Moved the fridge

Back wall

This post was edited by abekker on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 15:47

definitely move the DW to the left side of the sink.

w/ such a large kitchen, I would make the island bigger and put a prep sink in there. and put trash there.

more drawers in base cabinets, instead of all these doors.

is the 2nd picture the correct location of the cooktop?
if yes, I would center it, or move it further down toward oven, so that there's more room between cooktop and corner.

good luck.
Amanda

What Amanda wrote.

Why would you put the DW to the left? I have it on the right side and kind of got used to it that way?

On the right it is in the middle of a major prep area (between sink and range). Having the dw on the left is no big deal. We have both right and left handed people in my home and everyone can easily load and unload the dw.

+ 1 on second sink and more drawers. Sink could be in the island, or on the back wall. Beverage station?
I guess you have plenty of storage. Maybe you don't need uppers on either side of the window? Maybe even make the window bigger?
Deeper lowers? Deeper uppers? You are off to a really great start! Have you thought about what is going to happen where? Where is your mixer, and other baking stuff? Where is the vitamix? Where is your pantry?
You'll get more valuable input if you tell us a little bit about your family. How many cooks? How many people?

I will have a huge pantry right next to where the wall oven is on the picture. The walk in pantry is 8 by 6, so I think I am good as far as storage goes. There is definitely just one coo, which is me, that's why I didn't see a need for an island sink. I am thinking that the microvawe is too far out of reach. What would be a good place for it? Also, maybe I should just stick to a range without a separate wall oven. There is no other seating area in the kitchen besides the island, so I wanted it as comfortable as possible, but maybe I should give up the whole t-island idea and do a big square.

With so much space/storage, I would
- remove some/all of the upper cabinets to widen the window
- bring the windows down to the countertop
- deepen the countertop to 29+ inches Then you can get standard depth fridge (more affordable than counter depth), which wouldn't stick out far from the deeper countertops.

How about another luxury: a 2nd DW?
I use 1 daily and the other is my drying rack, so that I don't have anything on my countertop. But w/ parties, I get to run both.

MW can go in island by the fridge side.

I like having cooktop/WO (instead of range) for 3 reasons:
- I don't have to bend over
- I don't have to cook over a hot oven
- my DH, who usually uses the oven, can bake while I use the cooktop, in our own separate areas, instead of over each other, waiting for the other person to move aside.

Do you have your cooktop yet?
Recommend looking into induction. I LOVE my induction!!!

The window is 6 ft wide

I agree that your MW is too far away from your primary kitchen work area. Ditto for the oven. Frankly, both of them are too far out of the primary working kitchen, IMO.

Can you narrow the entry to the kitchen, cook top side, to allow room to put the oven/MW column at the end of the cook top run?

Another option, as you noted, is to go with a range, not a cook top and wall oven. Then add a MW drawer to the island or along the range run (depends on how you use your MW whether you want it closer to fridge or range).

How long do you plan to stay in this house? If you plan to stay put for quite awhile, design the kitchen to your tastes and needs. However, if you may move before too many years, consider your neighborhood. If most homes have ranges, you can go with a range knowing that won't be a hiccup at resale time. However, if most homes have cook tops and wall ovens and that is what people expect in a home in your neighborhood (that's how my neighborhood is), that might be an issue. The exception would be if the range is a pro or pro-style range. (this info, btw, is coming from two neighbors who are both realtors.)

Once you move the oven and MW into your primary kitchen area, I'd turn the bank of cabs where they were into a bar/snack zone, perhaps adding a beverage fridge and bar sink as well.

You have a large kitchen so breaking it up into distinct zones - clean-up, prep, cooking, baking and entertainment - will make the best use of all that space, IMO.

I would also add a prep sink to your island. Yes, you are the only cook but I assume that at some point, you entertain family and friends and if they ever help you in the kitchen, a second sink will come in handy. Even if they don't help you cook but only want to visit with you while you prep meals, the island is the place you'll want to do that so having a handy water source would be beneficial. Plus, it gives the island a purpose.

One thing I like about your island shape is that it's set up well for visiting. However, there are other ways to do that while increasing the size and altering the shape of your island. For instance, have seating on 2 adjacent sides of the island like this:

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[Farmhouse Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/farmhouse-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2114) by Warrenville Photographers RAHokanson Photography

Or this:

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Breckenridge Architects & Building Designers Gunson Custom Mountain Architects

You could also add a curve to the island like this:

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Denver Photographers Paul Kohlman Photography

Or this:

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Hilton Head Island Architects & Building Designers John Pittman III, Architect/Builder

You have room for a deep island, just don't make it so deep that you can't clean the center of it without climbing up on the counter. ;-)

One last thing. Since your pantry is far from the working area of your kitchen, follow Lauraeds's lead and keep a basket in the pantry to bring items from pantry to kitchen to save you making multiple trips (click link below to see her kitchen, scroll down to see pics of her pantry and the basket).

Here is a link that might be useful: New Reveal (long) - Garage into Kitchen! (scroll down to pantry)

Thank you for all your feedback. I think I might go with a range. I don't think it matters too much in my area in terms of resale, besides we intend to be in this house for the next 15 yrs or more. Where should I put the MW? A lot of my friends complain about how inconvenient it is in the island.

What do you think about kitchen desk? It's outdated?

I have a similar kitchen layout - but my kitchen is smaller. I put my DW to the left of the sink, next to my refrigerator. On the plus side, having the DW away from the corner makes it easier for me to unload the dishes into the cabinets. On the negative side, when the DW door is open, I can open the refrigerator door only half way. I think if I had a kitchen that large, I would put in two DW's. It's surprising how quickly they fill up.

If I could do my kitchen over again, I would put my refrigerator next to my wall ovens. I would prefer to have all my "talls" next to each other. In your layout, it looks like the freezer door cannot be opened all the way. So, for me, the 1st picture has the refrigerator in the "right" place.

I chose a range top over a cook top - happy I did that.

Consider adding a steam oven (about the size of a microwave). I love mine. I've used it for making a wide range of foods - heating up frozen egg rolls and leftover waffles, steaming fresh fish, to baking an apple pie. I chose a Wolf steam oven - I think there are more brands to select from now.

"Where should I put the MW?"

That depends on how you use it. Do you plate leftovers from fridge and put them in the MW? Or do you use it during meal prep? Put it by the fridge for the former and by the range or primary prep area for the latter.

Have you considered a MW drawer? Many GWers have one and love it.

"What do you think about kitchen desk? It's outdated?"

There are exceptions, of course, but most people are designing kitchens without kitchen desks and if they currently have one, are removing it when they remodel. Laptops are portable so a desk isn't as necessary as it once was. People *are* adding "command central" and charging stations instead. A "command central" is like a desk without the desk; it's where bills, important papers, etc are stored, generally behind doors or in drawers. A charging station is just that, a place with multiple outlets for plugging in portable devices.

Here are some examples of both:

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Chilliwack Kitchen & Bath Designers Starline Cabinets

A stand-up desk gives you storage below the counter, which a standard desk does not.

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Eugene Architects & Building Designers David Edrington, Architect

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Boise Kitchen & Bath Designers Patricia Dunlop

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[Traditional Home Office[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-home-office-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_732~s_2107) by Millersburg Cabinets & Cabinetry Mullet Cabinet

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Columbia Interior Designers & Decorators LGB Interiors

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[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Wellesley Kitchen & Bath Designers Divine Kitchens LLC

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[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Muncie Kitchen & Bath Designers Great Kitchens & Baths

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[Eclectic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Lawrenceville Kitchen & Bath Designers Designs by BSB

Thanks. I've been reading that kitchen desks are a thing of the past, so I won't have one. LARemodel why do you like the range better than a cooktop and wall oven?

Is the microwave in a good spot? Should I make the two cabinets by the range glass instead of the corner one?

Update of back wall

Off topic but what software program are you using?

Many, really most, of my suggestions echo those previously made by others.

Oh, definitely drawers instead of those base cabinets!

And definitely move DW to the other side of the sink.

If I had had your space, I would definitely have put in extra deep base cabinets (and insisted that the cabinet maker put extra deep drawers in as well.) I DID put in 15" deep upper cabinets, which I love. You are probably planning to put in super susans in the corner base cabs. If not, I urge you to do so. Be sure your cabinet maker chooses a size that maximizes the use of the area you have.

At the bottom of this I have a link to a recent post I made about storage in a single 15" deep wall cab outfitted with lazy susan turntables. I strong suggest you consider it. Mine are stocked to maximize storage, not to be pretty through the glass door. They really can do both--be spectacularly pretty AND store a ton of totally accessible stuff.

I also urge you to put a small prep sink in the island. My husband frequently comments that he was wrong when he insisted that it was unnecessary. And he seldom 'fesses up to being wrong!!

The one thing I regret from my kitchen remodel is following the KD's advice that I had plenty of light and not bringing the window over the sink down to counter level. I regret this every darn time I look at the window. Go to HOUZZ and search for "counter level kitchen window." They are wonderful. It will be the centerpiece of your kitchen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lazy susans in corner wall cabinets

abekker,

I have a range top, wall oven, steam oven, and microwave, but not a range. I decided against a range because I don't like bending down to take hot food out of the oven. Also, a range is probably more oven space than I would ever need.

A range top serves the same purpose as a cooktop, but with the knobs in front, instead of on the surface. This way, the knobs are easier to keep clean and don't take up space on the cooking surface. Also, the Wolf range top that I purchased is a higher quality product than their cook top - I can't remember what the specific differences were when I purchased it - but salesperson was convincing.

If I had a very large kitchen, I would line up a wall oven, steam oven, and microwave, in parallel, all at the same height, with cabinets above and drawers below.