the Awkward Kitchen Dilemma

[memesuze]

Your kitchen really is adorable.  Had you thought about enclosing your back porch and turning it into a sort of pantry and storage area?  Then your refrigerator could go in there, and you could even remove the door between it and the kitchen, making the fridge fairly accessible, but not the hulking presence it is now.

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I have a galley kitchen that I opened to the dining room with a small breakfast bar - but that meant the fridge had to go elsewhere - which was the back porch that I turned into a pantry and mudroom. The fridge is just inside the pantry door, on the other side of the wall at the end of the kitchen - it's a different configuration than yours since there's a long line of countertop, then the wall/opening into the pantry and then fridge - but it might work temporarily for you and allow you to keep all the cabinets in the kitchen proper.

[Okbrewer]

There are many residential or commercial grade "under counter refrigerators" available. You could double-up on those and either put them under the window in the kitchen, or, thinking outside of the kitchen box, put them on the other side of the short wall, behind the stove. Either build a surround for them or simply place a counter top on top of them and you also increase your work space. If the back porch will accomodate it, get a locking chest type freezer and put it out there. You might also want to consider commercial type coolers that have sliding doors that wouldn't have to be opened out into the tiny space. BTW, cute house!

[helenjp]

That's so nostalgic! It reminds me very much of my first "very own" home, which was built around 1920, and had the same arched doorways and long sash windows...and curiously the same tiny kitchen space!

I agree with the "don't hurry" brigade - I'm still waiting for our kitchen re-do (9 years and counting...), because old houses have their own ideas about where to spend your money. The first day in our current house, our kids jumped into the bathtub and cracked it...

Looking at your layout, you have a very narrow space between the fridge and the stove for people passing from the kitchen or the back door to the next room. That could become very irritating if you have more than two people in the house. I think I would consider sacrificing some of the cabinets near the backdoor and placing the fridge there (so you'll have to move the power point, ho ho, though an under-counter unit there with drawers may be less space-intrusive than fridge doors), and giving yourself a narrow strip of storage or counter space (if needed) below window height along the wall. That should keep traffic out of your main working area in the kitchen. But...don't rush!

By the way, looks as if your back door leads onto stairs rather than handy freezer-housing porch space???

[crouching tyler]

Thanks for all your suggestions. There are a ton of good ideas here. Putting a refrigerator/freezer on the back porch hadn't occured to us at all.

A word about the "fixer-upper" - the public rooms are actually in pretty good shape, and need the least work. It is everything else that makes it a fixer-upper. If I showed you photos of the deck, the basement, the bathroom, the bedrooms, or the exterior, you might understand why I call it a fixer-upper.

We spent some time on Saturday investigating appliance options all over the spectrum - from second hand to built-in beauties. I think we have to the conclusion that many of you have; we should wait and live in the house for a bit before we make any purchases.

Although, we are getting estimates for getting a new gas furnace and water heater this week - and we are going to see what it would cost to get gas lines to the kitchen for a stove. That may take precedence over the refrigerator for a while. Having a gas stove would be lovely!

The expansion of the kitchen towards the deck will probably happen in 4 or 5 years, I am guessing. So, I don't think we will tackle enclosing that into pantry any time soon.

[crouching tyler]

Here is a picture of the back porch, in its current condition. So, there is room out there for a small/mid-size freezer perhaps. Hmmmm.

We haven't actually moved in yet, so please excuse the mess.

By the way, the veg/herb garden (the one that is being dreamed up as we speak) will probably occupy the sunny space to the left of the deck.

[jamiemaw]

Here is a picture of the back porch, in its current condition. So, there is room out there for a small/mid-size freezer perhaps. Hmmmm.

We haven't actually moved in yet, so please excuse the mess.

By the way, the veg/herb garden (the one that is being dreamed up as we speak) will probably occupy the sunny space to the left of the deck.

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Well, there's your solution then. Lockable freezer on the back porch, with commercial/residential (as long as it has drawers) fridge unit/s under the window in your kitchen. The only compromise, which is slight, is that the undercounter version may anticipate your posting name. Once you get used to it (you look down on your supplies and fewer things can get lost), you'll grow to like it. A nice countertop will provide you with additional prep space, especially for when you entertain.