[Suzanne10023]

All of you kind people who have been helping me struggle through my kitchen plan, here's the latest version. Please tell me what you think.

(I'm using custom doors, and I modified two cabinets: I put drawers under the sink, and I put only one horizontal door on the 30 x 15 fan cabinet with the microwave.)

[quiltmaster]

I like the layout. I know you love the patchwork effect of different door sizes. But, since the effect itself creates texture and movement, it must be done very carefully so as to not confuse the eye and create visual chaos. However, on top of the patchwork effect, I count 6 doors styles, each in several sizes. It seems that you are putting all of your idea in this one space. They are all good ideas and cool designs, but I suggest you edit. Choose key features and allow then to shine.

If you have stained glass, you might not really need plain glass as well. Or compromise and use beveled clear "stained" glass in all of the glass doors. The craftsman detail is neat, but it detracts from the stained glass and vise-versa. Plus there seem to be two different craftsman details going on. The rail and stile doors/drawers are not plain either; rail and stile is itself a design element. You have lovely ideas, but perhaps too many for a space this small. I would urge restraint. Choose one main idea and one feature one. Then leave some place for the eye to rest.

I'll leave you with a quote from Blake Ward, oft attributed to Picasso, "The problem in most work is knowing when to stop. There is a fine line between finished and overworked."

I feel so brutal. Please don't hate me. It's just my opinion and only worth the price paid...

[bgs]

I agree with QM - I think you're on a good path but maybe you'd be better off just going with custom cabinets since you're going to get custom doors anyway - we'll still want to follow along to watch the progress even if it's an Ikea-evolved-to-custom kitchen...good luck.

[Suzanne10023]

Thanks! I know it's too busy - I need to play around and see which styles I'll keep. The patchwork effect is kind of accidental - when my sink and stove were reversed, the cabinet widths fell more neatly together, and I had an even row of 24x18 cabs all along the ceiling. But when I rearranged the bottom, I had to scramble to make the top work again, and this is what happened.

On custom cabinets vs. Ikea-with-custom-doors ... I thought the whole point was that it comes out a lot cheaper to use Ikea carcasses than to have totally custom cabinets made. Especially since I'm in NYC, so fully custom cabinets would probably mean paying the earth for either the work (if done locally) or the shipping. (My custom doors are coming from Maplecraft in rural Pennsylvania.) All of my doors are standard sizes - it's just that I want them to be made from quarter-sawn oak with Craftsman details.

My contractor is unhappy that I want to use Ikea, but that's another thread.

[bgs]

You're right that the carcasses are the least expensive part of the Ikea cabinets. You mentioned that you're going to modify some of the cabinets and you'll be getting custom doors so I wonder if it might not be a big deal to get carcasses made - that gives you total freedom to do any sized combo of cabinets you want. I could be mistaken and custom might be outrageously priced but I would think it's worth finding out since your space is small and you have a lot of different sized doors...if you're free to create any size cabinets you might be able to make a design of syncopated patchwork without any unnecessary constraints...