I DESPERATELY NEED KITCHEN HELP
Short background story - I have been dealing with some very serious health issues for the past decade. I was stuck in bed for almost 4 years - and couldn’t live in my house for the past 8 years. I FINALLY moved back home within the past couple of weeks. Right before leaving my home, I was just beginning to do some remodeling - my house is stuck in a time warp! My house was lived in for a few of those 8 years by one of my daughters and a couple of her friends - otherwise, it was empty (luckily, I have wonderful neighbors directly across the street who have kept their eye on it while I e been gone. There is so much to do that I am becoming overwhelmed- which isn’t good for my health.
Over the years, I’ve collected SO MANY ideas for my house - some of those trends have already come and gone! My priority projects are: painting interior of house with a neutral grey/getting rid of popcorn!/creating a calm, peaceful master bedroom and bathroom (using some neutral color other than grey). And - of course - my kitchen!!!!!
So, I’ve decided to rip the bandage off and post what I‘m starting with which will probably give everyone a good laugh. I definitely want to paint/add height to my cabinets (the back side looks like shaker so I can flip them and use inside hinges). Initially, I was set on replacing all of them but my good friend (who is a contractor) told me that my boxes/doors were made very well and he thinks they need to be saved vs. installing less expensive ones. The current layout worked for me (I cooked A LOT) prior to illnesses). So, I’ve decided to wait on new cabinets for when I make some real changes (open up large portion of wall between kitchen and dining room).
I have “plans” for upgrading my island - it’s already pretty large (when I built this house back in 1996, I completely redesigned the kitchen in the model home. I insisted on making my island all counter height - very unusual at the time for us in the midwest. I decided that I wanted a place where we could really cook (I’m half Italian - my mom‘s side) - my mom “overruled my ex-husband’s objection at the time.
My mom and I (along with my daughters) spent a lot of time in my kitchen because of it.
I wish that I would have listened to her subway tile backsplash suggestion when my original backsplash was being installed (the slate happened during my previous remodeling) - she stressed how timeless it was. I’ve been dreaming (and saving) every beautiful all white kitchen (many with subway tile) over the past 5-6 years. However, I’m starting to think that I need to throw a color on the island (SW Naval looks amazing in some recent kitchens).
All suggestions welcomed - other than buy expensive new cabinets and blow out dining room wall - that’s for later. FYI - my nephew was sanding my counterops - in case your wondering why they look that way! Also - the couch/ottoman/area rug do not belong in from of the hearth. My daughter moved my hearth area furniture and just dumped her couch etc there and hasn’t come to remove it. The new outdoor chair cushions are mine for out on my deck furniture! Also - ignore the black curtains that are randomly hanging over some of my windows - back of house faces WEST - it was hot so I just threw stuff up there to block heat!
I am not sure how to do the photos - seems like I have to send them separately because I don’t know how to make them small!
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Desperately needing help on my kitchen design!
Comments (27)A couple of thoughts: I very much like moving the refrigerator to where the desk was. I'd swap the door location so that the fridge is at the end of the run by the cooktop. This will: give you landing space by the fridge, give you a longer run by the cooktop, put the fridge closer to the island for prep, and give you more space in the laundry room for either a bigger closet or a longer counter (for folding clothes) or some cubbies if that's also a mudroom. (In your current iteration, that space to the right of the door in the laundry room is unused.) Also you can add seating to your island in an L shape, so that people seated can talk to each other. (Not sure about dimensions for the breakfast area tho; you'll need to draw in a table to scale and see if the seating at the right side of the island has room.) In my mockup I didn't extend the seating to the top left, as you might use that space for landing space for the ovens on the counter, and tray storage / pot holders etc. below. Another thought: if you move the prep sink to the right you can have a trash pullout in the island. If it pulls open toward the DW, it will be handy for clean up and also accessible when prepping at the island. This post was edited by chicagoans on Fri, Jan 4, 13 at 10:14...See MoreDesperate help needed with kitchen layout
Comments (11)The problem is that the "standard" kitchen in that layout was designed for looks, not function and to hide the fact that it's a poor use of the space. They know that most people will not realize it until it's too late b/c most people do not understand good kitchen design principles/best practices. That's why one of our goals here is to not just help with layouts and aesthetic questions, but to also educate people via the Kitchen Design FAQ threads - which I will post later - and explanations of why things work well/don't work well in the layouts we see. +++++++++++++++++++++++ So both of the plans have a lot of wasted counterspace - an expanse of counters where it's not very useful - and not enough counterspace where it's sorely needed. Your Prep Zone needs a bare minimum of 36" of clear workspace adjacent to a water source, with at least 42" much, much better. In fact, the two key components of a Prep Zone are water and sufficient counterspace. The wasted counterspace is along the wall b/w the refrigerator and range where there's no water and not at all convenient to the sink in the island. Note that cleanup sinks need space on both sides. If it's the only sink and will host both the Prep and Cleanup Zones, you will need even more b/c you need to provide enough counterspace for both tasks. Is there a reason the cleanup sink is in the island? It puts dirty dishes front and center and on display for all to see. It also puts dirty dishes "in the face" of anyone sitting at the island unless you have a very deep island. Even then, dirty dishes will be tough to ignore when sitting there. A better layout would be to move the Cleanup Zone to the wall, go with a rectangular island, make the island your Prep Zone by adding a prep sink to it, and have the Prep Zone face the range. -OR- Add a prep sink to the empty counterspace b/w the range and refrigerator and make that your primary Prep Zone. But this still keeps the Cleanup Zone on display. In addition, if you want to work facing people, then be aware that the Prep Zone is used far more than the Cleanup Zone. 70% or more of your time is spent prepping while only 20% or less of your time is spent cleaning up - and that includes the time/work of clearing the table, wiping down the table and counter, and loading/unloading the DW - so less than 20% is spent at the sink. (The other 10% is the time spent cooking - stirring, adding ingredients, watching food cook.) So, your Prep Zone is probably the Zone you want in the island b/c you spend so much time in it. +++++++++++++++++++++++ My question for you: You say you want a better Kitchen, but are you willing to make the changes to fix the issues?...See MoreIn desperate need of help changing very poorly designed kitchen
Comments (48)cpartist no, hubby doesn't do any cooking, as he leaves the kitchen a complete disaster, uses a hundred dishes, and always manages to use the wrong pots or pans, so has been permanently banned from using it. You would think he wouldn't care what I wanted done with the kitchen, but he is definitely opinionated. He is sweet, though, and did the pantry as a surprise for me, because he thought it'd make me happy. That's what makes my situation so difficult, because I feel bad and a bit selfish for wanting to tear it out. Again, the u-shape is out, because he has set his feet against changing the pass-through. I also don't want to hear another rant about how much he paid for the header beams (apparently they're very expensive) and how he's not moving them ever. Maybe I could convince him to turn it into a doorway and close up the other doorway, but even with the pantry removed, I think it would leave less room for cabinets than I have now. Do you think that would be a good option nonetheless?...See MoreDesperate! Kitchen recessed lighting help needed
Comments (3)I would do something like those with the cans centered over the edge of the counter so you have less shadows. I added one directly over the sink which may be too much......See Moredani_m08
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
rebasheba
3 years agorebasheba
3 years agoFor the windows, what about doing simple light-filtering roller shades or cell blinds. They could be controlled with long continuous loop cords (or motorized if you have a lot to spend!) Could be combined with decorative drapes on the lowers.
dani_m08 thanked rebasheba
tartanmeup
3 years agodani_m08
3 years ago
rebasheba