What do you want in a kitchen (especially if you cook most of your own meals)

[Beth in OH]

Slide out shelving in every base cabinet.  Best think I ever did--now every inch of space is easily accessible.

[gardenmom5]

in no particular order - some are things I have in mine that I love, others are things I wish I had.

 

counter space.  I have 20 lineal feet. (not including sink or range)  you can never have too much counter space.  there are times I wish I had more.

breakfast bar - great for kids, or visitors who can be close enough to talk to but not under foot

WIDE double oven  (most are narrower than a range.)

five or six burner cooktop.

walk-in pantry with plenty of room for both large food containers, and small appliances that aren't used often enough to have a place on the counter.

recessed refrigerator.  today's freestanding fridges are around 35" or so deep.  they stick WAY out.  if the area behind is recessed, you can still have it flush.

love - full extension pull-out trays behind cabinet drawers for pots and pans, and lids. 

some deep drawers are a must.

solid surface countertop that is impervious to oil, acids, and heat.  not all granites are created equal, and some will etch.

lighting that is bright and targets work areas.  big windows. lots of light.

[Garga]

Walk in pantry with solid shelves and cubbies.

 

Somewhere for guests to sit and visit. Maybe an island with stools.

[Julie Smith]

I just thought of something. 

 

My cousin had a little thing built into a cupboard on the floor level. It was part of the vacumm system. Just could just sweep the floor to infront of this spot and press a button and it would suck it away. No more need of a dustpain, I mean dustpan. 

[gardenmom5]

Second lots of outlets. Make sure they're on different circuits.

[momacacia]

Built in "appliance garage" for all the appliances.

[Doodlebug]

.

[gardenmom5]

backsplash.  tile that continues up to the bottom of the cupboards so there is no wallboard that has to be cleaned.

[gardenmom5]

Built in "appliance garage" for all the appliances.

pay attention to the height on an appliance garage.  the doors are often shorter than a kitchen aid.

[Aspasia]

I LOVE my kitchen!

 

- Tons of cabinet/counter space

- 42" cabinets. That extra shelf in each and every upper cabinet adds A LOT of space. Plus, it just looks better.

- A big island. No cooktop or sink on the island, because I like having a big, open space for food prep. My countertop appliances sit on the perimeter of the kitchen and my island is just wide open space. Perfection!

- A walk-in corner pantry. So much shelf space, plus some wall space for a big spice rack. I love a big, well-organized pantry. I honestly derive much pleasure just from looking at my pantry. :)

- Double wall ovens. Finally I have two ovens! We originally thought it would be really nice for holidays, but turns out we use both ovens all the time (think dinner plus rolls).

- Big single sink. I wish it was a porcelain farmhouse sink, but our builder didn't offer that. We opted instead for a large undermount stainless one. Double sinks are impossible to wash cookie sheets and other large dishes in. And I've never found those small side/veggie sinks useful. Ever. People always accidentally rinse dishes in the big part, where the disposal isn't, and you have to manually move all the yuck to the other sink. We just love having one big, open sink. Very useful.

- Big window over the sink. I have rented homes where I stare into a dark wall while I'm at the sink. Very dreary. I love being able to look outside every time I'm at the sink (which, when you think about it, is about a million times a day--rinsing dishes, washing fruits/vegetables, filling pots, rinsing rags to wipe down counters, etc). Plus, I can peek out at my kids when they're in the backyard. Speaking of which...

- Door off the kitchen to the backyard. I love having an exit right off the room where I spend the entire day.

- Laundry/mud room next to the kitchen. We went back and forth between this floor plan and one that had bedroom-level laundry. I can't even tell you how happy I am that we chose this one. That laundry room is my second favorite room in the whole house. For one thing, it's much more convenient to have the laundry right next to where I spend my day. But it's so much more than a laundry room! It has a utility sink, which has proven very convenient for so many things (cleaning a muddy dog before setting him loose in the house, paint clean-up, laundry pre-rinsing, diaper cover drying rack). It's a mud room with a kid-level coat rack. It's my command center,with whiteboard, calendar, key rack, mail/coupon sorter, etc. AND it serves as a buffer between the kitchen and garage. I wouldn't like walking directly into the kitchen from the garage. Where would we drop all of our keys/coats/purses? Yep, in the kitchen. Blah.

 

One thing we forgot was under-cabinet lighting. We were going to get it but needed to think about some details, so the lady at the design center suggested we come back to it later. Well, we forgot. Huge bummer, too, because we had them in one of our rentals and they're the best! We are going to have to add them ourselves.

 

 

Have fun with your kitchen!

[PeterPan]

We built our house and there was a gap between when we did the basement kitchen (where we started) and our main floor kitchen, meaning I had some extra time to plan.  You can get pretty OCD if you want, hehe.  Go to Gardenweb and research.   :)  Anyways, here are some things these posts reminded me of.  I've been in my kitchen 5 1/2, almost 6 years now and still love it.

What I love about my kitchen:

 

- large island with nothing on it (no sink, no range)

- space for a few stools under far end of island countertop, about 9" overhang

- under cabinet lighting

- slab granite

- not too big or too small of a distance around the triangle of frig-stove-sink (this is some sort of important design measurement), while the island is sort of in-between all three

- some deep drawers among the cabinets

- double electric wall ovens with separate range

- instead of the "desk" area, we asked for counter height with drawers underneath - it would have been nice for a place to put the stool, but I need the storage space, LOL (and I'm sitting on the stool right now anyway)

 

what I would NOT want:

- stool area at bar height rather than counter height - cuts off light/view, among other things (note which height you have when you go to buy stools!)

- range or sink on island - I like a clean workspace

Going through Wapiti's awesome post to jog my own memory...

-yes, long island, but you have to fit your space.  I could have envisioned my space several ways.  I picked the one that fit my family.  Actually, the more important criterion is how people will USE the space.  My aisles are, well I'd have to go measure, but I think they're about 4 1/2'.  Basically I picked a width that a human adult could would through WHEN THE DISHWASHER DOOR IS DOWN.  I think we all know the frustration of having the dw door down and everything being blocked around it!

-Several people commented on split level islands.  I have one, and in general it wouldn't be *my* preference because *I* don't happen to like to pole vault to eat!  However no one else in my family seems to mind.  I made an overhang for the trashcan, so that's at counter height and gives me just enough space to tuck in my stool where I eat.  Everyone else eats perched like birds in the raised area.  I do that once a year when I want to pretend that's safe.  Oh, my trashcan is a commercial can not available.  Walmart uses them in a larger (double width) size, so you might have noticed them.  I forget the brand.  I have three: one at my mudroom door to catch trash coming into or leaving the house, one in my kitchen under that overhang, and one in the basement kitchen.  I HIGHLY recommend you start your kitchen design with trash in mind.  The kitchen designer we used liked the idea of a rolling trashcan that would slide into an open cabinet space and come out when you cook.  I didn't want that, because I wanted it at the end of my island run to let me swipe things off the counter and into it.  Everyone has their fettish, and that's mine.  The trashcan is tall and narrow.  I'll try to find a pic or something similar.

-under cabinet lighting?  That's fine, but the alternative is to eliminate overhead cabs.  I'm too short to find them very useful, and they just limit access.  I put in a long bank of windows instead.  I have upper cabs above my clean-up sink on the clean-up wall, and I did open shelving there for dishes.  But that's clean-up.  I have open shelving between my frig and stove to hold glass jars with all my grains, beans, whatnot.  It's nice because it's both functional and gives me soemthing to decorate.  Remember that stool I sit on to eat at the low section?  That's what I jump on to get up to the high jars when I need them.  If I had had just a FEW MORE INCHES I would have put a slot for a step stool in the trim of the cabinet for the frig so you'd open a secret panel and just slide it out.  That would have been super fab, and I think Williams Sonoma sells stools just for this purpose.  I just didn't have the inches, bummer.  I keep a step stool in my pantry and another is often in my adjacent laundry room.  That way I can reach the stuff in the cab above the frig safely.

-slab granite-I'm not one to maintenance at all, not a bit, not even once a year.  I used engineered quartz, and it has been awesome for me.  

-deep drawers?  Hehehe, now the fun begins!  I read Kitchen Design with Cooking in Mind  by Silvers, even talked with him on the phone for a few min.  Awesome little book, HIGHLY, highly recommend.  Will totally change your plans or help you think through things.  I have cooking space and the formal clean-up space.  One dw for cooking, one for clean-up.  That way I can expand to big parties or function with just two people.  My stove is on an angle, in the corner, so I can have *5 adults* cook in my kitchen, all at once, and no one even bumps.  It's AWESOME.  You have to think in terms of each person and where they'll be and what they'll be doing.  Back to drawers!  Yes, all lower drawers, mercy.  You need wider pulls, basically appliance pulls, to do that, and Lee Valley is the best place to get them.  So I have all drawers.  I didn't do soft close, but I'm sort of a fast, impatient person.  We did them in the bath and don't mind them there.  

-Depth of the cabs-Caveat, we did custom cabs (long story).  Silvers advocates I forget how deep cabs.  Thing is, he's a man, and I'm short, remember?  He also suggests pulling the cabs out (regular 24" cabs) and just making the counters deeper.  We were custom, so the guy made them to fit what I designed.  Basically for the perimeter cabs I determined what *I* could reach comfortably.  I spent a LONG TIME measuring, checking, rechecking.  Get a really good metal tape measurer.  Be very precise, allowing for the overhang of the countertop material.  The metal tape measurer is so it doesn't stretch or distort on you.  Just checked.  My perimeter countertops are 28" deep.  My island countertop work area is 31" deep.  Yes, thanks, my arms are short, lol.  My dd laughs, because if it had been made for her, she would have made them 2-" deeper, which would have fit Silvers' suggestion which I *think* was 30".  So the cabs are slightly shower than that to allow for the overhang.  To get those depths, I determined what I would have on those counters and how far I could comfortably reach them.  On my island, that means I measured my knife block and how much space it would take up, how large my largest cutting boards were (or boards I would aspire to if I hadn't had them) and then made sure those plus a colander or salad bowls would fit.  On the perimeter, it's work space plus the spice jars I run along the counter under the bay window.  So when I reach, my fingers just hit those jars, which means that's as far as I can reach comfortably.  Dh wanted it as a bay window, which is a pain for me but pretty.  I have my Green Giant dd jump up to do the decorating and cleaning of it, hehe.  

-I'm boring.  I put in a stove.  I have a stove downstairs, and really two stoves (8 burners and 2 ovens) plus a large countertop convection oven that can hold a large pan is really enough, kwim?  But do what floats your boat.  I was of the mind that if I put an unusual shaped cooktop into the corner to get 6 burners and it broke, I'd have to replace all my counters to change it.  So if your cooktop is a standard configuration that you can replace easily, that's fine.  If it's a funky size, it's something to consider.  I know a Dacor or something would have been awesome.  I'm just content with my kenmore elite, kwim?  

-desk in the kitchen?  Mine is in the mudroom, adjacent.  But then my kitchen opens to the great room.  My desk and mudroom are always such a site.  I'm sort of a frightful researcher and always have piles of papers.  Clearly I don't try hard enough, lol.  I never wanted my desk in the kitchen.  I cook in the kitchen.  Put your desk somewhere private, where you can be messy and relax and get away.  Or put it by a window like mine so you can put out a feeder and watch the birds.   :)

-Yes, because it opens to the great room, almost everyone I talked with said the island should be all one level.  I think it's more important to consider flow of junk into your house and make sure the mail and whatnot has somewhere it stops, so it doesn't land on your island.  Make a big landing strip, and, well, that's where things are going to land.  I tried to make my island such that things COULDN'T land on it.

-sinks--Oh the fun!  I have 3 in my kitchen: a small sink by the stove because dh didn't want just a potfiller.  To it I run filtered water to one handle and unfiltered to the other.  Let's me drain cans of beans, wipe up overflows, fill pots, etc.  Not the only way to do things, but it worked well for my set-up.  I have a D-shaped Franke (both are Franke, which is no longer made maybe?) in my island.  It's a single bowl, no disposal because I'm anti-noise and freaky things.  (clearly I didn't grow up with one!)  The D shape cleans quickly and is big enough to wash my largest cutting board if I stand it up, meaning it's at least that wide.  That way if I thaw meat or wash something in the sink, I can clean it quickly and get the germs out.  Choose whether you want the farm of things drilled or just pumps on top.  Had to compromise, because I liked the farm and dh liked moveable pumps.  I was right, he was wrong, now you know.  Choose where you'll want your paper towels and whether you want a dish rack.  I now use a microfiber drying mat.  I toss it where my mood strikes.  My paper towels are on a nice vertical rack that holds them for ripping.  Everything needs a place and a plan.  If you don't do a disposal, you may want a compost bin, which then needs a place.  Back to sinks.  My clean-up sink is the honkin largest sink you've ever seen.  Not really, but it's HUGE.  It's super deep.  Oh, depths of sinks, fun topic.  Stand in your normal house shoes, with or without floor mat, and measure what you reach comfortably.  I had one depth for that island prep sink and another depth I was comfortable with for washing a turkey roaster or something big in the big clean-up sink.  I could go measure, but the one is around 9" and the other is MUCH deeper, in the teens.  Remember too if you do undermount you add another inch or so.  Check.  You don't want to be bending over while you prep, but to bend over at a clean-up sink that is more for piling or occasional washing or babywashing or plant watering, that's ok.

 

 

- storage near the dishwasher so I don't have to traipse all over the kitchen when unloading the dishwasher

 

Yes.  My dishes store on the clean-up wall with the clean-up dw and clean-up sink.  Think through what side each thing goes on.  Depends on your handedness.

 

We put drawers in place of bottom cabinets. ...

 

Weadded a foot pedal to our kitchen faucet.  We can foot touch to turn on/off the water to fill pots, wash hands, etc. without actually touching the faucet at all. This is really convenient and something I'd definitely do again. I really love it.

Yes, all drawers.  I had doors with pullouts at our old house, but drawers are the way to go.  When you get them a fuzz deeper, they're just astonishingly functional.  My dishes are on a vertical, open rack, so it's my pots, mixing bowls, implements, etc. in drawers.  Totally works.  

 

A foot pedal would be cool.  Of course my boy broke all my floor under cab rope lighting when he was little, so I'm guessing he would have had a heyday with that, lol.  No I'm not sure why we didn't stop him, lol.  Our faucets are Blanco and Delta.  If you don't do the petal, take some time to see if  you can flip it with your elbow or the back of your hand, which is the next best thing.  People dicker on pullout vs. pulldown faucets.  I have both.  I put the pullout sprayer (pulls out from the main head, not a separate sprayer) at my prep sink and the pulldown with a VERY HIGH NECK on my cleanup sink.  

 

 

Look for a stove that has a high-output BTU burner so you can fast-boil water and the like, AND that has a simmer burner, too.  You need both. 

...

(Oh, and I hate double sinks.  If I ever get a single again, I will just use a small dishpan to create the double on the 2 times a year I want one.)

(And if you get a stainless one, get a high quality stainless.  They look great a lot longer than the cheap ones.)

My stoves are electric, because I don't do gas.  On those you look at wattage.  Either way, the advice is right on.  There's been a big increase in power over the last few years, so it's a lot of fun to shop and see what the new appliances can do for you!

 

Yes, I have a (forget the name, starts with a J) downstairs, and it's not too hot.  Just never looks shiny or as clean as it should.  My upstairs sinks are Franke.  They were on clearance and I'm not sure they're made anymore.  They're quiet and beautiful.  The nicer sinks have sound insulation.  You can talk with the junkies on Gardenweb to figure it out, lol.  

 

I would not want the kitchen to be in the common path through the house.  

Amen!  Design your island such that traffic goes AROUND and not through where you're cooking.

 

Second lots of outlets. Make sure they're on different circuits.

I'm not up on circuits and stuff.  My one fettish was to get plugmold and run it on my long counters.  I have plugmold along the backsplash of the island and under the bay window on my long major counter.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE plugmold.  The electricians though I was nuts, but I can plug in stuff ANYWHERE.  It just disappears aesthetically, and I don't think people come in my house and gag.  I can whip out an appliance and just use it, with no worries.

 

Built in "appliance garage" for all the appliances.

I SO wanted this and someone of the male variety vetoed.  Actually the cab people we talked with didn't like my ideas either.  Still (insert ungracious word) me, because my idea was awesome.  I wanted a cab that would have been flat on the front and you'd slide the appliance out from the side.  But you know, can't win.  I wouldn't do roll doors, just me.  I'm way too lazy for that, and I don't want a bajillion things to sift around.  I keep my dinky appliances in my deep coffin drawers and whip them out and plug into the plugmold.  So really you're only talking about a toaster/convection oven, a food processor, a mixer, just a few major things like that.  Determine where you'll use each one, where the hotpads will be for the countertop oven, etc., and then just plan it out.  That's just a preference thing, not right or wrong.  Main thing is have a plan.

 

Hmmm, what else?  Lighting.  Cans plus dropped fixtures.  Mine are Tiffany Meyda that I found online.  They remind me of my grandma and the gorgeous lights she had in her (dream) house.  Tv, decide your place for that and make sure you can view it while you work.  I purposely did NOT place it where you could sit at the island and watch.  I don't want to cut off conversation.  The tv is tucked under that open shelving between the frig and stove, so I can see it while prepping to watch the news or a movie, but at the island they have to occupy their own minds, hehe.

 

Pick handles/pulls that won't catch on your clothes or pockets.  Mine are appliance pulls, wide and smooth, with nothing to catch.  

Cab surfaces that wipe easily.

Colors that look good when dinged up.

A place for everything.

Make it work for you YOU cook.  It might be a cooktop in the island suits how you cook.  We spend more time prepping than stirring at the stove, so I wanted to prep on the island.  My clean-up is not under a window, because that would have wasted the window.  I rarely clean-up (oops, the secret is out!) but I spend a lot of time on that long counter looking out my window and making pies, canning, etc.  So that long, unbroken counter is for cookies to cool, rolling out things, etc., all stuff I want to do while looking out at my kids play.  Putting the clean-up there would have wasted a beautiful window.

 

To choose appliances, be OCD.  Take everything from your current frig into the store and start loading the models.  It really is the best way.   :D

 

Have fun with your plans!  If you draw a plan, remember you can hire a kitchen designer by the hour.  I did, and it was very worthwhile.  She looked at our initial plans and moved a door, did this, did that, making changes that would have been hard to make later.  You want to make your changes NOW, not later.  Lay out your floor plan with tape, move your furniture around, do what you have to to get it to scale in your mind and check everything.  

 

Enjoy!   :)

[PeterPan]

I found it!!  Maybe they're still making them?  http://www.toter.com/products/product-detail.cfm?product_id=F5E85EC7-EF53-36D9-1931B5DEFE8C6BBA  Toter Slimline.  AWESOME trashcans, stable, sturdy, and they hold the big black trashbags.  I use it without any lid, just open.  The trashcan itself is 13.5" wide, and I put an 11" overhang at the island of my island.  That way the trashcan sticks out *just a bit* making it easy to swipe things in.  It's open on two sides (the overhang), so I can quickly pull it out to handle a mess somewhere.  For us it was a great solution.

[fraidycat]

A huge kitchen with more storage than can be imagined.

 

A butler's "pantry" aka second kitchen for using hours-long countertop appliances like a dehydrator (for example).

 

At least two sinks.

 

Walk in fridge & freezer.

 

Cold storage area. (Not refrigerated) for potatoes, onions, home canned goods, etc.

:D

 

What did you say your budget is? ;)

[PeterPan]

I checked.  My aisles are 48.5" from cabinet door to cabinet door.  You have to be careful when you talk aisles, because people could mean from cabinet face (not including the doors) which would be 3/4" farther on each side.  So just measure out what you want and explain it carefully to your builder.  I thought it would be too wide, but it's actually very comfortable with large bodies.  Someone told me her kitchen was fine when her kids were little and mysterious shrank as they got older, oops...

[Norah]

If we were starting from scratch and building- a great room with a large corner kitchen. An island, snack bar area, double electric ovens, a 48" gas cooktop with griddle, lots of cupboards and counter space, Corian counter tops with a large single basin sink and a smaller prep/bar sink, a french door freezer on the bottom fridge, and 3 rack dishwasher. I'd probably also try to work on either a panty or an inside laundry room, maybe both. If we were building from scratch. :)

[wapiti]

-slab granite-I'm not one to maintenance at all, not a bit, not even once a year. 

 

FWIW, not all granite needs annual sealing.  Darker tends to be much harder than lighter colors.  We've never done a thing to ours, in 8 yrs (it's technically an anarthosite)

[Audrey]

I have the awesome privilege/overwhelming responsibility of planning my own house with DH.  

 

He asks:  What do you want in a kitchen?

 

How would you answer?

 

Definitely more counter space.  Also, more convenient storage.  I have lots of storage, but it is all on a wall on the complete opposite side/corner from where the stove and sink are.

 

I sometimes think I'd like an island, but I like the wide open floor space and I would miss being able to drop everything for a little boogie around the kitchen. :)

 

ETA: I currently have butcher block counter tops and I would want to keep those.  I love the look and they're indestructible.

[merry gardens]

Sunlight, plus lots of lights

Double oven

Counter space

Deep sink

Window over the sink that views the backyard

Door with easy access to herb garden

Nice countertops with no grout

Nice backsplash with limited grout

Hardwood floors

Cabinetry that goes all the way to the ceiling, preferably white 

Adequate and convenient storage for appliances like mixer, bread maker, toaster etc. (but not an "appliance garage")

Some small storage area for spices near stove

Gas cook top

Open to dining and main living area

Near to garage for ease of bringing in groceries and access to deep freezer

Sliding trash/recycling spot near dish washer.

Silverware drawer near dishwasher

 

I love my kitchen!

 

 

 

[mom2samlibby]

We put drawers in place of bottom cabinets. They are all various sizes and it's so fantastic. I would do that again in a heartbeat. Our standalone pantry (IKEA) also has pull out draw type shelves. It's also fabulous. I have 1/2 the cabinets I had in my old house and more room than I actually need here because of that pantry and the drawers have entirely accessible space. I have actually empty cabinets.

 

Weadded a foot pedal to our kitchen faucet.  We can foot touch to turn on/off the water to fill pots, wash hands, etc. without actually touching the faucet at all. This is really convenient and something I'd definitely do again. I really love it.

 

I want the foot pedal in my new kitchen too.  I forgot I need to get it ordered.  Thanks for the reminder!  http://www.tapmaster.ca/

[mom@shiloh]

I didn't  read all the replies, so maybe I'm repeating, but I've designed a few kitchens for houses we've lived in and I'm in the process right now.  We operate on a modest budget, so nothing super fancy, but we like to entertain and we have ten children, so I design with that in mind.

 

Must haves:  an island that can seat several and still have working space.  Separate work spaces for at least three people so that I can get plenty of help in the kitchen.  A huge pantry, preferably a walk-in closet type with shelves, imo this beats extra cabinet space.  At least three feet, preferably more like four feet in between everything for traffic flow.  

 

Countertop is expensive.  In one of my kitchens, I had way too much.  Yes, I can't believe I'm saying that.  I used to think the more, the better, but there is a principle of diminishing returns here.  My current kitchen is small and I have two areas of open countertop that are about 3 or 4 feet long.  If I had some island space of about four more feet, I think I'd be ok in this one.  I don't know your budget, but I'd try to figure out how much counter space really gets used and try to limit it.  When you have too much, it just gets cluttered.  

 

My dh and I went to a Kraftmaid outlet store last Saturday and picked out our new kitchen cabinets.  The outlet store is in NE Ohio, and to my understanding it's the only one in the country.  People come from EVERYWHERE with U-Hauls to shop there.  We bought our entire kitchen, (about 20 cabinets) plus vanities and extra cabinets for three bathrooms and the laundry room for less than $3500.  If anyone wants to know more about it, I'd love to share.  We had a blast!!  But we're kinda bargain hunters.  

[JFSinIL]

Two ovens.  I grew up in a S. California ranch house with the two wall ovens and thought that was the norm.  A roast or something in one oven, and the other for cookies, rolls, etc. I HATE not having two ovens.  A microwave is not the same thing. 

 

Lots of counter space - but beware - the more counter space the more stuff you will clutter it with.

[Orthodox6]

GAS COOKING AND BAKING.

 

(Ban electric )

[Guest]

Double ovens, on the wall. ON THE WALL! I don't want to stoop. 

[RoughCollie]

I would go here and read for hours:  http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/

 

There is a ton of information about kitchen design and remodeling here:  http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/kitchbath/

 

Years ago, when I remodeled our kitchen, that forum was invaluable.  I ended up staying within my budget and getting the most efficient kitchen for the space.  When it was done, I had twice the counter and cabinet space I'd had previously, and the footprint of the room didn't change.

 

A site some of the  members made has tons of kitchen pictures that you can search for specific features.  http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I have the awesome privilege/overwhelming responsibility of planning my own house with DH.  

 

He asks:  What do you want in a kitchen?

 

How would you answer?

AMDG

 

I've been thinking about this for a long time . . .

 

I'd like a raised dishwasher.  I saw one in a house once and it all of a sudden made so  much sense.

 

I would really like it to be large and square.  I will never, ever, ever again live in a house with a galley kitchen.

 

I would like TWO walk-in closets.  One closet would be for a very spacious pantry.  I preserve (can/freeze/dry/et c) and I need more storage for that. One closet for large/heavy items I don't want to have to drag up from a bottom shelf and linnens, et c.  I don't want my kitchen aid, crockpot, dutch oven, dehydrator, et c. on the counter and yet, they're heavy and cumbersome and I don't want to have to put them on the bottom shelf of the regular cabinet and have to manhandle them up and down every time I need them.  Easy access on a shelf in the pantry would be great.  Perfect would be if I could also have electricity in there and leave some things plugged in to use right there in the pantry but that isn't allowed here . . . maybe not allowed anywhere?  Before we had a library, I wanted a 3rd walk in closet for school stuff b/c I wanted it out of the sewing room.

 

I would like countertops that are both beautiful and functional and that don't have grout.  Mine are definitely beautiful tile and I love to look at them but . . . something else would be better for breadmaking and general mess making and cleaning.

 

I would like the shelves in my lower cabinets to pull out.  My in-laws have this feature and it is so nice.

 

I don't necessarily need a big commodious fridge but I do hate the side-by-side I do have . . . and I wanted it so badly, why didn't you guys talk me out of it?  I'd like a fridge that has a nice big freezer so I can freeze things on a cookie sheet b/f committing to the deep freeze. 

 

And on that topic, I would like an attractive fridge/deep freeze set and space to keep the freezer in the kitchen so it wouldn't be a trek to get the thing I need.  And on second thought, I wouldn't need the big freezer on my fridge if I had the matching deep freeze right next to it.  I'd really like a nice, big, attractive freezer and a much more modest but still attractive fridge.  I don't  need much in that department.

 

AND HERE IS WHAT I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, DREAM FOR . . . I would love to have a wrap-around porch and large, walk-through windows so I could sit on the porch and snap beans, or whatever, A.N.D a corner fireplace with sitting room so I can sit by and/or cook over the fire in winter.  I have two fireplaces.  One is gas and in the living room and is nice and pretty and functional but can't be used for anything but attractive heat.  One is in the library and I have a big sturdy arm thingy to hold a pot for cooking.  I do use it during the winter some but I'd like another in my kitchen that doesn't mean me lugging that heavy pot around.  I could really see me using that feature a  lot.  Also the porch.  I sit on the  porch quite a lot to snap/peel/whatever when the weather is nice but I'd like a beautiful porch with easy access from the kitchen.

 

I want the kitchen to be the heart of the home. 

 

sigh . . .

[Susan in TN]

I have the awesome privilege/overwhelming responsibility of planning my own house with DH.

 

He asks: What do you want in a kitchen?

 

How would you answer?

I want a robot who will do dishes, sweep and mop the floors, and clean the appliances and counters. You can install one of those, can't you, dear? :)

[Sun]

We built our house and there was a gap between when we did the basement kitchen (where we started) and our main floor kitchen, meaning I had some extra time to plan.  You can get pretty OCD if you want, hehe.  Go to Gardenweb and research.   :) ...

 

Yes, yes, yes! If you're planning a kitchen remodel or designing a kitchen for a new build, you're doing yourself a huge disservice if you don't spend a lot of time hanging out over at Gardenweb's kitchen forum. The folks over there will review and critique your layouts and give you excellent advice that will make your kitchen a much better place.

[Susan in TN]

Really, what I would like in my kitchen are adjustable cabinet shelves.  My cabinet shelves are all evenly spaced and I can't fit anything taller than a medium sized salad dressing bottle in them.  It's annoying.

 

Also, a functional corner cabinet.  I know they exist, just not in my kitchen. :)

[Kathryn]

Skimmed and saw most of what I'd say. My biggest complaint with my kitchen (besides lack of counter space) is that we have a huge bay window that faces west. We live in the South. It gets absolutely unbearably hot in the summer.

[kewb]

Overall I like my current kitchens layout.  Workable triangle, ok counter space, plenty of outlets, under cabinet lighting, cabinets that go up to the ceiling (who wants to dust up there), plenty if windows.

 

What I wish it had:

Double wall oven.  Oh how I miss my mother's ovens.

More counter space and/or room for an Island.

Walk in pantry with plenty of room for appliances/dry goods/oils and vinegars/potato bin/onion bin/wine cooler

[Wildiris]

Looking at redesigning my kitchen too.

 

I want the cooking/prep area to big enough for more than two adult bodies. 

 

• Range: Capital Culinarian I cook all meals from scratch. Having an oven that can bake pizza is a must.
• 2 sinks
• Enough counter space for three separate prep. stations.
• LIGHT!!
• 1 wood counter station for dough.
• I already have a walk-in pantry.
• Cabinets with pull-outs and lid racks.
• Cabinets in general would be nice. Everything is currently open to dust.

 

[helena]

I love this shallow cupboard and hope I can have one in our new house: http://www.marthastewart.com/275194/home-tour-warm-and-welcoming-kitchen/@center/276999/home-tours#179686

 

And a killer pantry!

[elfgivas]

Mine is perfect for me. Lots of cupboard space and open to the dining room. I can work without others underfoot and still feel a part of what is going on. Plenty of counter space, a window to the outdoors over my sink.  Tall ceilings so the room is spacious.

 

 

this is my kitchen, too, except the stove is where your fridge is.  Our fridge is where your island opens to the dining room, as we have a doorway into the nook where your stove is.  clear as mud?  we love it.  tons of counter space, nothing is too far from anything else, but we can have five adults working at the same time in there, and do on holidays.  add one more person, and its all over ;).  they can be on the other side of the island, though.  we changed out our tile counters for granite, and i love them.  i wish i had under cabinet lighting.  (i did in a previous house and loved it).  and our linoleum floor looks like french tile, and has various colours, so that it never really looks dirty.  i love that!  i only have one arm that works well, so a double door fridge would be crazy making.... i love our single door with the bottom freezer though.  and at the other end of our kitchen is the laundry room to which we added shelves, so it serves as a pantry, too.  i love it!

 

 

 

[OnTheBrink]

I want a drain on the floor to make cleaning the floor easier. Naturally, it would have to be a tile floor. 

 

I also want space for my an upright freezer. 

[waa510]

Counter space. I hate the tiny little spaces I have in our kitchen now. I also hate my ancient refrigerator. I'd prefer a newer stainless steel frig with the freezer on the bottom so I can make a bunch of freezer meals. I also would want it to have great spots for fruit and veggie storage. Can you tell I can't wait for my frig to die so I can get a new one? ;) also, more storage for pots and pans would be nice.

 

Things I love about our current kitchen are the magnetic knife block on the wall, nice and big pantry, and huge lazy Susan.

[Guest Qqueen]

My kitchen is rather small and if i were to change anything, i would change the sinks, and get bigger and better ones, new kitchen cabinets, adequate preparation area and a marble countertop. I wouldnt mind a small seating area where someone can grab a bite within the kitchen space. All these additions require space and money.

[kroe1]

1. Space to fit the entire family.

2. Open concept with a long bar on one side with bar stools for everyone to sit and chit chat. Bonus if the bar curves so that everyone can sit and see each other at the same time.

3. An island with a separate sink and disposal so someone can be chopping veggies out of the way.

4. Two dishwashers.

5. A mega refrigerator.

6. Granite and stainless everywhere. Floors marble.

7. A separate ice maker under a cabinet by the glasses.

8. A separate small fridge for drinks right next to the ice maker.

9. Gas stove with 6 or more eyes.

10. Pot filler over the stove (I use this all the time.)

11. Pull out garbage beside each sink, one split in two for recycling.

12. Designated built in place for spices.

13. Massive pantry.

14. Live in chef and maid.....

 

HTH.

[Susan in TN]

I agree with the drawers in place of bottom cabinets. My SIL had them in her kitchen - some very deep for pots and pans. She also had a narrow vertical cabinet for holding flat baking sheets and jelly roll pans.