Layout help for kitchen in tax-refund house

10 years ago

I'm helping a friend make a cheap house livable. Here's the kitchen floorplan:

This shows where the appliances were in the PO's kitchen. We'll be getting some cheap CL/Habitat Restore cabinets and fitting them in as best we can. Goal is low-budget functional.

Overall dimensions are 10' x 12'-6".

The window is too low for cabinets to fit below it.

Any ideas other than a straight counter run along the sink wall and the appliances where shown?

Featured Answer

mama goose_gw zn6OH

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Hi, weedy! I'm ashamed to post this, since it breaks so many rules. Well, maybe just a couple, but it's quirky. I tried to use common sizes of cabs that might be available at a Restore or on Craigslist. The shallow storage would be wall cabinets that can be stacked, or you could put stained or painted plywood counters over the bottom cabs (3.5" toekick + 30" cab + 3/4" is close to standard height), and hang a wall cabinet above. Toekicks could be made from painted 2x4s. I put wall cabinets on the sink wall for dish storage. Cutlery and utensils in the 18" drawer base. The same plywood from the shallow cabs could be used to make boxes to fill in voids, for sheet pans, cutting boards and cookbooks. I doubt that a pullout to fit beside the fridge would be available, so that spot could house a folding step stool, broom, ironing board (remember those ;), etc. If the fridge is 30", all the better--maybe some 15" cabinets could be plugged in there.

Prepping could be done on either side of the sink.

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Comments (11)

mabeldingeldine
10 years ago
what about pulling out the fridge and putting a pantry cabinet perpendicularly behind it, and another pantry cabinet next to the fridge on the bedroom wall for more storage. Move the range to the sink wall, and have dedicated counter space on the LR wall. No uppers on the sink and stove wall to make it feel more open. A counter-depth fridge would make it even better.
weedyacres thanked mabeldingeldine
cluelessincolorado
10 years ago
How low is the window?
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mabeldingeldine
10 years ago
How about this? Far from perfect, but lots of storage.
weedyacres thanked mabeldingeldine
raee_gw zone 5b-6a Ohio
10 years ago
Is there somewhere else in the house for sit-down meals, or does a space need to be made in the kitchen?
herbflavor
10 years ago
looks like the left side of room is a lot of "walking through" I would maybe spend money to shift living room entry to left .......gives more space on right side of room for a bigger kitchen,later on. . For now sink on longer wall.....fridge to left of window-51 inch wall.....[You can make an L with those two walls] keep stove in lower right ....plan for future better kitchen......
weedyacres thanked herbflavor
weedyacres
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for the ideas thus far. Creativity that I hadn't considered, like putting storage on 2 sides of the fridge and adding a peninsula.

A few answers/comments:

-they will not have a dishwasher.

-they say they eat dinner on the couch in the LR watching TV, so don't need a DR/kitchen table.

-I don't know how low the window goes. Will have to look at the photos I took. But I know it's below counter height.

-We can't move the wall at this point. Our time frame will be almost as tight as our budget, and it's got plaster walls, so not easily/cleanly demo'd and rebuilt.

If I had a bit more time and money, I'd probably put in a smaller window and make an L- or U-shaped kitchen. Hmm, maybe we just run the cabinets across the front of it and not worry too much about it looking funny. Next year's tax return may buy new windows, and we could modify it then. So toss that in as an option.
weedyacres
Original Author
10 years ago
OK, bottom of the window is ~30" above the floor.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Using the window wall is a game changer :). You can center the faucet on the window to disguise the off-center sink. The cart doesn't have to be 48" long, but can be pulled out for extra prep space. The pantry could be framed with next year's tax refund, when the windows are being replaced. The DW could be installed the year after.
weedyacres
Original Author
10 years ago
Well, we went CL shopping and bought these cabinets (photos from listing):

And amazingly, they all reconfigured into something very close to mamagoose's design above, with very few leftovers. Here's my crude draft layout:

In case any of you are doing the math, the 18" drawer base on the mobile island is not in the batch we purchased yesterday, but we've got an 18" bathroom drawer base that will work well on one end, since it's shorter/less deep than the kitchen cabinets.

My friend really liked the "fridge surrounded by cabinets' and a 48" free counter along the LR wall, which the mobile island will provide. It'll also provide some mobile seating for her little ones if needed.

There's still some space to the left of the stove that we can find/build some pantry type storage, or just extend the counter space for now. Another parking option for the mobile island? :-)

Anyway, additional thoughts, or tweaks to improve this would be appreciated.
mabeldingeldine
10 years ago
Wow, great score on the cabinets! I'd love to see a finished photo!