Kitchen Design Dilemma - Creative Advice??

2 years ago

We have a 1930s home that has been added onto twice by previous owners. Unfortunately this left the kitchen land locked in the middle of the home. The house was also left with it's formal entry configuration meaning you enter the foyer, go left through the living room, dining room, and kitchen to get to the back of the house. The result is we do not use the front door. The home also has a large back family room with bi-fold doors that opens onto a patio and has a back door. We adore it. We live in it. We entertain often and love the big open feel.

The delimma - we worked with an architect who drafted umpteen zillion plans - bless him. We worked hard to keep a lot of existing features of the home, and minimize some quirks. (too much to post here) The result is an open kitchen concept in the back of the house. I really don't love this. The idea of dirty dishes, or running water while I'm relaxing, or sitting by the fire makes me crazy.

The delimma part 2 - we have load baring issues. On the plans you will see two squares that represent decorative columns that are supporting a full second floor. Ideally I'd like not to need an engineered beam. You'll see in the final design that we have incorporated a pantry into this space.

My questions

Open the house up to the front door and create a long galley kitchen that you walk through? Weird?
Linear kitchen on one wall across from a pantry and kitchen (in the space created by the columns)? Are linear kitchens functional?
Other awesome creative or inspired ideas to allow me to have a functional kitchen separate from the backroom?

Thanks in advance for all your great suggestions!

Featured Answer

Andrea C

2 years ago

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.

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Comments (7)

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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
What is the seating in the pantry ? IMO walk in pantries are just a waste of space I think you need an independant kitchen designer not your architect to design your kitchen IME architects are very bad at kitchen design.I find the whole idea of a family room . den and living room a bit overkill so maybe explain the need for all those spaces. The DR is quite hike form the kitchen the food will be cold before you get there .Sorry IMO the whole thing needs work I have no idea why you would have a mud room there and not near the garage and how to get groceries into the kitchen
Julie Collins
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks Patricia! I did do a consult with a kitchen designer who agreed the kitchen was a mess. She suggested redoing the exterior windows to allow the range to be moved toward the backdoor, extending the countertops to the back wall, sliding over the back door, and having the refrigerator flush to the wall. The "pantry seating" you mentioned is actually storage cabinets. But I'm glad to hear you say that walk-in pantries are a waste of space. I've always had my pantry goods in a cabinet and they've been sufficient. The house has a formal living room in the front that we use as a music room (piano, guitar and drums). The back Den is our primary hang out.
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cawaps
2 years ago
Not a fully fleshed out idea, but what if you made the current DR into a bedroom and the bedroom closest to the den into dining? Then push the kitchen into what is currently the "family dining space."
Julie Collins thanked cawaps
Suki Mom
2 years ago
Oh dear, I think the final plan has problems.

The foyer has a lot of wasted space.

Why is the mudroom in the middle of the house?

You don't like the open concept den/kitchen.

If I am reading correctly there is a bar in the hall opposite the mudroom lockers?

Your idea of simply having a wide galley kitchen so people can walk from the front door through the kitchen to the back of the house is an interesting idea. Why not? It certainly would get rid of the circuitous route. Your house is already unique, why not make it work better too?!
Julie Collins thanked Suki Mom
elisejames
2 years ago
I’m not sure I’m following all of the concerns. But if you don’t want the kitchen to be completely open, why not expand it into that dining space and move your front door to where the front window is. You could find formal dining space in that front living room. None of that would mess with what you seem to like at the back of the house and would fix your flow problem from the front door.
Julie Collins thanked elisejames
Julie Collins
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you all for taking the time to respond!

Andrea, I am so grateful. This is just what I needed to hear. If we did a galley it would have a 6 ft. aisle. I'm the opposite and have only had 4 kitchens in my adult life, and all of them were separate from the family area. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing! But I do know that I don't want people under foot while I'm cooking. The kitchen is such a disaster in it's current state that I know I have to do something. It's tempting to just re-do where it is. But I know that if I get design right the entire house will be better for it.

I love the idea of a large sink to contain the dishes. If you have any other particular kitchen suggestions please do share.

Thanks everyone!

Kitchen Design Dilemma - Creative Advice??

Andrea C

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Patricia Colwell Consulting

Julie Collins
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cawaps

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Kitchen Design Dilemma - Creative Advice??

Andrea C

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