The Kitchen Design

I'll start this post by announcing right up front - many of you will hate me.  Why?  Because I can't make the amazing stainless steel sink work in the kitchen.  I know, I know - I love it too!  But I don't love it so much to make the kitchen dysfunctional. 

So here's the scoop.  There are multiple reasons why it won't work.   

1) It takes up too much counter space.  The old kitchen had the stove right against the exterior wall.  That's a really bad kitchen design - you want at least a 15" base cabinet on either side of the stove to hold pots/pans and cooking ingredients.  But when you push the stove over, you start to lose space for the sink (it's 6 feet long btw).   And while yes, it's possible to use the stainless steel wings on either side of the actual sink, they are both slanted drainboards, so they don't work well for lots of applications.

2) It requires a huge sink base cabinet to accommodate those extra wide sinks - which limits the number of useful base cabinets you can have (because we all know sink bases cabinets are the tall equivalent of a junk drawer!).  And in a small kitchen, every useful bit of cabinet space is precious.

3) It's extra thick, which makes it a challenge to install with typical countertop thicknesses.  You either need to lower the cabinets (a non-starter unless you install custom cabinets) or you have a weird change in height for the sink - which makes the counter space even more awkward. 

So reluctantly, I've decided not to use the amazing sink (I just need to find someone that will love it as much as I do!). 

Now for the next contentious item.  Several folks thought you could put a 1/2 bath in the kitchen.  And while technically true - a tiny powder room could fit where the refrigerator is - it makes the rest of the kitchen really awkward.  Refrigerators are big, bulky appliances and there isn't a logical place for it, unless you give up counter space and the open layout that we're working towards.

With all those caveats, let's talk about the actual kitchen design.  Because it's going to be pretty great! The main kitchen area will have the sink and stove as before - but now it will have a dishwasher!!!  Ah, the joys of a modern appliance.  That was one of the big drawbacks to the previous kitchen (particularly to my husband's way of thinking), but now that will be remedied.  We also got several upper cabinets and the guys will make a custom hood to go above the stove.

The refrigerator will be tucked back next to the fireplace flue as before.  But we tore out the old pantry and will install a new one as well as a set of cabinets that will have a microwave shelf built in. We don't want to lose any precious counter space in this kitchen! 

And what about color?  Well I know moody colored kitchen cabinets are currently popular.  But I'm just not ready to commit a potential buyer to a long term color choice.  So we are going with a basic white.  The counters will be quartz, because the low maintenance surface is a huge plus for any cook and they also look great.  And the backsplash is this fabulous marble mosaic.  

But the walls?  Well I may get a bit adventurous with color on the walls!  After all, they're easy to paint over if the buyers don't like it.  So stay tuned, it will be fun to see how it all comes together!  

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