Kitchen design for homeowners who actually cook

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
2) Cork or linoleum (Marmoleum) floors are superior to hardwood. Easy on the knees and back, naturally antimircobial (Marmoleum is the flooring used in operating rooms and on many hospital floors), and great if you have dogs--claw marks don't show up and spilled water won't ruin the floors.

This is my very top recommendation for people who actually cook. Have had both surfaces, love them both, could never go back to anything harder.

My other top recommendation is stainless countertops. They are so practical, so easy to clean. Ours is a single piece of fabricated steel that includes our (huge, deep) sink and drainboard. It’s expensive but absolutely worth it.

We also have soapstone on our peninsula, which is very practical in terms of heat resistance and resistance to microbes. It does scratch easily, though, so if that bothers you aesthetically, it’s not for you. But we love it, as do our friends who cook a ton.

If you are tight on space, consider a speed oven as your second oven. It’s a small, full-function oven that does convection cooking/roasting and doubles as a microwave. Great for roasting vegetables, defrosting/warming, etc.

[Anonymous]

my musthaves:

pull out trash with a toe pull

big soapstone counters (i don't have this anymore and it constantly annoys me)

induction cooktop with a powerful hood (i sometimes miss gas, but our AQI readings are much much better - yes even with a powerful hood)

convection oven

nice to have:

cork floors

double dishwashers

[Anonymous]

Demeyere pans to go with the induction range. It makes all the difference in actual cooking to have these.

[Anonymous]

Just renovated my kitchen. The old one was unusable. Here's what I found on your list that was helpful:

Bosch 36" counter depth fridge - absolutely love it. Plenty of room, although the freezer is a bit small for me, and I do have an extra one in another room.

Range hood - we got the biggest one we could find, and probably the most expensive, and as far as I can tell all it does it make so much noise that I have to wear ear plugs while cooking. Beware. Bigger and more expensive does not equal better.

Countertops - I sacrificed a bit of cabinet space for these and I'm not sorry. It's totally worth it. We have Ceasarstone and it's been great. No stains or scratches. I don't put hot stuff on it, though.

Drawers - we did mostly drawers, but I have to say I could have maybe used just one lower cabinet somewhere, because some things really just need a cabinet.

Wet bar - don't have one, but sure wish I did. This would be great for coffee.

Wall oven - I'm super short and based on our kitchen design it would have had to be a bit high for me, and I wanted the cabinet space. Didn't get it and don't miss it.

One thing I love that was actually an accident - we put the microwave in a drawer space in the center island. We had planned a drawer microwave or drop down microwave for a space just under the island counter, but it never came in. I had nowhere to put the old regular microwave, so I just stuck in there, and it ended up working out so well that we just left it. It doesn't even look bad, since it's mostly hidden from view. I thought it would be awkward with the door, but it isn't.

[Anonymous]

On dishwashers, we got one with a third rack up top. I really really like that.

[Anonymous]

I've been looking for ideas in listing photos and just came across this example of what not to do. 6 burner gas range on a small island with seating for 3. Also no hood.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/5125-52nd-St-NW-20016/home/9945161

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been looking for ideas in listing photos and just came across this example of what not to do. 6 burner gas range on a small island with seating for 3. Also no hood.

https://www.redfin.com/DC/Washington/5125-52nd-St-NW-20016/home/9945161

It has a downdraft instead of a hood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my musthaves:

pull out trash with a toe pull

big soapstone counters (i don't have this anymore and it constantly annoys me)

induction cooktop with a powerful hood (i sometimes miss gas, but our AQI readings are much much better - yes even with a powerful hood)

convection oven

nice to have:

cork floors

double dishwashers

Why soapstone? We don't want quartz and are having trouble deciding between granite, honed marble, and soapstone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m always happiest with a long stretch of continuous worktop between the sink and the stovetop, with pullout trash underneath.

I don’t care as much about the fridge in the work triangle but it shouldn’t be far away.

OP here. Why pullout trash? I've been thinking about keeping trash bin out because it can be bigger and seal well (with the step opening). Is that not necessary?

NP but I hate built in trash with a passion. It stinks up cabinetry and is unhygienic. A kitchen trash should be replaced more frequently than cabinetry. Period.

[Anonymous]

Kitchen sink looks out onto our back yard and deck, and we put in a sliding window above the sink so that we can pass through items to folks who are grilling or eating outside. Did an oversized ledge on the outside so that items can be placed there.

[Anonymous]

A lot of these posts are sophisticated propaganda for induction ranges…as a cook who is constantly adjusting flame levels and moving pans on and off the flame, where would I be without the visual cue from the flame? Do you think restaurant chefs are going to operate with induction? Pullease…

I love the floor info. here.

[Anonymous]

Just renovated; kitchens are very personal. For our family, the work triangle doesn’t work. I designed the kitchen to have snack space/walk through zone for kids to get their snacks/drinks; clean up zone; and cooking zone. When I am cooking dinner, my husband is typically washing up, and it’s super annoying to have the sink/dishwasher in my way. I now have my own cooking zone with a prep sink, he has the main sink w/dishwasher to the side.

Think about what you will store and where; our dish cabinets are at the end of the kitchen so my kids can set the table without getting in our way.

Also +100 to drawers - my kids now empty the dishwasher daily bc everything is safely reachable for them.

We did stainless steel sinks for practicality. I did rounded corners - the zero radius (square) corners are hard to get food out of. Similarly, I skipped the sinks with cutting board/drainer ledge etc bc it requires cleaning daily to keep from getting funky.

I only did a single dishwasher, bc I don’t understand the draw of 2 - we just run twice a day if we have visitors. We have built in column fridge/freezers, only bc we have another fridge in the mudroom. Our last house had a counter depth fridge and I hated it - never had enough space. Ended up with microwave drawer bc it was the only space for it - don’t love it or hate it, but would have preferred wall mounted. I chose a gas range and powerful hood; looked at induction, but it seems like the electronics are the weakest link in appliances these days, and I wanted one as simple as possible. That said, my understanding is induction is pretty basic, so there’s no real difference between a Frigidaire or a Thermador induction - and virtually none havknobs, which I found annoying. Generally speaking, I think you are best off choosing individual appliances v buying a package deal from a brand.

Otherwise, I would say look at the forums on Houzz and follow some of their advice. I made a diagram of my kitchen and figured out where everything would be stored and it wasn’t perfect, but definitely helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kitchen sink looks out onto our back yard and deck, and we put in a sliding window above the sink so that we can pass through items to folks who are grilling or eating outside. Did an oversized ledge on the outside so that items can be placed there.

Awesome. That is my dream. We actually do have a window next to the sink and hypothetically could do this but it's not wide enough and getting the screen off would be a pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We went all out on our kitchen remodel (bought a fixer upper and just dealt with it for 10 years so we felt we deserved it 🤪)

Thermador 36 inch induction. Love love love. The entire surface is a burner. 36 inch double fire clay sink (not sure why you’d hate on that, I love it!). Miele double wall oven and counter depth fridge. Spent a fortune but we use the kitchen a lot! We compromised on foot path- it’s not ideal, but it’s great for working in. Also have a giant island with four seats. Family eats there every night.

I also love my fireclay sink. Looks bright and clean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m always happiest with a long stretch of continuous worktop between the sink and the stovetop, with pullout trash underneath.

I don’t care as much about the fridge in the work triangle but it shouldn’t be far away.

OP here. Why pullout trash? I've been thinking about keeping trash bin out because it can be bigger and seal well (with the step opening). Is that not necessary?

NP but I hate built in trash with a passion. It stinks up cabinetry and is unhygienic. A kitchen trash should be replaced more frequently than cabinetry. Period.

OP here. Do you just have it out in a corner or something? I was advocating against built in trash but DH and architect seem to think it's essential.