The Galley, Koher Vault, Stages, Poise etc.
palimpsest
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (14)
The Coveted Kitchen
6 years agopalimpsest
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Please Help! Another layout question...
Comments (42)I would turn the table 90o to prevent conflict with the basement & foyer doors. The trash is far away from the Cooking Zone and not all that convenient to the Prep Zone if someone is at the main sink. An open DW door will be in the way of anyone working at the prep sink or range. I would be afraid of backing/bumping into it w/a full pot of boiling water, etc. I would switch the DW & trash. That would solve both of the above issues. An open DW door is also in the way of the path to/from the refrigerator & range. However, I don't think anything can be done about it with this sink/range/refrigerator configuration since it will be in the way regardless of the side of the sink it's on. However, I would prefer to have the DW over by the refrigerator..then I would consider it an acceptable compromise. (My open DW door is b/w the ovens & everything else, but the ovens aren't used nearly as much as the prep area and when I am baking/roasting, I don't check it as often as when I'm cooking on the cooktop.) It's nice to see the WD near the range, but I think it will pretty low to the ground if it's under a double oven. I would want it higher off the ground for ease of use...at a similar height as either the top or middle drawer in a 3-drawer base cabinet. Is the seating overhang at least 15"? You have a lot of empty space behind the seats so you should have no issues with at least the recommended seating overhang. Actually, if I were in your position, I'd probably do an 18" overhang since I find that even w/a 15" overhang it's not enough when I sit on the edge of the stool (a quirk of mine that I often sit on the edge...actually, I think it's b/c my feet are flat on the floor when I sit on the edge, more comfortable than having them perched on the wood supports on the stool). You only have a 37" aisle b/w the wall & island, but I think that will be OK b/c no appliances open into the aisle other than the ovens in the corner...and the aisle is actually 46" at that point. After all, many interior doorways are only 32" or so. Actually, with the exception of the table/doorways aisle, I think you have good aisle widths. You see, taking down most of that wall makes a huge difference in what you can do with your kitchen. In effect, you've made it much wider! Since you have a prep sink in the island for prepping, I even think the Appliance Garage will be OK. You'll still have at least 24" of work space to the left of the range. It looks like 18" on the right, is that correct? If that's a 33" cabinet for your 30" ovens, consider making it 31" or so to gain a couple more inches there. I like to see at least 24" of workspace on each side of the range. If you decide to go w/the 48" range, then you could have a 30" drawer base on one side of it for a 30" warming drawer at a better height. I like the Mudroom. You're concerned about pantry storage. I can see why. You seem to have pantry storage scattered around the kitchen, will you be OK with that? Do you think you'll have an issue knowing where you stored what? I wouldn't want to have to check each pantry when looking for ingredients. But, if you can assign certain things for each pantry (e.g., baking supplies in one) and you and your family are disciplined enough to stick to it (I probably wouldn't, I admit it!), you will probably be OK...but be honest about yourself & your family! BTW...here was a rework of my layout w/the door to the office & PR......See More"Ledge" sinks and accessories -- do you use them?
Comments (44)All good comments and things to consider. Having a 45" sink would be nice but couldn't work with my Ikea cabs. The drainboard allowed for a minor mod and use of two base cabs rather than one large one. I find the drainboard very useful. I love cleaning and chopping veggies in that half. I like being able to slide them to pans in the ledge below. I like having the water and soap right there for my obsessive hand washing. You can still accomplish a similar arrangement with the other sinks you're looking at, but with less space. My use of the ledge evolves throughout the day. Right now I have a dish drainer in it with clean dishes. If I'm cleaning a lot of veggies, I'll first use it for all the debris so I do not have to let it get stuck in the grid. A garbage bowl can be used instead, but this is so easy and the trash/recycle is in the pullout below. I thaw most meat in the fridge, but do quick thaw fish, pork tenderloins, and chicken breasts in the plastic accessories. They are the perfect size, are right there to drain and refill with cold water. Since they are raised I still have room on the grid below for other items draining in colanders as I work on the drainboard side chopping. I mostly keep the other side for dirties, cans draining, and water use by others. The drainboard came in very handy during the holidays for opening and cleaning large, messy items, like turkey, ham, and tenderloin. The ledge is a clean part of my sink so keeping those items out of the basin is a plus for me. Of course, I disinfect before and after. I always open my meat packages there to keep the mess as contained as possible. I like that the sink becomes my command center and I pretty much do not need to move much. I take recipe items from the pantry and fridge that is just across the aisle to the right. As I finish each stage of prepping I move the trays of prepped food to the counter behind me. DW is out of the way to the left. I only go a few steps in each direction. I mention this as layout to suit your cooking style, minimize movement, and stay out of the paths of others help make your prepping experience good. A large sink surely helps, whichever you can fit and afford. Critical to my good experience with the Stages 45 is the Kohler Karbon. It is a wonderful faucet that greatly enhances my time at the sink. All said, we can adapt to our equipment and make the best of what we have. If your cooking style is mis en place, I think you would use the accessories....See MoreFinal layout help, adjust the work triangle? Pics
Comments (42)With how little you use a microwave, I think you should do as Mama G suggested and put it in those cabinets next to the fridge. I don't know if it's still being made but there used to be a style called Spacemaker that would fit in a 12" deep upper cabinet. It sounds like something like that would work well for you with your limited use. Another plus for putting your microwave next to the fridge is that this frees up that lower micro-drawer space for your every day dishes. Mama G is right about the hutch above the peninsula creating a two-step process for putting your dishes away. Drawers in the peninsula sized so they can be open when the DW door is open eliminates that problem and would make putting dishes away super-quick and easy. You really don't want the dish storage in drawers on the other side of the sink as that puts them in the prep area making it difficult to do clean-up while DH is doing his prep in that area. Also, the drawers in the prep area should be used for things DH will need while prepping like colanders, bowls, knives, and other gadgets he uses regularly. Don't plan a traffic jam into your kitchen. If you want to put your mixer in the appliance garage on the peninsula, and I think that's a good location since you want that for your baking area, I think you should consider putting the toaster and coffee on the shelves to the right of the fridge. You really don't want them to the right of the sink in the prep area either. Imagine DH making breakfast for the family and the grandkids want toast, everybody else wants coffee, and DH has to interrupt his prep or move everything he's working on elsewhere to allow folks access to toaster and coffee. This is another traffic jam you're planning. The bookcase idea looks great to the right of the fridge. If you can't bear the idea of putting the microwave, coffee and toaster there, you could put it all to the left of the fridge. To be clear, I think it's more functional to the right of the fridge so someone can grab a cuppa coffee, make toast, and use the micro without having to come into the kitchen while DH is cooking. Or while you are cleaning up. It's just really nice to keep these things out of the kitchen proper while people are working in the kitchen. In your space, the second place for function, imho, is to the left of the fridge. It's not a close second. But it's a heckuva lot better than putting it all to the right of the sink. Regarding your two bookshelf designs, I do visually prefer the one with the shallow lower. However, I think the full-depth lower with the coffee and toaster on the counter with a micro-drawer makes the most sense for how you live, especially when family is visiting. Do you know what the width of the aisle is between bookcase and peninsula with the full-depth lower? You don't want to create a bottle-neck there where someone can't leave the kitchen while someone else is coming in. 42-44" is a decent width to provide egress/ingress at the same time although some folks prefer wider. But then you don't want the peninsula so short it's not usable. It IS a bit like putting a puzzle together, isn't it?...See MoreWhat would you want in your "downsized" dream home?
Comments (54)DH and I are also thinking about downsizing someday, now that we're empty nesters. Our home, while not huge at 3200 sf, is still very labor intensive with its all-brick floors, all adobe walls, 4 patios, 4 fireplaces, a 300-foot long (gravel, curvy, up and down through the trees) driveway, and several acres of land, in the mountains, achieved through a mountain pass that can get very icy during Winters, and at least 20 minutes from most stores. The realities of what we ideally would like versus what we may need is a real wakeup. When my parents originally downsized from our family home with bedrooms enough for nine kids, they bought a Winter home north of Tampa with 2 bedrooms and one bath. It seemed ultimately practical to them at the time, as my parents were very athletic and Mom was looking forward to not having a large home to clean for the first time is many, many years. But, the reality of it was sadly different. It made it very difficult for any of us with kids to visit them comfortably. At the same time, they also had a Summer place up on Lake Huron in Michigan. That, too, was small, and made visiting difficult. So, the sad reality was that the first 20 years of their retirement were spent pretty much alone, as all of their children lived in Michigan (6), Atlanta (1), Colorado (1) or New Mexico (1). We all had small kids and many of my siblings did not have the funds to put their families up in a hotel for a week, along with the airfare for them all. Mom's health took a bad turn, they sold their Florida home and moved in with my one sister and BIL's large two story home in Atlanta. But, Sis immediately had to have a stair climber put it, as stairs were too difficult for Mom . . . and eventually Dad, as well. When Mom's health progressed to a point where my sis could no longer take care of her, less than two years later, (Mom had Progressive Supranuclear Palsy), we again moved them, this time into a senior living apartment back in Michigan near the majority of their now-adult kids. This was good because it had round-the-clock staff to call if needed. It was also designed for seniors, being a one-story apartment with any tripping hazards eliminated, a walk-in shower with a seat, call buttons, wide doorways to accommodate walkers and wheelchairs, etc. So, what kind of retirement home do I see us downsizing into? Somewhere close to at least one of our kids and their family. In a community designed for retirees. 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Hopefully wide doorways, etc. just in case, God forbid, we ever need them ourselves! A gourmet kitchen, but it doesn't have to be a large one. Open concept. a great room, instead of our now separate family room, living room and dining rooms. A walled backyard for privacy . . . and this may be our biggest compromise. Having lived here in the mountains, where we all have enough land so that neighbors daily noises aren't heard, it may be very hard to be subjected to close neighbor's music, conversations, etc.. That worries me a lot!....See MoreOaktown
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agosherri1058
6 years agoRCKsinks Inc.
6 years agopalimpsest
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agocluelessincolorado
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoNothing Left to Say
6 years agopalimpsest
6 years agolesliekatzman
6 years agopalimpsest
6 years agoMilly Rey
6 years agolesliekatzman
6 years ago
Related Stories
KITCHEN DESIGN10 Tips for Planning a Galley Kitchen
Follow these guidelines to make your galley kitchen layout work better for you
Full StorySELLING YOUR HOUSEKitchen Ideas: 8 Ways to Prep for Resale
Some key updates to your kitchen will help you sell your house. Here’s what you need to know
Full StoryARCHITECTUREHouses Exposed: Show Your Structure for Great Design
Why take part in the typical cover-up when your home’s bones can be beautiful?
Full StoryMOST POPULARIs Open-Plan Living a Fad, or Here to Stay?
Architects, designers and Houzzers around the world have their say on this trend and predict how our homes might evolve
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNWhy a Designer Kept Her Kitchen Walls
Closed kitchens help hide messes (and smells) and create a zone for ‘me time.’ Do you like your kitchen open or closed?
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNOpen vs. Closed Kitchens — Which Style Works Best for You?
Get the kitchen layout that's right for you with this advice from 3 experts
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNA Designer Shares Her Kitchen-Remodel Wish List
As part of a whole-house renovation, she’s making her dream list of kitchen amenities. What are your must-have features?
Full StoryMOST POPULARHow to Choose the Right Kitchen Sink
Learn about basin configurations, sink shapes, materials and even accessories and specialty sinks
Full StoryLATEST NEWS FOR PROFESSIONALSHow the Island Is Shaping the Kitchen of the Future
Pros weigh in on why the island is turning into the superstar of the kitchen — and where kitchen design is headed
Full StoryKITCHEN DESIGNHave Your Open Kitchen and Close It Off Too
Get the best of both worlds with a kitchen that can hide or be in plain sight, thanks to doors, curtains and savvy design
Full Story
Milly Rey