Kitchen design feedback

16 years ago

We are looking to renovate our VERY outdated kitchen with something much more functional, optimal for entertaining, and allows for great flow of light. The kitchen is literally the center of our house as the whole ground floor connects to it on either side. We have a great view of a small lake and would like to maximize that and the fact that our kitchen faces south, so it gets some good light. The wall that the fridge is currently on will be removed and potentially the wall that the stovetop is currently on as well. Pictures of the existing kitchen and potential design are below.

Must Haves:

-Wall behind the current location of the fridge open to the living room behind it.

-a bigger window over the sink

-darker wood cabinets (husband hates white cabinets)

-a butler's pantry located to the upper left of the drawing through the door for additional storage (that design is somewhat taken care of)

-all new stainless steel appliances

Potentials:

-recombining stovetop and oven into a range

-I don't want my microwave located over the stove/range nor do I want it below a counter (husband and I are both tall)

-two sided upper cabinets on the wall the stovetop is currently on (that wall faces an informal eating area, formal dining is to the lower left of the kitchen in a separate room)

Thanks for any feedback you can provide!

Here is a link that might be useful: Current pictures and design

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Comments (6)

rhome410
16 years ago
Can't see your pictures without signing up for Snapfish. Can you make the album so it is public and doesn't require a password to see it?
alainatrace
Original Author
16 years ago
Hopefully this will work now?

Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Picture Album
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rhome410
16 years ago
I think it could be very helpful to have a current plan to compare to the proposed plan...and with some view showing of the rooms around the kitchen, so we can better understand the flow of the house...And the plan you posted is really hard to see, so maybe heavier lines?

What style fridge are you planning? What way will the door swing? If the hinges are on the same side as that wall section next to it, you might not be able to open the door fully and get the drawers out past the door racks.

Do you want a range instead of wall oven and cooktop, or would rather keep the 2 separate units?

Is the 34" walk through area what you have now? Is it working OK? On the plan it looks like it could be tight, but if it's existing and works, maybe it's fine.
Buehl
16 years ago
Is there a reason for that "pony wall"? I takes up space and may force you to have filler b/w it and the cabinet next to it.
You have upper cabinets over the peninsula... Are they short cabinets that won't be in the way (no more than 12" tall)? Or, are they taller cabinets? Taller cabinets will make it difficult to interact w/others on the other side of the peninsula. You will have to bend over/down to talk/see. Unless you plan on leaving those cabinets empty, glass won't help b/c the items in the cabinet will still block the sight line. This issue will have a greater impact if you're tall! (Even if you leave the cabinets empty, they will still be an obstacle for communicating b/c they will still be solid objects blocking the way.)

When we were planning our remodel we talked to friends in our neighborhood who had those cabinets and every one of them told us not to do it! They all wished they had not. (We weren't planning to anyway b/c my DH had already said he didn't want to be leaning/bending to see over/through the peninsula, but it was good to hear others say the same thing.)

The above also applies to passthroughs.
chicagoans
16 years ago
You commented that you don't want an under-counter MW because you're tall. I was concerned too (DH and I are 6'3" and 5'11") but we got a drawer MW and it's great, because you load and unload from above - no bending over.

Also FWIW we raised all our counter heights (kitchen and bathrooms) to 39". It's much more comfortable for us; might work for you too.

I agree with the comment about the cabs over the peninsula; unless they're very high, I think you'd be unhappy with how much they block the view.
Buehl
16 years ago
Tall family + MW Drawer here & we're very happy with it! (Height range is 5'10" to 6'6" and still growing!)