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Layout:Finally an organized presentation - Please help make it fa

15 years ago

All,

I've been following the "Are Kitchens headed in this direction" discussion with fascination and outright fear. Design questions to follow!

I need to make my ultimate final layout decisions for my kitchen by THIS Sunday. Electrician comes on Monday and will rough everything in at that time and my layout will be pretty much set at that point.

I am thick-skinned and welcome your most stark assessments and suggestions!

Here's the skinny:

Small galley kitchen, interior 1940's row home in MidAtlantic. Southern windows facing backyard. Open to dining room with a peninsula dividing kitchen and dining space. Too many doors to kitchen (can not be changed).

One adult (but frequent long-term house guests). one child. 2 fabulous (but big) dogs. Many meals shared with other families. Lots of from scratch meals, not so much gourmet (just aspirational!) Not a lot of packaged or canned goods.

Appliances: 30" wide frig, 30" induction cooktop (Bosch), built in oven (frigidaire), dishwasher, microwave, toaster oven, water boiler for press pot coffee, oversized coffee grinder. Occasional: spice grinder, cuisinart, immersion blender. I do NOT yet have a hood/vent and don't know what the heck to do about one.

Obstacles: I took down the wall between kitchen and dining room, which eliminated one of the FOUR doors in/out of this little kitchen. One more door will be eliminated by recessing frig through it and building a box for that. I can't make any exterior changes due to bothersome homeowner's assn rules. Load-bearing wall will not be structurally altered.

Kitchen is a highly social, multi function space for us. We spend most of time there. Art projects, bill paying, visiting, etc etc.

Goal is to maximize the space. Dining space driving me nuts - I think my table is too big, but I have 6+ people to seat almost weekly.

Quandry: cooktop on peninsula, or share the counter run with the sink?

I originally wanted no upper cabs. I'm not a collector & don't have lots of kitchen gadgets to store. But still think I may need the uppers. No plan to move from my little home (proud of it and my neighborhood!) for 20+ years.

My inspriation kitchen is the "divine kitchen" on houzz. I'll post link. I love the look of Pacific NW kitchens, and CA style. (see The Joinery, Berkeley Mills, Henry Built). I'm a big big fan of the Not So Big House.

Kitchens here that make me drool:

Smarge, Celineike, ellaf, leela4. Farmgirlinky. Really -- I could stare at the photos of these kitchens forever.

I hope these drawings and information are sufficient.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to photos of my measurements and layouts

Comments (24)

  • 15 years ago

    lots of links to other views of same kitchen.
    THANKS!

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Dreamy kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/divine-kitchens-llc-contemporary-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~66894)

  • 15 years ago

    I couldn't get your picasa link to open... try again? :)

  • 15 years ago

    I can't open your link.

  • 15 years ago

    Oops ---
    I fixed the link!
    IT WORKS NOW!

    Looking forward to hearing y'all's ideas
    :)

  • 15 years ago

    Since your kitchen is such a social space, I think I'd keep the range on the same wall as the sink. It may make it easier to run a duct for a range hood than if you put the range in the peninsula. Having that nice big open peninsula space should offer a nice multifunction area. I like the idea of the bench seating for the dining table, but I'm not quite sure if the long straight run is ideal - I kept looking for a way to create an "el" seat for a banquette. I like the idea of some upper cabinet along the range/sink wall.

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks, dseng.
    Definitely keeping the range on the same wall as sink now.

    Banquette: would you use a round table? Or the large rectangular one I now have? Like the link.

    All,

    My contractor suggests for the sink/cooktop run, starting from the South facing window:
    12" filler cab (toaster here?)
    30" cooktop with two drawers beneath
    24" drawer base cab
    30" sink cab
    24" dishwasher space
    30" drawer base cab

    Then for Peninsula he suggests, also from South:
    15" base
    30" base for oven
    30" base drawers

    I feel like the peninsula can handle a little more, maybe 24", 30", 30" ??
    Could I make it to 30/30/30? Or revert to 24/30/24?
    How much space should I keep open for a walkway?

    Hanging question is where to put the recycling. Garbage and compost will go under the sink in smaller containers & be emptied more frequently. Does this bother anyone?

    I had originally planned a 15" pull out next to the sink for garbage, but contractor's suggestion gives me more counter space.

    And the oven. Wondering where to put it. In the middle set of cabs in the peninsula, or on the southern-most end,
    deeper in the kitchen?

    Should dishwasher be to the left or to the right of the sink? If it is to the right of the sink then kitchen helpers could unload dishes without getting too deep in the kitchen (close to back door).

    Thanks for reading and considering!
    BT

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Is this an[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/banquette-breakfast-nook-contemporary-dining-room-san-francisco-phvw-vp~44705)

  • 15 years ago

    I forgot to ask about the UPPERS above the cooktop and sink.
    30" / 24" / 30" / 24" / 30" ??

    How do I deal with the heights of the uppers?

    I know it sounds crazy, and not at all the usual way to do this, but it's pretty easy for me to change my cabs around last minute since I am using IKEA boxes and holding off on ordering from Scherrs until the guts are installed.

    Right now I am leaning toward QS white oak, no stain, slab, grain-matched.

    Thanks!
    BT

  • 15 years ago

    BalTra- I like your inspiration kitchen! It's nice to see some color :)

    Here are a few of your pictures...and a link to your inspiration kitchen, on Houzz. {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans
    {{!gwi}}From Kitchen plans

    If you're going to have a banquette, my suggestion would be to have a pedestal table, whether it's round, oval or rectangular. It's much easier to access the banquette, without trying to get past those legs! Hope this helps :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Link to Houzz inspiration kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/divine-kitchens-llc-contemporary-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~66894)

  • 15 years ago

    I'd put the sink on the peninsula as that would create a great prep spot with good room to either side to be able to split up cleanup and prep. And I'd then put the range on the back wall, centered between the two windows as a focal point with a nice chimney hood.

    THe reason you are not getting more responses to your post is that the pictures are not embedded, and there is no floor plan. People need to see the exact measurements in floor plan form to give more detailed recommendations.

  • 15 years ago

    bump :)

  • 15 years ago
  • 15 years ago

    Lavender lass -- :) :) !

    Apparently I can not do it yet. Trying again to imbed the layout/dimensions pics.

  • 15 years ago

    So kind, you two. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

    Here is the layout view, with measurements. Hope it's readable on your screen.

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago
  • 15 years ago
  • 15 years ago

    Walls are numbered for elevations

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago

    Here is a problem spot, where there are too many doors. The door to the basement can not be moved. The door to the living room is to be used to recess my new 30" frig.

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago

    Here is the west wall elevation of the kitchen. This is the wall where the sink and cooktop are planned.

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago

    I misnamed the North wall above as the south wall. The backyard is to the south. The front door to the North. Basement door and Frig are on the North wall. Fingers faster than mind.

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago

    Kinda messy, but here are a few more measurements of the windows and doors in the kitchen

    From GardenWebPics

  • 15 years ago

    I keep checking your thread but I still can't read your diagrams. They are too light and a bit too small for my eyes to make things out without major effort. Can you darken the lines and make the drawings a bit larger - or perhaps the lettering a bit larger is all that's needed - and post again?

  • 15 years ago

    BalTra- I know you're running out of time, so I'm just going to comment on what I can see from the elevations. Why are you blocking your window, with that partial wall (where you might add a pantry)? Could you add some kind of pantry by the fridge (even a shallow one) or is there just no room? If that's a support wall, then I see why it's there and the pantry makes more sense :)

    I really like your colors and the open shelves, especially the ones on the corner. I think the sink and stove work very well 'as is' because it gives you so much prep space, on the peninsula.

    It looks like you've put a lot of thought into this plan and if I'm really looking forward to seeing your progress!

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks lavenderlass. And love the shout out to my inspiration kitchen on the crazy design exercise post. What fun!

    FWIW, hiring a design "expert" doesn't always pan out. I hired two for this process, both well recommended and with lovely portfolios. Not necessarily 'the' answer. But maybe I'm difficult to work with :) !!

    Thanks for checking back and looking things over.

    Electrician making holes in walls and ceilings now. I'll be back with design questions.

  • 15 years ago

    I'm sorry, I'd like to help you but your plans are difficult to read. Since you are planning on doing Ikea boxes, could you possibly use their planner to show the room dimensions and post the result here? That would help us to help you immensely!

    In the mean time, (this is all from looking at your renderings, not the diagrams, which I cannot see well enough) I would suggest getting rid of the tall shelves that block your view of the rear door. I would hope that door has some glass to it to let in light, and if not, consider replacing it with one that does. I would center the range between the two windows on the back wall as a focal point, and use cabinetry to the counter to the right of the second window to create a "hutch" type of storage. Put the sink on the peninsula, and again, place cabinetry on the wall on the left, facing outward towards the peninsula. Again, take it all the way to the counter in order to maximize storage. Maybe use glass to keep it less of a visual barrier. That could be your main dish storage area, and if you did an appliance garage under it instead of another cabinet, you could store your coffee maker and toaster there. I'd use a smaller sink, and that would leave the peninsula as the social center of your prep.

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