New to Kitchens? Read Me First!
Buehl
6 years ago
last modified: 6 months ago
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Need help in reviewing kitchen design for new construction
Comments (43)We have been in our new construction house for about 6 months now and I wish I had a second dishwasher. Not so that I wouldn't have to unload dishes (I think that would confusing) but for all the pots/pans that I use when I cook 2-3 times a week. I'd love to reduce all the hand washed dishes that I do. If I stay long enough in this house to update the kitchen, I will add a second dishwasher on the other side of the sink. Also, I didn't take my cabinets all the way up to my 10' ceiling. I thought it would be visually overwhelming unless I had glass front cabinets. I only have 5 upper cabinets and it would have cost me an extra couple of thousand to take them to the ceiling. I have a lot of drawers and don't even use one of my upper cabinets so storage is not a problem for me. I don't feel the need to decorate above my cabinets and don't have anything to display to justify the extra glass cabinets but then again, I am not a collector of things. I am sure it would have looked great with cabinets to the ceiling but in person it looks fine without. If you can avoid using your kitchen as a hallway, I would do so. My first house, built in the 60's, had a door from the garage into the kitchen, with the fridge right around where you have yours. That was not ideal but I didn't have a choice with the layout....See MoreAwkward small kitchen layout 50s house
Comments (13)Dear Kelsey, I am guessing that you have a dining room adjacent to your kitchen. Since the majority of us (people) tend to live and entertain in our kitchens. Most of us like to have kitchen and dining in one space. Or like our kitchen open to the dining and or living areas of our homes. You can verify this with realtors in your area to see if this holds true for the area of the country you live in. Did you consider adding the adjacent dining room space to your kitchen space to give you more real estate to play with? Click the link below to see an example of what I mean. https://www.kitchendesignco.com/portfolio/kitchen-space-planning/ These clients had a too small kitchen loaded with door and window openings. Making it seemingly impossible to get a kitchen they would love to cook, bake, entertain, and live in. Adding the dining room area to the program gave them over twenty different kitchen layouts to compare and decide from. Since you’re only playing on paper, at this point, the worst thing that happens is you try it and discover if reconfiguring how you live in your home will work for you or not. This may be your best option to change your kitchen and change your life for the better. I hope this has been helpful. Joe Brandao Kitchen Design Company...See MoreI am looking for someone to provide ideas on remodeling my kitchen.
Comments (10)We need more information from you. We have a "Layout Help" FAQ that will be helpful. I'll summarize the main points here and link to the FAQ for further reading. We also have a set of Kitchen Design Best Practices/Guidelines that will help you understand the comments/questions you will be getting. We need a fully-measured layout of the spaces under consideration and a sketch of the entire floor the Kitchen is on. By "fully-measured", I mean a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample at the end. Include trim in window/door/doorway measurements. For windows, include how high off the floor they are. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see the "post" in the sample layout) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you. The sketch of the entire floor lets us see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. It doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms all relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors (or how to get to them if they're on a separate floor). In addition, it will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Include the front entry and family entry, if different. The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries. Other questions... Tell us about you and your family and how you plan to use your Kitchen. All-adults? Empty Nesters? Children (now or in the future)? What appliances (& their sizes) do you have or plan to have? Are you using existing or replacing them with new? Where are you flexible? Can walls/windows/doors/doorways change (move, change size, add, delete)? Are you planning to replace the floor in whatever room your Kitchen ends up in? Right now, you have continuity in the home - assuming the wood flooring is throughout the public spaces. The above and more are discussed in the Layout Help FAQ. Layout Help FAQ: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5500789/faq-how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-what-information-should-i-include Ice.Water.Stone.Fire, a humorous discussion of Kitchen design: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first Also see... Work Zones, What Are They?: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500762/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they Aisles Widths, Seating Overhangs, etc.: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500771/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc Storage Planning: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500787/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage New to Kitchens? Read Me First: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5500754/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first "...sink, stove, refrig all need to stay in same spot..." Keep in mind that if key component locations (water/sink, range, and refrigerator) cannot change, then you are severely limiting your options - possibly to the point where no improvements can be made b/c those components & their locations are what make or break a design. If you truly want to "redesign" your Kitchen as you stated in your first post, then you need to be more flexible. Tell us WHY these components cannot move....See MoreBeginner needs kitchen layout help...first house project
Comments (23)Overall very workable layout. I'd suggest reversing the order of the cabinets on the fridge/pantry wall. I often post a collage which includes huango's corner appliance pantry (top L), when a plan has the fridge and ovens on a short wall near a corner--the two on bottom R might also work: That would eliminate the open shelves in the corner and provide more storage. You might consider facing the MW drawer toward the fridge, so that if someone wants to use it while you're prepping, he can do so without being in your prep space. As others advised, I'd off-set the sink--start with DW on the right (you might need a return panel if the side panel isn't sturdy enough to support the weight of the counter top), then sink, trash pull-out, and then MW on the left. On the perimeter, use as many drawer bases as possible:...See Morelenzai
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