Kitchen Space

The kitchen in a house is so important. It’s where the family tends to gather. As a mom is cooking the meals, her family gathers around to socialize and tell her about their day. Many hours are spent in the kitchen as a family eats several times a day.

It was important that I get our kitchen right. It was what I planned out first and made everything revolve around it. Other room structures could change, but my kitchen layout was “it”. No messing with it!

 Back when I told you an architect I was talking to was giving constructive criticism and I cried (on the phone), he was criticizing my kitchen! He criticized other things (like the size of my master closet was too small and how I arranged my in-law suite) but he made a comment about the size of the island in the kitchen.

Yes, the island is big… even the designer made note of the size on her plans. Four feet by 11 feet. It’s the size of the Showcase home that John and Sherry from Younghouselove designed.

When I saw them post that picture and I realized my island was that size, I did a happy dance! I desired a large island. We had an island in the old house and all I did was day-dream about how to make it bigger! All I had to do was buy a base cabinet set and re-do the counters. Our old kitchen was such a large room, that the island felt small (to me.)

The architect that criticized my island size said that it would become annoying to have to walk around it while you are prepping in the kitchen. I would have agreed with him if my kitchen was a U-shape and had cabinets on the other side of the island.

U-Shaped Kitchen

But my kitchen purposefully only has two walls. There would be no need for me have to walk on the other side of the island to fetch something while I was cooking. Bottom line, I was willing to argue why my big island would stay!

Originally, we thought we’d need a rather large refrigerator, so the designer made space for a 60-INCH Fridge!! Holy smokes. They are nice …. And BIG … and expensive. We even went to a specialty appliance store in town that carries the large refrigerators. There was one all the way in the back for less than $5,000. It was 60 inches wide. That is a good price for that size and I was excited, but then I started thinking, do we REALLY need that large of a fridge/freezer? We do buy in bulk and I do have three boys that will be teenagers one day, but what about when it is just Mr. JCrew and I again? We won’t need that large of an appliance. And one thing I’ve learned, a refrigerator or freezer has an easier time keeping the temperature consistent when it is packed full.

My decision was then made. We would go with a smaller refrigerator. It’s still not small when you compare it to my mom’s current refrigerator. Our renter/buyer has the option to purchase our current refrigerator. He was undecided in June, but if he doesn't buy it, then we'll bring it to the new house.

Now that the layout is decided upon, I’ve had fun playing with kitchen cabinets and counters. I used PowerPoint to play around with a layout. I marked where our belongings would go.

This helped me figure out if there was enough space for everything.

The fridge /freezer combo I had looked at comes in “columns” that you can separate. I played around to see if I liked that look.

I don’t think our wall is long enough to support that. I do think the configuration would be cool if an exit from the kitchen went in between the fridge and freezer columns!

The stove side of the kitchen has just a range. I am not big on double ovens. They are a luxury item, and I hear they are helpful when you need to cook things at two different temperatures, but I have ways around it that don’t bother me. Personally, it scares me to reach into the top oven of a double oven. I have the image of burning my armpits!

Moving to the island, it has the farmhouse sink I have dreamed of. Mr. JCrew wants a large sink. I like the looks of an apron-front sink and they can be large. Solution found.

I don’t know the details on cabinets yet, but because I’m waiting to hear from the cabinet maker himself on what my options are. I’m not fancy, but I don’t want plain cabinet doors. Somewhere in the middle, I think.

I’m paying a lot of attention to my kitchen. It is the most important room. For us, it always turns into the hangout room.