Please improve my tiny kitchen design!
We have a split-level home, and on the lower level is an office, a guestroom, and a rec room area with a dark and claustrophobic bar. We want to turn the bar into a bright, open, small-but-useful kitchenette for guests. The space is 96” along the back wall, 95” along the side/exterior wall. Ceiling height is only 84” in the kitchenette area, due to plumbing above.
A rendering below shows my tentative plan for the space. We’re doing this mostly ourselves, on a tight budget. Can you give me any advice, and especially about these 4 issues?
1) Sink placement: We'll have a TV where you see the framed picture in the rendering, and it will be mounted to swing toward the room; this is the only possible TV spot in the rec room. Having an overhanging, swiveling TV seems dangerous for banging one’s head if the sink is below it, so I've planned the sink closer to the window near the far corner. If we use a blind corner cabinet along the back wall, and a 24” sink base cabinet next to it under the window, a small sink would fit with a view out the window. (The window is located 12.5-49” along the exterior wall; so, adjacent to the blind corner cabinet, the 24” sink base cabinet will be underneath the right half of the window.) Is that OK, or is there a better spot for the sink?
2) Wall cabinets & awkward corner: The window molding is only 12.5” from the back wall, so if we had wall cabinets along the entire back wall, and if the wall cabinet was 12” deep with 1” for doors, then the cabinet would overlap the window molding. We’d need some sort of space at the corner. In order to avoid looking claustrophobic, I was thinking of stopping the cabinets about 12” away from the exterior wall, and having 12”x12” shelves in the corner (3 shelves shown in the rendering below). Any better thoughts of how to handle that awkward corner?
3) Cabinet depth over fridge: We need as much storage as possible, but I think a 24” deep over-fridge cabinet would look weird in such a small space, since it’ll be twice the depth of the 2 neighboring cabinets. Would using a 12”deep bridge cabinet over the fridge look better, because it would give us uniform depth with the other cabinets, even though it'd be harder to reach?
4) Cabinet height / crown molding: In this kitchenette nook, the ceiling is only 84” high. Should we plan to install the wall cabinets at the ceiling height, or down a few inches with a slim crown molding on top? 84” ceilings minus 30” wall cabinets minus 36” base cabinets/granite leaves 18”. Should we keep the full 18” space between base and wall cabinets, or take 2” for molding at the top?
Thank you so much for reading. Any advice is appreciated!
In case it helps to see the real space (in the beginning stages of renovation):
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Comments (27)Hi Rosie! Thanks! Using the front room for dining is a great idea, however we DO use our front room quite a bit as well, because when I'm cooking/cleaning or watching a movie with my daughter, my hubby can go up front and sit in the sofa with our dog and read, so it functions as a quiet "away" room (Sarah Susanka, anyone?) but he can still feel connected to us. And vice versa. That's also where our fireplace is, and we like to hang out there, especially when our families come out from the east coast to stay with us. I think we looked into it being a dining room, but the proportions didn't work. Ah, the joys of small urban living! Maybe I should post that plan too! However, I also love hearing about your lack of need for a prep sink. Does your husband or anyone else use the kitchen at the same time as you?...See Morecan you help with the layout of my tiny kitchen! please???
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Comments (21)OK, so it sounds to me that you are trying to do this little kitchen on the sly. I'm going to say you need a drain for a washer/dryer and sink. Yes you have one where the sink is now, but I'm advocating moving the sink. If it is possible to move the window near your sink, I would. I'd put a stackable washer/dryer in a cabinet to the right of that window. I'd have lower cabinets along that wall with a corner easy reach wooden lazy Susan. Then I'd put the kitchen sink under the next window (yes, have the window above the sink). The dishwasher to the left of the sink and then more cabinet space, then a counter depth full size refrigerator/freezer also in a cabinet (which could have an icemaker) and a pull out cabinet. The seating area would be in the middle. In the space between the doors, I would put pantry storage. It might have to be two 42" wall cabinets stacked on each other with extra depth (yes, you can do that). Check out Starmark cabinets. They've got all kinds of great organizational cabinets and even a bread board. Their reputation is good and they appear to have quality cabinets. I know about them because I'm designing a new kitchen for my small space and have researched about 40 cabinet manufacturers. You could have your microwave under the counter or on top. Code requires a landing space within a certain number of inches from a fridge, which is why I put some between it and the sink. It's always nice to look outside while at the sink. Also, it's probably not that much to move the windows up or replace them (worth the money). Smaller appliances cost as much as the full sized ones, so I wouldn't compromise on the fridge/freezer. All this being said, if you cannot move the windows, then I would put a storage cabinet where the current sink is, a bench seat under the window, then sink, dishwasher, stackable washer/dryer in a cabinet. Left of the next window would be a refrigerator and cabinet space. The seating area would still be in the middle. The narrow depth pantry space would be the same as previously mentioned. Since the whole area is small, it's not far from the fridge to the sink and you still have landing space around everything. Good luck with your project! Oh, and you can get counter top induction cook tops (2 burner) and wonderful convection microwaves, both plug into regular wall outlets. I get that you just put those windows in, but it's still better to replace the one near the current sink than to have a horrible layout. Can it just be lifted the 10" you need, having it start at counter top height?...See More
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