I have been lurking on this forum for a few months and it has been helpful as I have started thinking about cabinets, counters, etc. We have not done anything to the kitchen since we moved in a couple of years ago. This is a picture of our kitchen as it is now.
Our kitchen only measures 13x9 and the aisles on two sides of the island are only 27". I feel like I am always having to walk around the island. Even if we did away with the seating edge of the island, the aisles would only be 33" and I think I would still feel the island is in the way. So the island is going. The basic plan of the kitchen is staying the same but we are wanting to add a peninsula perpendicular to the sink/window wall.
To the left of the sink is the dishwasher and to the left of the dishwasher there is just a 12" cabinet. Then the wall juts out 16"; there is 15" of wall to a set of sliders, 15" on the other side of the slider and then the wall juts in 16" into the family room. So the sliders are in the center of their own wall.
These sliders are in a critical place. You walk straight in the front door, through an entry area into the area in front of the sliders. The sliders and jut out is the area that is causing trouble in deciding what to do with the peninsula.
To the left of the sliders is the family room which my husband and I are using as a reading/eating room. We have two chairs facing the fireplace, have a long buffet along the wall and an eating table near the window. The likely spot for an eating table, however, is in front of the sliders. In fact, that is where the past owners had a table. However, we have a dog and bird feeders and we use the sliders a lot. And we do not want to always be walking around the table to get to the sliders.
Right now there is a ceiling fan (that has lights we have not attached yet because of pending construction) smack dab in the center of the sliders. I do not know if my husband and I would use counter seats. We like to sit at the table in the family room and face out to the deck and the bird feeders. But a family with kids would probably configure the family room differently and may appreciate having an area centered in front of the sliders for eating and thus I am hesitant to impinge on the space in front of the sliders too much.
Here are all the possible options I have come up with. In all we are eliminating the 12" cabinet next to the dishwasher and beginning the peninsula at the dishwasher.
Options 1: Avoid the jut out completely. Go with 12" lower cabinets in the peninsula and make the countertop wide enough to accommodate seating. The countertop would start at the kitchen wall. This would help retain the symmetry of the sliders. I saw a picture of narrow cabinets (12") with a countertop for seating that gives the appearance that it is bigger than it is by using 24" cabinet end panels. Cabinet space for my husband and I is not an issue. We are getting rid of a desk area in the kitchen and putting in a 30" pantry. But for a larger family the 24" cabinets might be a plus. End result: countertop extends 12" beyond end of kitchen wall plus space for chairs.
Option 2: Go for 24" lower cabinets in the peninsula, put a 12" lower cabinet and a 12" upper cabinet (facing the family room) in the jut out. (The 12" upper cabinet would fill in the space because it would have filler and an end panel facing into the kitchen). The countertop in the jut out would be 12" deep but would widen to 24". No seating in this option. End result: Cabinets and countertop extend 12" beyond kitchen wall.
Option 3: Go for the 24" lower cabinets in the peninsula, 12" lower and 12" upper cabinet in the jut out. Countertop in jut out is 12" deep but create curve and add 12" of additional countertop for seating at end furthest from the sink. End result: Countertop extends 24" beyond kitchen wall plus chair space.
Option 4: Go for the lower 24" cabinets, put in a 12" lower cabinet in the jut out but not put in an upper cabinet. This would maintain the symmetry of the sliders, at least down until the countertop. At least you could do some sort of drapery along the top of the sliders and keep a sense of symmetry. End result: Countertop extends 12" beyond kitchen wall. No seating.
Neither I nor my husband are really into kitchens. We want something functional and nice looking. But we do not want to do anything that will hurt resale in 5-10 years.
What do you think is the best option or do you have other ideas?
Catharine442
scrappy25
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