Can you post a picture to help us? Folks here have great ideas, but you will get more responses if you have photos.

To give detailed advice we need more dimensions too. How much space is available on each side of the range?

A butcherblock table/cart on casters with shelves would be a good start until you get a better idea of what works. If you don't have an island, you could use the cart or a second table as an island also.

Is it an older home? (I'm thinking an old Victorian with tall windows?)

Picture? Drawing? What is to either side of the windows?

How far off the floor are the windows that flank the range?

Thanks for the responses, here are some photos. This is before we moved in, we no longer have the free standing tall skinny ikea cabinets, but the rest of the setup is still the same (other than we don't have the table in the middle of the room).

And yes, it is an old Victorian Farmhouse.

Are the cabinets staying or going?

Is the refrigerator staying or going?

Range, table, rest of furniture staying or going?

As a simple solution I would get two sturdy counter-height tables and put one on each side of the range. They make stainless topped ones, or butcher block, with shelving underneath. You would need a shallow one on the fridge side and a short on on the other side. Check out these work tables and equipment stands.

What is that sink/counter material? It's really interesting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Central Restaurant

RE: Honeysucklevine, we moved the fridge across door opening, opening up that corner to put a little table. Attached Cabinets staying, but the other furniture is all gone, including the two free standing cabinets. Cabinets are actually pretty good quality omega stuff, installed in '02 so don't see the point in getting rid of them.

Re: Palimpest, thanks! The agent we bought from just said it was an old fashioned metal countertop, not sure more than that, but it is metal and like all one giant piece even forming into the sink basin.

I'm in an old house, too & have a similar situation with the stove between large windows - actually one of mine is a window that a PO made into a door. I have a Boos butcher block table in front of the window, butted up next to the stove & it works great but wish I'd bought the 24 x 24 instead of the 18 x 24. I'm sure I can find a photo if you like.

Maybe get a little stainless table on casters that can brake and put it in the corner near the fridge but move it to the stove in front of the window for cooking.

Or possible to thin stainless tables that would stay in position next to the range but not obstructing the windows very much.

The kitchen is too large for active work throughout within the triangle--the work area needs to be concentrated. Where would you like to work within the space?

wow. to be honest, this is a difficult space. what are you asking? what are your plans? are you planning on doing a new kitchen or just trying to figure out how to use it -as is? besides the difficulty with all the doorways within the kitchen, it would be great if you could somehow move the dining room to allow for direct access.

That's what I was wondering.

But from what I understand the plan is to leave all those cabinets as is. (I thought they were all going to go.)

Looks like no landing zone for the range or for the fridge.

Also that fridge looks to me like a built in just sitting in the room with out being built in. Am I wrong? I hope so because those can tip over and crush people.

I love the space in your kitchen, I know it can be tough
with out some extra space around the range. I love
the idea of carts with breaks so it stays put. Perhaps
one with open shelves to let the light from the windows
in behind it. Maybe something like this?
~boxer

This one is from Target and about $115

With the air registers at floor level you definitely want something with shelves as boxerpups pictured and not cabinets that would block air flow.

To concentrate your work triangle into a usable space, one thing to consider might be moving the door from the kitchen to the living room further down the wall (away from the windows) so that you could have room for a run of counters between the range and fridge.

But my bigger question is, why is that room your kitchen? With so many doors and windows, it's a very awkward space for a kitchen. So why not move the entire kitchen into what's now the living room, where you have long stretches of wall that could have counters, the range could be on the same wall it's on now and vent to the outside without any "between two windows" problem, and you're right next to the dining room so serving is easier?

You would have to measure to be sure, but you could probably even use some of your existing cabinetry in there (and if you can't, you can sell it, or donate it and take a nice tax break for the donation). The cost of bringing plumbing and gas lines over to the next room is probably not that much--I assume you have a basement (most older houses in that style do), which makes it pretty easy. What you would gain in convenience and usability could be huge.

Thanks everyone. Glad to know that I am not alone in having some difficulty with the space since the wall spaces are so limited :)

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe choose a different room as the kitchen.

Or make the part of the room with the windows a breakfast area with a table and the other side of the room could be the kitchen.

Still can't tell if monster fridge is free standing or built in but just standing in the middle of the room (could tip over).

The fridge is stabilized by a cleat, not by the cabinets that surround it, so it may be ok in the absence of cabinets but I Would make sure that cleat is there.

From what you mentioned, it sounds as if you've moved the fridge across the LR doorway so that it blocks it? That was my firth thought - to close off that doorway if it's not frequently used, which would give you wall space for a much more functional U-shaped kitchen.

Wow - cool space! Are you sure that's only a 12x12' room? Looks huge from where I sit! I'm going to write my first thoughts before I read others' responses just so I can get it out of my head before it all falls away - haha.

First of all, are you going for the period look? That's the most important question. At first I thought it was an awkward place for a stove but if going for a period look, that could be a great place! Presumably there's no chimney in there and the original owners just had their old stove vent right out the wall there between the windows - though I thought usually sinks went in between the windows. I LOVE the look of those old round wall fans (not sure what they're called) but that would provide a really cool vintage look - while not being 100% accurate (a duct would be more accurate I'm assuming). With that nice wide space between the windows - if you're going for the period look - you could easily fit in a nice 36"-wide restored vintage stove or reproduction (or not, if you're not going period) but either way you could also have nice hood there. Oooh all your options!

Obviously you can't have a sink under a window - in most victorian homes I don't think sinks went directly under windows anyway. While a countertop would be funky running under the almost-floor-length windows, a lot of old houses used to have brackets that held up long wooden countertop "boards" for lack of a better word. E.g. they would often rest on either side of a sink (essentially making the sink under-mount). That still tended to be in the teens more though, I think. It wouldn't look so bad if you put nice baskets underneath such a counter or even hung curtains there. But the bottom line is that stoves were usually stand-alone or had their own built-in side areas that extended out for putting things on (and remember - the reproduction ones have those too but are really efficient). You could also have counter-height tables made by some local craftsman or even handyman if he's handy enough, that mach each other. That way it looks like they're there on purpose. They could have nice bun feet added (affordable and gotten online) to add to the old house charm. Their tops could be whatever you want: butcher block, marble, zinc/stainless, soapstone, etc.

If you're going to be super period (I get excited about that so I'd be tempted - but that's probably just me!) you'd want to keep a table in the room - a sturdy work table that can be eaten at too of course. If you aren't invested in that idea you could put an island in the middle with hints of victorian (e.g. more bun feet) that has a farm sink or such in it which would take care of the slight awkwardness at having a sink up against a wall with no window. But of course that's not period - but you may not care! This is all about me, don't you know? ;) If you keep your sink at the wall and now or later are changing out the countertops/furniture, you could get a vintage (antique or reproduction) sink with a cool skirt - or without a skirt - whichever floats your boat. Free-standing is the most period-appropriate or again you could have countertop-like boards resting on it and leading to brackets on the far ends that hold it up.

For your walls, they didn't have upper cabs back then if I recall (just stand-alone cupboards) but open shelving is a nice compromise I think. I also seem to recall victorian cabinetry of any sort tended to be either dark in color or else painted (I might be making this up though) so that's another thought, regardless of what you do.

I'm so sorry - I'm rambling on and on under the presumption that you're going period when in fact you may not! Just take it all with a grain of salt! :)

The fridge looks out of place to me but I'm sure that's a very nice fridge that you probably want to keep (?) so maybe you could build it in somehow, surrounding it with something (bookshelves? not sure). It seems to be in the right location otherwise, as it's not the first thing you'd see when walking in the room from the main parts of the house and it doesn't appear to block the light from the window.

Is the location of the kitchen the original location? My guess is it is, but then I'm left to wonder if the living room or family room didn't used to be the dining room. I can't think of any old houses I've seen that don't have the dining room attached directly to the kitchen. Where's the main chimney? Is there a second one on the main floor besides the kitchen, or just the main one? If only one, that's obviously where the original living room/parlor was. I'm also wondering if the kitchen didn't used to be narrower and why the two doorways aren't original (the one with no molding and the other that's arched). Is the left wall of the kitchen drywall/was the left side of the house added onto? Sorry for having so many questions that have nothing to do with your main post question - I'm just so curious! Wait a minute - is that a chimney hiding in the corner? If so, then I imagine the stove used to go next to that - vented out that chimney - and the old sink went between the two windows which was often the case in victorian houses. If that were the case and you were going period, you could put the stove back there where it once was and then you'd get more of a triangle to work in with the sink going back between the windows and the fridge staying just where it is...and then it would be great cause you could put an old farm table in that remaining space where the current sink is, or else just have a nice long countertop there kind of like a built-in buffet area (w/ nice dimmable under-cab lights...there I go, losing the period thing in trade for a little ambiance!), substituting what would have been some sort of stand-alone furniture for more storage space, if anything at all beyond a table. Or of course you could get an antique piece for that space!

Ok I'm done obsessing. Would love to see pics of the outside of the house too - especially w/ regard to that long porch!

Please forgive the rant!

Cleat?

Is this house in an earthquake zone? Please say "no."

How on earth did you move the fridge to the other side of the door? It looks huge! Butcher blocks/tables flanking the stove are a great idea. Also I think you need to get a table back in the center of the room STAT (IMHO). How wonderful to have a kitchen big enough for a table. The pictures are wonderful. What a lovely, bright, old-fashioned kitchen. Okay, maybe a countertop height table would be more functional, but I love that sweet table!

This is my kitchen (1858) with a butcher block table next to the 'orphan' stove. It looks like you'll have space for a much longer table/cart/bb/whatever than I, as my one 'appliance wall' ends at the window. I'm lucky because that wall has 13'+ of uninterupted space before a door appears.

I would go with metal-topped work tables with open shelving on either side of the the range. On the side with the fridge, the table may need to be long and not very deep in order to fit between the fridge and the wall. On the other side, the table needs to be 2 ft deep so it is as deep as the stove-top, but not very long, so that it does not interfere with traffic through the door to the stairs and mudroom. The two tables could be different sizes of the same basic table, so they match in that way. In the link above in Palimpsest's post, see the ones with the 5" riser on the back? That would protect your windows from things falling off the counter.

For the bigger problem of having all that open space in the middle that causes you to hike from one task area to the next, I would consider a narrow island on wheels. It would be nice to be able to turn around and set down something that you just removed from the fridge, swivel back and get something else out. Or to turn from the stove and set dirty pots to rest before you take them to the sink for washing. If an island is on wheels, you can move it closer to whatever work area needs it most that day - or move it out of the way, completely. Maybe it could park where the Ikea pantry is in your picture, in front of the bookshelf and chimney? I believe you said that this cabinet is gone now.

I would also be tempted to move the fridge to where the non-sink run of cabinets are and put those cabs where the fridge was. You could move the range over flush with the left-hand window, giving you 6 to 8 inches to the right of the range for a small tray base cabinet. That would allow you to have a run of countertop in front of the right window with no base cabinet below it. That way, the window is not completely cut off from view, you get a l-shaped run of counter next to the range, and the fridge-sink-range triangle is all on the left side and the ends of the room. If you then put in a narrow island, the fridge would not be "cut off" from the other two parts of the work triangle.

BTW, I love the sink countertop with integral sink. Is it noisy like metal, or could it have a porcelain finish? It is so nice and shiny that it looks more like porcelain to me than powder-coated steel. If you find out what it is - get another made to go on the other counter, if you can.

I find it hard to believe that the rooms are in the original position, too. Not only does the dining room need to be next to the kitchen, 9 x 9 is just too small for a dining room! I would guess that the family room is the real dining room. The 9 x 9 room may have been a parlor. Is the 9 x 9 room walled off from the family room next to it, or open?

Your kitchen does present challenges, but once you have lived there a few years, you will know better how you use the house and can remodel with a better idea of what you need.

Antiquesilver - I've said it before and I'll say it again - what an outrageous kitchen! How fun for you and how lucky to have such an old house with such a large kitchen and a fireplace! I love that you add your own personality - it's great.

Thanks Theresse, but I should have added more comments in the above posts to show the comparison between my layout & Ajtrenkle's - which was the point of posting!

AJ's pre-move in photos appear to be taken with a specialty lense (a wide angle? - I'm not a camera buff, LOL) that makes the room look overly large. The layout says 14 x 14 & she says 12 x 12; mine is approx 14 x 18 but doesn't seem nearly as large. The cabinets on my countertop wall are standard depth & only 17" on the fireplace wall so should be taking up no more footprint than hers; the table is 3' x 6' . I'll gladly concede that a 14' kitchen is much too wide to really be part of a triangle & with all of the openings, it's a challenge but I don't think it's quite as bad as it appears.

The bracket or cleat that holds the fridge is sturdy if it is anchored properly. The cabinets do not hold the top compressor units in place at all. The back is lower than the front so it can tip out anyway.

A friend of mine opened her newly installed built-in only to have it tip over on her. The door hinge must be pretty strong because the corner of the door is what hit first and stopped it, or it would have fallen completely over on her.

Ajtrenkle, LOVE your space! I also love a table in the middle of a kitchen, although we're in an island era, so was a little surprised that your first move was to get it out of there. "What does she do with that space then?" Until you do tear everything apart to suit you, how about bringing one back, with Antiquesilver's as inspiration? I once had a kitchen very like that, just not as nice :), and the table will really make much better sense of your layout as it currently is.

Did anyone else notice that the north and south walls for the kitchen and the LR are the same but the dimension for the kitchen is 14' while the LR is 13'? Something doesn't add up.

Love your charming kitchen, antiquesilver!

That fridge looks what 60"...and could the door save you at that weight?

Hey just want to follow up and say thanks for the great advice and feedback. Been off the board pretty much since last weekend, things got hectic!

Yea I think the dimensions are a little off on the listing and I would say 12x12 is more accurate. The fridge came with the home so I cant speak much on specifics but it does seem to have some kind of base component. The thing is really stable, but thanks for the concern. We actually found one more overhead cabinet in the basement that looks like it is designed to be over it as it is not as tall, and installed it in the new fridge location. Looks more at home now.

Theresse - keep the ideas coming! very nice and helpful indeed. We may go for more of a period look, sounds like a pretty good idea. An old stove of some kind would be super cool as long as it is functional :) Anyone done something like that?

antiquesilver - Thanks for the pictures! Great to see a somewhat similar situation.

We took the table out of the middle cause it seemed to restrict the flow and movement of the room. It's also why we are concerned about adding an island, we like the openness for now. We did get a table and put in the corner (where fridge used to be ) that is countertop high and seems to be quite useful in a lot of ways in that space, in fact with all your posts I have now realized how nice it is when using the range too.

I will post some updated photos so maybe all this makes more sense. :-)

"Cleat?
Is this house in an earthquake zone? Please say "no.""

"That fridge looks what 60"...and could the door save you at that weight?"

This is what they are held in place by:

Its an antitip bracket or cleat. I'm not just talking out my a-- here, this is it, what anchors them in place:

{{gwi:1576508}}

Thanks for posting that. It looks sturdier than what I imagined.

I have a family member who clings to the door of the built-in fridge to hold himself up.

I know this thread is old, but I thought I would update those who gave me some ideas with our minor updates. Mostly it's paint and rearranging, but enjoy :-)

Now I can see how the original pictures were distorting the space and the refrigerator. I thought it was 6 feet wide before! I like your setup and think a butcher block like antiquesilver would work great to the left of the stove. Pretty paint color! Thanks for posting again.

I think an Ikea Varde series freestanding cabinet would look great in your kitchen next to your range. Being Freestanding, you could easily move it to clean windows and it wouldn't block your heating elements. It would really blend well colorwise/and style wise with those existing cabinets . Also, the Varde series has somewhat of an old farm house feel to them, even though they are also European contemporary at the same time (Maybe Swedish farmhouse?). As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine is doing her kitchen in exactly that: a mix of Ikea Adel Birch (which is what your cabinets look like to me) and the Varde! She already has three of the Ikea varde and love them. You can get lots of storange in them. Here is a link:
Hope this helps

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea Varde series

I was going to suggest a table by the window...but you beat me to it. I like what you did. I think you are lucky to have windows like that in the kitchen. Ikea Varde that someone suggested looks amazing and is really fairly priced. I saw it at ikea last time I was there...so cute! There are some great pics of in online, if you ever find a place for it.

can you rerun the gas line into the mid area of the room-put a slide in range there with some sort of island. The wall will be freed up-you can do something decorative between your windows-gorgeous.

I love the color you chose! It makes the room look natural and sunny, yet warm (I know blue is not a warm color, but it just brings out the warmth in your woods).

Thanks for the additional input folks, especially the Varde idea. I will have to check out IKEA some weekend.