My Kitchen Idea

[Squintz]

I know you guys like to look at pictures which is why I am posting this. For about 4 years now I have been trying to think of a way to make my kitchen more practical. It's a decent size kitchen for a town home. I was thinking about adding an island in the middle but that would make the kitchen feel smaller. Last night my Dad came up with the idea of adding a bar like counter. So I downloaded google sketchup and did a scale 3D drawing of my kitchen. Keep in mind this is my first time ever using google sketchup so there are plenty of flaws. Read the captions for details.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Davepow16/KitchenIdea

 

[BrettS]

It's an interesting idea and it looks good, but I'm concerned about the lack of of a table. If you have a dining room or a table somewhere else then you'll probably be fine, but if not you might want to reconsider this. I have a similar counter in my kitchen with 4 seats (although it faces into the kitchen and not into a wall) and I find that the counter is nice for casual meals when my wife and I are home or for guests to sit at while someone is working in the kitchen (facing a wall might make this less desirable). The counter is not great for entertaining people, however. It's hard for the people on the ends to see the other people and I think it's difficult to hold a conversation when everyone is sitting at the counter.

In short, I love my counter, but if I had to choose only a table or a counter then I'd choose the table.

Even if the above isn't a big concern for you definitely keep in mind resale value. Other people may not like the lack of a table too much either.

You might consider puting a counter in next to the fridge coming out from where the pantry is now. You'd lose the pantry (you might be able to move the door to the hallway, but it would make it pretty inconvenient to access from the kitchen... alternately you could take out the pantry entirely. I'm thinking that might still leave room for a table on the other side of the kitchen, plus I think having the counter face into the kitchen rather than against a wall might be more useful.

HTH,
Brett

 

[BrettS]

I just showed this to my wife who's pretty good with design and she suggested that if you go ahead with this to make sure you get stools that swivel so people can sit on the stools and easily turn around to talk with you while you're working in the kitchen.

That is an issue we have too. When people are sitting at our bar their back is to the living room. Our stools don't swivel, so people sitting at the bar can't easily communicate with people in the living room. It's a bit of a pain to get down off of the high stool and turn it around then get back up again.

Brett

 

[Kevin L]

Hi, David.

You got some good suggestions from the others. When I was designing the home we just finished, I spent a lot of time at GardenWeb.com. They have a lot of forums dedicated to different aspects of building, remodeling, etc. of homes. The people there are as welcoming as the fine bunch here in CT.

Here's a link for the forum there that would be a good place for you to post your ideas: GardenWeb Kitchen Forum

Good luck with your project.

Kevin

 

[sic0048]

I like it. I also agree that if there is a table somewhere else, this is a perfect solution for the kitchen space.

I like the arch too. I think it looks much better with the arch as it really gives that wall some character.

 

[nick_l]

You said that you want to make the kitchen more practical, but I dont really see this as doing that, except to ad storage. Most people don't respond favorably to facing a wall when eating. From what you showed us, I don't see why a small island would make the room feel smaller. you could run it parallel to the long wall. Alternately the peninsula idea is a good one, but it might make the use of the refrigerator awkward.

If money isnt an object, making the window next to the door smaller and adding a peninsula on that side would be ideal.

Personally I think I would just ad a round table to the space. if you need additional storage, you could add a line of shallow cabinets to the wall, similar to the idea of your bar, and use it as a buffet.

Nick

P.s. Many refrigerators have reversible doors. if your refrigerator doors really open in that direction, you might be able to reverse them to make it more convenient to use.

 

[Squintz]

Thank you all for the great responses. We have a fairly large Living Room/Dining Room area which is wide open. We have an 8 Chair Table at the front of the house. I really like the idea about swivel chairs. They will help keep the wood floor from getting too scuffed up.

Since the dining room is not really large enough for a Table and a China Cabinet I think a built in China Cabinet as in my design will add resale value to the home. It does not remove any sq. footage and does add extra cabinet space which none of the other homes in my neighborhood have. From what I've seen, my home has one of the most open floor plans which is why I purchased it. I think the Island would make the kitchen feel too small since the path ways around the island would be narrow.

Thanks for the link to the website. I'll check it out.

 

[Ranger Digital]

No island reduces resell value IMO.

 

[Skibum]

I went with outswing French doors.
It's amazing how much more usable room there is.

 

[Squintz]

Yeah, we just had french doors installed earlier this year and unfortunately at the time we thought swinging in was better because the kids like to play on the gated deck and their toys would always be in the way.

I agree that an Island would add value but I really don't think it would work in my home. I wish I could borrow one to stick in there just to be sure. It would have to be a really small island I think. I should mock up an Island out of cardboard.

 

[Ranger Digital]

sq, one idea might be to get a really small island on wheels. There are many to choose from, stainless steel, wire baskets, all wood, wood chop block etc. HANDY HANDY HANDY. and if on wheels, you can make it NOT in the way. cant live with out my island! seriously, wouldnt consider buying a house without one, its a deal killer.

 

[zimmer62]

I should mock up an Island out of cardboard.

I was going to suggest that. I've done that one some projects before when trying to plan spaces, it makes a huge difference so you can visually see it, and have to walk around it etc.. If you are going to have some stools by it, put those in there too just so you can see what kind of legwork it's going to add to your daily routine.