Tsawwassen Kitchen Remodeling Design Project – Part 1

Posted on: May 6th, 2011 | 22 Comments


In the first of a four-part series, John and Matthew present the home of Roy and Tina, who are looking for the Slow Home Studio’s community to assist them in the remodeling of their kitchen.

Use the resources below to try your own remodel of Roy and Tina’s kitchen:

Tsawassen – As Built – Whole (JPG)
Tsawassen – As Built – Partial (JPG)
Tsawassen – As Built (DWG)

  • Oscar B. Morales

    Hello Roy and Tina,

    A few questions;

    – Are you keeping the openings to the back of the house, two sliders and two box windows on the rear wall, or are you ok with moving them if necessary.

    – Is the fireplace, some thing that you want to keep? Can it be moved?

    - It appears that you have 8’- 0” ceilings.

    - Is connection from living room to existing dining room acceptable to you as is?

    - What is the make up of the family, I see a beautiful dog, a ball on the floor suggesting a child, is there anything else that you could share, i.e.: big gatherings or small, age groups, love to cook from scratch, is kitchen a cooking only or does it become the family craft center, is a (focal point) t.v. to be considered.

    These are a few questions that came to mind.

    Oscar

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,
    Both of us are OK with moving or eliminating windows and sliding patio doors. Some considerations we had over the years were replaing the patio doors with french doors, possibly moving the kitchen work area adjacent the dining room… so wide open with opportunities.
    Thanks for your interest!
    Roy

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,
    Whoops!- I only answered the first of your questions- Moving the fireplace is “negotiable” Tina loves it, and I have to admit it is wonderful on soggy cool days we get in the winter.
    8”0″ ceilings- yes. I removed the (ecch!) popcorn finish in a minor facelift a few years back.

    2 kids- 13 1/2 boy Spencer, and 10 y.o girl, Laura, 3 year old viszla dog named Riley- all not negotiable in the remodel.

    Occassional extended family (20 or so) birthday / holiday getr togethers. One of us cooks from scratch, the other from Costco take out trays- which one depends on the day’s events.
    TV is considered, usually AFV on Sundays, otherwise it’s computers/ books.

    We’ve had our share of crafts and shoebox “hot glue construction” dioramas on the kitchen tabel, so, yes, making this a focal point would probably work for us.

    Thanks again for your interest!
    Best Regards,Roy and Tina

  • Steve in Van

    Thanks, @b3f0d7366b7d750ab94dad5876b80816:disqus for asking some of my questions. Sounds like Roy and Tina want to keep the formal dining area separate from the more casual living area, so I only opened the kitchen/nook to the family room. It’s not a large space, so I tried to enlarge it visually in both directions — a long bank of 7′-high pantry doors and long, low bookcase/fireplace (could have shelves or windows above; nothing too ‘heavy’). I think the key here is openness and maximizing daylight across the whole space.

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Steve,
    I like your ideas here! Our Dog Riley appreciates the image you supplied as well! We’re looking forward to more great input from the bloggers!
    Additionally, I beleive that I missed one of Oscar’s questions regarding the connection between the Living room and Dining room- yes it works for us as is.
    Regards,Roy, Tina, Spencer, Laura and Riley the dog.

  • Roy and Tina

    Steve,
    I just noticed your detail of the pocket door between the hall and family room. Smart! That particular swinging door is a pain in the neck as it accesses one of the storage areas we use (recycling bins) and right now it involves juggling things while trying to avoid blocking the gauntlet or getting whacked by a door.
    (Our family has all experienced this at home- good conversation starter!)

    This brings up something I did not mention in my original letter to John and Matthew- our garage entry through a small laundry room that ends up serving multiple roles – a quagmire- in order to serve the purpose of the laundry room and coat closet.

    I’m surprised at how inspired I feel just seeing the sliding pocket door and the prospect of peace and harmony it holds!

    Thanks for your interest!
    Roy, Tina, Spencer, Laura and Riley dog

  • Terri

    Hi Roy & Tina,

    I’ve put an eating bar in the expanded kitchen with a media/fp built-in between family room and kitchen. I’ve moved the kitchen sink down to the bay window. I like to grow herbs, so I envisioned a tiled section in this box, a bit higher up than the counter–I imagine the window is presently lower than that, so it may mean new glazing. The pantry cupboard has been converted to shallow storage–cabinetry matching kitchen. I opened up the entry between kitchen and formal living room but with a fr glass door (unlabelled) so that the formal living/dining can be cut off. I opted to remove the door into the kitchen at the family room end, as the view should be okay. But if you require a door, I think Steve’s idea for a pocket door is good.

  • Anonymous

    Getting a plan sometimes feels like the hardest part!

    Here is my first shot at it. The door to the dining and pantry stay.

  • Tina and Roy

    Thanks Terry,
    some ideas that I hadn’t thought of here, Tina and I will be looking at in some detail… Don’t know if the new L/R door will work. However, Like I said, ideas I hadn’t considered. Bring them on!!

  • Tina and Roy

    Works for me, however an eating area is a big deal for us… keep ‘em coming!!

  • Tina and Roy

    hi @MidAmericaMom:disqus ,
    I agree, once I have direction, the rest is just putting it together…

  • Anonymous

    Hello Roy and Tina and all, hope you all had a great Mothers Day!!!

    Here is my design sketch, my thoughts are directed towards large entertainment as wells as a growing family.

    There will be plenty of use in the work center (the Kitchen).

    And I can only imagine how much fun it would be to be at a summer BBQ or Sunday birthday party.

    Hope to hear your comments,

    Oscar

  • Anonymous

    Hello Roy and Tina and all, hope you all had a great Mothers Day!!!

    Here is my design sketch, my thoughts are directed towards large entertainment as wells as a growing family.

    There will be plenty of use in the work center (the Kitchen).

    And I can only imagine how much fun it would be to be at a summer BBQ or Sunday birthday party.

    Hope to hear your comments,

    Oscar

  • Anonymous

    PS I have resubmitted the plan, so it can be more legible.

  • Terri

    I had to rush off right as I posted yesterday, so I didn’t explain a couple of details regarding the kitchen (as I saw it). The ceiling would be dropped to define the space and contain ductwork (the dropped ceiling in kitchen is something John and Matthew have shown before). And I didn’t know how to indicate glazing between the upper cabinets and counter all along the outside wall. I think this would be nice for those sitting at the bar, as well as allowing for a brighter kitchen.

    Guess that’s all I wanted to add, thanks!

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,

    I like the elements of your plan, I’m partial to Islands, the window seat is great and provides the emotional and physical “comfort” the space needs.
    Practically, I just have to consider the removal of the two walls, maintaining the integrity of the house (lots of 2 x 10′s added to the joists I’m presuming right now) and the drains that will be moved to the fridge wall in one case, (bathrooms above), and boxed into the outside wall in the other.

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Terri,
    I brought that point up (the windows) when Tina and I were looking over your plan last night…
    I hadn’t considered a dropped ceiling, however it may provide intimacy and definition to the area, not to mention area to place flush lights and room for reinforcing for the wall removal!!
    Great points!
    Thanks!
    Roy and Tina

  • Roy and Tina

    Like any big undertaking, right?? I have to say these ideas provide a lot of inspiration for me, Thanks midamericamom, and all of you out there!!

  • Anonymous

    Hello Roy and Tina,

    Thank you for replying, although there are a lot of physical constrains that will be encountered in a remodel of the extent that I’ve submitted. I strongly believe that anything is possible. Because we don’t have access to the second floor layout, to locate existing bathrooms and don’t know where heating pipes or ducts, at this juncture it is only a proposed idea.

    Structurally, my assumption is that the floor joist system is going front to back, if this the case opening up the floor plan will not affect the structural integrity of your house, if in the family room, the framing changes direction, then a structural beam could be introduced to support the second floor. All of these will be studied during the final design phases of the design.

    As to incidental plumbing, water supplies and drainage, electrical runs, water supply to refrigerator, all could be re-routed. I can even see a wall at the end of the island on the dining room side to use as a chase for pipes and ductwork.

    You mentioned that you have thought about several ways of possibly changing the back of your house, is there a strong reason as to why you are still thinking about it and haven’t. Is it budget, structural constrains, emotional attachments to the space, lack of direction, are there other rooms in the space below (if you have a basement that can not be disturbed).

    All of this questions and answers are what in the end produce great spaces.

    Let’s keep the dialogue going!!!

    Oscar

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,
    I beleive you’re right about the direction of the joists. Same for the plumbing and electrical (although I beleive I have to be careful about the maximum distance from the sink to a vent). We have been hamstrung in our reno decisions due to budget constraints and fear of making uninformed (expensive and irrevocable) decisions, as well as lack of direction. The house is on a slab, so no basement issues, however, some of the slab will undoubtably be disturbed to accomodate plumbing changes. Neither of us have positive emotional attachments to the layout or space as it stands… We did undertake a significant change to the patio area that the kitchen/family room looks onto.

  • jim baer

    my thoughts.

    i was disturbed by the way the stairs isolated the rear of the house and pinched the circulation. so i visually opened the stairs via rails in lieu of the walls and eliminated the storage to open up the circulation.

    yes, it is outside of our scope … but then, i can never leave well enough alone …. :-)

  • Tina and Roy

    Hi Jim,
    There’s no doubt the staircase distinguishes and physically separates the front from the rear of the house. I agree that this would provide some depth, sense of space and light throughout the house.

    However, one thing that I haven’t brought up is that there’s an aversion to looking in on a messy kitchen. I look at your and the other design ideas as inspiration and opportunity for organization.

    Thanks for your contribution!

    Regards,

    Roy and Tina