[nyc_home]

Here's my first stab at the planner. I especially need advice on making the wall in the dining area look more interesing.A few notes:

1) I can’t move the stove or sink more than a few inches along the wall. I can't tear down that wall.
2) The area where the stove is is actually about 6" deeper than the rest of the room. So, while having the stove opposite the fridge is far from ideal, it’s a little better than it looks. The other options for the fridge are across from the sink or in the dining area.
3) The door at the end of the kitchen is actually just an archway to the hall, not a real door needing clearance.
4) The "walls" below and to the right of the table aren't there in real life-it flows into the living room
5) The long wall is 15’10" .The short wall 7’3"

[Lisa]

Wow,it looks great. Are those cabs that appear low to the counter actually at the standard height? Is the staggered effect for storage or display or just interest ?

[bed332004]

Looks nice nyc,I like the staggered cabinet look but also question theheight above the counter.

How about using some of the horizontal window cabinets in the design to break things up?

Regards,

Bill

[nyc_home]

Well, the wall isn't standard height. There's a beam on top, which means the height is only 7'5". (No beam on the opposite wall, where the stove, DW and sink are). So the 30"H cabinets in the kitchen proper (right side of the picture) end 23" above the counter. Heigher than they're supposed to be, but I'm planning on one of those rails w/ hooks and gizmos under it.

So, yes, the cabinets in the dining area are lower than normal. They end 14" above the counter. That section is visible from the living room and isn't the main cooking area, so I was thinking it would be more like a buffet. But since it's the first thing both of you pointed out, I'm going to rethink it .

Yes, the staggered effect is for interest and display. I stole the idea from the applad design on the ikea website, thinking no cabinet would be a more budget friendly option than a glass door cabinet. They'll be some kind of molding on top. Will that work? I want some sort of visually interesting set-up on that part of the wall -- I am super envious of climbergirl's wall of cabinets design--but am not sure how to do it w/o lots of space.

Bill, I originally had some of the horizontal glass cabs in the plan, but on thinking it over realized that the neat stacks of plates and wine glasses in the catalog photos would last about 10 minutes once my DH and kids get into it! That's why the display area is now too high to reach w/o a step-stool.

[Tigratrus]

I'd look at the horizontal window cabinets too... You might also conside adding a third display area on the far right or moving the other two to balance the look of the cabinet arrangement? In my (admittedly NON-design genius) opinion, symetrical layouts GENERALLY look best, though there are always exceptions I'm sure... I love the idea though! It's a great way to breakup the monotony of a solid block of cabinets and provide a nice place to add accents to the room at the same time...

[LilithNS]

Looks good to me but I'm NOT someone who give advice on looks. The only thing I'm wondering about is coverpanels. Are you not using them or cutting them to use only on the parts that are actually visible? I'm sure you've thought of this but I have to say it anyway. If you plan to use coverpanels on those spots you'll need at least 2" more. My favorite part is the red chairs! I like those!

Lisa2

[nyc_home]

Tigratrus wrote:

I'd look at the horizontal window cabinets too... You might also conside adding a third display area on the far right or moving the other two to balance the look of the cabinet arrangement?

Thanks, I agree about it looking unbalanced, but again, the problem is the height --I think the longer cabinets would make the main work area feel way too claustrophobic. And is there a reason why the horizontal cabinets are just slightly longer than all the other cabinets supposedly of the same width? :?So I'm still struggling with the planner.

I hope I'm not breaking any etiquette rules here by posting another picture giving the view from the other side. Personally, I think the planner doesn't really do justice to how cramped it feels when you're standing at the stove.

[nyc_home]

LilithNS wrote:

The only thing I'm wondering about is coverpanels. Are you not using them or cutting them to use only on the parts that are actually visible?

The wall's actually about 2" longer than what I show, DH is planning on fine tuning it once I finally make up my mind about the design. So, oops, maybe I will have to swap my 15"w base for a 12.

My favorite part is the red chairs! I like those!

Lisa2

Thanks! One problem solved! I actually have an old, distressed, family table of similar size and color to the one I used from the planner. I wasn't sure what color chairs to get in order to use it with birch cabinets.

[jenb]

Over on my kitchen design thread you had posted about using a second door style. I think that might look really good down on the dining room end. Kind of define that space and if you did uppers and lowers in the second style it might give your dining room cabs a little more of a furniture look.

[GardenOfDarwin]

Ok, about the birch and red...I think it's a great combo. I agree with Lisa, though (her comment on jenb's thread)...I think the slab doors, like Nexus or Applad would look better than Adel with the Abstrakt. mandysbaba is back on the THS thread, so maybe she'll chime in here with some comments and pictures (I hope, I hope, I hope!!!).


You said it's already cramped in that corner, with the stove, door and then the sink...and since you can't move the stove or the sink,I'd start bymoving the fridge. That's the major basic functionality item I'd want to address first--how would you feel about having it more in the dining area? I personally don't think I'd like it, unless it was a really good looking fridge.What's the finish? And what are your other appliance colors?

I think you have a fabulous setup for using two door styles, andI think doing the wall into the dining room will be fun. Since you've got two spaces, but they're linked together along the long wall, you have a great opportunity to create a unique cabinet wall. Are you averse to having the red be visible from the other living areas? Is that wall really one big window?

Susan