Kitchen Cabinets - Need design advice

13 years ago

last modified: 13 years ago

Hi Designers, Dreamers and Do-ers,
Looking for some advice on how to design around one set of inconveniently placed cabinets. Our fridge is not standard height; the 2-door cabinet directly above it is much to low. We'd like to replace fridge with a stainless steel fridge w/french doors. How do I address the cabinet above the fridge? It is not an option to replace ALL the cabinets. However, we are getting a new floor (hardwood).

Should I cut out the 2-door cabinet above the fridge, separate it from the others and move it up 10 inches? Should I remove it entirely? Should I move up the entire row of cabinets 10 inches? If that, then what about the other side of the kitchen.

What do you think?

Dimensions:
Floor to bottom of cabinets (ALL) :~ 50.5 Inches
Floor to bottom of fridge cabinet: ~ 65 inches
Height of new fridge: ~69 Inches

Thanks,
J.

Featured Answer

PRO

User

13 years ago

You should be able to remove them which I recommend as they aren't easilty accessible anyway and don't line up with the countertop below it. That cabinet is in it's own "box" and attached to the one on the right. You may have some patching to do but removing it will give you a cleaner look.

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Comments (9)

Jamie Geisler
Original Author
13 years ago
Here's a better view of the cabinets above fridge...
houssaon
13 years ago
Well, you want the hardwood floors to be under the refrigerator. Do you know what model you're getting, because you can get the specifications from the internet. Then determin if you need to remove the cabinets or not. I don't think this is going to be easy, because it looks like that are all one unit. Good luck.
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feeny
13 years ago
Those are such odd cabinets, Jamie. It looks like they were originally designed for a refrigerator to go all the way to the right edge, but it looks like your counter interferes, yes? And if you took just the short ones down, wouldn't that mean that the other upper cabinets wouldn't extend to the left edge of your counter? I do think you need to fix this odd configuration in some way, but it might mean taking out the shorter cabinets entirely. I don't suppose you have room there for a counter depth refrigerator (36" wide)? It would be nice not to have the fridge sticking out so far into the room, but it may not be feasible.
Keerthi Naidu
13 years ago
How valuable is that cabinet space to you? I'd recommend just taking them out! It seems like the most hassle-free option, then you don't have to worry about moving any of the other cabinets.
Jamie Geisler
Original Author
13 years ago
@Houssaon - Thank you so much for the feedback. @PH Interiors and @feeny and @Keerthi, Thanks to all for the suggestions. I always wondered if the stove got too hot next to the fridge, so previous owners put a little counter space between the stove and the fridge - kept the cabinets "as is" and moved the fridge to the left.

So if I remove the two cabinets...the remaining cabinets will stop before the end of the counter. That will probably look weird. We do not have room for a 36" wide fridge, that would be great though I can look into that. SO far, I will strongly consider removal of the two cabs above the fridge. Let's see if we can get other suggestions. Thanks again!
feeny
13 years ago
last modified: 13 years ago
I think you are probably right about the reason for moving the fridge but not changing the cabinets. And I do think it is going to look odd either way. Presumably the one set of slightly lower cabinets ends at the edge of the stove, yes? And then you have a very narrow lower cabinet and counter to the left of that? It looks too narrow for another separate cabinet. I might be tempted to take out both the ones over the fridge and over the stove and either have a new bank of cabinets built for that space, or put in open shelving across that whole wall if new cabinets aren't in the budget.
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PRO
User
13 years ago
I would have someone build a simple open cabinet with a shelf to fill in that odd space over the counter that will be left when you remove the 2 small cabinets. Great place for cookbooks.
Jamie Geisler
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you both for the fantastic ideas ( and for mocking it up). I think we are going to go with the hybrid. Perhaps storage shelves over the fridge...or maybe just one shelf. And the open cabinet with shelf. Your input is very much appreciated!