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curls_gw

12x12 kitchen - what would you do?

curls
13 years ago

Hello! I've loved looking at your kitchens and your advice! I've spent seriously hours fiddling with plans - home shows are coming up and i'd like to have some ideas before meeting contractors...

We are a family of 4 - kids are 3 and 6

I REALLY don't want to take out the walls - i really like having a kitchen that is separate.

DH REALLY wants the stove on the outside wall to vent out (anyone have good advice that the carbon filters work? our current fan doesn't vent out and he sets off the alarm whenever he cooks bacon)

current layout:

{{!gwi}}
We almost never sit at the table - it's too tight

No cabinets are adjustable so lots sits out on the counter right now - no cabinet can fix the rarely used mixer or the cereal! #11 has shelves only deep enough for cans - the old furnace chimney is there.

This the layout we most agree on:

{{!gwi}}

I know if the stove is open there is no flow, but i'm OK with that - I can close the slider and the kids know to stay out and go around.

Our cabinets right now are topped with a 10" header so getting rid of even just them should give me more useable space.

I wish i could fit somewhere to sit, but DH has hated all my ideas.

DH would love an island, but i'm not sure why and i don't feel it would even fit and would make the flow really awkward.

Current pics:

{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

Budget (if i can help it) under 30K all in except the fridge and the stove (I'll probably replace it later, but it works right now)

Comments (10)

  • dianalo
    13 years ago

    The first thing I noticed about your current layout is lack of prep space near your stove. I am so glad to see the new proposed layout gives you much more by moving the sink.

    I see the door to living room marked but wonder if it is a door or doorway? If it has a door, can be made just a doorway? I'd do tall cabs/fridge on the entire wall that backs the living room. That would allow you to have none on the exterior door wall (and no awkward corner cab there). You can then either move the door further down towards the living room, or just allow the traffic to flow more away from the stove since there would not be an obstacle as there is now and in your proposed layout.

    I think you have a lot of wasted open space in the middle. If you put your tall cabs/fridge on the living room wall, you could use either an island or worktable out in the middle going across. Again, that would pull the foot traffic towards the living room wall and away from the cooking/prepping area and give you more space to work and store things close by.

    HTH

  • aloha2009
    13 years ago

    Can you move the doorway to the livingroom anywhere along that same wall?

    Can you move the doorway to the dining room anywhere along the same wall?

    Can you move the doorway to the stairs anywhere along the same wall?

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    Did you eliminate a dishwasher in your new plan?

    You may be able to tuck a small counter with a stool tucked underneath at the end of the sink run.

  • abundantblessings
    13 years ago

    Your budget is more than adequate to get a custom kitchen and even a new range or cooktop and double ovens. My current kitchen is about the same size and we just installed really well built cabinets with all the bells and whistles that look like Poggenpohl by a local custom cabinet maker for about $15k. Of course, I got bids from other companies that were a lot more than $30k for similar cabinets, so you'll really have to shop. But it is doable, no matter what your style.

    12'X 12' is a decent size to work with, but you DR entrance is problematic. It looks like you can move the DR entrance to the end where your toaster oven currently sits. Reframing door studs is not difficult and need not be expensive. If you and DH are handy you can do it or hire a handyman type to do so. Not sure why you moved the sink to an interior wall and just have base cabinets below the window. There may be better options to increase counter space. Your vent can still be ducted to an outside wall even if you decide to place the cooktop elsewhere. Just keep the duct run short and you should be fine.

    Perhaps you can rework the plan if you're willing to relocate the DR entrance so you have at least a U shaped kitchen. All your entrances would then be concentrated in one end. You currently have the end cabinet butting the stairs, but in your new plan you've pulled that back a lot. I'd keep the cabinets almost to the edge since storage is a premium. Also consider dianolo's suggestion to make use of the floor space in the middle. You have room for an island if you want. Just realize you won't be able to have 40" aisles but you can still provide decent passage around a narrow island.

    As frustrating as this seems after the hours you've already spent, my advice is to move the DR door so that it's across from the stair entrance and rework your plan. Once you look at the space as a blank canvas you can come up with a better design that works for you and DH. Good luck!

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    Which way do your joists run? If they run up/down in the drawing, you could have the range on the wall where cabinet 13 is or 15 is and vent straight across the ceiling with the vent running through the joist space.

  • ideagirl2
    13 years ago

    Ceiling-height cabinets. That would give you room for taller shelves (I mean shelves that are farther from each other) so you could store taller items in there.

  • curls
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Wow thanks for all the FAST feedback!

    The door to the DR is a pocket door - which could (i think easily) be moved, but i'll have to play around with that...

    Doorway to the stairs can't be moved...
    Doorway to living room could be, but i'm not sure i gain by moving that when the other can't be moved - both those are open - just can't seem to get the ikea tool to draw open!

    Lack of prep by the stove i think is the biggest annoyance - esp as dirty dishes are usually sitting in what little space there is!

    Dishwasher isn't eliminated - it sits beside the sink in the new plan - i hopefully can add another cupboard beside there - i'm not yet 100% certain the furnace no longer uses anything there.

    Definitely planning ceiling height cabinets! That hidden space right now makes me mad!

    With island:
    {{!gwi}}

    Now to play with moving the slider!

  • palimpsest
    13 years ago

    Try the range where the fridge is and counter depth fridge where the range is just to see what happens. If the joists run up/down you could vent from that side of the kitchen.

  • aloha2009
    13 years ago

    The joists are the an important issue to lay to rest the venting your DH requeires.

    Going off your last plan, and assumming that you could place the stove on another wall, I would return the sink to under the window. I would place the stove on the "dinette" wall and the frig on the opposite. By placing the frig on that wall, it should mimimize the traffic that flows in to get a snack to eat.

    This would make a nice u-shape (one of the most efficient type of layouts) kitchen.

    Where your last plan shows the frig, you might want to think of getting a mobile island that you can store there and use for a multitude of purposes and storage. You can include upper cabinets to match the remainder of your kitchen. As needed you can wheel into the middle to use to your hearts content.