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kiwigem_gw

HELP! Where to move window while there's still time?

Kiwigem
9 years ago

Hi, everyone.

I'm realizing I had our GC put our window in the wrong place, but I need to figure out what to tell him to do with it- and soon! The kitchen is going to be a single wall (19') with large island (10' by 42"). The window is 9 feet wide, but currently only 38" from the left wall. Our GC mentioned moving it early on (wish I had let him- dang it!) but I told him not bother because the refrigerator we are buying is very slim (32" Fisher and Paykel) and wouldn't need more space. Now I'm realizing as I try to plan my kitchen (wasn't fully designed before house construction began- probably stupid) that the fridge is going to be jammed up against the window. We aren't going to have any upper cabinets (except maybe over the fridge) so the asymmetry will be pretty in-your-face. Also it seems it will yield some weird drawer widths and of course never allow me or a future buyer to get a wider fridge if desired.

SO....I know the window needs to move over (change order, grrr), but how much? One foot? 18"?
I've attached a drawing that is more or less to scale. Didn't measure hood at all and it doesn't show all cabinets because I gave up after realizing the window needed to move :-)
Thanks!

Comments (17)

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago

    A single line kitchen like that is one of the least efficient layouts, especially one so large. It leaves you walking a LOT to use. You need one of the main elements moved to the island to shorten the distance between work points. Since you already have this giant window, I'd move the cooking to the island with an island hood, and leave the sink centered under the window, moved over about 4'.

    Of course, the down side to this is you'd have your back turned to the family 90% of the time. But, it beats the 100% of the time that the current layout will have. With all of the work stations ducks in a row, the island is not naturally going to be used. The workflow is a straight down the line progression, with no stops on the island.

    The other alternative would be to move the sink to the island, and split the window in two, flanking the range. That would be more functional from a work/sociability standpoint, as 70% of the work done in a kitchen is prep, and 20% is cleanup. Putting the sink on the island would have you facing the family 90% of the time. And it would give those seated the view out the windows.

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hi, hollysprings, thanks for your input!

    To clarify:
    The window is purchased and installed already, can be moved but not altered.

    The sink is mostly for doing dishes. I will have a prep sink on the island. I am a mise en place cook. All prep will happen on island. The general vibe of the layout is exactly what I want it to be. Fridge to island. Island to range. Range to large sink.

    What I don't have a working knowledge of is cabinet sizes and the ramifications thereof on the window placement. I'm thinking if I move it over a foot (well, probably 10" really), I will have room for a bigger refrigerator should I ever want one, a DW to the left of the sink (which will be centered on window), and then another 2 foot cabinet to the left of the DW. Is that right? I think then a matching cabinet on the other side would fit.

    The problem is I don't know how standard kitchen cabinets really work. I think the window should probably be the...vector(?) for the rest of the kitchen, but I'm not sure how to work backwards from the kitchen components to arrive at the appropriate window placement.

    Then of course, there's the aesthetics of the wall to consider....

  • OOTM_Mom
    9 years ago

    I think 3 inch increments is pretty standard for cabinets, if that is what you're asking. So, 12", 15", 18", 21", ... Also, you may want/need spacers at fridge, DW, and range.

  • Oaktown
    9 years ago

    Is the island centered on the wall? If so I would be tempted to start with the window centered too and see if you can get everything else to work out on paper.

    If the island is not centered on the wall, I would think about trying to place the window to balance out the island, so that the overall visual weight of the kitchen is not skewed toward one side or the other.

    Then there's always the question of what is outside the window ... any specific view that you prefer to frame? Sorry not much help here.

    Have you tried Google Sketchup? I think it is useful for looking at overall massing (not precise measurements). You might find it helpful just to play with placement of fridge, window, hood, lower cab run and island until you get to an arrangement that feels harmonious. You have a big enough kitchen that I am guessing you won't feel a huge loss if you end up using a little bit of filler.

    Good luck!

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Ok here's a little context. This photo is roughly how the wall would be arranged if we left the window as is. Sorry the image is small and has a spare fridge on the side. I hadn't used homestyler before and misunderstood the viewfinder. :-/

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is an idea of what it would be like if we move the window. What would you do?

  • live_wire_oak
    9 years ago

    Can you post a layout? I don't like how the window currently crowds the fridge, but I'm not liking how moving the window over makes the space around the range be asymmetrical and unbalanced. It throws everything off. You would have to center the range and hood in the space remaining to the right of the window for this to work. If there were another location for the fridge or range, I think I'd like the whole design better. Could you use that window in another location in the home?

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    live-wire-oak. That's a good point, I actually did intend to center the range on the remaining wall. Don't know if I'm just not good with the homestyler yet (probably) or if I selected the wrong snapshot. The range would be centered and cabinets chosen accordingly. Would that make it okay in your mind? the window is a prominent feature on the front of the house it can nudge over a foot or so, but it's not going anywhere!

    Oaktown if we move the window over, the island will line up with the left edge of the window, and be centered on the 12' sliders on the opposite wall.

  • live_wire_oak
    9 years ago

    I think if you centered the range on the remaining wall, then that would work if you balanced the cabinetry look over the fridge and the hood. If you intend on the two different colors as shown, I wouldn't. I would want to coordinate with whatever you are choosing for window trim, and then tile the whole wall to make it a cohesive whole.

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, for responding. None of the colors are correct, I just went with cabinets that were the right size. I was going to ask about tiling the whole wall- thanks for volunteering that!

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    I think it looks much better with the window moved away from the fridge (I agree, it looked crowded before) and centering the range and hood.

    FWIW, I have the same setup, albeit shorter (13' vs. your 19'), and my island is exactly the same size as yours. It works fine, very efficient in fact - I do almost all prep and plating on the island (and don't have a prep sink).

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I'm glad to hear that- thank you!

  • blfenton
    9 years ago

    Trying working from the right hand wall. How close can the range be to the wall and still have a decent sized drawer to the right of it and so that you don't feel crowded working in the corner.

    Can you settle for 12" or 15" and then will you settle for 12" or 15" on the other side for symmetry. How useful will 2-12" banks of drawers be to you.

    I agree though that the window has to be moved away from the fridge - right now your whole kitchen, visually weight-wise, is falling over to the left side.

  • scrappy25
    9 years ago

    are you going to be able to open the fridge fully in that location against the wall? It might be good to add 6 inches to the left of the fridge and enclose that area for a broom closet. That way there is a built in space to add a larger fridge in the future without changing the base cabinets.

    Example below from my basement kitchenette. We have since mounted a small wall cabinet inside it the space holds an amazing amount.


  • funkycamper
    9 years ago

    This may not work at all but I was wondering if it would be better to have an L-shape on the left side with the fridge turned the other way, on the left side wall. For some odd reason I never like seeing too much of the fridge in a kitchen so doing that would allow you to box it in so it's less noticeable when looking at your kitchen. Seems it would still be easily accessible although that would mean you would have to shorten your island a bit. But without a full floorplan, I don't know how this impacts anything else you have going on so this may be a lousy idea.

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hi, funkycamper. Your idea would actually work well if I weren't so hung-ho on having an island where all five of my kids could eat at once. There is room to make an L, but it would make the walkway too small for my giant island. And I've got to have it because my slab is huge- no seams! :-)

  • Kiwigem
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Do you guys think it would be worth moving the window an extra couple of inches to make the distance from the fridge to the window and the hood to the window equidistant? Or do you think filling the area around the hood with shelves would suffice? Thanks!

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