Show me your kitchens!

[Tonks]

We are doing a lot of work on our house and our contractor has just suggested a kitchen “facelift.” He’s calling it that because the idea is to replace cabinets and countertops, as well as appliances as needed, without changing the footprint of the existing kitchen. So we will be able to change some things as far as cabinets (we may slide the fridge over and the range may get bigger), but the sink won’t move.

I’d love to see your kitchens and hear what you love about them. What do you like about your countertops, your cabinet organization, etc.? Are there features you are so glad you have? Conversely, what drives you nuts and what would you change?

 

[elizat]

The house we are in the kitchen was here.

I hate the cabinet depth. We actually have a pretty good sized kitchen, so they didn’t need to do the shallows cabinets for the illusion of space. I hate narrow depths in cabinets though they are popular.

I like the pull out trays in the lower cabinets a lot.

If you like the layout, and it works, I’d say go for that idea. I did that in my old house and just put in new cabinets, floors and appliances. Layout was the same.

 

[missy]

We are doing a lot of work on our house and our contractor has just suggested a kitchen “facelift.” He’s calling it that because the idea is to replace cabinets and countertops, as well as appliances as needed, without changing the footprint of the existing kitchen. So we will be able to change some things as far as cabinets (we may slide the fridge over and the range may get bigger), but the sink won’t move.

I’d love to see your kitchens and hear what you love about them. What do you like about your countertops, your cabinet organization, etc.? Are there features you are so glad you have? Conversely, what drives you nuts and what would you change?

We gut renovated our Beach Kitchen last winter (winter 2018 ). We had to work within the parameters of the size of the room as we couldn't break through the thick brick wall (and I wanted to keep the original brick wall very much anyway) without the reno going over 100K which was too much for a part time house IMO. We are pleased with the results. Given the parameters we had to work within...it's not my "dream" kitchen but my good enough kitchen if you kwim.

What I am pleased with and was worth the extra expense which was not minor: that we enlarged and redid all the windows making the space much brighter
Custom cabinets to fit into the weird space re the ceiling beams etc.
Large island and enough cabinets to hold all our stuff

What I wish we could have done but just couldn't as it was cost prohibitive
Make the kitchen one space with the dining room so it was just one big area.
No way we could have done this so no regrets about what we did as we worked the space as best as we could

We did 2 refrigerators/freezers at the beach instead of one 48" Subzero like we have in Brooklyn. Why? Because of space (no good place to put a 48" in the beach kitchen) and cost. Much less expensive than our 48" subzero. Do I miss the look of the Subzero? A little but our guys did a decent job at making the fridges flush enough.

And we extended the hardwood floors from the rest of the house into the kitchen. My dh and I prefer real hardwood even in the kitchen.

We wanted to keep the original brick wall and the original beams etc. We wanted to keep what we could of the original 1923 bungalow kitchen. I love charm and character and I think we did a decent job making it functional with keeping as many of the original features that made sense.

Reno beginning



Right side


Left side




And our Brooklyn Kitchen which we redid ages ago in 2003/2004. I still love it however. Custom maple cabinets with our hardwood floors throughout the whole home and a matte black granite island. Even though we did this gut reno 16 years ago I love it as much today as then.







Thoughts.
Sometimes you cannot get exactly what you want because of cost and space. Do the best you can but do not compromise where you know you will regret it. Make sure you have enough cabinet space (it's another reason I needed a large island for the cabinet storage it afforded us) and enough surface space to work on. I need lots of counter surface and I have it at both homes. Also I love one large sink. In Brooklyn we have a huge sink (perfect) and a smaller sink (rarely use it). So at the beach house when we were figuring it out I nixed a smaller sink. No need for it and we just got one large sink. Also I do not like the range on the island and had to fight with our contractor on that one lol. I like a clean nothing else on it island to work on and that is what we have. No range on the island at either home.

Light is critical for us so we made sure to optimize that by enlarging the windows and having enough recessed lighting. We nixed the pendant lighting because it would have caused a shadow on the island. In Brooklyn we also have great lighting and we do have pendants there that cause no shadow. All in all we are very pleased with both renos despite the Brooklyn reno having happened so long ago. The space works out well for us still. And as for the beach reno I finally got my clean bright white kitchen I wanted 20 years ago before they were so popular. LOL. I don't do trends. I do what I love and when you do that it works out in the long run I believe.

And always check your proportions. That what you do will work in the space you have.

Good luck @Tonks and I am looking forward to seeing what you do.

 

[Tonks]

We gut renovated our Beach Kitchen last winter (winter 2018 ). We had to work within the parameters of the size of the room as we couldn't break through the thick brick wall (and I wanted to keep the original brick wall very much anyway) without the reno going over 100K which was too much for a part time house IMO. We are pleased with the results. Given the parameters we had to work within...it's not my "dream" kitchen but my good enough kitchen if you kwim.

What I am pleased with and was worth the extra expense which was not minor: that we enlarged and redid all the windows making the space much brighter
Custom cabinets to fit into the weird space re the ceiling beams etc.
Large island and enough cabinets to hold all our stuff

What I wish we could have done but just couldn't as it was cost prohibitive
Make the kitchen one space with the dining room so it was just one big area.
No way we could have done this so no regrets about what we did as we worked the space as best as we could

We did 2 refrigerators/freezers at the beach instead of one 48" Subzero like we have in Brooklyn. Why? Because of space (no good place to put a 48" in the beach kitchen) and cost. Much less expensive than our 48" subzero. Do I miss the look of the Subzero? A little but our guys did a decent job at making the fridges flush enough.

And we extended the hardwood floors from the rest of the house into the kitchen. My dh and I prefer real hardwood even in the kitchen.

We wanted to keep the original brick wall and the original beams etc. We wanted to keep what we could of the original 1923 bungalow kitchen. I love charm and character and I think we did a decent job making it functional with keeping as many of the original features that made sense.

Reno beginning



Right side


Left side




And our Brooklyn Kitchen which we redid ages ago in 2003/2004. I still love it however. Custom maple cabinets with our hardwood floors throughout the whole home and a matte black granite island. Even though we did this gut reno 16 years ago I love it as much today as then.







Thoughts.
Sometimes you cannot get exactly what you want because of cost and space. Do the best you can but do not compromise where you know you will regret it. Make sure you have enough cabinet space (it's another reason I needed a large island for the cabinet storage it afforded us) and enough surface space to work on. I need lots of counter surface and I have it at both homes. Also I love one large sink. In Brooklyn we have a huge sink (perfect) and a smaller sink (rarely use it). So at the beach house when we were figuring it out I nixed a smaller sink. No need for it and we just got one large sink. Also I do not like the range on the island and had to fight with our contractor on that one lol. I like a clean nothing else on it island to work on and that is what we have. No range on the island at either home.

Light is critical for us so we made sure to optimize that by enlarging the windows and having enough recessed lighting. We nixed the pendant lighting because it would have caused a shadow on the island. In Brooklyn we also have great lighting and we do have pendants there that cause no shadow. All in all we are very pleased with both renos despite the Brooklyn reno having happened so long ago. The space works out well for us still. And as for the beach reno I finally got my clean bright white kitchen I wanted 20 years ago before they were so popular. LOL. I don't do trends. I do what I love and when you do that it works out in the long run I believe.

And always check your proportions. That what you do will work in the space you have.

Good luck @Tonks and I am looking forward to seeing what you do.

@missy thank you for the detailed reply and the photos! I love both your kitchens! Your beach kitchen is very much what we are going for with ours...bright and light and airy. We are eyeing a light gray wall color, darker gray for lower cabinets, white counters, and white upper cabinets. But I’m meeting with the contractor and designer this morning so they may well have better ideas! Gray is super tricky. We have a bunch painted on swatches and are carrying them around the house. It’s bizarre how they change in different light. Our favorite currently looks downright beige. No wait—I turned off a lamp. It’s gray again.

Love the look of your fridge. I will be super happy if they can get us one that big in our space. It’s pretty narrow so they will have to work some magic. I heard the contractor utter the words “counter-depth fridge” the other day and just thought no way. Smaller is not going to cut it. I’ve got two kids in huge growth spurts and we cook everything. So we would splurge on getting the fridge we need to fit.

What material are your white counters? Do you have to baby them? I have friends who have marble and love them, others who have it and hate the etching and staining. Same for quartzite. Not sure I know anyone with quartz. I love the white counter look, though.

 

[Tonks]

The house we are in the kitchen was here.

I hate the cabinet depth. We actually have a pretty good sized kitchen, so they didn’t need to do the shallows cabinets for the illusion of space. I hate narrow depths in cabinets though they are popular.

I like the pull out trays in the lower cabinets a lot.

If you like the layout, and it works, I’d say go for that idea. I did that in my old house and just put in new cabinets, floors and appliances. Layout was the same.

Good warning on cabinet depth. I’m glad you said that as we are installing new ones and it would not have occurred to me to ask for exact measurements (I’m such a newbie at this). Maybe the thing to do is treat this like diamond buying. “I’d like to see a report with measurements, please.”

 

[missy]

@missy thank you for the detailed reply and the photos! I love both your kitchens! Your beach kitchen is very much what we are going for with ours...bright and light and airy. We are eyeing a light gray wall color, darker gray for lower cabinets, white counters, and white upper cabinets. But I’m meeting with the contractor and designer this morning so they may well have better ideas! Gray is super tricky. We have a bunch painted on swatches and are carrying them around the house. It’s bizarre how they change in different light. Our favorite currently looks downright beige. No wait—I turned off a lamp. It’s gray again.

Love the look of your fridge. I will be super happy if they can get us one that big in our space. It’s pretty narrow so they will have to work some magic. I heard the contractor utter the words “counter-depth fridge” the other day and just thought no way. Smaller is not going to cut it. I’ve got two kids in huge growth spurts and we cook everything. So we would splurge on getting the fridge we need to fit.

What material are your white counters? Do you have to baby them? I have friends who have marble and love them, others who have it and hate the etching and staining. Same for quartzite. Not sure I know anyone with quartz. I love the white counter look, though.

Forgot to say make sure you have enough electrical outlets. We have them on the island and you can never have too many imo.

Our counters at the beach are quartz. Thassos I think. Easy to care for. Initially I wanted marble but I only liked the really white marble and at the time couldn’t get it in the larger size we needed. So went with this and very pleased.

Love gray and love blue gray for cabinets too. Have fun choosing!

 

[missy]

Sorry for my choppy reply. We’re cycling atm but wanted to add there’s a kitchen backsplash thread I started that has lots of info you might find helpful. Search under my name threads started. I can’t link it on bike. HTH!

 

[elizat]

Good warning on cabinet depth. I’m glad you said that as we are installing new ones and it would not have occurred to me to ask for exact measurements (I’m such a newbie at this). Maybe the thing to do is treat this like diamond buying. “I’d like to see a report with measurements, please.”

So many of the upper cabinets now are basically the size of a large dinner plate. I hate that personally. I much prefer a deeper cabinet. Our current upper cabinets int his house basically fit three glasses in a row for depth, so while we have tons of cabinets, I think the shallowness is silly. We have two shelves of glasses because of the shallow depth.

Also, are you doing a free standing range or a wall unit?

I ask because at our house, we have a gas stove, but the oven and microwave combo is a wall unit. We are waiting to replace them because it makes sense when we give it a facelift, but long story short, the microwave died in the combo unit. Because they are connected, we have to remove the whole thing to repair it and its Jenn Air, which is hard to find a vendor in my area and the parts are expensive. We opted to not repair the white microwave from 2002 and just bought a microwave for the counter. If you do a combo unit of wall oven and microwave, I'd ask about repair of one v. the other.

Also, when our oven had the need for a repair, because they are wired together, the microwave didn't work. But the oven works without an operational microwave. It's weird and I would not do a combo unit personally. I like the wall install, but I'd get a full sized wall oven with a warmer or something and install a microwave in a built in cabinet on the wall. I don't like an above the stove microwave personally, but sometimes it's needed due to space.

 

[Tonks]

So many of the upper cabinets now are basically the size of a large dinner plate. I hate that personally. I much prefer a deeper cabinet. Our current upper cabinets int his house basically fit three glasses in a row for depth, so while we have tons of cabinets, I think the shallowness is silly. We have two shelves of glasses because of the shallow depth.

Also, are you doing a free standing range or a wall unit?

I ask because at our house, we have a gas stove, but the oven and microwave combo is a wall unit. We are waiting to replace them because it makes sense when we give it a facelift, but long story short, the microwave died in the combo unit. Because they are connected, we have to remove the whole thing to repair it and its Jenn Air, which is hard to find a vendor in my area and the parts are expensive. We opted to not repair the white microwave from 2002 and just bought a microwave for the counter. If you do a combo unit of wall oven and microwave, I'd ask about repair of one v. the other.

Also, when our oven had the need for a repair, because they are wired together, the microwave didn't work. But the oven works without an operational microwave. It's weird and I would not do a combo unit personally. I like the wall install, but I'd get a full sized wall oven with a warmer or something and install a microwave in a built in cabinet on the wall. I don't like an above the stove microwave personally, but sometimes it's needed due to space.

Maybe both with regards to the oven/microwave? We met with the designer yesterday and omg. So. Many. Decisions.

Need to decide on appliances ASAP so they know about cutouts for the cabinets. We currently have a microwave over the range but need a hood to pass code (our original home inspector was really a peach), so the microwave needs to go elsewhere. Today’s research will be about microwave drawers vs. the combo wall oven/microwave as a secondary oven (would also have one below range). I like the idea of a second oven so am drawn to a wall unit, but your comment re: repair definitely gives me pause!

Also I asked about cabinet depth yesterday but lower. Forgot to ask about upper.

We also need to decide about a sink. We both love a farm sink look but are wondering about logistics coming from a double bowl. I suppose you need to dry dishes immediately so they don’t sit out on the counter. We can do that. The other concern is depth of the sink. We are both tall and don’t want to bend over any more to wash pots and pans.

This is really an exercise in details!

 

[missy]

We went with a drawer microwave and at first I was resistant because I always had my microwave over the range. However now I like it but be aware you might be bending to reach it so if that is a problem maybe a drawer microwave isn't a good choice for you.

As for sinks we went with the biggest and deepest sink we could fit in the space. I love a large sink and it helps minimize splashing and such. All dishes etc go right into the dishwasher and not the sink.

I don't know our cabinet depth but they are plenty deep so they fit everything they need to with ease.

 

[elizat]

I think if you go with a brand that is easy to repair and it's easy to find repair people it's much less of a hassle.

For example, Jenn-Air is just expensive. To replace a clock on the oven in order to make it functional when it went out it was $1,500. I'm not even joking. I think as long as you pick an appliance brand where it's easy to get the parts and the replacement parts are reasonably priced you'll be fine. I really like a wall oven personally, but just wouldn't pick this brand. The issues I have with it also may have to do with the age. But, until we redo the kitchen, we aren't redoing the wall oven because we will change the layout.

I hope that helps.

 

[southernicetea]

We are doing a lot of work on our house and our contractor has just suggested a kitchen “facelift.” He’s calling it that because the idea is to replace cabinets and countertops, as well as appliances as needed, without changing the footprint of the existing kitchen. So we will be able to change some things as far as cabinets (we may slide the fridge over and the range may get bigger), but the sink won’t move.

I’d love to see your kitchens and hear what you love about them. What do you like about your countertops, your cabinet organization, etc.? Are there features you are so glad you have? Conversely, what drives you nuts and what would you change?

If you are a baker: I highly recommend that if you have a stand mixer, to pick a lower cabinet that rests on the countertop that will be your baking cabinet. There should be an outlet inside. Have your crew install a sliding heavy-duty shelf on the lowest level (level right on top of the countertop). You can place your KitchenAid mixer (or whatever brand, they're all heavy!) on top of this sliding shelf, and when you need to use the mixer, simply slide this shelf out. The cabinet doors should be the kind that can be recessed into the cabinet when the doors are open (similar to how you can push old-school TV cabinets' doors into the cabinet and out of the way, before flat screen TVs took over). Instant baking/mixing section without having to throw your back out lifting kitchen appliances!

I also thought it was crazy how many outlets we added to the kitchen and island, but I'm so thankful we did!

 

[baby monster]

We're in our second house right now. Our first had my dream kitchen, I designed it from ground up. Fought for every design decision with the cabinet maker, DH, contractor, etc. Current kitchen had just couple of minor changes when we moved in because I couldn't hack a full kitchen re-do at 8mos pregnant and subsequently a colicky newborn. Some thoughts on what I would still have in my dream kitchen and other that didn't really work as I hoped.

-Double-oven range. If you don't have space for wall ovens, double-oven range is excellent. I can't throw out working appliances, otherwise my current kitchen would have one stat.
-Drawers instead of cabinets at the lowers. Life-changing layout. Can't stand lower cabinets now.
-Under cabinet lighting. Waste of money for us. Wouldn't do again.
-Larger, deeper sink. I have to fit sheet pans or high-chair table in one. Divided, shallow sinks don't work for me.
-Cabinet depth fridges. I love them. Can't stand digging in the back. Have a second fridge in the basement for overflow.
-Convection microwave. Waste of money for us.
-Touch faucet. Never had one but think I would really like one.
-High-power exhaust. We took out the microwave above the oven in the current house and replaced it with a low-profile, high-power exhaust fan. Very good decision for current kitchen.

 

[Tonks]

We're in our second house right now. Our first had my dream kitchen, I designed it from ground up. Fought for every design decision with the cabinet maker, DH, contractor, etc. Current kitchen had just couple of minor changes when we moved in because I couldn't hack a full kitchen re-do at 8mos pregnant and subsequently a colicky newborn. Some thoughts on what I would still have in my dream kitchen and other that didn't really work as I hoped.

-Double-oven range. If you don't have space for wall ovens, double-oven range is excellent. I can't throw out working appliances, otherwise my current kitchen would have one stat.
-Drawers instead of cabinets at the lowers. Life-changing layout. Can't stand lower cabinets now.
-Under cabinet lighting. Waste of money for us. Wouldn't do again.
-Larger, deeper sink. I have to fit sheet pans or high-chair table in one. Divided, shallow sinks don't work for me.
-Cabinet depth fridges. I love them. Can't stand digging in the back. Have a second fridge in the basement for overflow.
-Convection microwave. Waste of money for us.
-Touch faucet. Never had one but think I would really like one.
-High-power exhaust. We took out the microwave above the oven in the current house and replaced it with a low-profile, high-power exhaust fan. Very good decision for current kitchen.

Thank you for such a helpful reply!

We are getting into serious planning and things are moving quickly, so I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind.

Why drawers instead of cabinets on the lowers? That’s what our designer has planned now, and we actually had planned to ask to switch some back to cabinets. We wanted to be sure to be able to store large appliances (mixer, crock pot, instant pot, etc,) below, and worried that drawer space would not be adequate.

Any appliance brands you love or hate? We’ve got to pull the trigger on several soon. Definitely going to do a counter depth fridge and seriously considering splurging on a built-in.

 

[baby monster]

Thank you for such a helpful reply!

We are getting into serious planning and things are moving quickly, so I have a couple of questions if you don’t mind.

Why drawers instead of cabinets on the lowers? That’s what our designer has planned now, and we actually had planned to ask to switch some back to cabinets. We wanted to be sure to be able to store large appliances (mixer, crock pot, instant pot, etc,) below, and worried that drawer space would not be adequate.

Any appliance brands you love or hate? We’ve got to pull the trigger on several soon. Definitely going to do a counter depth fridge and seriously considering splurging on a built-in.

I had one cabinet for large appliances like a pressure cooker and tall vases. I like having my Kitchenaid mixer on the counter for display and also because it's too heavy to move.

Oh, let me count the ways of why I love drawers. Super easy to see everything. No need to crouch down and dig in the dark for things. No need to take out things in front to reach the back. Just roll out lift. If you have small kids, it's easier for them to use drawers to help set the table or unload the dishwasher. I did a full inventory of pots, pans, lids, serverware, dishes, etc and created drawers to fit everything just so without stacking too much. This does take a bit of time to really plan out drawer dimensions.

For appliances, I always go with Consumer Reports recommendations. I purchase the models they rate in top 5 that fit our budget and they work well. I think their online subscription is $30 and that's been money well spent for us. We don't care to match appliances beyond overall color so purchasing a suite is not an issue.

 

[MMtwo]

We purchased this home a year and a half ago. We had to replace the dishwasher and chose Bosch. It does a fantastic job at keeping everything spotless. We also replaced the cooktop with a gas Samsung. I like cooking with gas. We bought the black chrome finish and if I could go back, I would have picked the stainless finish. I worry about scratching the black enamel when I clean it. We also picked the Samsung stainless microwave to match and have been happy with it. Also, love the double ovens. My first double oven kitchen and I'm spoiled now.

I like the kitchen/living passthrough to watch a movie with the family while cooking, but want doors for sound control or to have more privacy when cooking. Reminds me of a drive up window

We don't have pull out bottom cabinets and I miss having them. They are great for aging backs. Adding it to my "todo".

 

[tinatark]

I second drawers. BUT... you can have doors with drawers behind. Have a touch faucet and love. For my next kitchen, I will have 2 fridges, side by side - Imagine the fridge I posted, with one door handle on the left, one on the right.

Not a fan of drawer microwaves - logistics of getting hot items out. I have a KA mixer, keep it in my pantry and pull it out when I need it - I don't think I would want a rising shelf for it in my cabinet. I have easy close doors and drawers, love them. Also, the usually fake face on my sink base is hinged, I keep my sink stoppers, etc. in there. Also, little stuff, the exposed ends of my cabinets all have cabinet faces. Lots of outlets. Love my under cabinet lights.

 

[Polabowla]

So funny to find this thread now as I just finished my mini kitchen redo.
I still don't care for the layout or the old granite counters, but we did what we were able to afford.
Just painting the walls, the cabinets & putting down a new floor really brightens the room & it looks bigger.
I do dream of a thermador grand gas range , instead of the smooth electric cooktop . Oh and a big pantry w pull out drawers so I can see what I have.
Mmmm. A girl can dream, right?!

 

[missy]

So funny to find this thread now as I just finished my mini kitchen redo.
I still don't care for the layout or the old granite counters, but we did what we were able to afford.
Just painting the walls, the cabinets & putting down a new floor really brightens the room & it looks bigger.
I do dream of a thermador grand gas range , instead of the smooth electric cooktop . Oh and a big pantry w pull out drawers so I can see what I have.
Mmmm. A girl can dream, right?!

I always say if you don't dare to dream it can never come true yanno? I say that all the time truly. When I first told my dh it was my dream to live on the sea he said to himself that will never be possible but he didn't say it to me and instead we started looking and we found our dream home. And later on he shared with me his initial thoughts and told me he never thought this would be possible and he was so glad I had that dream. And now it is his dream too. That made me tear up. But I digress. My point is good for you doing a kitchen refresh and when the time is right re financials and timing you can get your dream kitchen. It all starts with a dream and a vision. Sending you good vibes and wishes.

 

[Polabowla]

Thank you so much missy for your sweet words & you are right! I'm glad your dream came true!

 

[sledge]

If you like the look of the Subzero stuff without the cost, have you considered a Frigidaire refrigerator + freezer combination?

MSRP is about $3k each, but local stores should have in the $2,400ish range. So about $4,800 all in, but you have loads of storage.

Because they are two separate units, it makes install easier as well. And if you have problems, you can replace the units as needed. If installing together, make sure you get the appropriate trim kits so they look like a single unit.

Frigidaire Professional 19 Cu. Ft. Single-Door Refrigerator Stainless Steel-FPRU19F8RF

www.frigidaire.com

Frigidaire Professional 19 Cu. Ft. Single-Door Freezer Stainless Steel-FPFU19F8RF

www.frigidaire.com

Together:


Separate:

 

[dk168]

This is mine, and my house is a 2-bedroom semi detached house with one bathroom (I turned it into a shower/wet room).




DK

 

[sledge]

When thinking about design & layout of your kitchen, think about your working triangle -- the distance from the stove to the sink to the fridge. Some layouts are better than others.

Also, if using a center island, be cognizant of the space your appliances will take up in their EXTENDED positions. For instance, sometimes you see a center island with a sink and dishwasher. Behind it will be a free standing range with oven. When the oven door is open and the dishwasher door is open, things can get weird.

Same deal for refrigerators. I had a house once where things worked great when the doors was shut, but you had to stand to the side as there wasn't enough room with the doors open to stand there and between the center island. Not to mention, it was a pain to get the water connections hooked up and fridge installed in the little cabinet area.

Think about walking and work zones. If you entertain quite a bit, having enough space between the stove and center island for 2-3 people to fit between is a good idea and will avoid people getting stuck or going all the way around.

While we much prefer open kitchens, we saw a house a few months ago we really liked. It was new, but not perfectly designed how we would choose. One element both my wife and I really liked was the butlers pantry with wine fridge and microwave in it.

I absolutely hate microwaves over the stove area, as it creates a clutter point. Plus, they don't offer any real ventilation. Also, we don't use microwaves as our primary cook methods, yet they are essential tools for some items. When looking at designing her a kitchen she wants, I learned the oven/microwave units aren't that much cheaper than straight dual ovens which I think she would benefit more from.

Anyhow, here is a picture of that pantry from that house.

Bonus points -- notice the dishwasher? Now envision it opened and how small that space is between the island. Try to avoid that!

Bonus points, take two -- I nearly forgot about the pot sink. Notice on the tiled wall above the stove there is a black device. This is called a pot sink, and provides a flexible faucet you can use to fill up your pots, etc while cooking. These are the cat's meow and more common in commercial kitchens.



Another closer up image of a pot sink:

 

[lynahs1295]

we are selling this house since we bought another one already but i already miss this kitchen, esp the ceilings

appliances are bosch except the refrigerator which is an LG....the top cabinets are an excellent place the store things since you cannot access them without a large ladder LOL

 

[sledge]

Very nice @lynahs1295.

Love boxed beam ceilings! They add so much character to a home.

Next I scanned to those cabinets that extend all the way to the ceiling and it appears you have 10' minimum tall ceilings. Which work great as it opens up the space and makes it look large. I had a similar setup in my condo when my wife and I met. When she moved her stuff in, I remember coming home and she was walking on the counters placing all her stuff in those upper cabinets.

LOL, great for storage. Not so great for the vertically challenged.

Also, you have lots of light with those 3 windows.

Final thoughts -- how did you like your oven & microwave being next to the fridge?

 

[PreRaphaelite]

I am so disappointed. I clicked on this thread having misread the title as ‘show me your kittens!’

Your kitchens are lovely though. Enjoy!

 

[sledge]

I am so disappointed. I clicked on this thread having misread the title as ‘show me your kittens!’

Your kitchens are lovely though. Enjoy!

LOL, I'm a dog guy but if I had a cat I envision it may look like this....you're welcome.

I'm not sure what is more funny...the pissed off look on his face, or the sagging man boobs he has going on.

 

[PreRaphaelite]

Lol what a face!

 

[lynahs1295]

Very nice @lynahs1295.

Love boxed beam ceilings! They add so much character to a home.

Next I scanned to those cabinets that extend all the way to the ceiling and it appears you have 10' minimum tall ceilings. Which work great as it opens up the space and makes it look large. I had a similar setup in my condo when my wife and I met. When she moved her stuff in, I remember coming home and she was walking on the counters placing all her stuff in those upper cabinets.

LOL, great for storage. Not so great for the vertically challenged.

Also, you have lots of light with those 3 windows.

Final thoughts -- how did you like your oven & microwave being next to the fridge?

thanks sledge! i have to admit, i have never even accessed or open those top cabinets LOL...too much trouble!

i believe the ceilings are 12’ .... we found it very handy having the oven and micro next to the refrigerator...we have the same set up in the house we are living in now .... excuse the empty fridge space, we are waiting for that house to sell to move the fridge

 

[MamaBee]

I am so disappointed. I clicked on this thread having misread the title as ‘show me your kittens!’

Your kitchens are lovely though. Enjoy!