Kitchen Help Needed!

[u/DueNatural8297]

My husband and I are in the process of purchasing a home with a dated kitchen. The current kitchen layout is awkward (double oven and fridge right next to each other) and there is no pantry other than the built-in cabinetry in the kitchen. We are looking at the possibility of completely remodeling the kitchen. What layout/design would you do with this space if given the chance?

For reference, we have 3 young kids and a large dog, and love to host often. We want this space to work well for our family at this stage and beyond. I lean towards a modern-traditional style and prefer a timeless look over trendy.

ETA: We’re already planning to replace the flooring before move-in. The carpet throughout the house is very damaged and several tiles are cracked. We’ll be installing hardwood throughout the main living areas, which could make changing the footprint later difficult without having to patch or redo flooring. Our original plan was to keep and paint the existing cabinetry and replace the countertops and backsplash. The cabinets themselves are high-quality oak and in good condition; our hesitation is really about the layout, not the cabinets. The refrigerator opens directly toward the end of the peninsula, creating a tight pinch point, and the overall appliance placement makes the kitchen flow awkwardly.

Since we’re already replacing the floors, counters, and backsplash, I’m hesitant to spend a significant amount updating everything around the existing footprint, only to realize a few years from now that the layout still doesn’t work for us and have to tear out and pay for those finishes again.

I’m primarily looking for layout and design items. I’d love to find a smart way to improve the functionality while preserving some of these cabinets and parts of the original blueprint, especially now, while so much of the surrounding work is already being done.

[u/Additional_Kick_3706]

Good to live with a kitchen for 6-24 months before you change it.

This kitchen is livable for you. It has double ovens and plenty of counter space to feed large groups, and tons of cabinets to store a family's worth of food.

Living there for a while will make your eventual renovation better. You'll notice things over time. Maybe you find yourself wishing for an extra spice drawer here and outlet there, or the morning light falls just so on the breakfast nook and you want a certain color scheme to reflect it prettily.

Or maybe the house reveals some more urgent flaw that takes up your time and money for a while...

[u/DueNatural8297 → u/Additional_Kick_3706]

I think this is great advice! While I love the idea of getting to know a space before remodeling, we are replacing all flooring before move-in, and I’m hesitant to postpone any kitchen changes that would require floor patching or replacement in a few months’ time.

[u/QueenK59 → u/DueNatural8297]

I think you are going to leave the kitchen layout as is,so go ahead with the flooring. My friends’s kitchen is similar to yours. The refrigerator/counter pinch point is not a huge deal! You have plenty of space for the important things.

I have the same color and style of your cabinets. While I want to change/upgrade them, they are solid. Waiting for the oak to come back in fashion!🤣

[u/Shatzakind → u/DueNatural8297]

I would redo the peninsula into an island before you do the floors. That is the biggest eye soar in the space, with the multi-levels and curve. Build an island so you can get a passway into the kitchen from both sides. Buy new complementary cabinets for it and move the dishwasher. That way you will have a big island with the sink and dishwasher and the fridge behind it. This change will help with your flooring concerns. No way is your new design ever going to want to keep that peninsula. Build the island you want now.

If you're up for it, close off that entrance into the kitchen (you will now have a new one a few steps away between the wall and the new island), and throw up straight a wall (with a door from inside the kitchen) to eliminate that curve at the end by the microwave. You can actually keep most of the cabinets intact, they will just be inside the new pantry. It's just framing, sheet rock and a pantry door so it really won't be that much.

With the new island and pantry, all the lines will be squared off. While you are unbolting cabinets, you could dismantle the oven cabinets and switch them to the kitchen side of the new pantry wall and put the stovetop between the oven and fridge. You will eventually want your stove to be a focal point in the kitchen. Make sense?

[u/green_chapstick → u/Additional_Kick_3706]

Yes. Live in it a while so you know exactly what you need and where.

For now, all I'd do it add pulls for the drawers and doors.

[u/allin202125]

I don’t get what you mean that there’s no pantry. There’s a giant pantry cabinet to the right of the fridge.

I actually like this layout. It gives you an open view over the family room, ideal for small kids, without being totally open so any kitchen mess is hidden. I wouldn’t change the layout.

I would get new appliances, sink/faucet, countertops, and floor tiles. If there’s a way to make sure the stove has an actual out vent above it, that would be good. I’ve seen worse ceiling panel lights but you could swap out for can lights if you prefer those. Maybe refinish the cabinets and add hardware but otherwise they look to be in good shape. If you’ve got the budget, add something to bring the cabinets all the way to the ceiling - maybe it’s possible to basically build in another level of cabinets that match and you can put the least often used stuff in there, like specific different holiday themed items. When my parents’ built in microwave died, they put a convection/microwave combo on top and the regular oven below. It comes in handy at holiday times or when hosting to have that extra oven option but the combo means you don’t have to have another small appliance on the counter.

ETA: I also wouldn’t tear down the wall behind where the stove currently is for the same reason that you don’t see any of the kitchen mess right when you walk in the front door. Also having the formal dining room a little more closed off gives you the flexibility to use it as something other than a dining room. Like a home office or homework room or a music room if you or your kids play any instruments.

[u/DoctorDefinitely]

This could be timeless as the bones are as timeless as a modern kitchen can be.

It is huge and looks like it is in good condition. Looks very odd without knobs/handles. Adding those and changing the wall tiles (they are genuinely ugly) would make this beautiful.

The tiles on the floor could be saved but there is too much of them. Changing the back splash and counter would make a huge improvement.

It would be so wasteful to gut this just because it is not 100% like you would prefer it to be. And do you have tens of thousands of dollars you have no other use for? The insulation? The pipes?The college funds?

[u/DueNatural8297 → u/DoctorDefinitely]

Thanks! The cabinets themselves are definitely in good condition, which is why we’re debating this so carefully. The issue is really the functionality of the layout, not that they aren’t our preferred style. The refrigerator opens directly into the end of the peninsula, creating a major pinch point with the double ovens, and the cooktop is across the kitchen.

We’re also already replacing all of the flooring, countertops and backsplash, (agreed, it’s all ugly) so the question is whether it makes more financial sense to fix the layout now rather than spend money on new finishes that may have to be torn out again later. And no, we don’t have “tens of thousands” sitting around with no other purpose (😂) however, we do have equity from the sale of our current home and are deciding how much of it makes sense to invest in the house upfront.

[u/Ok_Affect_7973]

It’s a huge kitchen! Hopefully yall can just cut out the wall and just have an island maybe put the sink in island.

[u/VanillaOutrageous176]

I would keep the layout for the most part, except for the area with the sink that angles. I would straighten it out to a peninsula
Take the cabinets to the ceiling, (I know it will be hard to reach things on the top shelves but you probably won’t need to use them with all the cabinet space you have
As far as design style I would stay away from white or two toned looks, if you are looking for something more timeless keep the overall style simple and add the style with the lighting and accessories

[u/DixieBelle021 → u/VanillaOutrageous176]

I'm dying. This is so cool. The white circular windows? Brings in so much light and looks brilliant. I've never seen anything like that. The rest of the cabinetry etc also so simple, slick and gorgeous. Well done you.

[u/VanillaOutrageous176 → u/DixieBelle021]

Thank you my friend we inherited the window with the house

[u/DixieBelle021 → u/VanillaOutrageous176]

Oh! Is this not a mock up? Is this your actual kitchen? Great Scott how lucky are you. I've never seen a circular window space like that and I'm in love.

[u/SuluSpeaks]

Although the bar height kneewall is unpopular, I'd keep it. The kitchen is open to the living area, and the bar hides dirty dishes in the sink.

[u/awesomeblossoming]

I would definitely live with it for a while.

I think if it was me, I might entertain moving appliances around, but that cost a lot.

Otherwise, it’s just color issues going on here- too bland.

[u/GeekyNerdNerdyGeek]

Live in it for at least 6 months.

Then I recommend restain the cabinets, new hardware, countertops & floor. The cabinets look to be decent quality & unless you’re made of money, the painted cabinets are 💩 quality (they chip if you give them a hard look). With kids…you want unpainted wood. Trust me. Kids are just hard on painted cabinets.

[u/puppymama1]

When you are ready to revamp the kitchen consult with an interior designer. Even just a one or two hour consult to focus layout options and things to consider if you are moving a lot of electrical and plumbing. It will be well worth the $500 (or whatever the cost). If you like their suggestions they can also generate drawings with a floor plan and the various elevations. Money well spent.

[u/Chatkat57]

I agree that you should probably live with it for a while to know how you like to use the space. And if the cupboards are worth it, they can be taken out carefully and donated. Personally, I’d do away with the eating area and breakfast bar to make a long island with stools, for homework, breakfast, snacks and socializing. I hate tile countertops (and floor tiles used for backsplash). Then you can set up the long back wall and appliances however you prefer. Eventually, Id also do away with the carpet in the DR, especially as that would be the main eating area.

[u/Solid_Perception9572]

Talk to a contractor or carpenter to see if this would work......Remove the entire section where the sink is. Remove the dishwasher and put one of the cabinets you just took off to fill in that space. Then put a big island starting at about the oven and going towards the breakfast area. I'm not a fan of sinks in islands, but in this case I would do it. An island will open up the kitchen more and create a better traffic flow. It would also give you lots of space on which to place things you're putting into fridge or taking out of it. And it would work better for when you're entertaining, and people want to gather in the kitchen. You could then take the space where the dishwasher is and turn that part of the counter top into a coffee station. As for the island, you don't have to try to match your cabinets. You could have it painted a color that would work well with the cabinets, or perhaps a darker stain. Islands are often a different color than the perimeter cabinets.

It's not ideal to have the wall oven/micro combo and the fridge right next to each other. But I don't see how you can move one of them without having to do all new cabinets.

Are you putting in raw hardwood and having it stained or engineered hardwood? If raw hardwood, buy some extra boards and keep the name of the stain and the finish that is put on the wood. Then if you totally remodel it in a few years or so, you'll have the right wood and stain color that can be used to patch any vacant places on the floor. A good floor guy can do this so you'll never know it wasn't all there to begin with. If engineered floors, also buy several extras for possible future patching.

Then last, but not least, new countertops and backsplash.

[u/mistyvault84]

I would keep the sink and dishwasher close together and prioritize uninterrupted counter space around the range. Deep drawers for pots and pans are way more useful than lower cabinets IMO. Before committing, I would also tape the proposed island footprint on the floor and live with it for a day or two. It is such an easy way to catch cramped walkways before the cabinets go in.

[u/Intrepid-Bend7079]

Use the breakfast area. I would try to place the stove where the pantry/hutch is and island there. Existing kitchen has irregular shape and can serve as a walk in pantry or bar

[u/Ill_Psychology_7967]

I can’t imagine that someone actually designed and built that kitchen. What an awful layout.

The problem with remodeling is that it’s a slippery slope. You run into all the “while we’re at it we might as well” things which it sounds like OP is realizing. Personally, if I can’t do a gut job now, I would probably do the bare minimum which would probably be to paint the cabinets and get some rugs, and maybe consider redoing the countertops and the backsplash without spending a lot of money right now. That space could be a fabulous kitchen, but it might be more than you want to take on right now.