Patty:

Your going to get the most from here by sketching up a floor plan.

Attached is a link to the thread "new to kitchens". Take time to read it as it is very helpful. Then follow the suggestions about how to post for layout help.

Here is a link that might be useful: new to kitchens

The lazy susan cabinet will require 36" of wall space in both directions. That brings your sink cabinet to a 36" cabinet with the sink you are going to use it will fit in a 33" sink base if you scoop out the sides of the cabinet. that will allow your sink to move back 3 inches to be 9 inches off center of the window. this will move your dishwashers 3 inches farther to the right(towards the window). As far as the height of the wall cabinets if you do not use the added height now I see no reason to invest the extra money in 42 inch tall cabinets. However you will have to do wall repair when you removed the present cabinet. I remodel kitchens for a small remodeling company have dealt with many such limited budget remodels.

While waiting for your floorplan, here's my personal take on some of your questions:

1. Cabs to the ceiling: I think most people are doing cabs to the ceiling. You could also consider glassfront cabs at the top for decorative items if budget allows. On one hand, if you hate them, why bother? On the other hand, since you're not good with open shelving/dusting, why add another shelf to dust and why not just keep little used items up in cabs to the ceiling instead? I think you'll find with white cabinets you'll feel less closed in than with the wood.

2. The sink doesn't need to be centered under the window but would probably look nicest if the whole sink is under the left side of the window.
One of a few sink-window threads

3. Replace cabs holding microwave and use all drawers wherever possible (but you might find things change even more when you post your layout...)

4. To right of double window - how would something in that space impact the walkway around the island? I could picture a freestanding hutch but I'm worried about walking around island.
{{gwi:1740600}}

5. Backsplash - definitely over the DW.

I agree, a floor plan would get you the best feedback. You can just sketch it upon graph paper (use DARK ink) and take a picture of it and post that.

One quick suggestion, though: presently you have the side walls of the uppers on either side of the sink encroaching on the window trim - try to not have that, it makes the whole room look squeezed in.

Drawers are considered preferable to drawers over doors here on the forum.

Do you live near - or near enough to travel to - an IKEA store. They have the best quality RTA cabs (and interior fittings.) Happily they are usually as cheap as big-box RTA and for far better stuff. You can buy them without doors, if you prefer another style.

They also sell nice-value sinks, particularly in the case of apron-front models, and butcher block counters which you can DIY. Their hardware (hinges, drawer sliders, etc.) is exceptionally well-made,

While IKEA has a limited number of box sizes, many people have altered them to make for more customization. (One useful thing to remember when looking at IKEA is that the drawer fronts and doors - if you chose use their parts for this - can be used either horizontally or vertically. So drawer can be a door, just turned sideways if its a better fit for a customized box.

Do you know about IKEAFANS.com? Very inspirational, if somehwat confusing to navigate, website.

Looking forward to the floor plan.

L.

Thanks for the responses - I used SmartDraw trial to do a floor plan, I hope the water marks aren't too distracting.

Gjack - thanks for the input, especially the reminder to add wall repair to the list.

Robotropolis - also thanks for the thoughts. Re: dusting above the cabinets - I hadn't really considered that, but previous kitchens have had it open up there and I didn't notice the dust, lol. I had an old 2 shelf unit and wall shelves on the wall behind the door - it didn't pose a problem with walking around the island or with the door. I removed them for the photos because I knew they were going away and wanted the pictures to be as clean as possible. I like the idea of a freestanding unit - now that I've taken actual measurements (thank y'all for getting me motivated to do the layout and measure), I can be on the lookout for something at the antique auctions I frequent. And for the microwave area - thank you for validating what I want to do (replace them and have drawers) :-)

liriodendron - yes I have looked at IKEA, and like their cabinets. I especially love their pantry cabinets with all the rollouts. I'm not sure what I can do with the upper cabinets around the sink to have them encroach less? Do you mean narrower?

Thanks again, I look forward to your responses ...

Patty

You might want to use the IKEA kitchen planner to draw up your plans in 3D - it's really easy to use and helpful to visualize your layout. Even if you don't want to use IKEA cabinets, it's a useful tool. You can even post a link to the planner and others can modify your design to suggest other options. For the cost, IKEA cabinets are a good deal. We are doing IKEA cabinets and getting custom doors because they don't have a door style/colour combination that works for us.

feisty68 - thanks for the IKEA planner idea. I used it and drew out my kitchen, but I didn't see how to link so others could see it (I had to create a log in and password). Am I missing something obvious? It helped a lot though, but I couldn't see how to put in my weird bump on the refrigerator wall and diagonal doorway. The 3D effect is very cool, it really gives a good visual of the room!

I went ahead and drew everything on graph paper to see if that spurred anything from the good idea people here.

I'm also wondering what to do about my ceiling lights - I know the fan has to go. There is a light over the sink and a matching one near the refrigerator.

There is also a long (4') fluorescent light parallel to the doorway to the living room. Ugh - I welcome any ideas on what to replace this mishmash of lights with too.

Thanks in advance again ... hoping to get some great insights

Well, you can email an ikea planner file to yourself and then copy the link from the email here, but that only helps those who have the ikea planner installed. It's a good idea to take screenshots of the planner in both 3D and 2D view and post those here, since everyone can see them.

I will be watching your thread, as your main cooking space footprint is verrry similar to mine, including the ridiculously small amount of counter space.

I thought I would post with an update on my kitchen remodel. My budget turned out to be a little less tight than I thought - it's costing about $11,000 at last count.

That amount covered new perimeter cabinets, counters (soapstone and walnut bb), sink, faucet, and appliances (stove and dishwasher).

To save money, I am doing as much work as possible myself. To date, I removed all the old cabinets, repaired the damaged drywall, and installed the first few upper cabinets. Here are some progress photos:

The worst job was prying off the old backsplash and taking out the sink. I discovered that the cold water shut off valve leaked (thankfully before further damage was done). But I also found out that it is quite easy and inexpensive to fix.

Looking a little better:

And the first of the new cabinets put up last night:

Some of the old cabinets repurposed in my sewing room They're not completely installed yet - the bottom center cabinet needs the back cut out over an outlet. There is a (sort of) planned gap between two of the lowers - I will use it to store my cutting mats and embroidery hoops.

I started this asking some questions of the forum - one question was whether I should have tall uppers again. Most people I've talked to (and a few here) thought I should put tall ones in. But in the end, I went with 30" because I always hated those tall cabinets - they felt like they overpowered the kitchen and that they were 'looming' over me. My husband teases me that I like to ask people's opinions to validate my own and then I'm unhappy when they disagree with me ... so I decided to just get what I wanted all along and not worry about anyone validating my choice :-)

This is a slow process, but it is an incredibly empowering journey - thanks to the internet and Youtube I've done things at age 50 something I never dreamed I could do: unhook a sink, replace the shutoff valve, remove and install cabinets, repair drywall (at least well enough for behind cabinets and backsplash lol).

I lurk here daily to see what everyone is doing and I love it! Thanks to all of you who post questions, answers, and pictures - it is very motivational!

Patty

Very cool! Looks great so far!

Great work! It's so satisfying to do it yourself, isn't it?

You go girl! 50 is the new 20, right? (Since I keep hearing that 60 is the new 30...)

And there is nothing wrong with "thinking out loud" to discover your own opinions. Talking through something with others is how I process information best and come to see what I truly think about something.

And congrats for doing what you want after realizing that you've hated your tall cabinets. I will be doing the opposite of you, since I like cabs to the ceiling and don't like decorations or uplights on top of cabs. No right or wrong, just different tastes.

LOOK AT YOU GO1 WAHOOO1 What a great job, looove seeing women at work. I would post exclamation points and smilies but my sassin frassin fn button quit again.

Consider me exclaimed, lol.

Fantastic! New cabinets look great! I really how you are repurposing the old ones, too.

Thanks all for the encouragement, I didn't mean to fish for compliments, but I love when people update their threads, even if with modest work.

edb2n - it is very satisfying to learn new things :-)

JessHS - If 50 is the new 20, can I have my 20 year old knees back, lol? By the way, not that it matters, but my husband isn't able to help because his job is out of state. He wanted me to hire out the work, but I'm too cheap (and I *really* want my expensive soapstone counters, lol) so I decided to do what I could.

greenhaven - thanks (blushing) ...

My advice to anyone afraid to try any of this work on their own- You Tube! Oh yeah, and buy cool tools with some of the money you save (I *love* my laser level!)

Hey I am right there with ya1 Hate paying for work I know I can do.

Oh, youtube, heck yes1 And GW. I have learned so much even while in progress.

Very nice. Keep us updated!

Very nice! It is your kitchen, do what will make you happy. I wish I was as handy as you are. I can't wait to see more of your kitchen. Are the cabinets the Ikea Adel White ones? If not, which brand did you use and which paint color?

lynn2006 - I'm not necessarily handy, this is my first time trying this stuff, lol. I just watch a lot of how to videos, and then take my time. The cabinets are from Cliq Studios in Dayton White. I searched a long time, and saw the positive and negative reviews for them, but they were the best option for us. They just arrived yesterday, and I do have problems with a couple of them which will need to be replaced. A couple of the negative reviews dealt with the shipping situation from Cliq, but my experience was fine. They scheduled the delivery for 3-6 PM, but the driver arrived before 2PM. I wasn't home, and he waited for me until I arrived at 2:55.

As for color, I had my sample color matched at Sherwin Williams - it's very close to SW Alabaster, which is a slightly creamy white. The walls have one coat of SW Creamy (over the old green color), but I'm not sure I like the two different whites together. I'll wait for the 2nd coat on the walls until the countertops are installed.

Speaking of countertops - I was originally planning on Silestone, but changed my mind to get soapstone on the perimeter. Here is my slab (it's not shiny, just the reflection of my camera flash where they sprayed it with water to show the dark color)

Closeup with green veining:

That is an absolutely gorgeous piece of stone! I hope you update again with pictures once everything is finished.

Great job! Keep those pictures coming, please.
Diane

that stone is amazing!!!

Fabulous work - keep the progress report updates coming. I love diy stories. You are Greenhaven are my heros or should I say heroines! GIRL POWER!!!!

I will definitely post pictures after the counter is installed. I'm very excited that they are coming to measure this Friday- installation is scheduled for May 21.

I've been in a bit of a holding pattern with minimal progress lately - one of the upper cabinets had damage and needed to be replaced. It should be here this week so the cabinets will be complete.

Mgoblue85 - no heroine here, lol, just diy-ing out of necessity.

Patty

psbjmb:

I realize I'm probably too late, but the water supply pipes extending past the shutoff valves as pictured (3rd down 4/22) is no longer code. There are valves that suppress water hammer that don't contribute to Legionnaire's Disease, a rumor I've heard. Please note the second to last bullet point on the link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Water hammer