Upper cabinets in corner

last year

last modified: last year

Trying to decide between a few upper cabinet options for a short (66 inch) wall between a doorway and my sink. These are the only upper cabinets in my kitchen (aside from a tall pantry on the righthand side) the cabinets in question are on the left. All options have 42" tall cabinets that are 18" above the counter. I started off with a 36" wide cabinet that should be wide enough for plates and bowls, and then the variable space is for glasses and mugs. The wood and tile fills are just approximations, the wood and tile I'm thinking of is like this pic below with a light colored quartz. I'm leaning towards opaque (ribbed) glass mullion doors for the upper cabinets, upper and lowers will all be wood shaker style:

side view of kitchen:

Option 1:

36" wide double door cabinet on the left, with a pie cut corner cabinet (24"x24" on the right)

Option 2:

36" wide double door cabinets still on the left, with open shelves on the right

Option 3:

3x 18" cabinets centered on the wall, leaving 6" on either side

Any thoughts? Other comments on any other part of the design is welcome also. I am working with somewhat of a kitchen designer through my GC, but like to have a good idea of what I want beforehand.

Adding some context and extra pics to the main body:

This is an 1890's farmhouse that we moved into, had to replace some appliances (stove and dw) right away because they were non-functional. Below is the overall layout, the door that opens on the right is the one we enter from the driveway (via a 4 season porch room) - original front door no longer used because it's on a busy road).

The fridge is in a small alcove with the basement door to the right of it, this space used to be a hallway but it was boarded up and now there is a long narrow bathroom in the space directly behind the refrigerator. The big cabinets are our current pantry storage, sorry for the mess in all these pics:

The right hand window is (in my mind) not a good space for a sink and dishwasher because the main entry door opens right in front of it:

bonus material, this is the current space I am wanting to replace in the original question. Previous occupant used to have a washing machine here, that's why there are no bottom cabinets.

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Comments (13)

herbflavor
last year
last modified: last year
something is not right..fridge not shown....the work triangle is the thing you should get feedback on mostly.....24 in only between sink and stove? is there an island ? are the windows non negotiable?? what is the scope of this project....."somewhat of a kitchen designer" uh oh.
Lisa
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Sorry, these drawings don't include all the details, the 24" between sink and stove is the dishwasher (there is a small filler gap between dishwasher and stove) and the refrigerator is directly across from the sink built into an alcove. Windows are non-negotiable, we are mostly just replacing / adding cabinets. There are currently no cabinets on this wall, it used to have a washing machine.

top view:
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if you get this house, you really need to live in it a year before you start major remodels. it took us 2 years in our 4square to come up with an intelligent kitchen design. we did re-arrange things several times. check in the basement and see if there are any signs from previous remodels-- holes from gas/water lines. Our final kitchen plan after 2 years was identical to the orginal lay-out-- all the holes for gas, electric, plumbing and heating were right where we wnet to put everything. we bought our cabients, fixtures, appliances after we decided where evrything was going to go and what we liked. medium oak, beige tile, atainless appliances, off-white flooring (major error), almond countertops. each time an item wen on sale we bought it and stored all in the basement. we waited until we installed to order the counters. we moved everything out of the kitchen. hooked up the microwave in the dining room. stripped it all to the four walls, and scrubbed it all down on saturday. Sunday we painted, walls, wood work & ceiling. Monday I laid the sheet vinyl floor. Tuesday I put in all the base cabients. replaced to stove, fridge and rehooked up the sink. plywood went down as temp counters. Wed i installed the ceiling fan--i was desperate, the recessed light over the sink and the wiring for new electric above the backsplash. Thursday I hung the upper cabients and the stove hood. Friday they came to measure for counters and i put away all the dishes and stuff. Two week later the counters got installed-- done by home depot. i finished the tiles work for the backsplash, and installed the new sink and faucet. we could have eaten out for the 1st 3 days if necessary. I'm not really handy when it comes to house repairs. but i got top of the line cabients for 40% off, got the flooring for 60% off-- it was a discontinued pattern. Tiles for backsplash were also very cheap ($ .25 each 4x4) all from open boxes-- had to pick thru one by one), saved about $150 on the stove and $200 on fridge, bought the ceiling fan at the end of the summer sales saved 25%. The sink was a display model (30% off) and faucet we got 10% off because we opened an account at lowes. The only labor that we paid for was for the countertop installation that I didn't want to try doing alone. my wife helped to take stuff out of the kitchen and paint. I watched out twin 4 year olds and did the rest by myself since i was working 3-11 shifts at the time. After 15 years it's time for more work-- tile floor, solid surface counters, a dishwasher, new faucet and disposal. then a gas range and electric oven and a new fridge. ill do the floor, others can do the rest. hope you get the house. but live with the kitchen first until you know what you want. do like the red/white deco scheme you have in mind. you might consider 'quilted' steel backsplashes and a stainless hood. diggerb
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Yea, it seems neat until you have to deal with it. I have one like that in a base. It is incredibly heavy and stuff falls off or gets wedged in (so I have to force the thing open) all the time. I cannot wait for the destruction to begin so I can see what's back there--5 year old baking soda, saffron, who knows? Maybe if you did this with a wire pull out it would be easier.
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Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the input and advice. Sorry for the delayed reply. After spending months agonizing over where the sink and cooktop should be, there were a dozen "smaller" decisions left over to figure out before sign-off earlier this week. But sign-off I did, at long last! I made a bunch of decisions that go entirely against the majority of the advice I got in response to this and other questions I've posted here. Lol! I feel fantastic about the final decisions, but I'm ready to be humble if I get a few big "I told you so"s when I post my reveal photos! In this case, I decided (sorry in advance!) to go with option 2 but leave the cabinets to the right. Thank you so much for pointing out the many factors to consider. It helped me a lot, even if my choice is an unpopular one! My designer has done a few kitchens recently, including at my brother's house, that depart from the usual conventions and include asymmetry or other uncommon choices. They work surprisingly well and are refreshingly modern even when materials and overall feel is traditional. I'm excited! I should add that my drawing wasn't quite accurate - the cabinets to the right of the cooktop are actually shallower floor to ceiling pantry with no counter top surface (though the countertop will run through) so a bit different from what could have been on the left anyway. And the sightline from the front door is directly to the cooktop window. I'm excited about the open feeling that not having uppers in that spot will give, both in terms of creating a new prep spot without something right in front of my face, and as a nice spot for a piece of art visible from the entry, an unexpected pleasure on a kitchen wall. Installation isn't until end of Feb but I'll be sure to post photos as soon as it's all in.
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My guess would be that the 2x4 is there because there is a filler piece of some kind - so that a cabinet door near a wall would open fully. Corner cabinets (base and upper) are made so that they do not go all the way into the corner - prevents installation issues due to corners that are not perfectly square and plumb. Generally in the design process, if a customer has an issue with these things, it is discussed to have a skin made and applied to the under side of all wall cabinets. It is more expensive (both materials and labor) and it changes what type of undercabinet lighting can be used.
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Lisa
Original Author
last year
The ceiling heights are 9'8" (the drawings have that in the scale), and I don't know of any way to address these other concerns without re-doing plumbing which is not in the scope of our budget. We're doing a low-budget refresh of an 1890's kitchen that was last redone in the 70's.

Still looking for some input on cabinets... is this not the right place?
Lisa
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
This is the overall space, and as I said, it's a weird kitchen and predates internal plumbing. If anyone had a constructive suggestion I'd be interested to hear it. I did get a quote from an actual kitchen designer who didn't suggest changing anything meaningful in where things are (other than moving the range off center from the windows, which I hated) so I'm not sure what to change.
mcarroll16
last year
Please don't do this. If the budget is really limited, move your plumbing and throw up some open shelves on the wall. Use plywood and $5 shelf brackets if you have to. Pretty is never better than functional.

With that floorprint, consider putting the sink under the window right of the range, and then DW right of the sink. Have the sink towards the left edge of the window, if necessary for fitting in the DW. No pantry cabinet, just a standard upper above the DW, as wide as fits between the window and the wall. You could put a pantry cabinet at the other end, on the short side of the L.
rachael f
last year
what if you put the stove on the left wall in the 5'6" space? and you moved the sink to the right window with the DW directly to the left. this layout is not optimized
herbflavor
last year
last modified: last year
if you can recess the fridge why can't you recess the rest of that wall for pantry space there. I'd do what mccarroll says about sink change/elminate the pantry and probably have a straight run the whole 18 feet with no corners/deeper counters and all drawers. not sure about the mini island or whatever till you get other aspects straightened out. SHOWN: use of a long wall without need for turning corners.....maximum use of storage drawers/ install deeper counters.
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Lisa
Original Author
last year
thanks for the suggestions - I have edited the post to add some pics of the space as is. I don't think the sink and dw on the right hand side works because there is a door that opens there.
Lisa
Original Author
last year
I really liked the idea to put the stove in the 5'6" lefthand space and it's something I hadn't considered, but there would be no counterspace to the left of it - it would butt right up against the walkway there.
RedRyder
last year
This is like doing bandaid work on a project that needs a true reassessment. Do yourself a huge favor and post the floor plan with all the measurents needed (windows, doorways, etc.) There are many helpful PROS on this format and if you give them a blank space (with appliance sizes) you will get a much better layout.

If your house is that old, I’m sure the window placement is fixed. But updating and moving your plumbing may be a better use of funds. Yes, less expensive open shelving is better than a poor layout. Please don’t go forward with this before getting help here.

I’ve lived in an old house and yes, they are tricky to remodel. Another old house owner got great ideas here for her kitchen.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
STOP and get real KD and all those base cabinets should be drawers I have all my everyday disghes , glassware etc in drawers and IMO no upper cabinets at all in your kichen and just the open shelves on the left wall not around the corner and IMO the fridge and pantyry on a wall together and no upper s would be better .
Lisa
Original Author
last year
I can definitely make a new post with more detailed drawing, but out of curiousity, what are the huge problems that people see in this kitchen as-is? I have been cooking in it for about 4 months and aside from the current lack of counter space it doesn't seem that bad to me.
Buehl
last year
These links may help you to understand the comments you are getting:
- Work Zones, What Are They?: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500762/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they
- Ice.Water.Stone.Fire, a humorous discussion of Kitchen design: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first
- Aisles Widths, Seating Overhangs, etc.: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500771/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc
- Storage Planning: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500787/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage
Taken from the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread.

Upper cabinets in corner

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