Need Creative Solutions for Old, Incredibly Awkward Kitchen!
We recently bought our first house. It is just a tad over 1000 square feet, was built in 1939 and is adorable and perfect for us with one exception: a very awkward kitchen layout!
The kitchen is about 11.5' x 9' As you can see in the photos, there is one wall of counter space and that wall is chock full of cabinets, floor to ceiling. And after that it starts to fall apart... The other appliances are free floating on the other wall. We jammed our portable dishwasher between them for the time being, but obviously it isn't a good solution - among MANY other issues the cupboard doors are a bit blocked.
As you continue around the room there are a few other challenges. A chimney butts into the room next to the fridge. There is an open doorway to the dining room. And the next wall is mostly taken up by the doors to the basement and the bathroom.
Our problem isn't really storage. We have have room to spare in the wall of cupboards. Plus there is a fairly large pantry on the landing just beyond the door with the window. What I do dislike is the weight of the appliances on that wall, the way they don't seem to fit anywhere, and the way they don't seem to have any connection to the rest of the room. Also, the fact that we have a good deal of space, but not a lot of options as to where to move things!
A total remodel is not in the cards right now and I already have plans to help the color situation. What I wonder is, what is the best way to work with the space we have to make this room a little more cohesive and usable?
The kitchen is about 11.5' x 9' As you can see in the photos, there is one wall of counter space and that wall is chock full of cabinets, floor to ceiling. And after that it starts to fall apart... The other appliances are free floating on the other wall. We jammed our portable dishwasher between them for the time being, but obviously it isn't a good solution - among MANY other issues the cupboard doors are a bit blocked.
As you continue around the room there are a few other challenges. A chimney butts into the room next to the fridge. There is an open doorway to the dining room. And the next wall is mostly taken up by the doors to the basement and the bathroom.
Our problem isn't really storage. We have have room to spare in the wall of cupboards. Plus there is a fairly large pantry on the landing just beyond the door with the window. What I do dislike is the weight of the appliances on that wall, the way they don't seem to fit anywhere, and the way they don't seem to have any connection to the rest of the room. Also, the fact that we have a good deal of space, but not a lot of options as to where to move things!
A total remodel is not in the cards right now and I already have plans to help the color situation. What I wonder is, what is the best way to work with the space we have to make this room a little more cohesive and usable?
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Unfortunately, the stove wouldn't work on the left hand wall as the wall between the trim is only 22" wide. I had wondered about moving the refrigerator to the pantry and it might work okay, though the doorway would have to be made wider to get it in. Would it be weird to have the fridge off the kitchen like that? I'll try to get a pic up of the pantry and landing since that's space we might be able to work with too.
1. move the frigerator to the short wall with the outlet. Keep it facing the same direction as it currently is.
2. Move the stove and dishwasher toward the refrigerator as far as possible
3. Put a peg board, chalk board or cork board on the side of the refrigerator to cover over the dead space behind the refrigerator.
This would give you about a foot of extra space to open the cabinets. Other than moving the frig to the pantry, it doesn't look like you have many options.
You didn't photograph the 4th wall so not sure if any options there.
I think I would get some appliance paint and paint the refrigerator white.
The cabinets look old enough to have been built on site. THey are not likely to be removed as boxes, unlike most new-ish cabinets. They look solid and sturdy. New paint and new knobs and pulls could make them look even better.
One other question, in terms of putting in more cabinets over the stove, would you try to find something that matched, be intentionally mismatchy, remove doors from the others leaving open shelving, and use them on other boxes over the stove? Something else?
I really appreciate the help. It's great to get fresh ideas since we've run out after looking at this room for too long!
When the range and refrigerator are moved closer together they would gain the 18" previously taken up by the dishwasher thus allowing them to access the cabinets nearest the range.
The refrigerator and range would be moved as close to the chimney in the corner as possible. This would create a small narrow space between the wall to the right of the refrigerator and the refrigerator itself. This is where small open shelves would be placed.
The counter would extend from the chimney to the door on the same wall as the shelves and it would be the width of the chimney.
This would allow the family to access the cabinets and still have the dishwasher. With minimal cost. They could also just move the dishwasher to the location in front of the chimney and not do anything else and would almost accomplish the same thing.