Kitchen Designers Drawing, SOMETHING IS OFF, can you help?
tinker_2006
6 years ago
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rockybird
6 years agoSabrina Alfin Interiors
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Not excited about Kitchen designer's drawings HELP! Photo Heavy!
Comments (48)Thanks for all the feedback everyone! I'm re-examining the island idea. I want to answer some questions/points that have been raised. The current "cabinet guy" is also a kitchen designer and my decorator works with him on many, many projects. They both are creative and I enjoy them very much. When he met me he had me walk around the kitchen and show him what I usually do. He asked me what we cook the most. Where we lay our stuff when we come in the garage door....we come in from our garage 99% of the time. The Dishwasher...yes I agree it needs to be next to the sink. The plan shows a double sided sink but we want a single bowl, stainless. I would like to have the dishwasher over there. The two pantries...I have 4 kids...so I felt I needed quite a bit of pantry space. I HATE my current pantry...stuff is so high/deep and it takes up so much space! What I don't like about my current kitchen? Well I think its rather ugly. The cabinets are builder grade. The appliances are awful (DW, oven, cooktop). It has limited cabinet space. I want more cabinet space. I have very little storage for serving pieces, etc. I don't prefer bar height seating. I much prefer counter height. I think it is so much more comfortable and I like have one large piece of counter top. I'm drawn to an "island" because I see it being a gathering spot while entertaining and I like having it for my 4 kids to have breakfast & lunch. And no there are no windows. This is an "interior" kitchen. Up at the top are photos of the current kitchen and also there is a drawing showing the other rooms that are connected. The Ushape kitchen. I think could be an option....however...it seems odd to walk in the door from the garage and there is a long counter immediately on the right??? Also there is no counter seating with that layout. I really love having my 4 kids being able to eat at the counter for breakfast & lunch. But you would walk in and right into seating....doesn't work. BTW....no one (Cabinet person/designer/KD) is pushing their layout on me. I asked for certain things and they have made suggestions or pushed back on some things. I'm not shy about asking for what I want but I'm also not closed off to hearing opinions of those who do this everyday. Please keep the ideas coming!!!...See MoreNeed help with lighting design (drawing included)
Comments (5)Kate, I'm not ready to take on all of that, but I'll toss out some ideas for the kitchen: As to your question about recessed lighting choices, the answer is to start with the bulb. That's hard enough, because there's no one right answer; it's hard for you to get a straight answer at the lighting stores because everybody has a different way of approaching that question. Many people will, for example, make the default assumption that you'll use the relatively old-school R-type incandescent floods, and accordingly install 6" cans every four feet in almost any situation. Those R-type bulbs are diffuse enough that placement is especially forgiving. They're also the least efficient bulbs available and burn out frequently. I'm most familiar with PAR type halogen incandescents, which are a little more efficient, have a slightly cooler color of light and last about twice as long. They are also more crisply focussed than the r-type, so placement is less forgiving. You can get very dramatic lighting with low-voltage halogens, but the installation is expensive and placement is extremely unforgiving - I don't like them for general lighting. Some people will point you to fluorescents, which are great for energy efficiency; I don't have a good grasp of how to work with them. There's also the fact that these lights are expensive to reconfigure if you don't like the result, so there's a strong incentive to over-light a space. Between your personal preferences and which "expert" you talk to, there are a whole lot of potential 'right' answers. Anyhow, with 8' ceilings and PAR type bulbs, I think it's best to go for 5" or 6" cans, so that you can use PAR30 bulbs. You could do it with 4" cans and the smaller PAR20 bulbs, but I don't think they're up to the task if you want a lot of light. Spacing depends on the beam angle and ceiling height; each can projects a cone of light that's brightest in the middle; if they are spaced too far apart then you'll get dim areas in between. You might have enough light with 60 Watt PAR30 bulbs, but my Sylvania catalog only shows those in a narrow, 25-degree angle flood. I have a feeling you might be better off with a 75-watt flood with a 40-degree beam angle, but I'm trying to place the cans so that you can use either....See Morecan someone help me draw one corner of my kitchen?
Comments (6)I'm confused. You talk about the left corner...But it looks like you have a hutch on the sink wall meeting another to-the-counter cabinet next to the baking center with a dead space in the corner...So where is the space you're wondering about adding more open shelves or wine storage? Oh, wait...Maybe I understand. What I'm seeing on the floorplan is all at 2 ft deep and the uppers, being less will leave a gap...Is that it? I can try drawing it...But I can't promise it in a big hurry, because of my son's baseball game right in the middle of today, and because of Easter tomorrow....See MoreKitchen Designers Drawing, SOMETHING IS OFF, can you help?
Comments (15)Since you're going for a specific "look", I'm guessing major changes will not be considered. So, could you at least move the refrigerator to the left and the MW to the right? This will eliminate the "barrier island" issue that I see in both your layout and your inspiration picture. I'm not sure about that island, but if it's less than 9' wide, you're probably not going to have much useful prep space b/c the island won't be wide enough for 42" on one side of the sink and at least 36" on the other side. With a 36" wide sink, that would require an island at least 9'9" wide. (It looks like it's a bit over 8' wide.) I assume the island is at least 41.5" deep... 1.5" counter overhang in front + 24" deep cabinets + 1" decorative door/end panel + 15" seating overhang = 41.5" Personally, I'd want at least 18" b/w the sink and the seats to minimize splashing, especially "clean up" splashing. In our home at least, a lot more water is splashed around while cleaning up than prepping! (Of course, that might just be my DH's cleaning habits vs my prepping habits...!) Be sure that cleanup sink is very deep! With the Cleanup Zone in the island, you will not want to leave any dishes on the counter b/c that would put them front & center and on public display for all to see! (This is probably the biggest thing I have against a cleanup sink in the island. I would hate to have to make sure all my dishes were cleaned up immediately or have to stash them in the sink. And then, when it comes time to prep, if those dirty dishes are still in the sink, have to clean out the sink b/f beginning my prepping task!) Bringing groceries into the home...It's going to be a major hike to bring groceries into the Kitchen and the pantry & refrigerator from the garage! Could you add a door to the pantry from the garage? Or, better yet, extend the Mudroom entry into the garage so it's flush with the back pantry wall and have an interior door from the Mudroom to the pantry? Moving the Mudroom wall would require a bit of re-configuring b/c of the Laundry Room location (more on that later) and the "carriage garage" entrance, though. I have to admit that the "dead end" to the Pantry seems a bit odd and seems to be wasting space... Laundry Room...It's probably too late, but just in case...I would rather have the Laundry Room near the Master Bedroom or upstairs where, I'm assuming, you have your children's bedrooms. If no children, than I'd definitely want it next to the Master BR. It's going to be a very long walk to go b/w the bedrooms and Laundry Room -- hauling baskets full of dirty or clean clothes. In addition, I wouldn't want a Laundry Room located where it's the first thing someone sees when entering via the family entrance -- usually family and close friends use that entrance. I would not want my dirty laundry (or even clean) on display! In your case, b/c the Powder Room is so close to the Laundry Room, all guests using the Powder Room are probably going to have a "nice" view into the Laundry Room as well. If you cannot move the Laundry Room, can you at least add doors so you can close it off?...See MoreUser
6 years agoAnna S
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6 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
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