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abergdc_gw

About to pull trigger on kitchen design and having cold feet

abergdc
14 years ago

Were about to bid out the work and order the cabinets, and I had cold feet reading all the interesting comments on designs people send in.

We have a small kitchen and are redoing it for three reasons:

1. We need to replace everything. We have an old electric range with no outside ventilation, a broken fridge, and old inefficient cabinets with no drawers or pullouts and a big hidden corner. (And I guess ugly too, though thatÂs my wifeÂs business).

2. We want to open up to the adjacent dining room, to be able to cook and clean and enjoy the company of our two kids (9 and 11) and guests.

3. We want better light and ventilation. The rear of the kitchen has a window that is now mostly covered with (admittedly useful) storage, and the best view and light come from the adjacent dining room.

We have lots of constraints, mainly in the form of setback restrictions that prevent almost any expansions. So we are living within the space we have.

So attached are the surface plan and a few elevations, to give the idea. We are basically removing the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, leaving two 48"-high walls (with cabinets on the dining room side) with counters on top as partial dividers at each end of the large arched opening. On the opposite side (the rear), we are putting in a bit of an overhang and 15" deep base cabinets and counter (at 36" tall), with window above. New fridge (sub-zero) and range (probably Thermador 30" all gas) plus an Advantium 30" below counter complement a nice Bosch dishwasher we are keeping. WeÂre going with inset cabinets (my wifeÂs aesthetic choice) for this '20s house.

Some notes on the design: we are leaving a lot of wall on the range side. We donÂt like the massed-wall-cabinet look. There will be small spice cabinet (open) sort-of built-in to the wall to the left of the range, about 3" deep. And a small pot-rack in the small alcove where the rear window is. The stairway at the rear of the kitchen goes down to a frequently-used basement, which we are also renovating. WeÂll put a 3Â run of 15"-deep cabinets down there as a sort of a pantry for little-used small appliances, spare bulk stuff, etc. WeÂre pushing out the back alcove a bit, but even that is limited by the setback restrictions. The opening above the sink looks into an adjacent family room, and we want to keep that pretty much as is.

WeÂre still tweaking the cabinet layout a bit. For example, weÂre still figuring out what to do with a bit of extra space we have in the base cabinets to the left of the fridge (as discussed in another thread).

We think weÂve pretty much got it figured out, but as I say after reading all the excellent comments on others' designs I guess I'm not so sure, so comments welcome!

Thanks in advance,

Andy

Comments (18)

  • rhome410
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I almost hesitate to post, because I don't think I can be of any help, since I like it pretty much as it is! It is small, but I think you're doing the most you can with it.

    I wanted to flip your entire fridge wall, but see that you probably want the tall stuff near the stairs instead of by the opening...and I could live with it as shown for the aesthetic advantage if it were my space.

    Unless you have a very specific use/need for the pullouts to the left of the range, I'd replace them with drawers. Drawers have more advantages and pullouts are, IMO, a big pain.

    I didn't see your other thread, I guess...Are you talking about the 6 inches or so in the base cabs to the left of the fridge? If so, it's the size space we used to wonderful advantage in our previous house and kitchen for a stepstool. Or put trays there and a broom in the tall cabinet to the right of the fridge?

  • holligator
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with rhome that you have a really nice design already. I also agree that the base to the left of the stove should be drawers instead of roll-outs.

    I would add those six inches to the pull-out pantry on the other side of the fridge.

  • michellemarie
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Someone else may know the answer to this, but are you sure you can have the Advantium where you have it? I have one ready to be installed and I thought it had to be higher off the ground than you have it. I might be wrong, but you may want to download the install manuel.

  • plllog
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The only thing I have to add is that I think you could make better use of the narrow cabinet to the right of the fridge if it were a pull out, at least the bottom half. Quite awhile ago someone posted pictures of a similar cabinet that was a pull out broom cabinet. One side was pegboard, and brooms, dustpan, etc., hung in that volume. Even a short stepladder.

    You've done a great job of maximizing the space without making it feel cramped.

  • desertsteph
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I agree with rhome - don't see much to change in it - you did great!
    I also would put drawers next to the range (unless - as she said - you have a specific reason for the slide out there) for a few favorite/most used pans, lids etc.

    and the small space (how wide?) left of the fridge and the one to the right of it (how wide?) for pull outs. the smaller one to the left maybe for things the kids will use - PNB, crackers, cereal, microwave soups,pop tarts, etc and the one to the right could have shelves for a row of soup/ veggies and one for tomato sauces/beans etc, one of juice can/bottles, one of litre/canned pop and a jug of good water (never know when a pipe might break and ya need clean water to drink/cook - I'm used to broken pipes here!)

    that area would give a good normal 'on hand' supply of food stuffs right in the kitchen (and could be replenished from the supply in the basement when needed).

    oh- one other thing, have you (or dw) thought of putting glass in the doors of cabs facing DR? depending on what you'll store there... I think putting cabs there is a great idea!

    looks good tho - you're probably ready to start the motors!

  • hestia_flames
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I love the way your plan looks. I did have a few thoughts. Your house is 1920, so I am assuming that based on the cabinet style that you are going for an Arts & Crafts style? Or, is it transitional? Very handsome cabinets.

    Suggestions: I had one suggestion on the "dividing" cabinets (they divide the kitchen from the dining room.) Those base cabinet doors in three vertical squares doesn't quite fit to me. Have you thought of having "one over two" divisions? I did a quick Photoshop on the right hand base doors to show you what I mean. While they are not mirrors of the kitchen cabinetry, they would repeat the geometry of the other kitchen cabinet doors a bit more. I think that you are right in that those cabinets need something a little different.

    {{gwi:1926353}}

    Also, you say that the entry way is arched. Have you thought about using a hood with an arched front apron to repeat the arch of the doorway? There are many different types of hoods, and even modern ones with an arched look. Conversely, you could consider an Arts and Crafts style hood, or even a much more geometric hood to play off of the other shapes. I guess I feel as if the hood is just not like anything else in the room. I linked to a URL where you can search for hoods by specific sizes in case you haven't decided on one yet.

    Last, since you say that you don't like massed cabinets, have you thought about using glass in just the upper panel of the four cabinets to the left of the fridge? It would help make it feel less massive in that space. It would be lovely to have in-cabinet lighting in those top cabinets at night.

    I have a difficult time writing suggestions, as I just love the style you chose. Best of luck!

  • Stacey Collins
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think it looks great, too... and just wanted to chime in on the roll-outs versus drawers thing. Everyone here recommended the same to me (for my pots/pans storage.) I had never used roll-outs before. In the end it came down to cost... we'd upgraded so many other things, and the KD said that drawers would be about $175 more, I think. She also assured me I would get the same space and functionality from the roll-trays. She was wrong, and the GW-ers were right!! In my cabinet (24" wide) the roll-trays are set on stand-offs to allow them to clear the door, I guess -these are frameless cabs, too!- that mean the drawer part is probably 1.5" less wide than if it was a normal drawer. You also lose some fore-aft depth. But the worst part is that it's much harder to use than drawers. You first open the door, careful to swing it open far enough so that the roll-out can roll out WITHOUT SCRATCHING THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR and then reach in and pull out the tray, then repeat to close, making sure you don't close the cupboard door to fast and scratch it. Sigh- I should have listened better here! (Of course I am being a bit melodramatic, but just wanted to explain in more detail why the above posters are recommending drawers instead!)

  • bmorepanic
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I would think about moving a larger cabinet down the run to do two things. Offset the range from the corner a bit more and combine pot and pan storage into a larger cabinet. Like 24" cab, sink, dw, range, 24-ish cabinet.

    I agree with hestia about the specific fronts drawn on those cabinets, but also that both openings are a bit clunky. Maybe the arches should be repeated in both openings - the "window" and the entrance way. Maybe the end cabinets can or should be inset into the surface of the entrance way... maybe take the full width available...

    With apolgies for the craptastic drawing (and for choosing generic craftsman) - bit more integrated.
    {{gwi:1926354}}

  • joanr
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I really like bmorepanic's rendering of the cabinet on the dining room side. With glass in the upper it would be a space to show your pretty glasses, etc. Also have you considered switching your trash drawer with your silverware drawer. That way your trash is close to your sink for prep and clean up. Also have you looked at how rhome410 put an upper built-in open bookcase in the corner. I think that would look good in your kitchen in the corner next to your cooktop and give you space to put cookbooks etc. Maybe someone here can link to that picture and show you what I mean. Joan

  • abergdc
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    So many interesting ideas--thanks!

    We decided to wait a week or two before sending the deposit, mainly so we can get some bids back so we have a clearer idea of the whole budget. But this is reassuring.

    Some reactions:

    On the cabinets on fridge wall. The cabinet to the right of the fridge will be a pull-out (the bottom half). Right now, it's 12" wide framed, with a 9" pullout. We're still nailing down the width of the little gap to the left of the fridge in the base cabinets. For a reason we haven't quite identified, the KD has it at 3 3/4, while we calculate it at 6" (everyone agrees on the whole run at 102". Actually the latter is not quite true, because when we remove the plaster and replace with drywall, we may pick up an inch or so.) Anyway, if it's 6", we should be able to put a small open space between two boxes, with a floor and a back, to get the full 6" for some trays etc. If it's much less, it gets difficult. (Michellemarie, I think it's OK to install a 30¨ 120 Advantium below counter. If we could get away with it, we¡¦d go with the 27¨, because clearly we could use the 3¨ extra. But it seems that's not possible.) We thought about glass doors on the top run of cabinets to the left of the fridge, but we thought it wouldn't match up too well with the rest of the run (e.g. the pullout to the right of the fridge), and anyway this was one place where we may save a bit of money. Also, we thought it would force the shelf in the middle, which may not be too efficient way up there.

    Bmorepanic, we don't want to increase the width of the cabinet to the left of the range, because there is not that much room to move the large "window" over the sink (partly because it is a load-bearing wall, and mainly because we need a big enough wall cabinet to the right for dishes). And then we want the hood placed symmetrically between that "window" and the wall.

    Lots of you mentioned the pull-outs to the left of the range. Our only thought was only that we need a place for a few small appliances, such as a blender, that are pretty tall but we use frequently (enough that we want them in the kitchen but not enough to put them out). And the pull-outs give us more flexibility on height. I shouldn't admit it, but we aren't the type to worry about scratches on the insides of the doors. The other alternative for the appliances is the end cabinets in the alcove, which will be 15" deep and just shelves inside (which could be adjustable. In this case, maybe drawers to the left of the range make more sense--we need to think more about that one.

    As for the hood, we're thinking something like a very low profile chimney hood. Maybe this Jennair or this Kitchenaid Architect II.

    We need to think a bit more about the entrance, I guess. Hestia, we like the idea of the 1-over-2 doors (I don't quite know the style, maybe transitional? I have to consult on that one. We're looking for period but not religiously so.) I don't know about putting in upper ones in the entrance wall. In the architect's elevations (I showed the KD's; I don¡¦t recent PDFs from the architect, only hard copy), it's clearer that there isn't much horizontal room for uppers. Rather, the idea is that the base cabinets, which will use all the available horizontal space, will look a bit like the base from which the arch extends up and over.

    Joanr, I kind-of like the idea of switching the trash with the silverware. The nice thing about such a small kitchen is that no matter where you are, you're a couple of steps from the trash. And I do worry about the corner there getting a bit clogged up during clean-up time (with more than one person helping). But it would be in a bit better position at least for one person. Right now, I don¡¦t quite know exactly how wide that existing silverware spot is. But if it's 18¨, then it would solve our little gap on the fridge side. We could put the trash in the 18¨ slot and use whatever space we have on the fridge side after the Advantium for a wider set of drawers. The thing is, we don't have a lot of flexibility on sizing on the range side either. We can't move the window much, and we want the range centered under the hood (itself centered between the window and the left wall) and the sink under the window. So either we have about 18¨ there to the far right or we don't. I'll have to check with the KD.

    Finally, I don't think we have room for an upper cabinet on that bit of rear wall to the left of the range. But what we have in mind (it's something we had original to our previous '20s house) is a very shallow built-in spice cabinet. I think it would look nice and be functional.

    Anyway, thanks again for the many useful suggestions!

    Andy

  • rhome410
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    We have our trash across the aisle from our sink and dishwasher and it works great to be able to access each, easily turning from one to the other. We access it most from the sink or the prep areas. If you move it to the far side of the dishwasher, where you now show the silverware, it'll be tough to scrape into from the sink with the dw door open, or get to from the stove/prep area.

  • desertsteph
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    doesn't anyone put their trash bin under the sink?
    does that cause a problem? it's where I plan mine to be.
    maybe it's because of size? I just need a very small one.

  • abergdc
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah, rhome410, I'm a bit worried about that too.

    Desertsteph, yeah it's size for us. We think we need at least 2 bins (we recycle and really could use 3, one for plastic and one for paper, plus trash). And we want at least 35 gallons. We now have one 50 gallon pail that doesn't seem too big, just for trash. (This is 2 adults, 2 kids)

  • melinrk
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My first thought also was that the garbage was in a funky place. If you do a trash compactor (I know I'm always saying that here on these forums, but they really are great) - which is only 15", put it where the dishwasher is next to the sink and move the dishwasher to the right where that set of drawers is. There may be a few extra inches on that wall so you could push everything to the right 3 inches, increasing the size of the left most cabinet - better for utencils on top and pots and pans, etc. Even though a compactor takes up less space, it holds so much garbage.
    Then, where the trash is now, you can put another set of drawers.
    Good luck.

  • abergdc
    Original Author
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    melinrk, thanks for the suggestion. The thing is, we need recycling too, so I think that rules out the trash compactor.

  • melinrk
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Yeah - we have a recycling basket - literally a basket that we throw eveything into it before bringing it to the garage.
    What if you seperate the garbage and recycling? Hmmm...can't decide if that sounds crazy or smart. I do think garbage needs to be closer to the sink, though.

  • rubyfig
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    A really good layout. Just to second melinkers thought about the location of the trash. Mine is between the sink and the stove, and it works well there.

  • rhome410
    14 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I'm not seeing why the garbage seems so far from the sink since it's right across the aisle? Think of how it will look when the dw is open, the trash is pulled open and someone is standing in front of the sink throwing things into the trash and loading the dw. Seems like everything is in a nice cluster. I agree that in the best case scenario, it'd be closer to the stove, but I think there are things at a higher priority to have next to the range. I'd hate to have a separate can in a kitchen this small and have a tripping hazard. JMO.