Dear Garden Web,
We could use some help.
We’re ready to execute our vision of a remodeled kitchen
this year, but we’re not fully comfortable with the layouts we’ve created. We’re hoping you can provide some guidance, validation/encouragement,
and some cautionary advice on what we’re planning in the house we purchased a
few months ago and which we plan to stay in for 10-15 yrs.
Today, the box-shaped kitchen sits at one end of a long
rectangle, with ancient cabinets, a new fridge & dishwasher, and an
electric range. We’d like to transform
it into a super-kitchen, adding a larger gas range to the kitchen, replacing
the cabinets, and making the other end of the rectangle into a large dining room
(seating for 12+). I’ve included copies
of the current layout (each square is 6” x 6”), as well as a few appliance
configurations we’ve considered. We feel
like we’re breaking up “the triangle” and broke some golden NKBA rule on
counter space next to a range.
Who uses it, and why:
My wife (primary cook, 5’2”) and I (5’7”) both enjoy cooking, though
neither of us do it professionally. We only
host events that involve lots of food, and we have 10-12 events/yr. The
attendees are often food-centric themselves, and bring things to warm or finish. We have no interest in sitting in the kitchen
itself to eat, but we know our guests gather in/near the kitchen during events –
it’s partially why we’re blending our kitchen and entertainment space. We need to be able to host our large family
gatherings (15-20 ppl) in this space, and in a formal or semi-formal
setting. I hope to also host a monthly
wine-tasting gathering in the space. Outside of events, each week we cook 7
dinners, 4-5 lunches, and 3-4 breakfasts.
We have a 2 yr old who needs to not hurt himself before he learns to
cook.
The rest of the house:
We have lots of storage space in the basement (wine cellar, pantry, extra
freezer, etc.) which connects directly to the current kitchen footprint. The
dining room has been converted into a playroom, homework will either be done
there or at the long table in the diagram (still searching for that table). The space has five egresses: little double-doors to the playroom/DR, door
to the basement, open doorway to the foyer, sliding door to a deck, and a door
to a laundry room & garage. The DR
has a second entry/exit way (should we have to close the one from the kitchen –
which we’ve considered – we’ve also thought of making it a lower/upper door
with a flip-up counter). It would be challenging
& expensive to move the DR/LR divider and thus the doorway to the DR. The laundry room & garage entrance is our
primary entrance to the house, as such we will be going through the kitchen
every time we come in and want to keep a clear, safe path.
What we cook: We’d
like to think we’re rather broad-spectrum – baking, roasting, sautés, soups
& stews, fried foods, cast-iron seared steaks, curries, jams, pickling,
breads, pizza, seafood boils, sausages, dumplings. Lots of flavors from Asia, Europe, and Americas. We don’t grill much, but tea & coffee is
ritualized. We need to be able to deal
with some sizable (10-15lb) cuts of meat; if we had a side of venison, though, I’d
probably handle it outside. Thanksgiving
birds are up to 20 lbs.
Appliances: In preparation for the new kitchen I charged
ahead on the appliance replacement (we hated cheap electric cooktops from
rentals past, and hate the fancy all-electric range that came with the house). After doing a LOT of research (here and
elsewhere), we opted for the 2x30” approach to a large range and bought them,
and we bought a 60” hood to match; so keeping the 60” range and hood is a
requirement. There’s a suitable gas line
under the kitchen, and we can exhaust out.
We’re very excited about the range – low and high BTUs with sealed
burners, multiple ovens of different sizes and fuels, and uninterrupted
grates. The hood is a beast at 2K CFMs, though
I doubt we’ll ever crank it up that high.
The challenge is it’s a squeeze in our layouts. The relatively new fridge (deeper-than-counter
depth with full height French doors) that came with the house is satisfactory, but
we would consider replacing it in a few years, perhaps with a counter-depth
fridge. The fridge has a water line and
ice maker, neither are important to us. The
dishwasher has been performing well. I
may get a second for stemware (over in the butlery area) if the wine nights
take off.
Counters and storage and sinks: We’d like to maximize counter space to have
stations for two cooks (required), with some room for a third if a guest wants
to help. We want two sinks, at least so
the secondary cook can rinse vegetables, fill a pot, or dump something if
needed. We’d like cabinets to go to the 8’ ceilings (there’s a soffit now) but
we recognize we’re not big people, so that space will mostly be used for
serving-ware. We don’t need to eek out
every inch of storage from this space, we have the extra space in the basement
and potentially in that butlery/buffet.
Having ready access to the bottles, tools and pans necessary at the
range will be important. Having an easy
way to sort through our spices would also be helpful (for example, we’ve
considered a 4-6” depth floor-to-ceiling rack on the wall where the basement
door swings). We don’t know where to put
the garbage/recycling. We need a place
to put the onions and potatoes. The
layouts I’ve shared have a buffet/butlery/wine-station on one side of them
which would provide a little more counter space, and more storage for stemware. We use the closet in the foyer as a dedicated
pantry.
What gets a dedicated counter spot: Rice cooker, Toaster, knife block, drying
rack, fruit (it’s kept at room temp – but perhaps we can find a better place
than on the counter), mise en place.
Aesthetics: Looks do
matter, but Function over Form! We’re
likely going with country-white cabinets, and we’ll probably replace the
flooring throughout with HW to create a unified look. We may leave the space
around the hood empty of cabinets, depending on how things work out, and we don’t
mind have frequently used pots and pans exposed. Countertop material is a big question-mark. Light is an issue in the space, the windows
don’t bring in enough, so we’ll need to add more in this process. We’re trying to avoid diminishing what we
have.
A few other notes: The center window that the counters end
at is low (27” from floor), otherwise we would have run counters a little
further in front of it. We could always raise
it, but that’s a little bit of a trade-off with light. The far end of the room was also considered
for the kitchen, but it backs to the garage (potential expansion point) and we generally
like the location of the kitchen today. We
are willing to move water/power/gas within the space. There is a concern with proximity of the
ranges to flammable door/window moldings and people/kids passing close to a
range when going through doorways. We either
need to keep the ranges far enough away or we might need to build an alcove
(i.e. brick?) for the range area. The
wall with the range today (and possibly tomorrow) is 95.5” long, plus 2.5” of door
molding, then the 30” door opening.
LAYOUTS
Current State Layout
Layout 1
Layout 2
Thanks in advance for your advice!
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