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Need Help Redesigning My 12’ x 9’ Kitchen – Leak Repairs

11 months ago

Hi Houzz community,

Im in desperate need of help redesigning my 12' x 9' kitchen. We’ve been dealing with a mess after a kitchen leak for the past six months, and it has been a frustrating and stressful process, especially with a baby in the house. Unfortunately, delays with our insurance company have dragged things out, but we’re finally ready to move forward and want to create a functional and beautiful kitchen that works for our family—all while keeping costs reasonable.

A little about the space:
Dimensions: The kitchen measures 12 feet wide by 9 feet deep.
Appliances: We’ve already purchased the following during Black Friday sales at Home Depot:
GE 18.6 cu. ft. Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator in Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Steel
GE 30 in. Double Electric Wall Oven with Built-In Microwave in Stainless Steel
AKDY Handmade All-in-One Topmount Stainless Steel 33 in. x 22 in. Single Bowl Kitchen Sink with Spring Neck Faucet and Accessories
GE 24 in. Fingerprint Resistant Stainless Top Control Built-In Tall Tub Dishwasher with 3rd Rack, Bottle Jets, and 45 dBA
We also received a 36" induction stovetop from a contractor friend, which we’re incredibly grateful for!

Current state: The leak caused significant damage, and we are starting mostly from scratch. There are also shingles in the kitchen (yes, shingles!), and we’re not sure what their purpose is—they were here when we moved in three years ago. The house was built in the 70s.

Budget:
We’d like to keep the total cost of the redesign to $15,000 or less but do have contractor friends and family members and my partner is an electrician.

Considerations:
We were originally thinking of blowing out a wall and expanding into the screened-in porch area to create more space. However, with all the delays and the fact that it’s now winter in Vermont, we’re unsure if we want to take that route anymore.
The kitchen connects to the dining room, so the design needs to flow well between the two spaces.
We’ve been without a functional kitchen for six months and are eager to implement a solution as soon as possible.

Style:
I love modern farmhouse and Scandinavian farmhouse styles but am open to pops of color or creative accents to make the space warm and inviting. I’m not a fan of open cubbies or cluttered designs and prefer sleek, closed cabinetry. Hopefully that's not contradictory.

I’ve attached photos of the current kitchen for reference. I’d love to hear your ideas, see mockups, or get inspiration photos to help us create a functional and welcoming kitchen that fits our budget.

Thank you so much for your help—we’re excited to finally move forward with this project!

Comments (9)

  • 11 months ago

    Do you have a drawing of the floor plan? Maybe a contractor friend can help you?

    I would not have encouraged you to go with wall ovens in a small space. If you want to keep them, you need an L-shape kitchen with a "wall of tall" fridge and ovens. But then I am pretty sure you cannot actually fit the cooktop, sink, and DW in the long side of the L.

    Drawing needed!

  • 11 months ago

    Yes to ^^^ and I really would have waited to buy appliances until you had your layout completely figured out. You have boxed yourself in - but with a drawing maybe someone can find a way to make it work. $15 k would get you about halfway in my neck of the woods for cabinets and counters.

  • 11 months ago

    is the 9 feet to the edge of counter under windows or the window frames themselves? you can wrap things across the far wall where fridge currently sits and use the corner where stove is for continuous counter. move the new stove furthur down the 12 foot wall. or use the 9 foot wall for the stove and get a hood. thats your big decision . you cant do much on the short end where the stair rail is. but back to that ledge under the window.....you can likely use that wall area under the window for shallow depth cabinetry ....can be done later to break up the load on your budget. Ikea is where you want to go w 1. your existing budget 2. appliances known 3. walls not changing - one at the far end and the longer wall .

  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    Thank you all so much for your feedback and suggestions—I really appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your thoughts and ideas!

    To clarify a few things:

    • The 9' measurement is to the edge of the window frames.
    • I completely agree that I should have waited to purchase the appliances. At the time, we were planning to knock out the wall with the windows, extend the kitchen into the screened-in porch, and possibly add an island. Those plans have been delayed due to insurance issues, but now I’m reconsidering whether we should revisit that idea and just try to make it happen quickly.
    • I’ll admit that we really don’t know what we’re doing and have been feeling overwhelmed. I wish our insurance company had settled this back in August when the leak happened, but unfortunately, here we are.

    I did reach out to Cabinets.com (before purchasing the appliances), and they provided a larger floor plan (attached for reference). The smaller floor plan comes from the insurance company. The one thing that doesn't seem clear is that the insurance company's floor plan indicates the ceiling height of 8' flat, when the ceiling is much taller, but the shingles on the 9' side limit the heigh there. I hope these help give a clearer picture of the space.

    I’m struggling to envision a remodel due to the funky layout of the house—it’s been challenging to figure out how to make the kitchen functional and aesthetically pleasing while working with the constraints.

    Ikea has been mentioned a few times, and I’ll definitely look into their options to see if they can help with the budget.

    Again, thank you for all your input—it’s been so helpful as we try to figure this out. If you have any other ideas or suggestions, please let me know!

    Insurance floor plan:



    Cabinets.com floor plan:



  • 11 months ago
    last modified: 11 months ago

    explain what your constraints are. the appliances are standard sizes / the space is medium sized..9 by 12... you have walls to install cabinets and appliances against. is there something that troubles you? a pad of graph paper with your walls pencilled in and inserting the "knowns" in the best possible locations is a start. one square equals 6 inches or something like that.


    I can assure you these people looked close at the locations of things and sizes of each cabinet down to the inch to get to completion of a very straightforward space. you have 2 plans from others.....keep the plans but compose your own plan even if rough.....then start to look at the various options . you can make a rough plan..and take it to the Ikea planners for

    some time spent talking through all that is overwhelming you.


    Kitchen · More Info

  • 11 months ago

    I have no suggestions for the layout, but I saw this photo in your idea book and think this style would look great in your space.



  • 11 months ago

    Here is a quick idea if you are adding the porch into the kitchen. I do not think an island fits well in your kitchen. You could do more storage under the new window on the left or maybe a breakfast bar with stools. Or you might fit a small table (36 inch round with two chairs there.

    Fridge top left, cab, dw, 36 inch sink cab, cab 36 lazy susan.

    Right wall cab, 36 inch cook top, cab, wall ovens.

    If you need more storage, you could do a smaller window and 21 inch deep tall cabinets on the bottom wall next to the window.



  • 11 months ago

    I’m not understanding the cabinets.com plan in relation to your existing space. Can you post a simple sketch of your existing space without any cabinets or appliances? Just show all walls and where windows/doorways fall.

  • 9 months ago

    Hi everyone,

    I wanted to follow up on my original post with an update! I recently met with a Home Depot designer and have attached the cabinet plan we came up with. After considering all the options, we decided not to take down the wall to expand the kitchen—at least for now. We might revisit that idea in the spring, and if we do, we would plan to add an island at that time.

    We also opted to purchase a 30” induction cooktop instead of using the 36” one that a friend had offered us. I am happy with the overall layout and will have it adjusted to reflect the smaller cooktop—hopefully, that will allow for slightly more storage options.

    The next big decision is cabinet color and countertop style! I would love to hear any thoughts or suggestions as we finalize those details.

    Thanks again for all the insights and support so far!