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fantmn

Kitchen remodel Layout Help

FantMN
13 years ago

We have decided rather than going $250 - $300K in debt to build a new house, we will remodel where we are and buy ourselves 5 to 10 yrs to save up an pay cash to build the new house.

I am working on floor plans for the Kitchen and bath. The current house is around 110 years old. The plan is to update the stove, oven, hood, etc in the existing house and then move them to the new house in the future. We are most likely going to use a 36" Bluestar rangetop with grill, a set of Bluestar wall ovens with french doors, and an LG ref.

I hope the link below will connect to the floor plan.

The main question is: "Is it OK to have the Wall Oven next to the refrigerator.

There is a second floor so the vent over the rangetop will have to make a 90 degree turn to vent to the outside wall with the window (shown on left in BLUE). Is that going to be OK?

This is an old farmhouse and the rooms are cut up with lots of doors. Door A goes to the pantry (currently a bathroom that is going to be moved), Door B goes to the basement stairs, door C goes to the dinning room, and door D goes to the outside.

Each blue square is equal to 1 sq ft.

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Comments (11)

  • FantMN
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Inline image
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  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    This is the exiting layout with new appliances?

    Make sure the DW is not a tall tub with a long door. I am not sure one of those would open without hitting the opposite counter.

    A potential interference I see between the French Door Oven and the fridge is damage to the Left oven door by the corner of the fridge.

  • FantMN
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    This is a potential new layout and new appliances. About the only thing that is almost set in stone is the location of the window. I am thinking no windows in the kitchen would be a little too weird.
    The existing layout is very basic with a set of cabinets running down the outside wall. The ref where the corner cabinet is in the new layout and the range at the other end.
    I can narrow the rangetop cabinet and also shift it a little farther to the right toward door B to allow more room for the dishwasher door. Thanks, I totally missed that. Perhaps I could pull the refrigerator out from the wall to give a little more clearance for the refrigerator door. Another option would be to do a single door ref. that opens away from the oven.
    The Bluestar wall oven has french doors so there could be a potential problem with the oven door hitting the side of the ref. I need to check that as well.
    Thanks, keep the comments coming.
    Fant

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    Is the basement stair a landing, or do you go straight down?

    Is there the potential to put the pantry door on the basement landing and create a U shape? I don't know that it would work any better, but you may want to try it.

    Have you looked at the asymmetrical susans that are 33" on one side and 36" on the other? You may be able to utilize this to get the DW on the Left of the sink and still get the sink (not centered, but) under the window.

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    Only 12" on each side of the range???? That's barely enough room for emergency landing space, definitely not enough workspace!

    If the Prep Zone is b/w the sink & refrigerator...it's convenient to the refrigerator but very inconvenient to the Cooking Zone. It will also entail zone-crossing when going to/from Prep Zone & Cooking Zone...you cross the Cleanup Zone.

    If the Prep Zone is to the right of the sink, it's somewhat convenient to the range, inconvenient to the refrigerator, and will probably mean prepping over the DW...which can be a problem if more than one person works in the kitchen and/or you're not disciplined enough to be sure the DW is not loaded or unloaded or used for "storage" during prep & cooking (I know we certainly are not!)

    I also echo the issue about the DW...

    Refrigerator...it's OK to have an oven next to a refrigerator b/c insulation on both appliances is pretty good. However, I would not recommend a SxS or French Door model refrigerator b/c the only landing space for it I see is on the other side of the oven and that means it would only work for a refrigerator that has a handle on the oven side.

    You say only the location of the window is "almost set in stone". What about doorways? Can the window be moved up/down the wall?

    Could you post a pic of the entire first floor layout (or whatever floor the kitchen is on)?

    Have you had a chance to read the "Read Me" thread? There's a "Layout Help" topic that talks about what information we need to help you find the layout that's right for you.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

  • steveinjersey
    13 years ago

    You don't say who is making these cabinets, but they tend to come in 3 inch increments, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, etc. So 20 inch and 22 inch cabinets would both be custom made or special order.

    If you're planning on a full overlay door style, you need to have a filler strip on the base cabinet that butts to the wall at door "A", otherwise the cabinet door won't open correctly.

    The double bowl sink in the 33 inch sink base cabinet could be a mistake. You can't get a double bowl sink which will fit a 30" cabinet, so this is going to be the smallest double bowl sink made. You may find that the bowls in the sink are smaller than your pots and pans, making it difficult to wash them or fill them in the sink. Get some dimensions on the sink and compare with your pots & pans.

    In fact, you might consider changing the whole line-up as follows:
    Lazy Susan base
    21 inch base, hinges LEFT
    30 inch sink base with single bowl sink
    Dishwasher opening
    24 inch drawer base or 21 inch base with filler strip

    Good luck!

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    I like the idea of putting the DW on the left. It would free up space on the right and allow you approx 42" of workspace on the right of the sink...next to the range. Good size, generally good location. Yes, it would be a hike to the refrigerator, but I could live with that.

    36" corner susan + 24" DW + 33" sink base + 24" cab + 18" cab

    OR

    36" corner susan + 24" DW + 33" sink base + 42" cab

    The DW does have a potential conflict w/the oven cabinet, but that's also something else I could live with! You don't often have an oven open at the same time the DW is open. Even if you did, oven use is pretty quick even if DW use is not.

    Are you doing custom cabinets? I'm asking b/c you have custom sizes shown. The sizes I show above, however, are "stock" sizes (36" susan, 24", 18", 42")

    BTW...my 30" ovens fit in a 31.5" wide cabinet...you could gain 6" add'l space if you eliminated the wall next to the refrigerator (4.5") & added the 1.5" from the wall oven cabinet. It could be b/w the oven and refrigerator and be a tall pullout for brooms or other storage. It would give you a bit of room so the refrigerator handle doesn't hit the oven. Although, if you get a refrigerator w/handles only on the oven side, it's not an issue.

    You may not have room for a 3/4" end panel to "build in" the refrigerator...it depends on how close the wall in the pic is to the door trim. You might consider a 36"/33" corner susan w/the 33" side on the refrigerator side...that would gain you another 3"...

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    Oh...and go with drawer bases...much less filler needed. The most filler is needed for frameless cabinets & full overlay, a little less for partial overlay, and the least for inset.

    E.g., for a drawer base, you only need enough filler to clear the door trim plus maybe 1/8" to 1/4" more (to account for variations). For a door, you need enough room to not only clear the trim, but also for the knob and to be able to open the door > 90o.

    Filler does need to be considered.

  • lavender_lass
    13 years ago

    What's behind the wall with the range? Do you go down to the basement very often, or is it just for storage? Could you go through the new pantry, to access the basement stairs? You might have to make the pantry door a little wider, for access, depending on what you take up and down the stairs...but it would be great to have the additional space, in the kitchen!

    If you could close off the basement stairs, I would create another L, from the range area, to door C...and move the ovens to the 'north' of door C. This would provide more counterspace around your cooktop and also give you a baking area.

    And, I agree with the others, you should move the dishwasher to the left of the sink, but if you can move the ovens, there will be no conflict with any of the doors :)

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    Initially I thougth that this layout was pretty much existing and you were placing new appliances in the approximate old locations.

    If this isn't the case and you are pulling out a powder room behind this space you have nothing to lose by considering expansion of the kitchen proper into that area.

    I don't know where you are located but if you were simply replacing the current appliances, I would say fine, you could live with this...people adapt to much worse layouts. Then when you move, you take out the Bluestar and install the most basic of appliances and sell it as a house that needs a new kitchen.

    However if this is a new layout, I would do a cost benefit analysis of expanding at least into existing spaces. You would get more bang for your buck doing that than moving a window slightly.

    As for the set down. Eh, its skimpy but this space is small enough that your set down could be on the other counter run with a quick side step ---no chance of having kids running around your island and being underfoot in this kitchen layout.

    I wouldn't plan this as my New set down, but if thats what exists, ok. Can we see the existing layout? If you are interested in maximum savings, you may want to do minimal adaptation of whats there. All kitchen remodels are money losers...it may be in your best interest to do minimal intervention, and you won't get as much applicable help if it is unclear what the real goal/plan is.

  • FantMN
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I took some of the suggestions and did a complete redo of the plan. The first plan is as the house exist now. The second plan is the new layout / remodel. We have a grandchild that visits but other than that no kids in the house. We are looking for a functional kitchen. Both my wife and I cook, but typically not at the same time. She would like to have a small eat in area, but I do not realy see a way to make that happen too. We are thinking of switching to a range rather than rangetop and double oven.

    Here is the current layout of the house. The red walls are supporting walls as near as I can tell:
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    and here is the new remodel plan:
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