Welcome Allison!

You have an interesting project. I did some digging and found other threads...are you still remodeling for resale? Or, is this for you and your family? I'm asking b/c our comments will differ depending on your answer.

• Is this a gut remodel -- i.e., everything is going...cabinets, wall, etc.?

• What can / cannot be changed? Can windows change? Exterior doors? Interior doors? Can other walls be changed?

• How do you access your garage from your home? I don't see a door to it in any rooms.

• Do you have a sketch of the entire floor? It helps us see how the Kitchen relates to the entire home as well as how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen.

• What is your family composition? Adults? Children? Age ranges of children? Current? Future?

• Do you or anyone in your home cook? (No, this is not a facetious question. Some people do not cook and their kitchen is a show place only. If that is what works for you & your family, that's fine! We just need to know that.)

• How do you see your kitchen used? Just for cooking/cleaning up? Children doing homework while you cook? Party place?

• Do you entertain a lot? If so, formal? Informal?

Note: The more constraints you put on a space (e.g., sink centered under a window, not willing to move plumbing, electric, or gas lines), the fewer options there are. So, be sure any limitations/constraints you mention are true constraints. You could say you would like something to not be moved/changed or placed in a certain location, but if it is not a must or truly impossible, then mention it is a preference but that you would consider something different.

BTW...do not assume something is "too expensive" to do...check around b/f assuming, you may be pleasantly surprised at how little it costs! (E.g., if you have a basement, moving water, etc. is generally relatively inexpensive.)

If one can be fit...

• Do you bake a lot and do you want a Baking Center?

• Do you want a coffee/tea/beverage center?

• Do you want a snack center?

What appliances do you plan on having (helps to figure out work flow, work zones, and types of cabinets...upper/lower vs full height, etc.)

• Range or Cooktop or Rangetop? Size? (Standard is 30"W)

• Single or Double or no Wall Oven? Size? (Usually 30" or 27")

• Warming Drawer? Size? (Usually 24", 30", 36")

• MW? (Advantium, MW Drawer, OTR MW/Hood, countertop, built-in, shelf?)

• DW? Standard or drawers? If drawers, 1 or 2?

• Refrigerator
  -- Standard-depth? Counter-depth? Built-in (most common is standard, with counter a close second; built-ins are not as common, probably b/c of their cost)
  -- Bottom or top freezer? Side by side? All fridge/all freezer columns?
  -- Size? (Standard is around 36" for refrigerator/freezer combinations; columns vary, 24" to 36" wide -- each)

• Ventilation Hood?

• Other?

Pantry: Walk-in or cabinets? In the Kitchen or outside the Kitchen (e.g., Mudroom or hall)?

.

***** Very Important *****

Is there anything you:

• Cannot live without?

• Definitely do not want?

• Would like if you can find a way?

FYI...this thread may be helpful:

New to Kitchens? Read me first!

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4306041/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first

As Buehl mentioned, we could really use a floor plan for the whole floor.

I'm trying wrap my head around this house layout. Do you think originally, the area you're labeling dining room was a family room, so when you open the front door it was actually living-dining-kitchen from front to back?

Thank you! I will try to a do my best to answer the questions,get updated information. we have decided to stay. We love our neighborhood and our desire for a 4th bedroom in our neighborhood just isn't going to happen so we are working making our layout work for us. We are foster parents so our house size(1400sf) is used for our immediate family of 4 + 1-3 extra children. Our house is a ranch. The front half(to the hallway) has a finished basement below also where the dining room is now is crawl space underneath. The outside is brick so moving the windows doesn't seem all that feasible. We are replacing the three doors (front, back, and garage door(yes I forgot to add the door to the garage.

I'm not sure what the original layout out for the dining room was. It seems to small to be a family room(the two sided fire place from hearth to hearth currently spans 7 ft depth, 8ft wide, and 8ft tall.) but from the front door back the layout of living-dining-kitchen makes sense.

Thank you- this is for our family. We are staying.

It will be a gut remodel- of the space pictures. Bedrooms, bath, stairs stay.

Outside is brick so window placement stays, but we will be replacing them windows that open. Exterior doors(front, garage, and back door will be replaced.)

Garage access will be added. It is along Wall D. 38 inches from the back wall.

I'll try to do a whole floor sketch but bathroom off the hallway and three bedrooms off the hall.

Family composition- two adults- two bio kids. we are foster parents so we have 1-3 bonus kids. Age range for the kids is 6-18. We plan to stay long term. Living room/playroom is in the basement along w/ one finished bedroom. 1/2 of the basement is currently finished. Looking at the sketch from the hallway back the basement below is unfinished.

We cook but are not gourmet/ very casual. We have other families over for dinner all the time so a space that can expand to seat many for eating would be great! But again casual/durable not fancy gourmet. Even when it is just our family we eat round a table.

I would like to keep the kitchen pretty much in the same space b/c of the access to the garage and back door and the fact that the space underneath is easy to work on. Beyond that I'm not tied to the location of appliances.

Here is my wish list:

-bar seating for two-near prep stove area(my kids often help/chat/play while I cook.

-range-slide-in, smooth top.with counterspace on both sides of the sink

-Pantry around the fridge and full height cabinets

-place for a trash cabinet

-counterspace!

no wall oven, no warming drawer

Standard fridge, standard dishwasher, and we don't use a microwave.

hoodvent- I would love an integrated hood in a cabinet.

++++++Would like if we can find a way:We are given from a friend medium stained quarter sawn oak cabinets. I'll provide a list of the cabinets. If we can use them I would love to b/c well they look awesome and they are free to us! our contractor said he is willing to modify them if needed. I also have talked to the manufacture and additional cabinets can be purchased but they won't guarantee a perfectly matched finish.

2- 24 by 24 inch pantry- full height.

Base cabinets-10 inch tray divider

24 inch sink cabinet

24 inch -3 drawers

24 inch -top drawer w/ doors and pull out shelves.

24 in top drawer and doors w/ pull out shelves

24 in cabinet front only

24 in cabinet front only

24 inch drawer w/ doors and pull out shelves

18 in pull out trash can

30 inch three drawer.

33 inch two small drawers top and two drawers below.

*15 in wide 15 inch deep.

Tops-

33 wide-42 tall

21 wide-42 tall

10 wide-36 tall

16 wide 36 tall

24 wide 36 tall

24 wide 36 tall

24 wide by 42 tall

24 wide by 42 tall- front only.

30 wide 20tall(previously hoodvent)

I'd like light colored(marble look but durable countertops.)

I don't really like the look of backsplash.

I like the look of no uppers along the sink wall. (large artwork or floating shelf) but I'm not sure how practical that is.

here is the picture of the cabinets in their previous home.

Exactly where is the window? It's missing on your layout.

Which wall is the "back wall"? Wall C?

Oh, and please also mark the dimension of the stairway "bumpout" -- including how far it is from the top (C) & bottom (A) walls and how deep it sticks out from wall B.

Ditto for the hallway and, if you're keeping a wall there, the wall and hall space dimensions.

first has doors and windows, stair wall added. Second is a rough(understatement of the year) of the house layout.

Window in the Kitchen space?

Does this kind of eat in kitchen--with a large/primary dining set--appeal to you, Allison? Or do prefer to keep kitchen and dining room two separate spaces?

Window in the kitchen is 85 inch from the corner of wall B to the edge of the trim. Including the current trim the window is 41 in. off the floor and 44, in tall. and 44 inches wide.

I like the table in the kitchen area pictured above I'm just not sure how it will work for us with the hallway to backdoor flow of kids in and out.

"Garage access will be added."

Does that mean it isn't there right now and that you're adding it with this remodel? If so, would you consider moving the door to the other end of the garage -- near where walls D & E intersect? It would give you more and better options if that door moves.

Right now, I'm fighting with the traffic -- b/c of the location of the backdoor & garage door (if near C / D), traffic seems inevitable no matter where I put the range. The Cooking Zone and range should be protected from traffic -- but your door locations make it difficult!

Are you willing to consider switching the Living Room & Dining Room?

yes- we are willing to switch the living and dining. Not sure how that works with front door?!?! Current garage entry is on the updated sketch along wall D. I'm not sure how feasible moving the garage entry door will be. The garage is a single car garage and you have to make a 90 degree turn to access it from C side of the house(we love our neighborhood, not whoever "designed" this house. ) we are willing to move the location of the door to the garage but getting to the front(wall E) is very tight when a car is parked in it. Moving the door further down on D could work but the further down the door moves that hard it is to get all the way around it and in the house. The one upside of the current door placement is that I can open the trunk and get the groceries into the kitchen in two steps.

Would really be cool if you could make the garage into the dining room. Of course you would probably need yard space to add a garage, plus money!

Golly. This is a tough one. The pinch point between the counter along the backyard wall and the corner of the stairwell was quite limiting so I played around with a different approach. It requires moving the garage door toward the living room...

Here's my idea:

Only one new cabinet is needed - a 30" sink cabinet.

I planned for a multi-worker Kitchen b/c you will need it with potentially 5 children!

The sink wall is 3" deeper than standard...pull the base cabinets out from the wall 3" when you install them.

It gives you more work space and more "face" space in front of the sink. Yes, the sink is only partially in front of the window.

It's late, so no detailed analysis tonight!

.

Zone Map:

Oh, I tried to guess which upper cabinets were deeper.

Thank you!!! Is there anyway to work in either of two -24 in pantries? one by the fridge and one in the corner by c and d. (or does that make the cooktop space and sink countertop space too small? It is hard to describe and I can't easily take a picture but one of the cabinets is custom for previous owner's space and was 15 in wide(doors) and 24 deep Side( also w/ doors) so we originally were thinking to build it out as 24 deep by 24 wide but could also use it as a 15 wide and 24 deep cabinet and put a side panel on. I'll see if i can find a picture they sent me. I really appreciate your helpful advice. I never thought about doing a prep space in the middle. I'm assuming the sink placement along the back wall is due to the backdoor flow.

Can you open up your stairs? Are they going up or down? My MIL has her pantry under her stairway. It's a great use of space.

Buehl's suggestion is perfect. Can you put the pantries next to the hallway here in purple:

You could run a bank of 12 inch reaching pantries behind the table on much of the long wall; might be able to recess some of the depth into the wall if you want to open wall and deal with drywall repair. I really like reach-in pantry storage.

I forgot about the pantries! It was late last night!

I won't be able to get back too it until late tonight... I'm at the University of Buffalo on a campus visit with my DD.

Here's one with a peninsula.

I'm imagining something like this. The cabinet facing the wall -in the cabinets given to us actually already has doors along the side and front making it accessible from both sides. Originally we we going to use the 24 wide side and build a 24 depth cabinet but if it works like this then not modifications would be needed. I'm not sold on the 30" landing pad. I see its purpose but would probably just use a sideboard hutch or something.

If skip the second prep sink - The original island of 24, 30, 18(trash) would be easy to use "as is" and is already finished all the way around.

I"m so thankful for all the help so far! the island prep is a game changer!

Thank you! we posted at the same time. I like all those options also. You guys really are awesome!

Buel-Happy visit w/ your daughter!