You say you've drawn it up on paper? Do you have a digital camera? If so...

1. Take a picture of the drawing (try to get it as straight as possible in the picture frame)

Download it to your computer
Edit it as needed either using your camera software or something like Microsoft's Picture Manager

• Crop out unnecessary stuff

Resize so no dimension is much more than 400
Upload it to a photo hosting site like Photobucket or Flickr (I like Photobucket b/c it seems to have more options not just for the owner, but also those who are trying to look at your pictures...useful when we're working on a design for someone.) [Many photo hosting sites are free or at least have a free version. Photobucket is one such.]
Copy the HTML Code of the picture location into the "Message" box and you're done! You'll see your picture when you "Preview" the message.

Here's where to find the HTML Code in Photobucket:

HTML code looks something like this:

Be sure you've labeled the sizes/widths of all doors/windows/walls and the distances between those doors/windows/walls.

Here's the "Layout" portion of the "Read Me" thread:

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Layout Help

We often get requests to help with layouts. Many of us enjoy doing this but it would help if you can post a copy of your layout, preferably to-scale.

• The best place to start is to draw up your kitchen (to scale, if possible) either without cabinets & appliances if you don't know where to start or with your proposed new layout if you have something to start with. Regardless, measure and label everything...walls, ceiling height, widths of doors & windows, distances between windows, walls, doorways, etc.

If you cannot move plumbing or gas, mark them on your drawing as well.
Mark all doorways & windows (with dimensions) and label them as to where they lead. If they're actual doors, mark how they swing.
It also would be helpful to see the connecting rooms, even layouts, so we see how they interact with the kitchen and/or extend the kitchen feel and flow.
Make note of traffic flows in and out of the kitchen

Make a list of things like:

• What are your goals? E.g., more counter space, more storage, seating in the kitchen (island? peninsula? table?), etc.

What is your family composition? Adults? Children? Age ranges of children? Current? Future?
How many kitchen workers are there? Cook(s)? Cleanup? Helpers? Now? Future? (E.g., if you have young children, plan for them as teens for both "sizing" of seating as well as helping in the kitchen in general)
How do you see your kitchen used? Just for cooking/cleaning up? Children doing homework while you cook?
Do you entertain a lot? Formal? Informal? ...

Hi Buehl, I made one on the lowes site...its pretty close, just missing half inches in places...it won;t let you put it in exact dimensions...I'll have to set up the photobucket thing.

this is basically what we have to work with, it wouldn't let me add a swinging door that closes off the room on the right (washer/dryer and pantry). I'll do what you suggested and take a photo of the exact dimensions and post it.

Also label the window & door widths as well as each wall "piece". E.g., b/w wall B and the left window on wall A + distance b/w the windows + distance b/w right window & right wall; window sizes, etc.

ok, these are the exact dimensions that we have to work with. The sink and dishwasher were located as indicated. We were thinking of putting the stove next to the exposed stud (will encase the stud to match cabs), but are open to ideas. We are a family of 5, kids are 15, 13 and 11. Love to cook, clean as I go. I love the Teagan doors by Maplecraft in Fawn. Needs:
1) Base cabs should be mostly drawers.
2) Uppers are to ceiling, some with glass inserts.
3) Need a spot for built in microwave.
4) Book shelf for cookbooks.
5) Base cab for cookie sheets, flats.
6) dining table at pub height, chairs for 6
7) two fridges are side by side, I need them to look built- in,they are regular width, not counter-deep.
8) on the left wall, vertical cabs with glass to the ceiling, maybe some horizontals? lowers with drawers, to give a buffet effect?
9) range hood - 36"? not sure about this one since the stove is 40". We're open to suggestions, my biggest problem is "seeing" upper cabinets in relation to the bottoms. Please help!

Where do you eat? In the kitchen? Is there a separate dining room?

no separate dining room, we are thinking of a pub-height table and chairs in the area that opens up to the family room. Cabs are light, floor is 16 x 24 porcelain, bronze/ chocolate/black. Black countertop? Black single bowl sink? Or is that too much black? We get a lot of light as the floorplan is very open.

We are putting a pocket door from the kitchen to the laundry room. Perhaps something you might consider? I like having the door open most of the time and I *love* that it doesnÂt take up any wall or walk space.

How is this for a start. The drawback is you lose your walk-in pantry. However, this keeps all traffic to one side. The two frig's are flanked by pullout pantries to look built in and then there is another pullout by the dishwasher if you need it. Hopefully you have the option of enlarging that window. I didn't put in any uppers, but the MW can go next to stove on one side or the other. It could also go in the island. You can eliminate the seat on the end of the island for bookshelves.

The tile flooring is 12x12 so you can get an idea of the dimensions.

wow, houseful, you are quick! we can't move the door to the garage, there is a hot water heater on the other side. The little wall dividing the kichen and pantry is just 37 1/2". Can't enlarge the windows...argh. wish i had software. wouldn't it be nice if the cab companies had software specific to their cabs? So you could really see it? To the right of the dishwasher, I was seeing some glass and solid wood doors uppers..maybe sort of hutchy? Fridges are on the right side. Cabs up and down on the left to create a buffet for the table...?

Refrigerators on the right side put them pretty far from prep zone, which will presumably be near the sink, and you'll have to walk through the tangle of chair and bodies in the eating area.

How wide will the two refrigerators, combined, be?

Can you move the swinging door?

I was asking about moving the door because you could then have something like this:

The flow is:
- food enters via garage door, goes to storage in refrigerator (eggplant) which I drew 48" wide, and perhaps a pantry cabinet next to refrigerator (not drawn).
- retrieved food goes to prep zone where you have sink (blue) and optional dishwasher (green)
- prepped food moves down counter to cook zone where you have a 40" range (red)
- cooked food goes to eat zone where I've drawn a 48" x 50" table (brown) that has 44" clearance on all sides except to family room opening where it is only 31". If you have some flexibility w/ the family room wall, you can fit a larger rectangular table which would be a lot better, as you need to seat 5 every day and presumably would like to be able to fit more (8?) to accommodate company. You have no other dining area I think?
- dirty dishes go to wash zone with sink (blue) and dishwasher (green). This zone could be combined w/ prep zone of course. Removing this zone would allow you to fit a larger dining table in the existing room boundaries. But, consider, it is s-o-o-o nice to have separate prep and wash zones. No more dirty mugs dumped in the sink where you are trying to wash lettuce.

There are a couple other flows too.
- Food and drink can also go direct from food zone to eat zone, without passing through the other zones. It can also detour to a microwave which I'd put somewhere in wash zones.
- Coffee, tea, etc can be prepared on the counters around the wash zone (using microwave or electric kettle) without interfering w/ the other zones.
I would find room for a microwave somewhere in this zone.

You lose the pantry in the laundry room/garage entry, but you can use that spot for hanging coats, muddy shoes, whatever. Well, I guess you could still fit a small pantry there if you really wanted to.

Bummer about the two blind corners, but it's late and my brain has run out of ideas.

Oh, I drew the refrigerators shallower than they are, I was thinking you could recess them into the laundry/garage entry room, but I forgot to mention that. If that is not possible, just make that counter deeper or get counter-depth refrigerators.

Too bad about the window. You can work around the door. I still think you should angle that corner. Here are the renderings with and without the corner. Then there is the overhead of the angled wall.

Obviously, you'll want obscure glass on that door so you don't see the laundry room. There is a bookshelf tucked in there on the second one. Or, you can do more pantry.

Finally, you can make that exposed post somewhat of an architectural feature by adding another one to flank the cooktop.

Just some ideas. Have fun!

Check out sweet home 3d - it is an easy to use 3 d modeler. I downloaded it to my Vista laptop as the BHG old interior designer software I have is not supported by vista. I found it very easy to use and the 3 d view is much easier to manage.

I found it by googling free kitchen design software and it was the highest rated by CNET.

I've elaborated the drawings a bit more. Here is an overhead view, with some stock "people" thrown in for scale. Sorry the pics are so large, I can't figure out how to resize them.

The food zone can include a pantry in base and upper cabinets, and the counters can accomodate a baking center or appliance parking.

The prep zone has plenty of counterspace on either side and all the food, refrigerated and non-, is immediately at hand.

Food slides right down to the cook zone which has ample landing zone on either side of the range.

Washup zone couldn't be any closer to the dirty dishes. Room for dishware, flatware, glassware to the left of the sink. Somewhere in here a microwave should live.

The dining space needs work if you want to accommodate more than just the family. Which I'd think would be practically a necessity.