[mondocanuck]

Ok, the short of it is that my Dad is flying to California from Canada to help me with my kitchen remodel. I have been obsessedd for days, and still don't have my head around this thing. Please help.

I've uploaded some pics that make it easier for me to visualise as well as some ikea designer files. I put a 12" cabinet beside the sink for a pull out trash can (I can't find one in the designer program), as well as a gap beside the laundry that I plan to use as a desk.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

dave

Oh and I am thinking of a sink similar to this one.

Double Angular Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink : Home Improvement from Overstock.com

[mondocanuck]

oops forgot a couple of things. I don't have any upper cabinets on the outer/window wall in an attempt to make it feel larger, still not convinced this is a good idea but I can always add some later. I'm also cutting it pretty close, within an inch or two on the entire layout, how my slack should I build into the design?

-thanks again

[Narf]

- Gave some space for fudge factor at the walls ... they're rarely perfect, y'know.
- More drawers!
- Put the fridge in the corner. Pull out the upper cabinet and put a cover panel up to box it in and give it that built-in look.
- Rearranged the stove side bit. The tall cabinet at the end would have made the area feel smaller.
- Glass horizontal cabinets on the sink wall ... it'll give you the storage, yet still look "open".
- Gave 27" for the washing machine ... most are that size, so.
- 28" for the desk area.

[Emmie9999]

Hi Dave, and welcome to IKEAfans!

First of all, panic is not allowed, parents or no. We have all been there in some way or another, and it WILL all work out fine, so please don't worry!

I'd have to argue Narf's change with the fridge. If I am reading it correctly, you are using a French door? Having it in the corner could be a pian with regards to opening both doors so the deli drawer/shelves can come out all the way.

What kind of walls are you working with? If they are old plaster, you will need to watch for unevenness a lot more than sheetrock....IF the sheetrock was put in properly in the first place I know this can be a complete unknown, hence my eye rolling. However, I should tell you my sink wall had only 1/4" for error, and everything fit perfectly. We gutted to the studs, and at one point I was in sheer panic that things would not fit. It all did, and I am thrilled.

BTW, my DH and I paid a designer to help us with our plan, and ultimately the one he went with was basically one that Eva (one of our Moderators and a "design diva") came up with for us on here. (The designer closed an outer door and added a half bath, that was a huge contribution, but in all fairness to Eva and the designer we hadn't thought of that until the designer had the brainstorm that led us to it.)

Calm...deep breaths.... it will all be fine, trust me

[DesignDiva]

Hi mondocanuck and welcome!

We will do our best to avoid the dreaded wife-calling-dad scenario!

Couple of questions:

You show your cabinets all on Numerar legs...you'll have to run your flooring the entire room if you have elevated legs, and you'll have to clean underneath them.

You've got a couple of cabinets shown that don't make sense to me...the HLP 24" pullout is a broom closet, did you want a pantry there? And on the sink side, the 36" cab you show is a cooktop cabinet, I'd suggest drawers instead.

In my experience, washers and dryers stick out quite a bit, which might make it difficult to access that corner tall cabinet. You need space behind for the venting and water lines. My Duet Sports are one of the smaller models and they're at 36" out from the wall. I would also isolate them from your other cabinets, since they do shake and that's not good for cabinets!

Is that a desk area next to the washer/dryer? If so, it is at counter height which means you'll need a counter stool.

If you cut the sink cab down to 30" you can get an 18" pullout for trash and recycling in there.

Where are you thinking of putting the microwave?

If you don't have upper cabinets, consider enlarging that window.

i'd simplify things on the range wall...the flanking tall pantries will loom large. I also don't like tall things around doorways because it makes entering the room feel tunnel-like.

I've attached a plan that addresses some of these points. Starting from the left upper wall, I have a 30" drawer cabinet which would probably be useful to serve as a baking center. You would store all your baking dishes, bowls, mixer etc. in this area. If you don't bake, then maybe a wine fridge or something of that nature would be great here...it's a zone waiting to happen LOL

Next to that is an 18" pullout for trash, a 30" sink and the DW. Then there's a 36" cabinet for possibly dinner dishes and serving ware, convenient to be unloaded from the DW. Next to that is a 24" kneehole with a 15" 4 drawer stack on the right, for a desk area. The drawers would be useful for storage of desk and stationery items, as well as possibly a recharging station in one of the drawers. After that I show the washer and dryer isolated, you would want to build a frame around it and finish out the sides to match your cabinetry of course, and possibly do a deep cabinet over it although it might be tricky to get it accessible due to the depth of the W/D.

On the range and fridge side, starting from the fridge end I have a 36" fridge with deep overfridge cabinet flanked by two 24" pantries with pullout shelves for food storage and probably larger appliances, serving bowls, party stuff, dog food etc. You could have the microwave in one of these pantries. Then I've got two 24" drawer units flanking the range, and a 12" pullout for spice storage at the end. I've left a bit of space at the ends of the cabinet runs for wiggle room.

This plan gives you a ton of counter space, good work zones and sensible storage and keeps that open feeling you want. You could do open shelving on the window wall above the counters.

One thing you might want to consider is to change the desk area for a prep sink area. If you use a desk often, keep it, but if it's a nice-to-have kind of thing you might get much more use out of a prep sink closer to the cooking zone, and that would free up the main sink for cleanup and the baking zone area.

Let me know what you think!

[mondocanuck]

Wow, you guys are fast. I'm still undecided about the upper cabinets, so I'm going to leave them out of the design for the moment.

I have a couple of questions.

-how usable are drawers for plate/dish storage? We have always had cupboards but I notice that in the catalogue the use drawers alot.
-how do i put the pull out garbage can in the design?
-If I want to put a microwave in one of the tall cabinets, which one do I choose?
-We have a very small house with no storage, I need to use the first large cabinet beside the fridge closestt to the door as a closet (vacuum etc.) I can't figure out A) will I have enough storage, do I need to add another 15" tall cabinet B) which is the best cabinet for this purpose?
-I hadn't thought of all the rattling around of the laundry machines whacking up against my cabinets, should I frame them in with drywall?

Thanks to everone for taking the time to download my plans and take a look, your input has helped alot. I spent a few hour playing with everyone's files/ideas and have taken another shot at it.

My wife really like's Eva's design, she just wanted her garbage (a must as she puts it) so I'm essentially uplading the same design.


-thanks again to everyone for their help.

david

[DesignDiva]

Glad you like it! It's always fun to see new possibilities. To answer your questions:

-how usable are drawers for plate/dish storage? We have always had cupboards but I notice that in the catalogue the use drawers alot.

Drawers are quite functional, and more ergonomic. And if you live in an earthquake zone, less likely to fall out!

-how do i put the pull out garbage can in the design?

You would simply attach the door to the front of a deep drawer. That will make it a pullout. You'll still have room for a drawer above, either an internal one or an external one depending on the line you want across your cabinet fronts. The cans would sit in the drawer. You'll want a 15" or 18" if possible.

-If I want to put a microwave in one of the tall cabinets, which one do I choose?

You'll want to run an electric outlet behind the cabinet and then cut out the back to access it...that's the same way you would do for an OTR range. Then, just get one that is less than 22 1/2 inches wide and set it on a shelf!
If you want a built in look, that's a little bit more complicated since you'll need different doors, but it is doable. You can get a trim kit to go around the front of the microwave. You'll still need the outlet.

-We have a very small house with no storage, I need to use the first large cabinet beside the fridge closestt to the door as a closet (vacuum etc.) I can't figure out A) will I have enough storage, do I need to add another 15" tall cabinet B) which is the best cabinet for this purpose?

You don't want to get too crowded because you need room to open the doors fully. Have you seen Stacylu's broom pullout? She did it in about four or so inches of space. You could stash the bulkier stuff in the bottom of a 24" unit and then start your drawers above them.

-I hadn't thought of all the rattling around of the laundry machines whacking up against my cabinets, should I frame them in with drywall?

No need for that, they can stand alone just fine, but they do ramp up to a high spin speed and shake a bit when they do that. Once they reach full speed they're stable...but you wouldn't want that shaking your countertops on a regular basis. A simple box constructed around the units with 2x4s (or even 1x2s maybe) faced with cover panels will be fine. You'll want a space about two inches larger all around than your stacked units.