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Kitchen Remodel - in early phases - looking for layout suggestions!

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

We are beginning to embark on a kitchen ripout/remodel. Looking to tweak the layout - but am looking for some help. I do like the current layout - but the biggest issue is the lack of food prep space. I really only have that 3 LF on the island for food prep.

We're thinking of moving the fridge to where the desk is. and then putting a 30" induction range over on that exterior wall, and then an undercounter microwave to get rid of the double oven cabinet. Do you think that will work - or is the fridge too far away?

Any other suggestions are welcome. we're just in the brainstorming phase here.

oh - and yes, that is a 16" door on my "walk-in" pantry....that has to be fixed!!!

Note on graphic - its a cooktop in the island. my app didnt have a cooktop. Also the microwave is built in with the wall oven.

What are your goals? E.g., more counter space, more storage, seating in the kitchen (island? peninsula? table?), etc.
What is your family composition? 2 Adults, one child (5) who also likes to help in the kitchen.
How many kitchen workers are there? Typically one (me). My wife does most of the cleaning after im done makign a mess!
Do you or anyone in your home cook? Yes! We cook all the time. Including major meals for family (typically only holidays) when we have up to 10 people.
How do you see your kitche

n used? Just for cooking/cleaning up. Also like to use the island as a "buffet" area when guests over over.

Do you entertain a lot? Not often - except for holidays.
Do you want your kitchen to be a "hang out" place? Parties only? Everyday? - not really.
Do you have a separate DR? Yes. Used infrequently. Typically use the 4 foot t able in the diagram.
Would you like to open up the kitchen to adjacent areas? Close it up? - Doubtful. A bit too much work for right now.
Do you plan to merge two rooms/areas (e.g., Nook and Kitchen into a Kitchen only) - no
Do you have a basement under the Kitchen space? Crawl space? Slab? - Basement. Partially finished but can access most of the kitchen.
Where are you flexible?
Willing to move the pantry (although i love it so that makes me scared!). Open to options where the sink isnt under the window. I suppose moving the window is an option - but not preferred. Willing to remove wall oven.

Comments (12)

Alana Willick
2 years ago
I can’t quite tell what your clearance around the island is - do you have enough space?
I would look at maybe putting the fridge on the wall beside the pantry, and adding a peninsula instead of the island.
Alternatively, maybe the wall oven/microwave beside the pantry and move the cooktop to the wall where you have the ovens?
Would you consider a range instead? Placed on the wall where you have the ovens. Your island doesn’t seem to be super large, and I know I would value the counter space more than anything.
Alana Willick
2 years ago
Sorry, just re-read your first paragraph and most of my thoughts were already in your notes. I think a range instead of ovens/cooktop, yes. The fridge beside the pantry would be good - swapping the peninsula for the island would help open it up and not have the triangle interrupted by the island
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I think she is saying to put the sink where the stove is and the stove on the wall opposite the peninsula (where all the cabinets are.) This would still give you a view, only better because you would be able to see out both windows. This would also help break up that wall of cabinets at that end. In my house our kitchen is open to the dining room and I would never expect someone to sit at the island and eat instead of taking three or four more steps to the dining room table and you would essentially have that same setup with your peninsula and dining room. My first thought was that the end where all the cabinets are is a great place for a banquette, but I had not gotten further than that to the cooking space layout. Can you share a link of your layout? There should be a way to email yourself, and the email will contain a link you can share here with us and we can play around with it. :o) But not destroy your original design, of course.
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What else would you like to change in your kitchen? The things in my original post are what really bother me. I really hate the current pantry space and refrigerator placement. I think those bother me the most. What doesn't work for you about the sink/DW, is it that you see it from the living room?Do you like having a breakfast bar in the Living room? Currently the island is two levels. The sink and DW cannot be seen from the living room. I don't know why I dislike their placement so much. They just seem awkward to me when I am working. When I remodel, I may make the island one level. If they are seen from the living room I won't be bothered. I don't mind the breakfast bar where it is. My living room is fairly large and is kind of an L shape. What's that "empty room", can you make it a pantry? Are there kids living here? The "empty room" is an empty room with electrical outlets and a window. I am thinking of making it into a pantry and office combo. One child. I wish I could put the refrigerator where the panty is now. I think it might be odd, because it would be at the at the end of a walkway and near a doorway.
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Since you DIYed the bath, I assume you will be doing a lot of the work in the kitchen, mudroom, and butler's pantry. It's good that you are looking at all of the areas together to try and get an overall idea before changing walls. However, since you are relatively newly married, have a baby, and also the house is fairly new, as many of us have mentioned above, your needs in this house are going to change in ways that none of us can actually predict. If you begin with the kitchen, for which you have a good plan that only needs to be tweaked, by the time you finish it your child will be older, you may have another one, and it may be clearer whether you want a laundry or storage in the butler's pantry. When the kitchen remodeling is finished and after your wife uses it for a few months, she will have a better idea of what she might need space for in the butler's pantry. Coming and going during a couple of more winters will help you think through how best to configure the mudroom/breakfast area once the kitchen walls have been changed. Keep mulling over the many possibilities, but since your wife loves to cook and bake, it would be nice for her to focus on and begin the kitchen. It's the most important of the rooms anyway. Make the wall changes you have drawn in, and the other rooms will be fine. You might try putting a small chest, table, or IKEA shelves in the SE corner of the breakfast area to see if something more permanent (upper and lower cabinets?) would be a good place to park the laptop, charge phones, keep cookbooks, have a few toys, etc. (BTW, as per an earlier comment, putting a bench under a window in a cold climate area, even with new energy efficient windows, would probably be a little cool at night or on non-sunny days, so you might want to rethink this.) You could put a pantry/cleaning supplies closet on the wall opposite the door to the basement. Since either guests kids/family will always be using the bathroom on the first floor, it doesn't seem like there would be any point in putting a pocket door between the kitchen and butler's panty--when would you ever close it? In designing the kitchen, mudroom, and whatever the butler's pantry becomes, it would be very helpful if you and your wife make a list of EVERYTHING that you have, or might have in the future, that would need a shelf, drawer, cabinet, closet, etc. and plan to have them stored as close to where you will use them as possible. List the three rooms, and then put the "stuff" under whichever room works best for you. That will help you with your design. Some people on this forum have already made lists and could share them with you. Anne
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Aaron
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Thank you for your comments!. Right now the island is about 3'x5' with 36 inches all the way around it. I know this is smaller than most would desire - but it hasn't been a problem for us.

I would certainly consider a range vice a wall oven. The issue i have with it being on the wall where the oven is now is that my cook/prep area would be mostly behind me, and even then - its the narrow side of the island. It might work - i'm just not 100% sold on that yet.

I thought about the fridge next to the pantry - but the biggest issue there is that i only have 24 inches of depth - and thus the fridge will stick out into the walkway. I thought about a counter depth fridge, but i only have 36 inches to work with there - and the reduction in fridge space would be a non-starter (its always PACKED!)

Removing the wall oven is certainly something we're looking at to maximize counter space. One thought i got from your comment is maybe splitting up the cooktop on the exterior wall and then putting the oven under counter next to the pantry.

Something like this is an option i was considering.
OhNat
2 years ago
Try putting a bench seat under your bay window with a round table. Then see if you have room to make your island bigger.
Aaron
Original Author
2 years ago
@OhNat our windows go pretty far down. I think it’s too low for bench seating. The table though is 54x54 - but it has an 18 inch retractable leaf making it usuallly 54x36 unless we have company over.
Alana Willick
2 years ago
What about taking the pantry out, recessing the fridge in there, then full-height pantry on either/both sides of the doorway.
I like the change to the range, but would also consider losing the upper between the sink and range - it looks a bit out of place
Aaron
Original Author
2 years ago
I’ve thought about that (removing pantry) and it’s certainly an option. I love the pantry - the way it’s set up - so I’d need to see the alternatives to make sure I’m okay with that.

regarding the cabinet - good thought. We might put a nice wood vent in there which I think would make the cabinet stick out less - but it’s a good thing for me to think more about if we go that route.
OhNat
2 years ago
One of these next to the cooktop might be handy.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Moving the fridge to the desk are is not a good idea. (See work triangle, left.)

I like the idea of a range on the short wall. In the plan on the right you have several options for the MW--a drawer on the island, or a MW in an upper cabinet to the right of the fridge. Dishes would be stored in drawers across from the DW.

If the 'walk-in' pantry were changed to a reach-in, or ROTS, you would have space to move the island back for a wider work aisle. I drew an island prep sink, to make space for a helper in the kitchen, but it's not necessary for the layout. If no prep sink, dishes can move the middle, with a trash pull-out on the left, shared with all zones.

Desk becomes a coffee/breakfast/snack area, to keep grazers out of the kitchen, but near the fridge for convenience; or you could include an UC fridge for the snack area. Upper cabinet or shelf is the third option for a MW.

NKBA guidelines

New to Kitchens? Read me first.
Aaron
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks for the ideas. I do like the idea of the microwave next to the fridge in an above counter arrangement. Might need to play with that.

It seems like im losing a lot though. 1/2 of the pantry and that cabinet next to the pantry to make the walkway a little bigger. I'd also have to deconflict the dishwasher/dish storage locaitons as i suspect they would both be open at the same time.

Also love the breakfast/snack bar idea. thats basically what we're doing now with that space - and our original idea.

Thanks again for the input.
Aaron
Original Author
2 years ago
So after looking at this for a few weeks - this is where i am headed. Thoughts? These are 33 inch wall cabinets with 15" glass wall cabinets stacked up top. Do you think the fridge will look weird like this? I will put a side panel on it as well. Depending on price i may go down to 42" wall cabinets - will have to see.

Would it be strange to have 42" cabinets in the beverage station and 48 (33+15) everywhere else? I could do that too.
Alana Willick
2 years ago
I LOVE the look of small upper cabinet stacked on top, but when we did our kitchen, it was a significant increase in price vs ordering one tall cabinet that goes to the ceiling; you now need 2 cabinet boxes and 2 doors, plus your installer may charge per cabinet. If cost is a driving factor, one tall upper cabinet is the way to go. Having a different height at the beverage station wouldn’t be a problem for me, if that’s what’s needed.

I don’t mind the fridge there - I like having all food storage (pantry and fridge) in one spot; keeps everyone out of the rest of the kitchen. I know it’s not ideal for the work-triangle, but compromises can be made.

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