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cubimar

help with total kitchen redesign

cubimar
9 years ago

Please help with lay out design. We are gutting the main floor and relocating/redesigning the kitchen. I have been struggling with the location and layout for weeks and need some creative input! One big question is what to do with the are next to fridge/broom closet. Leave an open counter to access the dining room? open shelving up against side panel? or put uppers somehow in this area?:
Does the rest of the layout work?

* We want an open kitchen design but prefer not to have the kitchen be the first thing you see when you walk in through the front door.

* I do NOT want the sink or cooktop on island (we are too messy!)

* I would love a walk-in pantry (if possible) but do not see where it could go

* I do not know where to put the MW. I prefer not to have in lower cabs because of small kiddos.

* We plan to move the door to the carport. I have marked its tentative new location but it can really go anywhere on that wall.

* The sliding door and window on upper wall cannot be moved. The window is lower than counter-depth (only 27" off the ground).

About us:

* We are a family of 5, we often have 2 cooks (DH and I) in the kitchen, and the kids 17-8-3 like to help, or just seem to hang around where we are.

* We cook from scratch most evenings, & seldom bake

* Much activity happens in our current kitchen (homework, paying bills, art projects, etc.)

* When we do entertain, it usually for large groups (15+)

Post edited to upload new drawings as per suggestions below. Scale 1 square=6inches

This post was edited by cubimar on Sun, Sep 21, 14 at 9:21

Comments (10)

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    i'm really confused by your scale (48 inch aisle =6.2 squares), can you redraw with 6 inch or 12 inch squares.

  • cubimar
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    One square =8 inches. I know the scale is not ideal! If i used 1:6, my drawing would not fit on one page and 1:12, the drawing was too small....
    the measurements are all noted so you could ignore the squares. I'll see if I can print it so the squares do not appear.
    thanks!

  • Jillius
    9 years ago

    I'd do it on a 1:6 scale and then tape the pages together for scanning or photographing. The easier you make it on us, the better and more numerous the responses you get.

  • cubimar
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks everyone. I finally found time to redraw these, and I have put the new drawings in my original post. The scale is now 1 square= 6 inches. I would love your input on the design.

  • remodelfla
    9 years ago

    I am not loving the oven in the island. You don't want the MW there cause of small kiddos but a hot oven seems even worse ( though they do grow up quickly!). Now that I have a wall oven I see the huge benefits over bending all the way down. I'd extend the counter to the left of the cooktop 18" and then put an oven stack with a wall oven. You could out the MW there. Then I'd move the pantry by the frig. The island is right there so you have a drop zone

  • cubimar
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Remodelfla, thanks for the feedback. I agree the oven location is not ideal. It may not be clear in the diagram, but the wall next to the sliding door will not accommodate a full width cabinet. There are only 23 inches of clearance between the wall and the door. I could eliminate 1 of the 24-inch wide pantries, and put a 30 inch oven cabinet there, but the the counter to the left of the stove my be tight. other thoughts for placement of the oven?

  • remodelfla
    9 years ago

    I didn't initially notice that...sorry. Is the door already there? Would you consider a smaller slider or French door so you could accommodate the ovens where both pantrys are now?

  • cubimar
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The door cannot really be changed in size as that would imply redoing our exterior siding. Not ready to that quite yet...

  • cubimar
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hi, does anyone else have words of wisdom to share regarding this layout? Would love some input before we get ready to order cabinets.
    Thanks in advance.

  • Jillius
    9 years ago

    I'll give this some thought for you. Could you add the layout of the living room or some details about how you use the room? Is there any other living room or den or anything else that serves a similar function in the house? I see there is a lower level.

    Immediate thoughts:

    1) Consider putting the carport door where the pantry is. Both the sliding door and the carport need space in front of them for walkways, and this way they can share the same space. This also eliminates the issue of not having room for standard depth counter/cabinets between the sliding door and the wall.

    2) I think you will dislike the monolithic fridge wall section thing in person. It'll just be this gigantic thing standing there in the middle of the room. You won't have good sight lines to the dining room because of it, and it will seem in the way. I assume the purpose of it was so you couldn't immediately see the kitchen from the front door? You might consider elongating the closet in the entryway instead. You get a longer, more defined foyer that you have to walk through before you see the kitchen.

    3) Can you maybe find a picture or two of an open kitchen that is situated in a way you like relative to the entry? I feel like this is a different thing from everybody, so it'd be helpful to have a picture or two to go on. We put a very large archway between our foyer and our kitchen (instead of leaving it totally open) and that arch gave me that open-but-separate feeling that I wanted, but my husband didn't see the difference at all.