Kitchen Plans – I’ve Had A Major Change Of Heart

This weekend, as I used to be engaged on the drywall within the lobby of our bed room suite, I used to be going via the psychological checklist of the whole lot I have to do with a view to end our bed room suite (as I do fairly often), and pondering to myself that as quickly as these guys are executed with the bed room door and the drywall restore across the door, I’ll be off to the races and I can get this factor executed comparatively rapidly.

“Rapidly” is, certainly, relative. However I don’t assume it’ll take me almost so long as the walk-in closet took me. And I used to be excited about how superb it is going to be to have that entire bed room suite completed, hopefully by the tip of this yr, and to have a lot of the home completed at that time.

After which I remembered my plans. Sure, that half of the home with the bed room suite can be completed, however then my plans have been to mainly begin tearing up the opposite half of the home on the opposite aspect — transferring the kitchen from its present location into the world the place the present breakfast room and pantry are, tearing out the half bathtub to create a walk-through pantry, turning the present kitchen right into a eating room.

I began excited about how large that challenge goes to be. Earlier than a kitchen might be constructed, I’d must have all new plumbing put in. I’ve already gotten a quote on that, and it is going to be virtually $10,000 only for the plumbing since this room has a concrete basis. After which I’ll must buy new home windows for the entrance wall of the breakfast room as a result of the present ones are too low to place cupboards beneath the home windows.

After which the set up of recent home windows would require new framing and new siding on the outside. And transferring the kitchen would require some fairly main flooring restore as a result of half of the present peninsula (the half that overlaps into the breakfast room space) doesn’t have flooring beneath it since I had to try this in phases that have been a few years aside, if my reminiscence served me appropriately.

I imply, with all of that, I’m most likely $20,000 proper out of the gate, and that’s earlier than I even get to new cupboards, new home equipment, counter tops, and all the fairly stuff that truly make a kitchen a kitchen.

I simply don’t wish to do it. And you recognize what? I really like the present location of my kitchen. It’s small, but it surely’s not the scale that bothers me. What does trouble me after 10 years of residing with this kitchen is the inefficiency. I’ve shared a number of instances that this entire wall of cupboards on the again wall of the kitchen, whereas it seems fairly, is mainly ineffective. I used cupboards which are manner too slender on high that they gained’t even maintain plates. And the underside cupboards are higher wall cupboards, so that they’re solely 15 inches deep. I set the center part out from the wall to present it some depth, however the inside the cupboards are nonetheless solely 15 inches deep.

Additionally, after I designed that again wall, I at all times thought that the lengthy countertop there can be the place we place meals when we’ve got individuals over, however that’s by no means what finally ends up taking place. The meals finally ends up on the peninsula with individuals gathered across the peninsula. In order that lengthy countertop on the again wall finally ends up as a catch-all the place random junk will get piled up.

So this previous weekend, virtually right away, I made a decision that I don’t need or want a bigger kitchen. I would like an environment friendly kitchen. I would like a kitchen with usable cupboards and storage that’s higher deliberate. Now that I’ve had this kitchen for ten years, I do know what works and what doesn’t work. So now, I can rearrange within the present footprint and design it in a manner that truly works higher for the way we use it.

Along with the inefficiency of that entire again wall of cupboards, I’ve a pair extra points that I would like fastened. First, I hate that I don’t have extra countertop house subsequent to the range. I at all times really feel so cramped after I’m attempting to cook dinner. And eventually, I hate that the dishwasher might be seen as quickly as somebody enters the entrance door of our home. As quickly as you stroll within the entrance door and look in the direction of the kitchen, the dishwasher is the very first thing you see. I’ve hated that from the second I put that cased opening between the kitchen and the lounge, however I’d by no means surrender that cased opening. It’s the dishwasher location that has to vary.

With these points in thoughts, I headed to the IKEA kitchen designer and began taking part in round with some concepts. I’ve no plan to make use of IKEA cupboards, however their kitchen format designer is very easy to make use of to get some fundamental format concepts in place, in order that’s the place I headed. Let me present you what I got here up with.

First, I moved the fridge to the again wall. And since I need a French door fridge, I put it within the center. I’d like to get a panel-ready fridge, however we’ll must see about that since they’re so costly. After which I put floor-to-ceiling storage on each side of the fridge. Precise usable storage that takes up the total depth of the house obtainable. What a recreation changer that will probably be! In order that again wall would go from this…

…to one thing like this…

With the fridge relocated, the wall with the range may go from this…

…to this, with loads of countertop house on both aspect.

This may require some plumbing work, however since this a part of the home has a pier-and-beam basis, the price can be a fraction of what it might be to maneuver it to the breakfast room space. After which I’d have way more countertop house on both aspect of the range, in addition to extra storage close to the vary, which I’ve additionally needed.

After which on the peninsula, I’d simply wish to swap the situation of the dishwasher from the suitable aspect of the sink the place it’s now…

…to the left aspect of the sink.

Once more, I’d love a panel-ready dishwasher, however we’ll must see about that. I feel if the situation is simply swapped, I’ll be nice with a nice-looking dishwasher with out the expense of a panel-ready possibility.

I really feel a lot extra peaceable about this plan. I do know it sort of got here out of nowhere, however I actually don’t wish to be engaged on this home for the following decade. I do really wish to end it (a minimum of the within) in order that I can spend my outdated age exterior tooling round within the backyard, choosing weeds, planting flowers, and having fun with the outside.

So mainly, that implies that the breakfast room stays a breakfast room (or a eating room). The kitchen stays the place it’s. And the half toilet within the studio additionally will get to remain.

The one factor I’m not sure about is the pantry. Matt and I are divided on this matter. I feel that if I’ve an environment friendly kitchen, I don’t want a pantry anymore, and I’d like to take that wall down. Matt desires to maintain the pantry, however the truth is that he doesn’t use the pantry. He simply likes the way it seems.

However I nonetheless wish to depart the door open for that future addition. We’ve been speaking about it for what looks like ceaselessly, however I nonetheless maintain out hope that it’ll occur. And when it occurs, I’d like a doorway main from the brand new household room into the eating room. That may’t occur if the pantry continues to be there. So I actually wish to take this wall down and simply have one huge, open room. Maybe I can nonetheless depart the cupboards alongside that again wall, however I’d actually want a fairly seating space or one thing that’s extra acceptable for a eating room — one thing that appears much less like a kitchen.

And that implies that this entire association will mainly keep like it’s — kitchen peninsula, eating space subsequent to it, and the doorway into my studio.

On the IKEA kitchen planner, I wasn’t ready so as to add cupboards to the again of the sink space, however it might keep similar to it’s, solely with new cupboards and a brand new countertop.

After which there would simply be some minor modifications with the plumbing for the opposite two partitions.

Anyway, I do know it’s an enormous change, and it occurred in a cut up second, however I really feel so peaceable about this. It appears manageable, and it doesn’t appear overwhelming to me in any respect. The opposite plan appeared very overwhelming and like one thing I’d be spending the following two years (or most likely for much longer) attempting to realize.

Typically greater isn’t higher. It’s simply extra to scrub, with extra countertop house to assemble muddle. That’s not what I would like. I simply want effectivity, and I feel I can get precisely what I would like within the present kitchen’s footprint if I plan correctly.