Hi everyone, a friend directed me to the “former Gardenweb, now Houzz” forum for kitchen layout help. I have been lurking for weeks and I've read all the Layout FAQ to prep and tried to make this detailed! We just bought a house and we would like to do the kitchen over. Before we even begin working with a kitchen designer, we want to think about the layout and bring ideas to the table.

I tried to include as many numbers as I could but I’ll warn they’re approximate; we won’t own the house until June. The kitchen takes up the full back of the house so it’s long, it appears to have been cobbled together as a few rooms over the years. We will not move existing openings and there are a few strange bumps, probably from original rooms but hard to tell. There’s a large unfinished basement beneath this space. We are willing to move plumbing/gas lines/electric, but would prefer to keep the plumbing as much as possible, though we are considering adding a second sink somewhere. This kitchen hasn’t been renovated in quite some time so we do expect to find some surprises, though the family that lives there now so clearly has loved their space and we respect that too!

For appliances* we would like:

- sink(s)

- fridge

- oven

- dishwasher (current one not pictured but is to left of sink)

- induction cooktop

- microwave, though not needed to keep out on counter as we use infrequently

- beverage fridge, likely

*we have not decided on any appliances so measurements are not included

Goals:

- 4+ seater island

- functional layout

- kitchen will be utilized for daily cooking, breakfast, and frequent entertaining

- keep existing openings, windows, not moving walls

- Leaning toward mostly pull out drawer cabinets

- would prefer to vent oven outside

- radiant floor heating… we use warmboard in our current house and are spoiled by it

People:

- me, who bakes occasionally, my husband, who loves to cook, 2 kids

EXISTING OPENINGS (labeled below in GREEN):

1. 2’3” to stairs
2. 3’3” to unfinished and will not finish for now utility closet
3. 2’6” to living room
4. 11” to small dining room

EXISTING FULL LENGTH (labeled below in RED)

While the space is roughly 31 feet left to right, it’s broken into:

1. 12 feet wide x 14 feet top to bottom
2. 12’10” x 12 feet top to bottom, except where the the pink X is — it’s a 3-foot-wide walled-over plumbing for upstairs, this will not move, but it reduces the width of the kitchen there to 10 feet
3. 5’9” feet

WINDOWS: bumped out over sink, then long row on the right lining the basement stairway; we will not change these

CEILING HEIGHT: 8”4”

EXISTING LAYOUT (PURPLE NUMBERS):

1. double sink (we’ll do a single when we change this)
2. fridge
3. oven/stove (wall there is 3”7”)
4. island
5. counter height island - will probably eliminate this
6. stairwell to basement (this exists IN the space, not as a wall, but with a banister). Planning to put a dummy cabinet over this space and either use other basement access point or maybe, if budget allows, create a sliding cabinet for stairway access

We extremely welcome all your thoughts/ideas to make this functional!