Gearing up for major reno on Kitchen, Mudroom & Pantry
I am in the early stages of getting ready to renovate my kitchen, back porch & pantry. My house was built in the 1930's and was updated sometime back in maybe the early 80's. I am finally ready to get started but I stink at design and picking out things that match. I have three sisters who all have differing opinions LOL. I figured I may as well get some more ha ha ha. Anyway my plan is to have the ceiling tore out in kitchen with new recessed lighting, three layers of vinyl flooring has to be removed and I am going to place luxury vinyl plank flooring down. I want new cabinets, new countertop and backsplash. I am also converting my back porch to a laundry room. It will have to be gutted, insulated/plumbing/drainage & some type of electrical heating hooked up as well as new electrical etc. The pantry is gonna be painted, and new shelving on the right (sorry it looks so disorganized right now).
I am almost afraid of what the contractor will run into once they start tearing into ceilings and walls.
My dilemmas at the moment (which I am sure there are many more to come) is what color & type of cabinets to pick out. I do like light grey but my sisters keep telling me that I will probably get tired of looking at the grey. They say that if I go with traditional white that I can switch things up with paint color, backsplash, flooring etc. I am all over the place and feel overwhelmed because I stink at any type of design LOL. Does anyone currently have light grey cabinets and regret them? I just am so undecided as to what I want.
I have not signed the final contract with the contractor yet, that is coming real soon. I don't have a ton of money and don't want to spend a kazillion dollars on such an older home, but I also want it to look nice. I guess you could say middle of the road budget if that makes sense. I just don't want to get carried away.
I am also debating on whether to install a dishwasher. I do not currently have one, never had one.
I am widowed so figured I don't need one but everyone keeps saying I should get one. I do plan on staying in the house long term. I also don't know whether or not to place cabinets over top of the frig.
Any advice from someone who took on a major renovation would appreciated and all suggestions recommendations are also appreciated.
Being a single female I am sort of intimated by it all, but I have to put on my big girl panties and get on with it if I ever want to change things up. Thank you.
Here are a few photos of what it looks like now:
I do like this type of look though:
Comments (22)
Related Discussions
Thoughts on major reno floorplans
Comments (13)Thanks everyone for your well thought out responses. In answer to some of your questions/comments: * The dining room is meant to be "flex space". We entertain a lot for business and the entertaining is mostly dinner parties so we really like the big dining room. Others look at the plan and ask why so many eating spaces in one house? So the dining room can be easily changed to a sitting room for future owners. We are going to hang a high light fixture so it doesn't have to be defined only as a dining room. *kitchen is biggest issue, I agree with all the comments about location of range, fridge, clean-up sink, but don't know how to set it up better. We originally had the island oriented towards the breakfast area but that didn't feel "right" so we turned it 1/4 turn to present location. Does it make more sense to swap location of clean up sink/dishwasher with range? And where does that leave the fridge? The kitchen definitely needs more tweaking. Sometimes we'll eat at the island, sometimes at the table and sometimes in the dining room, I guess I need the most flexible plan. *linen closet is too small -thinking we could use the cabinets over the washer/dryer for additional storage but that needs some work. Will tuck washer/ dryer "behind" the door, like that much better. *Unfortunately powder room is part of the original house and it can't be flipped with the coat closet. One of the items we had wanted was a back powder room to service the rear of the house. Compromise is that its an open stairway down to the basement and there will be a bath at the foot of the stairs. I know its not ideal but had to stop the bath additions at some point. * Like the sliding door idea for the mudroom, which is very tight with all the door openings * Kirkhall why does the WC room need an outswing door? someone else mentioned that regarding this plan. Is that a code issue? *Jr Suite bath is working with existing bathroom footprint for toliet & shower- its a tight fit but we are kind of stuck with it. *Love the idea of the wing chairs in the dining room, thanks Our kids are all off to college so while they are not at the house on a daily basis they tend to descend all at once. We are lucky to be working with the same builder who did our previous reno and he is great at working out (on the fly) some of the issues that come when the plans don't translate to reality. If anyone has any suggestions for fixing the kitchen I am all ears! Helene...See MorePics of a Laundry/Mudroom/Pantry Combo?
Comments (18)I have asked my architect for something similar minus the pantry--a multipurpose room basically.I gave him my ideas and what I want in the room and I am going to see what he comes up with on room size and where the room is located in the house. A few of my ideas and requests for the room: (Forgive the incomplete sentences). The lockers are not what they are cracked up to be. I have them now and they are a constant mess. I think I might put a few hooks inside a large coat closet instead and room for athletic gear. I also want lots of shoe storage (2 boys and a dh with too many athletic shoes). A place for my dog bed and bowls. A door to the outside (for dirty boys to use and doggy door). Washer/Dryer with plenty of room to hang damp clothes on hangars. Counter or island to fold. Floor space for piles of dirty laundry. Room should not be a pass through from anywhere. This room is the room I am most excited about. I have a tiny LR now and fold clothes on a formal dining room table in a room I never use. I sort clothes in my family room. I figure why not give up a room I never use and devote the space to a room I will actually use. If you are building from scratch...why not put your pantry in your kitchen rather than your LR? I have aHouzz idea book with tons of pics of LR multipurpose rooms. I'll share the link with you if you want to email me....See MoreLayout Advice Sought - Major Reno Floor Plan
Comments (19)rhome410 - thanks for the suggestion around flipping the fridge / pantry area. I had considered it early in the process, but we were hoping to avoid in order to prevent changes to the dining room (wallpaper and paneled.) However, as you will see below I created an updated floorplan and included your suggestion. I think it helps with the overall functionality of the space. We considered the full range over the rangetop / wall ovens. We really like to idea of an oven that is up off the floor for both easy access and distance from small children. Also, the fact that the oven + rangetop combo is actually significantly cheaper is a factor. On the other hand, the full range makes the floor plan easier to arrange, provides ventilation for the ovens and also has the benefit of providing an excellent "centerpiece" to the kitchen appearance. I'd say we're undecided at this point. Do you think I have the right pro/con list? kaismom - thanks for the thoughtful feedback you've given on the overall flow and interaction of the spaces we're designing. I completely agree that this is one of the most important aspects of the design process and is also one of the hardest to figure out since it can be difficult to visualize. Let me give you a few more facts that I haven't already provided. First, we live in the Boston area (not VA). The funny thing is that we used to live in VA - up until about five years ago - so I know what you are talking about! Given the combination of relatively few truely hot days and the fact that our backyard has mostly indirect light except for in the early morning, we aren't to concerned about to much light heating up the house. The back wall of the kitchen that faces the backyard does face southwest, so I'd expect great morning light and then indirect light as the day goes on. Second, your suggestion about casual family dining is an excellent point. We were thinking that the island would be the center of family life in the evenings (homework, dinner prep, dining, clean-up.) You will see below that I've created a revised floorplan and added a placeholder for a table to the plan. My thinking right now is that we wouldn't add the table - but it gives us the option. You make some excellent points about how as the kids grow older, all being seated facing each other might be a valuable habit - I'll keep them in mind. Third, you suggested I consider how we interact with the house / yard today. I'd say 90-95% of our entrance / egress from the house happens via the garage. This is in spite of the fact that we have three other entrances (including two in the backyard.) Now that you've suggested I give this careful considering - I don't expect this to change much - so this is probably the most important entrance to get right. The second priority would be the backyard, as the kids get older I envision more time (especially on the weekends) being spent playing in the backyard. In fact, this consideration is why we are having so much consternation about giving up the side view. While not having direct access to the mudroom from the backyard isn't ideal, I'm not sure we can have both the side view and this access. Adding a door from the backyard into the garage or coming through the kitchen wall adjacent to the garage won't work because there is a bulkhead access to the basement in that corner that cannot move. That's unfortunate since this would have been an excellent solution - thanks for the suggestion! palimpsest - you asked about the right front room. It is currently a room that gets little use. We'd like to eventually turn this into a library / study of sorts since the idea of a formal living room doesn't appeal. Adding the powder room of the central hall would reduce the room dimensions from 17x18 to 13x18 - I was thinking this was still adequate space for the use we envision. Perhaps a little more of a rectangle than would be ideal, but still a space we could make work. What do you think? bmorepanic - Excellent point about the double french doors. The more my wife and I think about it, the fact that they swing creates space problems and also makes it difficult to have screens on the doors. I don't see that much opportunity to have both of these doors wide open with no screens as it's either darn cold or there are to many bugs around. Given this, we're leaning more towards a sliding door. The fact that it isn't centered on the hallway isn't all that big of a deal to me, but I'll keep an eye on it when I can get some renderings and make sure it doesn't look strange. I'm still thinking about the idea of moving the fridge to the wall adjacent to the garage. Biggest concern about this is that it moves it farther away from the family room and backyard entrance. Maybe this reduces the convenience factor? However, it does create some benefits around allowing open counter space across the whole backyard wall and what feels like a more convenient work layout. I'll keep this in mind. If you get a chance, take a look at the layout I'll provide below and let me know what you think. sundownr - it's great to hear the dimensions of your space and that you find it functions well. Very encouraging that we will eventually find a solution that will work for my family. Also great to hear you eat at the island and enjoy it - this is what we envision today. Also, the photos are helpful - thank you for providing them. As you mention, I see you went with the full range which solves the wall oven problem. We like the idea of wall ovens for their convenience and also like the ideas of deep drawers under the cooktop for pots and pans, but both the convenient floorplan as well as the asthetics of the full range certainly appeal. We're still undecided there. New Revised Floorplan: I've incorporated some of the suggestions everyone has provided in this update. Still isn't perfect, but I'd be interested to see what people think. Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions!...See MoreMudroom/Pantry/Entry Help!
Comments (13)Ours are on the way in (same flow as yours from that door there) and they are used. It's not always neat but it's tucked away off the main thoroughfare like yours so even if the shoes aren't under the bench you aren't tripping over them. I really like that aspect. You could also swap the lockers/closet to where the bath is (size depending) and put the laundry where the lockers are and the bath where the laundry is. That would give you a larger laundry and smaller locker area. I would definitely add windows to that back wall. It would be filled with natural light and never be a dark space (unless it's actually dark outside). I would probably even have that door with half or 3/4 glass in it. :D...See MoreRelated Professionals
Philadelphia Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Bensenville Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Mount Sinai Interior Designers & Decorators · Henderson Architects & Building Designers · Lexington Architects & Building Designers · Erie General Contractors · Euclid General Contractors · La Grange Park General Contractors · North Highlands General Contractors · Magna Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Manchester Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Cherry Hill Kitchen & Bathroom Designers · Langley Park Cabinets & Cabinetry · Parsippany Cabinets & Cabinetry · Riverbank Cabinets & Cabinetry
5 years ago
5 years agoIt looks as if you have voided corners. I would make the back wall a straight run on the left, which will make it easier to add a DW. Just guessing at the length of the wall to show the general idea:
Sue thanked mama goose_gw zn6OH- 5 years ago
Thank you all for your comments and advice, it is very much appreciated. I met with a design person from a local cabinet company on Saturday and he sent me some preliminary concepts.
@Bob W - Thank you, it was my husband's vest that he wore all the time and I don't have the heart to remove it as he always hung it on the chair when he took it off.
@User - thank you for your input. I work for attorneys so I am going to have them review the contract prior to signing. I meet with the contractor next week.
@Patricia Colwell Consulting - Thank you. I am going to get rid of the oversized pub table as well as the small bench sitting under the mirror. I plan on putting a much smaller standard height square table and/or rectangle to sit maybe 3/4 people. I am a cooker so I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. As far as storage, I have more than enough as it is just me.
I do have a dining room (below) off of the kitchen, which after the kitchen is complete, I may or may not put a small dining room table in there. It is empty right now. I have had it both ways over the years (i.e. dining table and I also had it as just another sitting room). It never really got used as a dining room. My budget is around $50,000.00 so I would like to stay around that. Considering the house was built in the 30's. I have been getting bids for the job for over a year now and have had contractors bids from $45,000.00 to $75,000.00 but that also included the back porch and bathroom. The bathroom has already been completed. The contractor that I am going with (I have not signed the contract - meeting next week) has bid the job at around $45,000.00 including materials. We are supposed to go over specifications when we meet. I have a detailed list of my specifications which need to be included with the contract.
@Design Girl I'm not going to change the layout, other than I am going to extend the cabinets over a little i.e. on the other side of the stove and also extending over to the doorway to the back porch door. I have also asked him to send me an image with white cabinets as well.
As far as the LVP flooring, I have it just about in my entire house. Unfortunately when I started renovating back in 2017, the only wood flooring in the house was a mess and could not be salvaged when I tore out carpeting, so I opted for the vinyl plank flooring because it was within my budget. Would love wood flooring but I just can't afford it.
The wood floors were a mess and I also had a large iron metal return vent where you see the plywood square. I wish I could have salvaged the wood floors but they were so damaged with nail holes, digs, cracks etc.
This is my current vinyl plank flooring:
I have to say that I do love my vinyl plank flooring. I also put vinyl plank type tile in my bathroom and even my best friend who likes the finer things in life, thought that the bathroom tile was marble. She had to take her shoe off to feel the floor LOL. As far as tile, I had ceramic tile flooring in my bathroom prior to remodeling and I ended up with 3 cracked tiles from dropping stuff (I am clumsy), so that is why I opted for the LVF.
The cabinet company sent me some computer images of what it would look like in grey. I do not like the countertop. Also, I want the cabinets to go to the ceiling with crown at the top. My ceiling are an off size. Right now they are 8'9". I want the ceilings tore out so that I can have recessed lighting installed so the top will changing depending on how far down they come with the ceiling after tear out.
Thank you all very much, any suggestions and/or comments are appreciated as I am all over the place right now. - 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
I also have that lovely NOT LOL - chimney going up in the middle of the wall. Gonna place a much smaller table in front of it and also get rid of small bench and maybe place a small buffet/sideboard in that little niche next to fridge with another mirror above it.
Something like below:
Sina Sadeddin Architectural Design