I'd love some ideas! for our small lounge combined kitchen area
We'd really love to start some home improvement for our small home (107m2 / 1150 feet). Any suggestions would be really appreciated as I've been thinking about it for a few years now and the carpet in the 3 bedrooms really need to come out soon! (lived here since 2009)
I've taken a few photos, everything is up for ideas - the only things that have to stay is the kitchen cabinets - but they need new paint and bench tops and the dark brown corner sofa (as it was wasn't cheap and it's so comfortable the family wont part with it!)
A few of the things that I'd love suggestions on include (but not limited too):
* Should the tiles that are glazed to resemble terracotta come out ? We would like to put in light coloured timber flooring in the bedrooms (as they don't get much direct sunlight). So would it be nicer to continue that throughout the house ?
* The coffee table ? suggestions on style / shape please! or is it ok and not to bulky for the room size?
* replace the 2 leather armchairs?
* would it be nicer to paint / lighter staining on the bookcase? or maybe replace them with something else?
* I'm thinking of painting the kitchen cupboards a warm
white and replace our old fridge with a white one, so it all blends in more with a light wall colour too?
* I've brought a large round mirror for behind the corner sofa would that be ok, or maybe other suggestions instead?
Thanks :)
A couple of the photos have been stretched to give a better overall view * I removed these ***
The Kitchen/lounge room has a raked ceiling except the bumped out area between the fridge and wall clock near the tv (in photo 3 of the kitchen, the top right hand corner shows a tiny bit of this lower ceiling bit)
From the front door to the back of the two single chairs (second photo) is around 4.5meters/14.76 feet - the plan shows 5.56m but that's to the island bench :)
Comments (16)
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoPlease leave those cabinets alone and a stainless fridge is the perfect fridge for them. The floors are an issue only if you hate them. You willneed to get a thicker area rug with a good fely underpad so that the tiles do not telegrapgh through the rug. I think the space is very nice maybe just add some color with a nice piece of art above the sofa and take away the clock. Then attack those bookshaelves and they can be converted to some great storage for the kitchen for all your dishes glassware or just all the serving pieces . What I see is the biggest issue is the lkighting. Please no Edison bulb lights anywhere but you need more actual light in the kitchen so maybe 2 tracks light that are LED 4000k bulbs hung like this. There is also cable lighting that would be gret to get the light where it is at a proper height . The chandelier is not really doing anything so if you want one get one that lights the area not the ceiling. As for the bedroom flooring what ever you choose should be something that if down the road you wanted to change all the flooring the bedroom flooring is easy to find and do more of.
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Newbie here... I'd love advice on our house plans
Comments (16)Its a pretty house but I think you're going to find it a bit "tight". The previous poster's comments about the garage not being deep enough or wide enough for two full-size cars is spot on. With three kids under six, you probably drive an SUV -- or at least something big enough to fit 3 child car seats into! Go out and measure your cars (length and width). Then consider that you need a couple of feet (at least) on each side and a couple of feet between the two cars when they are parked in the garage to get doors open. You also need a couple of feet (at least) at the front to manuver around the car and at least 6 inches of clearance at the back to close the garage doors. And those are minimums. If you're lugging an infant and all his/her stuff while shepherding the other two little ones and getting them buckled into seat belts, you're going to want more than the minimum clearance. Most people "solve" their tight garage issues by loading and unloading passengers out in the drive way so that only the driver has to squeeze into/out of the car while it is in the garage. With three small children, you are NOT going to want to do that. And, if you plan on storing the kids' bicycles, a lawn mower, and/or any garden or yard tools in the garage, that 2 ft deep "storage" bumpout is totally inadequate. I also don't like the 6ft wide utility room that also must serve as the family's entrance area from the garage. With 3 small kids, I would bet you do several loads of laundry every single day. You need space to sort dirty laundry and to fold clean laundry that is NOT in a high traffic area. You NEED a separate laundry room even if it is very tiny. And, having a "mud room" area with cubbies to collect coats/hats/books/etc would make your life so much easier. If you read this forum very long, you'll find that most posters absolutely love their mudrooms and cubbies. Additionally, the master closets each appear to be barely 6 ft wide and yet are drawn showing hanging shelves along both sides. Once you have clothing hanging on both sides, the remaining aisle way is going to be barely 2 ft wide. A walk-in closet with hanging rods on both sides needs to be at least 7 ft wide. The lack of a pantry may not bother you as you will have a fairly decent amount of kitchen cabinet space. But, where do you plan to store brooms, mops, and the vacuum cleaner? I also don't see any provision for the HVAC unit or hot water heaters. Since there are no stairs going down to a basement, will these be in the attic? I strongly recommend against putting your hot water heater in the attic. Those things do have a tendency to burst when they get old. And besides, getting a new water heater into the attic when you need to replace it is a real chore!!! If you're planning to use tankless water heaters, that won't be a problem. Otherwise the water heater is going to take up part of your utility room. You said you've been settled on this house plan for a several months so I rather doubt you want to start over fresh looking for something else. But I think you can modify the plan without significantly altering the overall floor plan or the elevation to solve most of issues above. I hope the Gardner people won't mind but I've taken the liberty of using my paint program to sketch out some possible revisions. The red lines indicate where the exterior walls have been pulled out. You'll note the right hand wall is pulled out by about 2 or 3 feet and the front of the garage is pulled forward by a few feet. The two bedrooms are about the same size they started out as. This gives you room for a separate laundry room - albeit a very tiny one so I'd recommend that you to look into getting a stackable washer and dryer - and a shallow broom closet. I also think this gives you room for mud-room cubbies in your back entrance hall. And, it would solve the tight garage issue. To gain useable storage space in the garage, the storage bumpout portion of the garage is pulled foward an additional foot or so. If the bumpout is 3 or 4 feet deep, it will be much more useful than if it is only 2 ft deep. Finally, to increase the master closet sizes, I pulled the masterbath and the room labeled bedroom/study forward by about a foot. (Whatever amount is necessary to make the closets a full 7 ft wide.) You'll need to move the bathtub down a little bit to make room for the closet but the bathroom will be a little bit larger overall. Again, the bedroom is kept the same size as it was initially. Sorry but I couldn't figure out a good place to add in a pantry without totally revising your plan. Maybe someone else on this forum can come up with an idea....See MoreI'd Love your thoughts on these layout ideas? At a standstill!
Comments (3)There are five plans posted so I'll just go in order No.1 - that's your current plan No.2 - would work - the only thing I would change is the range and sink. I would switch them so that the DW is located close to or at the end of the counter run, then the sink and then the range closer to, but not in, the corner. As far as having a pantry in the dining room, there are all sorts of ways to design it so that it looks like it belongs. The middle part can be a buffet with glass in the upper cabinets and a marble or wood counter. Go and look at actual DR buffet/hutches to get some design ideas. If your worried about the table being off-center wrt the window would it help to put the pantry/hutch against the stairway wall? I think it might be about a foot shorter but it might also feel like it's more in the kitchen. Your island could go a little longer toward the fridge. It looks like you drew 5' clearance but if fridge is french doors you could go down to 48" or 42" clearance. And depending on the size you need/want for your family room you could take your island closer that way as well. But that is your personal choice and depends on your priorities in spacing. No.3 - with the peninsula it just feels like things are getting a little closed off especially when you want to have a more open feeling. Not really enamoured with the feeling that it gives. No.4 - in a minute. No.5 - I do like this one, however my concern is your aisle clearance. Your island is only 2' wide giving you, as you have drawn it, only 36" aisles but counter overhangs are anywhere from 1" and up. So with this in mind, when you have two counters facing one another you are going to lose at least 2' giving you aisles of only 34" and with 5 people in there that could get really tight. I also see a real pinch-point between the lower-left corner of the island and the wall where the fridge is coupled with the door for the stairs in that space as well. Now back to NO. 4 I would pick the peninsula in this reiteration because it is roomier. So depending on budget, as you have drawn your plans I would pick either No.2 or No.4. Now there are layout gurus here who can probably come up with other suggestions as well....See MorePlanning new kitchen....I'd love some help
Comments (8)Wow... Your kitchen is already beautiful. I can understand wanting to make it your own, but just have to say it looks as good as many of the finished kitchens on here. Good to be planning this far ahead! Will the layout change at all or does it work well for you now? As far as picture size, I had to ask this question just last week. I found how to resize them automatically when I downloaded and couldn't remember how to change that option. But now I know. If you go to your upload page and see where it says "more options" in blue right under "Upload now", it gives you the option of choosing the download size. I had medium but have changed to large, and it is much better. I think you can make them smaller but not larger, so you may have to upload them again. Opinions only: 1. Ask your contractor what is the tallest window you could get. That would be my vote... as far down to the counter and as far up to the ceiling as he will allow. (I have an 8' span of windows, two double casements... love them, and wish I could have more. GC allowed me 42" high for my 8' ceilings. I love how easy it is to open them. Caveat -- I have cats, and though they are not supposed to get on the counters, they do, and at night when the bugs come to the windows, they attack the screens, which are on the inside for casements. Didn't think about that until the screens went in. You should be OK with dogs unless they get on the counters to get at the bugs.) Agree with chicagoans on the molding ... yes. Screens, yes, depending on where you are. Will you open the windows a lot? Do you have bugs? (I just reread and saw that I agreed with chicagoans on the other questions too, just missed that fact. : ) ) 2. ? Not sure what your question was. 3. Here are some sinks with low dividers. Sorry, I don't have time to make active links for them, but you can just triple click to highlight, then command/control C, then control V in your empty or highlighted browser. http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/detail.jsp?prod_num=5838%2D7U http://www.elkayusa.com/cps/rde/xchg/elkay/hs.xsl/elkay-res-16192.aspx http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0919032530825.html...See MoreI'd love some feedback on this kitchen layout!
Comments (111)One more question for you. The window in the former kitchen is already framed in and I am getting ready to place the order for the windows. It was framed at 72" wide by 54" high to make room for the counter. Now that we are moving the kitchen, do you think I should make that window 72" wide by 72" high instead. It is an easy fix. Windows are set at 8'2" with 10 foot ceilings. Just curious of your thoughts. If we put a counter and cabinets on that dining wall, it would make sense to have a window that height. But if we don't, I am worried that it will look weird. What do you guys think?...See Morevanessajkn
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misecretary
2 years agoHi @vanessajkn. your place is great. I was going to add floating shelves to your kitchen but then read your question about having cabinets going to the ceiling. So I added both to the picture below to show you options.
As for your living room, I myself have always put my couch on the longest wall in the room. Since you probably want to look out the windows, then that would mean moving the couch to where the chairs are and the chairs to where the couch is now. I hope this helps you. Enjoy your place!!
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