get a separate baking center (where the laundry is supposed to go), we'll be putting one extra 30" electric wall oven under the counter in the island. Not so convenient, but a necessary evil - we NEED the counterspace, so wall ovens are out in our small kitchen. My kitchen is an "L" with an island - open fully on two sides to DR and FR; the cab walls are only 12' and 13'6" long. I am still able to fit a separate 33" fridge and 33" freezer, an extra 27" 3-burner electric cooktop with storage below, the 37"w Chambers range, one smaller 21-24"w sink with double dish-drawers next to the range, and a large 36"w sink for pots and pans and prep (next to compost drawer) on the island. Both sinks will be at least 9" deep, the smaller one maybe 12" deep because that will be the dish sink. Do you need 2 separate dishwashers? What about a double dish-drawer unit? They take up less aisle space when open, and for us the benefit is that smaller loads can be done more often, rather than waiting to fill up a standard D/W and running out of coffee mugs and spoons in the meantime ;)...See Morekitchen layout - seeking input
Comments (5)MarshallV, I recently had architectural plans put together and the concept is similar. I would post a pic of the drawings but have no idea how to do it. We have created a large counter top island just off the wall that will house our range and hood. Behind the main island will be a smaller 2' wide x 7' long island that will act as a wet bar are with wine refrigerator and flanked by two columns. We are doing this to create a divide between the kitchen and large family room. From either the kitchen or family room you will be able to peer through the feature still creating the open feel concept but also offering separation. This made additional sense for us since we are bumping out the back of the house by the entire length and are installing flush beams. Therefore, we needed to include at least the one support beam. This also helped us to incorporate a nice architectural feature. look at the landing page for wood-mode and you can see a depiction. Here is a link that might be useful: Wood-Mode cabinetry...See More
sheloveslayouts
6 years agoI tried to find a way to put the kitchen in the dining room and the dining room in the kitchen. Not sure if this drawing is self explanatory. Maybe it'll spark more ideas.
I created a small hallway by putting a closet outside the powder room. Moved the driveway entrance to the window and put a window where the present door is to move traffic around the family room. Kitchen has an oven stack, cooktop and fridge on the entry hall side and an attached island/ peninsula with a sink and dishwasher. I widened the opening to between the living room and the new dining room and moved the back door to across from the basement door.
Anyway. I just played around with it while watching Survivor :-)
Lavender Lass
6 years agosheloveslayouts
6 years agogreenbeetle
6 years agoBuehl
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agogreenbeetle
6 years ago
Buehl