[dawnjohnston]

Hi, my name is Dawn Johnston and I need a new kitchen.

I have lived in my current NJ ranch house for 15 years. We have done some kitchen updates over the years, but my cabinets are original and in very poor condition. I need to start over. I had not considered Ikea but I'm now convinced that it would bea great fit for me. I have 2 kids ages 8 & 10. We like to cook and entertain, but truthfully I haven't been too excited to have people in my kitchen lately.

Here is my dream list:

• Lidingo doors
• A large island with seating for 4, if possible I love the idea of my kids/friends keeping me company while I'm cooking.
• Base pot drawers - they look terrific
• Pull out trash
• I love the tall pull out pantry - what a great use of space

Some other items for consideration:

• I 'm willing to combine my current kitchen space with my existing casual dining room. There is currently a half wall. Part of the dining room is visible from the front door however.
• I'm willing to eliminate the door and window on the back of the house and replace with a large french door or slider.
• I would consider reconfiguring my powder room to change the position of the door /install a pocketdoorif that allowed for more cabinetry on the wall by the staircase.
• I have the ability to vault the ceiling because we are in a ranch.
• I will likely be gutting to the studs due to my hatred for wallpaper and the condition of the drywall.

Here is my mission statement:

A new, comfortable, eclectic, functional, affordable and casual space where my familyand friends can be together.

I'm attaching a sketch of my kitchen and am working to get my measurements into the Ikea tool. I'm computer literate, but this application is challenging me....I've put my measurements into the IKEA tool and am currently trying to save it to the IKEAS site.

ID dawn104@earthlink.net

PW kitchen1

I've been reading the forums a lot and would really look forward to advice, thoughts and opinions.

[DesignDiva]

Hi Dawn, and welcome! I'll be happy to help you out, but the pic is a bit too small to read and the userid and password don't work (yet). If you can post a larger pic or at least the dimensions so I can get it into the planner, I'll get right on it!

	PIC PIC = Partner In Crime

[dawnjohnston]

Hi again,

My plans are now on the Ikea site.

I also set up a photobucket account so I could post a higher quality sketch. I think the sketch shows a lot of detail that I couldn't or didn't know how to show on the Ikea planner. The URL is

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j1...etch7-3-06.jpg

I also posted some pics of the current kitchen

http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j149/dawn104/

Thanks again for looking,

Dawn

[laurie]

dawn: I tried to pull-up your plan, but PWKitchen1 doesn't work as a password. Is that your file name and you have another password? If so, what is the password?

[dawnjohnston]

My user name is dawn104@earthlink.net
The password is kitchen1

Filename 7-2-06 Johnston

I just verified that it works.



Thanks!

[laurie]

Dawn, I have a couple questions. I went to the IKEA file. I see where you have used interior walls to create where the stairs are, but what is the other inner walls for to the left of the stairs? I thought there was a door there that you wanted moved to the left so you could have cabinets there? What are those inner walls?

I will try to work with your layout until I hear back from you. I know this is a pain, but I really need to know exact measurement of each wall in the picture. For instance, in the planner, you have wall A and wall B. But, you also have other inner walls. I need to know what the measurements are for each wall. It's very tiny to read, but I think the wall by the stairs is 71" and the wall of the door you want moved to the left is 69" and the walls to the left of that are 44" and 157". The "sink" wall is 358" (That's larger to read). Also, I'm assuming your ceilings are 8'0" (the planner defaults to 7'10"), so I'll put in 8'.

Make take me a bit, but I'll see what I can come up with.

[laurie]

Dawn -- is that other inner walls area the pantry? In the photobucket drawing, it does not show a pantry.

I'm trying to look at your existing pictures of your kitchen and can't quite get exactly the way it's laid out. Is the current sink on the 71" wall by the staircase? Do you need your plumbing to remain where it is now? Where is the stove? Can it be moved?

[laurie]

Dawn, I used the walls, etc. you had in your IKEA planner. I know where your stairs go, but I'm not at all sure where your entry is into the pantry/power room area. I'm thinking that it is to the left of the frig. in the plan I drew-up; your measurements on your drawings indicate there's more space there than there is in your planner drawing.

So, this plan may not be anywhere near what is possible because I don't exactly know where and what size all your walls are. Everything could change completely. You said you wanted patio doors across the back because you have a great view. In this plan I put three 72" french doors across the back. What a statement that would make!!

The plan is at ikeamaniac@hotmail.com , the password is ikeaplan1; file name dawnkitchen1.

Stove wall base cabinets:

30" drawer base, 12" pullout, 36" drawer base with cooktop & 36" hood above,12" pullout, 30" drawer base, 24" x 88" high pantry pullout.

Stove wall uppers are both 36".

8'3" island: 18" 4-drawer base, 24" dishwasher, 15" trash pullout, 36" sink base, 18" 4-drawer base.

36" frig. with 36" x 24" over-the-frig cab. and 30" x 88" High Oven Cabinet with built-in wall oven and microwave with two deep drawers underneath.

Just for the heck of it, I put a desk area as you enter your dining area. The wine cubbies in the middle of the uppers could be an area for bills, recipes, cookbooks, etc. Just showing you how you could have something "open" between the wall cabs.

Let me know about all the wall measurements, etc. that I had questions about and I will revise as necessary. Isn't getting a new kitchen exciting!!

[dawnjohnston]

Hi Laurie,

I set up my own web page which allows me to post larger files. Click on "More pictures" on the left margin and you will see my full sized sketch with complete and legible measurements. Thanks for your patience.

http://home.earthlink.net/~dawn104/index.html



Wow, that kitchen plan you created has me drooling! Fortunately, all of the inferences regarding measurements that you made were correct.

• the wall by the stairs is 71"
• the wall of the door you want moved to the left is 69" and the walls to the left of that are 44" and 157".
• The "sink" wall is 358"
• my ceilings are 8'0"

The interior wall to the left of the stair is the powder room. That is where I was proposing moving the door to allow some space for pantry cabs. I'm not sure about the refrigerator there given that there is a bath there. Is that an aesthetic issue?

The sketch on my web page shows the interior wall where the existing sink/range and pantry are. I'm assuming that needs to go and I'm okay with that. I'm hoping that moving those items will not be to bad because i have a full basement with an accessible tiled ceiling.

I have a desk area in my family room, so i would probably opt for something else in the dining room. MaybeI can get a larger table in there? My current table which seats 6 with no leaves is a 60x44 oval. I like it because it has built in leaves and can expand to seat 10 (even if it had to extend into the foyer in a pinch).

I also love the hutch on page 35 of the 2006Kitchen Handbook. I saw that up close and my idea and thought it was really pretty...... It doesn't hurt that I am a lover of white cabs and black countertops....

You will also see from my sketch that i can't have quite so many french doors. My deck does not continue the full length of the space. Starting at the garage side, the deck continues for 209" - ending before the current half wall begins.

I hope this helps to clarify your questions. Have I mentioned how great I think the people on this forum are? Thank You!!

[laurie]

hi dawn. I've been so busy today planting, etc. -- but, I got 50 ft. of the flower bed all done!! Yeah, go me!!

I'll take a look at it and see what I can come up with. If I have any questions about it, I'll let you know.


And another......Those dimensions are interior room dimensions, correct? Because when I draw the plan in the planner, I need to account for the width of the walls added to that (5"?).