Please help improving functionality for weird kitchen
Lisa
last year
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lharpie
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Please critique and help me improve our layout
Comments (43)funky - I totally agree with the practicality of the extra sink, water by the cooktop, the baking area and as a beverage center for parties. Ranges, I don't like them much. The simple freestanding ones are out of the question, spills run down the side into the netherworld between cabinet and stove...yak, shudder! The slide-ins don't create that type of mess and cost less at the outset than built ins, but if either the cooktop or the oven stops working, both need to be replaced, not much of a savings there. We currently have a GE top of the line slide in range in which the oven racks keep falling off the guides as (can anyone even believe this?) the oven walls have started to bow out. So much for "American made" and "top of the line" in today's appliances. Also, we're aiming to achieve a minimalist scandinavian look, and ranges, even the slide-in ones just have so much bulk to them. As to occasionally bending down, it's probably good for us, and just doesn't bother me. I'd say the bending when filling and emptying the dishwasher is much more of an issue, as we do that repeatedly each day and often for a prolonged time. If my DW would butt up to tall cabinetry in my kitchen plan, I'd elevate the DW center to counter height, the way Europeans build theirs right into their cabs, now that would really make a nice difference. benje - I've seen that kitchen, it's very cool looking. An open galley like that is what my dream home would have, so practical and no corners. And yes, it would look and work fabulous in our family room. But, he problem is, the family room would not look good in the old kitchen space, for one the space is just too small. Secondly, the almost wall to wall and floor to ceiling window and sliding door in the current family room are what make sitting there and gazing into the backyard ideal. We also enjoy these views from our kitchen, as we can see through the family room into the backyard. The reverse would not be the case, the kitchen cabinetry would block the view from people who are sitting on low couches. In the current kitchen, the window sills are at ca. 37" and cannot be changed (beneath two of them sits our tall AC). anyway there is no view out the side yard, and we will not add a "picture window" to the front of our house. So, no, I don't think we would ever use this space as a family room. Nice try though benje - thank you....See MoreHere's a picture of model home Kitchen, Please help me Improve it!
Comments (10)My $.02 FWIW: I am not a fan of uneven cabinet heights. Also, you can get more storage if you take all the cabinets to the ceiling (you can never have too much storage in a kitchen). It's a 10' ceiling, so plenty of room to do stacked cabinets. Don't worry that the uppers will be too high. Most women need a stepstool for anything above the second shelf in any case. Stacked uppers are a great place to store things you seldom use, but still need to put somewhere. Or, you can have the upper stack be glass doors, which is pretty. Taking the cabinets to the ceiling will also do away with the clutter on top that I see there (I realize it's a model, but people tend to want to fill that empty space...), and do away with the dirt that collects on top of the cabinets when they do not go to the ceiling. Hard to tell from photo, but hood looks like it may be too high above the cooktop. Ideally, the bottom of the hood should be 30-34" above the cooktop for best capture of the smoke and grease. Too high, and you are giving the smoke and grease more opportunity to waft elsewhere rather than be pulled in by the exhaust. I like the glass cabinets, but would not do mullions in them. They can look busy, and it is annoying when you see the shelves not line up with the mullions. I would either do some pretty glass pattern like rippled glass, or clear glass with a bevel. The bevelled glass will likely cost more than the mullioned glass, but I am just not a fan of mullions. Single-bowl sink not double. I don't like fridges next to ovens, as the oven heat forces the fridge to work harder. But many people do this, so it's likely OK. Is there landing space for things going out of/into the fridge and oven? Or do you have to rely on the island for landing space? That dark granite will show every speck and is very reflective. I would either get it honed so as not to be so reflective, or choose a granite that is not black like that....See MorePlease suggest functional improvements
Comments (31)This looks like a lovely, *big* house. Please excuse my going off topic by suggesting that you do a light fix-up of the kitchen, then list the house for sale. I'm thinking about what you've said about your ages and your mobility issues. My experience and family situation may be very different from yours, but it may apply. My DH and I started building a single floor home fifteen years ago. I was nearly sixty. Since then I have had two hip replacements, pneumonia, a staghorn calculus, and on and on with minor stuff. Back then, I ran around lugging plumbing, lighting, and decorating catalogs, tile samples, etc. I climbed ladders while the house was framed and tramped around to brick- lumber-yards. I walked miles, choosing trees and shrubs. There is no way I could do that today. Heck, I need my DH to carry the heavier grocery bags! I have no debilitating problems and require only one medication for asthma. I am not the fabled Energizer Bunny Elder who will be running marathons into her nineties. I am a reasonably healthy woman, just *older*. I feel lucky to have gotten us moved into our new, 'right size' house *in time*. I can't believe how blind I was to the realities of my *own* aging, having been responsible for an elderly mother and MIL. I totally failed to understand the vast difference between 'almost sixty' and 'almost seventy-five'....See MorePlease help me make a functional kitchen
Comments (46)That really looks nice Buehl. As a former IT pro, it amazes me how much I still prefer to do via paper, including layouts. I think due to costs among other reasons, I'll stick with having the one wall done now and maybe add/update cabinetry on the other walls before sale time (quite a few years from now). I'm still leaning towards IKEA cabs since their product should be around during the next 10 years. Also, since we have several nearby IKEAs, the tenants can buy all the IKEA interior drawer organizers themselves...on their dime. (I am glad they no longer plaster 'IKEA' all over the little hinge covers as in the early days). next I'll need to pull together flooring (vinyl planks?), countertop (Formica/laminate) and backsplash colors (something modern/contemporary). Going with IKEA shaker style cabs, I think...I'm never sure of my choices. This rental update has to be budget friendly; i'll start a new thread. please don't desert me now! I'm heading into the details and here's where I *always* seem to 'crash and burn' in my choices and then by the time the project is done, I hate the results. Please spoon-feed me. Haha!...See Moreer612
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