I guarantee at least a couple of you rolled your eyes when you saw the title, since I've asked for your opinions already but I'm interested in more ideas on how to layout/design a kitchen/living room. This probably isn't the place to ask but it's way better than my facebook. I'm stuck on how I want to layout my kitchen in my new house. I want to come up with a game plan so I can actually get work done instead of sit around and come up with ideas. Personally im more form over function so my ideas "lack appeal" and "lacks desirability" and "can't have a ramp to be used as a second garage". My hope is I can get enough ideas to compile a list of desired grates of a kitchen that would work with what I have. Currently, I have most of it ripped out but there are two windows in the kitchen that are 24 inches from the floor and 24 inches from the ceiling that make it impossible to build cabinets around without changing them. I'd like to see what everyone else can think of. Below is a picture of the measurements. The left side that isn't labeled is just sketched and not to size. The measurements were also obtained on an evening that alcohol was involved so it might not be precise. I also played with the idea of putting the fridge in the doorway of the old dining room, closing it off, turning the old pantry into a closet for what would become a bed/office. Then beaming the kitchen and living room wall (load bearing) to keep that open feel.
You're overthinking this. It will be much cheaper if you wait until you have a woman in your life because no matter what you do now she will not like it and you will be gutting the kitchen again (if you're lucky and not having to move to an entirely different house). Eat out and order in (you have a cell phone), two saw horses and a sheet of plywood make a table...done. Wait for the woman of your dreams, THEN plan kitchen.
^This is absolutely the best bit of advice possible. 2 years ago we refinanced our house, pulled cash out, and remodeled the kitchen. It was easily the most frustrating month of my life. I eventually just threw in the towel, and told my wife that it was her project. I was just fine with the bright pink cupboards from the 50's, but she had the $ spent before the refi check was ever even cut. A wise man once said "do you want to be right, or do you want to be married"?
Agreed and agreed. I waited to buy a house until i was married for this reason.(rented until i was 35, lol)
You people are no help at all Thanks for the input though. I asked the girlfriend what she thought and she liked the plywood table idea so clearly the kitchen will never be done. Might it be too much to ask you married folk to ask your wives?
As a restaurant professional and a woman I will chime in. Open concept is better, especially when it comes to potentially reselling down the road. When planning the kitchen you need to consider the “work triangle”. Your fridge, sink and stove should be no more than 3 steps from each other and in a triangle shape (kinda) if possible. If you like an “eat-in” space put in an island or peninsula, which also doubles as work space. Consider how you cook, and how you live in your space when designing and try not to over-improve for your neighborhood because you’ll never recoup those costs (much like a turbo Subaru). Good luck with your reno!
Can you snap some overview pics of the space and post them. You have a strange looking kitchen from that layout and without standing in it, i’m having issues visualizing. Stand in each corner and take pic across the room to the other corner. Or a pano could be helpful.
For home use a set of Wusthofs, Henckels or Messermeister would suffice and with appropriate care you would never need to buy a set again. Henckels are probably the most affordable, and are perfectly capable knives for most home cooks.
I tossed some pics into a google drive here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-8LPI3ZNiM4XUZ4KJRTJYSOq1Oui45ne?usp=sharing Ill try to get a pano up for those too lazy to click links.
I see now. They had the eat in area and kitchen separated with cabinets. The windows make sense now. Can you label the rest of the rooms on your plan there? Are the three unmeasured rooms on the right bedrooms? What is the room on the left measuring 52.11sq ft? Is that a hallway where it says “entry”? Entry go to the room that is 52.11, or to outside? Are you a aspiring chef, enjoy cooking, kitchen is a gathering place? I read blue prints quite a bit. This would be easier for my brain with more detail.
^yes!! Lmao I took another look at the pictures. Are you going to remove the wall separating the foyer(52.11sq ft-figured that out) and the eat in kitchen? Would look nice with wire or glass panel knee wall/banister. And a new chandelier. I would keep the layout similar to the way it was. But stretch it so it’s bigger and the eat in would be slightly smaller.(that’s what a formal dining room is for) table for two to four is sufficient there. So then i would rotate your cardboard island 90 degrees to face the table. And consider putting my cooktop there with the fridge in the same spot as they had it. Essentially, what they had(but it would be an island instead of cabs across, minus the uppers for openness.) Cooktop in island would essentially be the same as they had(only you can go around on both sides now). Vertical pantry in existing hallway. And entry to formal dining between the entry to the living room and the new “pantry”. I would do a full lower cab between the windows with open shelving above it to keep it light and airy. Or you could go uppers to the ceiling above it if you feel you need the additional storage space. Where is your new place? It may be easier for me to stop by, lmao.
52.1 is the split level staircase. The wall needs to be code which might mean it stays framed at least 48-50 inch? Can't remember. Entry is a closet and a small walkway between the kitchen and living. I'm in Apple Valley, right by the mn zoo! Welcome to my world.
It’s not a load bearing wall correct? So why would it need to stay for code? You should just need a railing if you remove it. Windows are easy to frame in. Add alot of can lights to the kitchen, problem solved. In this day and age, there are such a wide array of cabinet layouts that you can go with that one could get creative with the window.
You can ask my wife if you want for her input but in my opinion most of her ideas are terrible when it comes to renovations....then again it could be we just have different tastes....
I looked at some of the attic and found the roof are trusses and not rafters. I guess the phrasing is important because the way the roof is supported implies that none of the interior walls are load bearing. This changed my plans quite significantly, as I think Ill pull the whole wall between the kitchen and living room down. Then I can follow my idea of closing off the old dining room, putting the fridge in the existing dining room doorway, and making that a small bed.
Before you do anything might be in your best interest and money well spent to get a professional evaluation.
Professional sosmeshional. Serious note, I'll have a builder in to look but im pretty sure I'm right. There's a 1/4 inch gap between the frame of the wall and the bottom chord of the trusses. My assumption is that you can't hold weight if it isn't touching it. This diagram shows the bearing points of the truss style that I found when I looked.
