Kitchen Remodel starting now

[Jacksoup]

Here's a picture of the current kitchen.  The microwave and fan died about 4 years ago.  The stove and oven died about 8 weeks ago. Cabinets are 80's oak.  Decided it was time to bite the bullet and spend the money to get a new kitchen. Demo/construction will start after Thanksgiving and won't be finished until after New Year.  I thought you may enjoy the ride.  It's a galley kitchen in a condo so have to work with existing space but I think I'm getting more counter space which is great

Edited November 19, 2016 by Smithy
Added tag (log)

[Jacksoup]

Here's the cabinet plans.  Any advice/ thoughts are welcome

[Jacksoup]

The plan I'm using as a template

[Okanagancook]

The microwave is big.  Do you really use it according to the space it occupies? 

it needs to be a well thought out space seeing it appears small.

 

[Yiannos]

5 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

The microwave is big.  Do you really use it according to the space it occupies? 

it needs to be a well thought out space seeing it appears small.

 

 

If you are talking about the picture, that looks like lens distortion to me, like real estate agents use in their photos to make smaller rooms appear larger on websites etc.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Yiannos (log)

[Jacksoup]

It's a microwave/convection oven.  The designers think I'll use it more than the regular convection oven. I'm totally lost have never designed anything before.  Just moved houses.

[Lisa Shock]

I personally would have tile floors, not wood. (you can get those tiles that look like wood) Spills are not good for wood or laminate floors. Tile also costs less. My whole house is tiled and I love it. Pet accidents, water dish spills, etc. are no problem.

[rotuts]

make you countertop wider than standard.  there is no reason the width has to match the cabinets underneath.  the cabinets are just not mounted flush with the walls.

 

you are just pulling them out a few inches.

 

you are buying work-space , not walk-space  

 

depending on the cabinets you get , they can be made deeper.  get the best "roll out " sheaves for the

 

lower cabinets you can afford 

 

what you are buy is then counter top space.  make sure the ' splash ' counter top is at least 3 "  4 is better.  oddly the splash part is relatively expensive.

Edited November 19, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

Im taking the liberty of rotating your computer model :

 

its easier to ' see ' the kitchen

 

good luck !

Edited November 19, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

install some sort of lights under the cabinets  

 

and improve the lighting from the kitchen ceiling     

 

make sure you have enough Amps in all the wall outlets.

[Anna N]

 I second rotuts on the pull out shelves for lower cabinets unless you are lucky enough to be able to install deep drawers.    Bending down to stare into the back of dark, deep cupboards is the bane of my life!  And lights. You can never have too much light. Think a little into the future when you may not be as physically capable as you may be now. 

 

[rotuts]

in one of the lower cabinets , near where your major work-top area is , see if yoy can install a narrow but tall cabinet where you can store ' on end ' all your cutting boards , and

 

various  ' sheet-pans ' you bake with.

 

I enlarged the sink area and see that you already have " tray storage "

Edited November 19, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[rotuts]

study very carefully the counter-top material you are thinking of getting.

 

find someone that has your favorite before you get it.

[MelissaH]

7 hours ago, Lisa Shock said:

I personally would have tile floors, not wood. (you can get those tiles that look like wood) Spills are not good for wood or laminate floors. Tile also costs less. My whole house is tiled and I love it. Pet accidents, water dish spills, etc. are no problem.

To each, his or her own. I wouldn't put tile in a kitchen: it's too hard. Tile makes my feet and back hurt, when I've been standing on it for a long time. Tile is cold underfoot, unless you happen to have underfloor heating installed.

 

I like my Marmoleum, still, after 10 years. (If you or others tend to wear spike heels in your kitchen, YMMV.)

[IowaDee]

My advice is to install way more outlets than you think you need.  And just to be on the safe side, add half a dozen more.  And plenty of breakers to handle the load from all those outlets.  Don't know how that works in a condo but if it does, go for it

[Okanagancook]

Where is your main prep space going to be?  I am wondering if that spice pull out should go somewhere else....if you are prepping to the right of the stove then you have to move way over to get your spices rather than having the spice pull out closer???

 

Bottle storage (soy sauce, vinegars, oils, etc.):  These can be awkward to retrieve from a wall cupboard especially if you have a lot of them as I do.  When I designed my kitchen I had a tall drawer divided into four compartments and I stand my bottles up.  I have oils in one, Chinese bottles in another, vinegars in the third and miscellaneous stuff in the forth.  After awhile you can recognize the one you want by the top :-).  Not sure you have room for that.  Will the cupboard under the convection/microwave have pull out shelves....the bottles could go there?  Or are you putting them in that spice storage pull out?

 

When I sat down with my designer I had an idea about where all my equipment would fit as well as spices, bottles as above, tea, coffee, tea pots, etc.

 

What are you planning on storing above the fridge?  Maybe some bakeware or trays could go up there?  

So think about where you want your equipment, etc. and how you work in your kitchen.

 

Here is a picture of my bottle storage.

[Darienne]

On the subject of tile floors, I am completely with MelissaH.  Nothing but wood floors for us for 25 years now.  I love them and would never go back to anything else.  The don't show dirt (we have two large Spoiled Rotten-weilers and live on a farm) and are soft on the feet.  We spent two months in Moab Utah with tile floors and I thought I would die until we threw down mats to stand on. 

Also I love galley kitchens.  I have one now (25 years) and had one before (about 10 years) and while they have their limitations...everything does, n'est-ce pas?...for me they are the best.

[dcarch]

1. The sun reflection will blind you when you are using the sink. Install an awning outside the window.
2. Why do you have your knife set closer to the oven and not the sink?
3. You need more outlets. Where are your countertop appliances?
4. You need hangers.
5. You need more lights.
6. Is that a thermostat? Kitchen is not a good place for thermostat.
7. How about a smoke alarm?
8. Where is your dining room? I would have the stove closer to the dining room, not the microwave.
9. Where is your garbage can and recycle bin?
10. Wrong color for that little rug.
11. Not sure your refrigerator is properly ventilated.
12. Does your house have thick stone walls? I hope you have good enough exhaust and make up air. That is a big stove/oven heat generator.

    13. If that's the only heat and air conditioning (in ceiling), that may not be enough.

 

    14. Now are you sorry that you ask for opinions? Haha!

dcarch

Edited November 19, 2016 by dcarch (log)

[rotuts]

@Okanagancook  

 

put heavy stuff low    nice

 

there are some insights w  @dcarch  

 

Id suggest his or hers insight is real , but far more digestible w a few Liters of MR first !

 

much smoother that way.  takes the edge off !

 

very good ideas though ...........................................................

 

 

[Smithy]

I agree with the above: you can never have too many outlets!

 

Check the reviews on that microwave convection oven to see how effective users think it is.  We had one in our last trailer (I think it was a GE but don't remember the model) and it took a long time to come up to temperature - and used huge amounts of electricity.  On the other hand, it DID allow me to have a second oven going when I needed it. 

 

I can't tell from the drawings: does that range hood exhaust to the outside?  If not, what would it take to make it exhaust outside?  Recirculating hoods are barely better than nothing.

 

Edit: I also agree about the pull-out shelves for the undercounter cabinets.  We paid extra for those and think it's money very well spent.

[Lisa Shock]

One last point about a tile floor, yes, they can be cold. I live in Arizona where the outdoor temperatures hover around 120° for a couple of months in the summer. My house does not have a basement, it sits on a concrete pad which wants to even out the inside AC temps with the outside heat in the summer. Also, to save energy, because it gets so hot here many of run the AC at higher temps than Northerners are used to. (around 82°-84°) This translates into a floor that isn't all that cool in the summer, but, we still love it. The ability to come home, take off your shoes and walk around barefoot on the mildly cool tile really helps you feel better when you're overheated.

 

You will need more lights. I prefer some sort of light fixture that has small moveable lights on it so you can change what they are aimed at. There are a lot of variations now, it doesn't have to be track lights. When I was practicing knife cuts for competition, I found that getting the right angle for the lights really helped me cut better. Also, with a bunch of smaller lights, you can illuminate a lot of small appliances -each one to its best advantage.

 

I do recommend LED lights. You can get them in stores now in most sizes and a variety of color temperatures. (I like the cold/daylight ones, but, that's me.) They will save you money on electricity, but, more importantly, they don't waste much energy as heat, so they don't heat up the kitchen.

[Jacksoup]

Will try to respond to all your helpful suggestions.  Will have tile floors, the rest of the flooring on the first floor is wood and are unable to match it.  If I wanted to spend a lot more money, I'd re-do all the floors but spending on the kitchen is enough for now,. My son is an electrician so will have plenty of outlets and under cabinet lighting, all LED.  Hood does exhaust to the outside through the attic.

[Jacksoup]

5 hours ago, dcarch said:

 

1.  Window is east facing and mostly blocked by trees

2. The 'after' photo is just an example of the floor plan, cabinet placement.  My knives will be close to the sink.

3.  Will have more outlets and countertop appliances.  That after photo was an inspirational jumping off point.

4. Hangers?

5. There will be more lights

6. Not a thermostat

7. There is a smoke alarm

8. Dining room is where the photographer is standing

9. Garbage and recycle will be in a pull out

10. Not my little rug, I agree

11. Contractor can tell me, I don't know

12. No stone walls in condo land, my neighbor has a similar set up with a Wolf and has no problem

13.  It is the only HVAC vent in the room but has worked well for the 14 years I've lived here.

plus all drawers will be pull out shelves

thanks for all the input!

 

 

[kayb]

My only thought not already mentioned would be that my personal preference would be to have the spices at eye level as opposed to a lower cabinet. Definitely convenient to the stove, though. YMMV.

 

Will be interested to see photos of the in-progress!

 

 

[chromedome]

I'm in the anti-tile camp as well, having spent far too many hours scrubbing the damned grout. I favor continuous, easily-cleaned surfaces in the kitchen. That being said, I understand the appeal of tile from viewpoints other than straight-up sanitation...and at the end of the day it's your kitchen, not mine.