[C.B]

Hi all,
My mom has the world's worst kitchen yet all sorts of room. I think the builder was drunk when he put in the cabinets 35 years ago. After much nagging, I get to put in a new kitchen for her.

Right now the room is split in half with a fridge and upper cabinets in the center of the kitchen/dining area. I'm moving the fridge to the back wall, getting rid of the upper cabinets in the middle of the room, and putting a peninsula in it's place. The peninsula will have an overhang for bar stools, but I couldn't get the planner to show that

The main hurdle I'm facing is a broom closet. I have room for one 30" pantry cabinet by the fridge. She insists upon getting a broom closet. One idea I'm kicking around is to section off the 30" pantry with a vertical divider, so there is basically a 6" wide area for the broom, and a 24" wide area where I can put in fixed shelves for standard pantry items.

I need some help!

-Chris

[DulcineaK]

i'm with mom, my next house will have a broom closet!
one thing you could do (if you're pretty handy and ambitious) is a 24" pantry and "create" a 6" pantry pull out like stacy
Our Kitchen - Before, During, and After (someday)
post #205
i love that thing!

[kmcg]

Hi C.B. -
It's uncanny how close that floorplan is to my old kitchen, with the kitchen squeezed into a corner of a large room (also in Seattle). I ended up removing the peninsula (which had a big blocky double oven stack at the end, blocking views and access), and putting my giant stove in an island in the center of the room. Your new plan works far better than my old one, but have you considered maybe doing an island instead of a peninsula? It seems inefficient in a way, but I absolutely love how open it makes the room feel. Best part is having a pathway out of the kitchen to the sliders that open to the deck. Everyone who sees it comments on how much bigger the room feels, and how much more unified.

For a broom closet, could you put a shallow pantry or two on the wall opposite the kitchen window? If not, you probably could use the 30" and divide it, although that would limit you in functionality because it would be harder to do pullouts unless you're really clever in how you construct the divider. You might consider wrapping the fridge with 2 15" pantries and use a full-depth over fridge cabinet. You'd drop the 30" but might end up with a more functional setup. Plus, that is an easy way to give the fridge a built-in look (I think mine is shown in the "galleries" link in my info at the left). The 15" cabinet would be a perfect broom closet size,leaving the other pantry for food storage. You could buy the Rationell fitting shown here, to make the full depth of the cabinet useful: IKEA | home | Kitchen | Kitchen organizers | Interior fittings | RATIONELL interior fixtures | RATIONELL Pull-out interior fittings


Do you have any "before" pictures? We want to see the transformation!

Kathy

[C.B]

Thanks! These are the ideas I was looking for. I hit the wall...

I looked at Stacy's broom closet and it is awesome... but I think I'd mess it up really good!

I never even considered two 15" pantries to enclose the fridge, and that's probably the most elegant solution. That rationell pullout is cool, I've never seen it before!

I have an island version but my mom didn't like it. She wants a huge counter on the peninsula for cooking with my kids. The peninsula will have a full 12" overhang for bar stools. She also wants her computer on the edge by the sliding door for a little workstation area.

This remodel has several main tasks:
1. Demo/removal of old kitchen, includes removing soffits
2. New laminate flooring (99 cent per sq ft at Ikea Seattle)
3. Move range & fridge to back wall, electrician already did electrical work
4. New range hood that vents outside! Old one does not...
5. New door to garage - 6 panel solid core fire-rated door
6. Cabinet install
7. Counter fabrication - I'm buying sheets of laminate, making the substrate, edging with oak 1x2.
8. New light fixtures
9. Paint (that's her job!)

I was looking for pictures this morning but I couldn't find them. I will definitely post "before" shots. My mom loves Lidingo and wants a green hue of laminate counter. She is giving me X dollars and I have to stay on budget... She wants all the convenience features (pull-out drawers, etc). I may try this blogging thing too.

[kmcg]

You're making your own counters, eh? Do you know about Pacific Iron building materials on 4th Ave. south of Safeco field? They sell odd lot formica and wilsonart really cheaply. My brother and I made a vanity counter recently, and learned that the spray on adhesive now available works really well. The cost can add up for these custom counters, though, with the particleboard, laminate and glue. I was surprised.

If she is at all interested in granite, check out Seattle Granite Countertops - The premier yet affordable prefabricated granite countertop supplier in Washington

Stacy and I both got our granite from the place the proprietor used to work, and he is a great guy. He sells those pre-finished slabs, and the cost is unbelievably low. Last time I was there I saw their stainless sinks, which are also a bargain.

Kathy

[nigel-bigel]

I don't have any suggestion for a broom closet, although I've got to say I LOVE the 6" pull-out broom closet. I just showed DH and he literally was speechless.

Anyway, I wanted to add that you may want to change the cab over the fridge to one that is 24" deep, it'll be much easier to access and give the fridge more of an integrated look.

Nicole

[C.B]

Okay, the "fridge garage" is definitely the way to go! I think it looks great, and the 24" deep cabinet over the fridge will very useful.

Kathy, I was able to assist the contractor at my old house during the fabrication of countertops there. Good old 3M 77 spray adhesive works great, or you can get roll on. The trick is to let both sides dry even though it seems counterintuitive. The substrate material does add up quickly, and it will probably be $400-500 for her counters. The backsplash will be tile, but that's cheap and easy with the pattern she wants Sub $1 tiles per sq ft...

I'll check out the granite place you listed. It might be an option for my mom since there aren't any angles. The trick is transporting those things and I don't have an A-frame for my truck.

How are the sinks, in terms of quality? I saw a nice big single bowl for $99!

I've been working on a timeline too. Best case is tear-out in 4 hours, hang uppers in 4 hours, place base and pantry cabs in 8 hours, build/install counters in 8 hours, hook up plumbing/sink/dishwasher TBD. I'm fast and usually organized to the extreme due to obsessive compulsive issues , but I'll be at the mercy of the volunteer helpers. I have a feeling I need to multiply by 3

[kmcg]

I transported my 2 slabs of granite in the back of my minivan! I would think you could figure a way to stack them with 2x4's in between as braces. It helps that you're not moving a $5,000-slab, so you wouldn't have to kill yourself if something went wrong.

The sinks were pretty, but I wasn't in the market for one so I didn't look them over for quality. If you go, I'd love to hear what you think of them. I've decided we need to renovate my in-laws' kitchen before we sell their house, and we'll need 2 nice sinks, plus a lot of granite!

Kathy

[C.B]

Kathy, I'll definitely give them a call and tell them the countertop dimensions and so forth. I'm worried about the peninsula length with the overhang for bar stools. If I go there I'll scope out the sinks too. Did you have to make any cuts in your granite?

My mom has a $400 Kohler drop-in sink for her new kitchen... But I'm in the market for one too!

[Gloria]

Where the peninsula meets the wall, have you considered having a cabinet facing out towards the sliding glass door side instead of the blind cabinet? You mentioned a computer workstation there. It might be a good place for office-type stuff. Since there will be an overhang, a cabinet with just doors and shelves would work.

I think it's great that you're helping your mom. Good luck with the project!