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Funky kitchen ideas

Jessica Morales

last month

We are closing today on this adorable 1920s house with this strange kitchen. Not sure what to do with it. The sink in the island is the only one in the kitchen, and our realtor/inspector believe the wall behind the sink to be load bearing. As surprising as it sounds, I love the brick stove/fireplace area, it's just the island that I don't get. Would love ideas on how to make this work without doing an entire kitchen redo.

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Comments (14)

ShadyWillowFarm
last month
It seems obvious to me that the island needs to go back against the wall. It just seems so awkward to have it in the middle of the room like that.
snappity
last month
Is the island structural somehow? Are there support columns in the posts on each end where the power is?
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Jessica Morales
Original Author
last month
I agree, but I guess I don't like the idea of doing the dishes and staring at a blank wall that close?
snappity
last month
I definitely get that- a sink under the window is my preference, too! When I was renting apartments, most times the sink was against a wall - I am trying to remember what I did in each one, I think my first one I had a mirror behind the sink, and another one I had a poster (I was a young adult!) in this season of life I might think about doing a nice tile backsplash or picture ledge, and I'd want to remove the cabinet above the sink and have it well lit.
ShadyWillowFarm
last month
You said you don’t want to get into a kitchen re-do, so there really are not many options. You can do a beautiful backsplash for behind the sink.
Jessica Morales
Original Author
last month
I don't think the columns are structural, in person they are pretty thin. I think they just needed a place to put the light switches and power.
blueskysunnyday
last month
I once had a mirror with dividers that made it look like a window behind my sink. I liked it. But, moving the sink/island to the wall means moving plumbing and fixing the floor, which might be more than you want to do now. What about just moving the switches and getting rid of those uppers over the island and moving them to over that cabinet in the corner? Or having counter-to-ceiling cabinets over there?
blueskysunnyday
last month
Oops, just looked again and I see there are already uppers in the corner.
Jessica Morales
Original Author
last month
I am really leaning towards just taking those above the sink cabinets out, but there really isn't that much storage for dishes and stuff....and with five kiddos we use a lot of dishes!!
blueskysunnyday
last month
Sounds like you do need lots of storage! Would a nice cabinet in the dining room be too much of a pain? You should post a layout of the whole kitchen with dimensions and this brilliant folks here can come up with suggestions!
Jessica Morales
Original Author
last month
That's a great idea, thanks!
maggieq
last month
You are just moving in. Live with it for at least 6 months before doing anything. See how it lives for your family. It may be fine as is!
beesneeds
last month
I love the brick :) Seriously not fond of tile countertops. Find out if the island is there for a reason- like if those two verticals are important or not. I'd live there for a while to see how things settle in before starting a remodeling plan.
Jessica Morales
Original Author
last month
I'm there with you on the tile countertops. I love to bake bread, not sure how I'm going to do it with tile?

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