Way Too Early Kitchen Planning

We've started planning for our kitchen, which is going to be the largest project going into the new house. The freedom and options seem endless when we need to design from scratch. Here's some photos of inspiration courtesy of Houzz

Modern Kitchen design by San Diego Tile Stone And Countertop Oceanside Glasstile

Contemporary Kitchen by Portland Interior Designer Jenni Leasia Design

Modern Kitchen design by Portland Architect risa boyer architecture

Modern Kitchen by Bronxville Interior Designer Mantra

Contemporary Kitchen design by Denver Architect Forum Phi

Let's take a look at the existing floorplan where the kitchen sits in the small rear room. The dining room is an astonishing 26' long, and a narrow 10' wide. They are separated by a solid brick wall that was originally an exterior wall, so it looks like that needs to stay.

Step one is to decide to move the kitchen into the dining room. Done. Easy decision. This brings the home  in line with the other nearby homes with similar layouts. This opens the kitchen to the dining and living areas, and frees up the rear room for laundry/bathroom/storage.

Moving the kitchen forward, nearby homes have all used a C-shaped layout, with a fridge along the rear wall, sink or stove along the side and front facing the dining area. Here's some examples of nearby MLS listings:

884 N 27th St

883 N Pennock St

This layout appears in both developer flips and also older homes that have been tastefully renovated. So is it possible for me to come up with a more efficient layout? I went to Trimble Sketchup to find out.

Layout Option A: 

This was the first layout we came up with and the most similar to the other homes in the neighborhood with similar layouts.
Pros: Common, practical layout; cost efficient design; bar seating near sink; easy passage through to rear of home.
Cons: Window and stove are on opposite wall of windows; Limited cabinet space.

Layout Option B:

This layout is a different layout that I came up with that would split the kitchen so that the sink can be centered under a window. This would mean the window would need to be replaced with a smaller one that didn't go below the cabinets.
Pros: More cabinet space; maximizing work/prep space.
Cons: Interrupted flow to rear of home; Window replacement.

Layout Option C:

A modification of layout B, this has a cooktop and separate wall oven and microwave. I think this layout could work well when we are hosting and will have multiple people in the kitchen.
Pros: More cabinet space; maximizing work/prep space; and separation of cooktop and wall oven
Cons: Interrupted flow to rear of home; Window replacement; extra cost of wall oven and cooktop

All of these layouts were good in my mind, but I know I have to get the advice of someone with a bit more experience. I reached out to my good friend Cass from the MSSD program and she generous enough to offer some insight over lunch.

After reviewing my designs, she urged for the first, C-shape layout but offered a creative spin: place the cooktop on the portion nearest the dining area, allowing the chef to entertain and put on a cooking show. Fantastic Idea!

Below is our updated design. While I initially thought we'd go with dark-stained cabinets, the tight space has us thinking white shaker cabinets with a grey counter top  More on those design decisions to come.




This ended up being the traditional layout for the home, but with the twist of the cooktop and island-style range hood. I'm pretty sure this is the direction we'll go forward with once we dig in.

I'm still looking at sourcing and pricing for cabinets, counter tops, paint and lighting, so another post is sure to follow to hone in on some more of the specific details. Thanks for reading!