Pictures were taken mid-dinner prep, so they are not staged for prettiness.

This is a picture of the current sink run, which also shows the only regular height counter space in the current kitchen. This run is not standard depth all the way across and we plan on custom cabinets to address this. We also plan to take out the corner upper cabinet you see to the left and the small cooling pantry you see to the right and replace the existing window with three true divided light casement windows that will take up virtually all of that wall above the counters.

This post was edited by crl_ on Sun, Apr 13, 14 at 18:03

This picture shows a major flaw in the current layout--the range and refrigerator are right next to each other with no cabinet space next to either one. I end up using the range top with a cutting board on top as prep space and landing pad.

And this picture really shows the charm of the existing kitchen, with the built in Hoosier-style cabinet. The work top slides out, which makes it a great landing pad for cookie baking. It's also a great height for my kids to help cook. But it is too low for me to use as a real counter top space. I thought long and hard about trying to keep the Hoosier part, but that makes it virtually impossible to separate the refrigerator and range and keeps me from having a regular height countertop there, so I think it has to go m

And here is my first try at a new layout for the kitchen.

Well, you know, everyone here always talks about the Hoosiers being too low, but that's because the idea was that you would sit down to work at it. They weren't meant for standing at, and some makers even included a clamp-on metal stool that rotated out from the base unit.

Are you planning to rip out that whole wall? Personally I think it would be kind of criminal, but whatever. At least try to sell it intact. Plenty of people would be happy to come and remove it for you. (BTW, Kennedy's book on Hoosiers has an old Sellers ad with just such a wall as an example from their "Your Kitchen As It Should Be" book.)

I don't know where you are, but you could try The Hoosier Cabinet Guy Antiques on Facebook, if you're anywhere near PA.

I really truly gave serious thought to keeping it, but I don't see any way to separate the range and refrigerator without taking out those built ins. And that's a serious daily functional problem for me. I also don't think we can pass inspection on a new kitchen unless we separate the refrigerator and range because of code requirements for counter space next to a range. If you see a different solution, please let me know.

My contractor is an old house guy and I'm sure he will find anything that is salvageable a good home.

I see a problem with the fridge up against the wall. You would want to put something in the space against the wall (maybe a broom pull-out) so you can open the door.

Hmm, my current refrigerator is up against a wall and opens fine?

I see that you can't save the built in, but I wonder if you would like to/could replicate it at least partially on one wall.

That looks like a pretty big sink base; could you locate your trash inside it, and move the DW next to the sink? I had a DW right next to a doorway like that and it was awkward.

If your frig opens to the right (handle on left) it is nice to have some room between it and the wall, to make cleaning the frig and pulling out that right bin easier. My frig was tucked into the corner like that; although it worked, a few inches more swing would have made life just a little easier.

Do you have plans for the 12" drawers by the frig? my 12" really doesn't hold much. But I can see wanting two 30" stacks.

Thanks! Maybe it would be better to switch the refrigerator and the cabinets on that wall?

I am planning to use white shaker cabinets through the kitchen, which is a nod to the current cabinetry.

I'm putting the twelve inch cabinet in next to the refrigerator because I am hoping this kitchen will outlast the appliances and small refrigerators seem to be scare and I am worried that replacing it could be problematic. (How's that for a run on sentence?)

So I thought putting twelve inch cabinets next to the refrigerator might give us flexibility to yank out just those cabinets if we had to down the road. The countertop might still cause an issue with that, but with soapstone, I think it might be possible to adjust the length on it as well without replacing an entire cabinet run (or an entire kitchen if we wanted things to match.)

Oh, trash under the sink. I forgot. So you can kind of see on the plan, I have the sink cabinet bumped out a couple of inches. That's to help deal with the shallow cabinet run and fitting a sink in. So I am thinking that a farmhouse sink will also help with that as the sink can be pulled proud an inch or two of the cabinet. And that should give us enough room to squeeze a deck mounted faucet behind the sink.

But I'm not sure how much room that leaves for trash under the sink? And I'd like to fit trash, recycling, and compost because our trash service hauls all three for us. If that can all fit under the sink in some kind of pull out configuration, I'd be willing to do that.

I was putting the dishwasher on the other side of the trash pull out so I could scrap then load. Also if it makes any difference the doorway between the kitchen and the breakfast nook is seldom used. The breakfast nook is used as a kid art space at the moment and eventually I'd like to get it set up as my home office with mail sorting and bill paying in there. But it is not used for eating at all. We always eat in the dining room.

Thanks!

I am wondering if I should change the 12 inch drawer bank in the refrigerator run to a divider for cookie sheets and such? I know the twelve inch drawers will be awfully small and maybe that would be a better use of that space? I had been thinking I would do that kind of storage above the refrigerator, but it am now planning on a very tall refrigerator so I don't think it will work up there.

Thanks!