I hate our kitchen layout, but I think I'm stuck with it

[Anonymous]

Check out Aidan Design—this is exactly what they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Knock the wall down! 13 x9 in an open concept space is plenty of space. Do a large double island with seating on the other side. In your dining room, add some cabinetry that matches your kitchen cabinets ( not up to the ceiling).

You will have more natural light in the space. More storage. Better flow.

People won’t hang out in the kitchen to be part if whatever is going on if they can just sit at the other side of the island. When our kitchen was closed it drove me nuts. Everyone including the dogs came into the kitchen.

It really increases your seating and serving options if you entertain. I use the island to place foods out for appetizers or if it’s buffet style or extra seating for kids.

Open concept can be very inappropriate for period homes.
Also, who wants to look at their dirty dishes all the time.
I think this kitchen idea is very zeitgeist and may go the way of the little old lady pink tiled bathroom.
Plus, you get more storage space with walls.

OP, maybe recobsider your upper cabs and hike up your countertop appliances there - microwave, toaster oven take up lots of space. Will require some electrical work too. The Europeans have their dryer racks built into the upper cab right over the sink so water drips straight into it.

[Anonymous]

There is a Facebook page called “kitchen remodeling” or kitchen remodeling ideas”. People post their plans and commenters troubleshoot, you can try that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knock the wall down! 13 x9 in an open concept space is plenty of space. Do a large double island with seating on the other side. In your dining room, add some cabinetry that matches your kitchen cabinets ( not up to the ceiling).

You will have more natural light in the space. More storage. Better flow.

People won’t hang out in the kitchen to be part if whatever is going on if they can just sit at the other side of the island. When our kitchen was closed it drove me nuts. Everyone including the dogs came into the kitchen.

It really increases your seating and serving options if you entertain. I use the island to place foods out for appetizers or if it’s buffet style or extra seating for kids.

Open concept can be very inappropriate for period homes.
Also, who wants to look at their dirty dishes all the time.
I think this kitchen idea is very zeitgeist and may go the way of the little old lady pink tiled bathroom.
Plus, you get more storage space with walls.

OP, maybe recobsider your upper cabs and hike up your countertop appliances there - microwave, toaster oven take up lots of space. Will require some electrical work too. The Europeans have their dryer racks built into the upper cab right over the sink so water drips straight into it.

When I lived in Asia, all the houses and apartments had closed kitchens. It’s because everyone had live in help and people rarely used the kitchen themselves. We had a nice apartment with marble bathrooms, a steam shower, soaking tub etc, and the kitchen didn’t have a dishwasher. I don’t think the open kitchen will ever die here. Even if everyone could suddenly afford a chef, the kitchen has become a gathering and entertaining space. We live more casually than before, and the kitchen is often the center of gatherings for family and friends.

[Anonymous]

I used to lurk on Houzz forums and this kind of thing would come up all the time. You can get really good ideas and info there, but they will want you to post pictures (and preferably also a current floor plan with measurements).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone like figuring out floor plans? This is a puzzle I've been trying to solve for six years and I've got nothing.

The kitchen is 13 x 9 and the layout is such that you have to do breathing exercises to avoid losing your sh*t if more than one person is in there. The counters next to the kitchen entrance are about 2.5 feet apart, so only one regular-sized person can enter or exit at a time. Between the appliance layout and my husband's preference for keeping appliances and a dish drying rack out on the counter, there is no great counter space for food prep. I'm usually shuttling between two 24-inch spaces. Actually, no, I'm usually doing uber eats.

It's a closed floor plan so I could theoretically knock out the wall between the kitchen and the dining room (not load-bearing). There are two problems with this: 1) The freestanding range and the fridge are on that wall and due to window and exterior door placement I don't think there is another place to move them, so removing that wall wouldn't actually give us more cabinet or counter space and 2) I suck at keeping the kitchen clean and it's nice to not have to look at it when we are hanging out in our cute dining room.

I suppose I could just move the wall a few feet into the dining room but it seems like we'd be paying a lot of money for maybe three more feet of floor space, especially since that's the wall where the oven vent is. Expanding the footprint of the house isn't possible. Two of the walls of the kitchen are exterior and the last is load-bearing and contains HVAC stuff.

It is definitely due for an upgrade. I think it was last renovated in the late 90s? Golden oak cabinets that are kind of falling apart, laminate countertops (the material has definitely grown on me but they're old and the style leaves much to be desired), a weird vinyl floor that matches the gold oak cabinets ( ) etc. I am leaning toward just doing a budget renovation leaving the fixtures where they are, but it seems weird to spend a bunch of money without improving the worst thing about the kitchen: the layout.

Thoughts?

Just move. Price the house to sell so the new owner can gut the kitchen before move in.0

[Anonymous]

It's hard to give advice without seeing a floorplan, but we opened up our small kitchen to the dining room and were able to find a new spot for the fridge. We didn't open the kitchen much on the sides, so there was room for a shallow pantry on one interior wall, fridge/ stove on the other interior wall, and the sink on the exterior wall. I think full open floorplan is not very practical for small houses.

[Anonymous]

Post on Houzz with photos to get ideas.

Can you describe the kitchen a little more, going wall by wall? Ex. Wall 1 has upper and lower cabinets and 3’ countertops on each side of the doorway. Wall 2 has the fridge, stove, and doorway to the dining room, and so on. Is there room for a small rolling cart as part of your prep space?

If you have a dishwasher, you do not also need a permanent drying rack. That looks ugly and is a waste of space. Dry stuff right away and then immediately put it where it belongs.

[Anonymous]

I am excellent at this. Post the floorplan

[Anonymous]

Do you have a counter depth fridge and range? If not, that would make a huge difference. Then upgrade to a nice sink that accommodates the built in drying rack, cutting board, etc to get them off the counter. I bet you have a 90s soffit so the cabinets don’t go to the ceiling? That would also make everything appear bigger if you ditched that and did full height cabinets. Also do expensive cabinets where the doors and drawers are full inset. It will look better and give you almost 2” of extra width

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am excellent at this. Post the floorplan

+1.

Do NOT let the window placement on the exterior wall be the decision-maker here. Open it up/put in an island with storage for those stupid counter appliances. Put cabinets, range and fridge on the long exterior wall and move or resize windows. If you have a driveway or garage, use this space to tape out (painters tape) the dimensions and plan your space and walk it. This will be the biggest help for seeing what your movements/prep will be like and to make sure you make an actual 2 (or hopefully more) person kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Check out Aidan Design—this is exactly what they do.

+1

They worked a miracle for our 10 x 13 kitchen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
"Does anyone like figuring out floor plans? This is a puzzle I've been trying to solve for six years and I've got nothing."

Yes. You need to hire an architect.

Would an architect take on a small job like this? Would it be worth it? I honestly haven't hired one before so I don't know.

You don’t need an architect. Just post a picture of your current floor plan here or elsewhere online and I am sure people will come up with good suggestions. There are also online services where you pay someone to do this for you. I agree that 13x9 does not sound that small. We have a galley kitchen of similar size and it feels plenty big to me.

[Anonymous]

[img]

Anonymous wrote:There is a Facebook page called “kitchen remodeling” or kitchen remodeling ideas”. People post their plans and commenters troubleshoot, you can try that.

+ 1

I had a similar floor plan problem not long and ChatGPT was helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Knock the wall down! 13 x9 in an open concept space is plenty of space. Do a large double island with seating on the other side. In your dining room, add some cabinetry that matches your kitchen cabinets ( not up to the ceiling).

You will have more natural light in the space. More storage. Better flow.

People won’t hang out in the kitchen to be part if whatever is going on if they can just sit at the other side of the island. When our kitchen was closed it drove me nuts. Everyone including the dogs came into the kitchen.

It really increases your seating and serving options if you entertain. I use the island to place foods out for appetizers or if it’s buffet style or extra seating for kids.

Open concept can be very inappropriate for period homes.
Also, who wants to look at their dirty dishes all the time.
I think this kitchen idea is very zeitgeist and may go the way of the little old lady pink tiled bathroom.
Plus, you get more storage space with walls.

OP, maybe recobsider your upper cabs and hike up your countertop appliances there - microwave, toaster oven take up lots of space. Will require some electrical work too. The Europeans have their dryer racks built into the upper cab right over the sink so water drips straight into it.

Totally agree regarding open concept. A bad renovation like that can ruin an older home. Lots of people are giving "advice" on here, but

1. they're not design professionals, and
2. they haven't even seen OP's space.