Kitchen Design Dilemma!
Kitchen design input desperately needed! We currently have this odd triangular shaped peninsula. We are finally ready to completely overhaul the kitchen, adjacent living room, and refinish/fill in the hardwood floors for our family of 6 (four kids ages 4 through 9).
Fridge- Should the fridge be moved to the other wall where the double oven is currently? I am hoping to recess my standard depth fridge into the wall (between kitchen and dining room), but not sure about cutting into studs on a 2 story house. Designer thinks no... that it would require a new header and isn't worth the 3 inches. I don't really want to replace the fridge. It works well and I really can't stand to lose any cubic feet.
Cooktop- I want a 36" induction cooktop. I'm open to a) double wall ovens next to the fridge on the short wall or b) built-in 30" range below the cooktop (see picture). The second option would give us more counter and cabinet storage on the short wall, which I think we will need because it is across from the dishwasher (in the island).
Pantry- We currently have a pantry closet, but if possible it would be great to incorporate pantry cabinetry in the kitchen design so we can transform the closet into extra storage and space for the kids coats, backpacks, boots right next to the garage door. I see many kitchens with 24" pantry cabinetry built in next to the fridge. I love the look, but would personally hate 24" depth, even with roll out trays. I think the upper shelves would be pointless. Instead, I am thinking a 12 or 16" depth would make more sense and think it could work out well on the angled short wall. If we put any cabinetry on that angled wall, it needs to be shallow so it doesn't impede the walkway. The angle is awkward, but I'm hoping we can figure out cabinetry to handle it.
The designer has drawn up this 3D model. She suggested floating shelves, but that's not my style. Also, there is no cabinetry across from the dishwasher for dishware, which I think is a pretty big deal. We will take down the ceiling fan and add in more can lights. Island will be one level with 3-4 barstools.
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Comments (14)
mama goose_gw zn6OH
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoDishware can be stored in drawers. Since you want to keep the full-depth fridge and don't want to build a new header to recess it, you should pull the ovens out flush with the fridge box surround, and make the counters next to the ovens deeper that standard. If the cabinets will be custom, they could also be made deeper, for extra storage. The pantry would then be deeper, too. You would still have at least 36" between the corner of the island and pantry.
I don't like to see the path to the fridge cross the cooktop or range, but with a 54" aisle, I think it would work.
Discussions--extra-deep counters
ETA, you could put the ovens against the counter, with dish storage between them. The fridge and ovens would both have adjacent landing space.
JN1355 thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHRelated Discussions
Kitchen design dilemma
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Comments (7)I live in a 1930s house and love houses of that vintage. My house has its original galley kitchen in which everyone needs to walk through to get from the main section of the house to the family room (which was converted from the original sunroom). It doesn't work for me. There is an aisle of 6 ft. which is one step too wide to work comfortably and I don't like having a gaggle of kids back and forth in my way while I'm working on dinner. I appreciate that your architect is trying to stay on budget, preserve the concept of rooms, and replicate original details to make the house work for today. Since you love the openness of the current family room, I actually think you will appreciate having the kitchen in that part of the house. My sister who has a much more modern aesthetic than I do, has a setup like that, and I can see why it works well - in fact, I'm working on a remodel in which I will blow out the wall between my kitchen and family room. Just get a deep single bowl sink to keep your dishes out of sight in addition to the other kitchen suggestions mentioned here. Another suggestion would be to incorporate the bar and coat closet to be your mudroom area. Think about increasing the opening between the foyer and dining room to 5 ft, so that if you are hosting a larger party you can use that space for an dining table extension. I've had 10 kitchens in my adult life (and cooked quite a bit in my mom's and two sisters'). Some had walk in pantries and others did not and I prefer the ones with the pantries. Even if you don't use it as a pantry, you will appreciate the extra storage in a 1930s house....See MoreKitchen Design Dilemma - Backsplash and Countertop colors
Comments (10)I can't seem to answer each comment individually, so please be patient with my response. The floor is LVT - a medium brown. The cabinets will be a Shaker style, In Artic White There will be under cabinet lighting. There are currently 8 recessed lights. This will be expanded to a total of 10. They will also all be upgraded to be brighter (sorry - I forget the term) I'm looking at various gray tiles along with white. I'm picking up a sample of the door on Thursday as I don't want to do a white tile unless I can match it somewhat to the cabinets. This is the countertop: I love it. Its honed. And this is the floor - it runs throughout the house:...See MoreKitchen Design Dilemma - Bench
Comments (11)The drawing above is the entire kitchen. Table has to go on that left side - due to space constraints we will have to have bench seating under the window :-). Still in the design phase for rest of kitchen but basically the area in front of the sliding door is where the table will go no matter what. The initial design feels heavy on the right side of the room with the island and appliances and cabinets. Wanting to add shallow shelving or something visual to ground the table and window area on the left....See More
JN1355
3 years agoBuehl
3 years agoAre these dimensions correct?
Red means I counted boxes, imprecise, but the best I could do since several measurements were missing. Tip: A scale of 6" = 1 box or 12" = 1 box is easier to count/calculate.
JN1355 thanked BuehlJN1355
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoYou all are amazing! Thank you @Buehl! I tried to update the dimensions as best I could. I knew I should have done 12”! I tried 6” at first and went off the page lol. This looks amazing! I’m so grateful for the help :)
I could also just bite the bullet and buy the counter depth and have a garage fridge for extras. Or, I could just live with this one for now and when it goes, upgrade to a counter depth then. I’ve had it 7 years... not old, but not brand new either. Functions super well for our family.
I thought about reorienting the island to face the living room, but felt the space was really more rectangular than square and thought I should mirror the long side of the island with the long side of the space. But, that angled wall... I’m never sure how to handle that.
Underneath the short wall with the bend, there is an unfinished closet in the basement with HVAC unit for the basement. You can look up and see the underside of the basement staircase so I know a part of that wall (closest to the basement) is unfinished below.
JN1355
3 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH