Tsawwassen Kitchen Remodeling Design Project – Part 2

Posted on: May 10th, 2011 | 29 Comments


John and Matthew rundown all the great remodeling ideas for Roy and Tina’s kitchen. Tune in Thursday to see John and Matthew’s remodel!

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)

  • Anonymous

    Yep you guys are right I went modest at first :)

    In response to seating…. I decided to try something a little different. You can seat at least 7.

    The kitchen is now against your laundry room wall (hopefully getting water to that sink is OK). and two windows bringing in southwest light are installed. Left the fireplace in case you wanted it.

    The door to the family space was removed. That area next to the refrigerator I thought would be a nice place to put down mail and purses, recharge cell phone, etc.

    The entry to the dining was moved and the TV is placed on a mount that allows it to be swiveled. Part of the old pantry now has some shelves or cabinet
    .

    **********

    I used to have almost the same garage entrance as this. I always wished the door shared the front hall. By moving the toilet, walling where it was, and moving the entry closet back we can do this. Since you lost closet space I found it against the stairs. If the closet door look is not desirable you could finish both of these to look more like European cupboards.

    I look forward to seeing other ideas.

    Mid America Mom

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi @MidAmericaMom:disqus ,
    The quagmire that is our laundry room/ garage entry is sorted in similar houses in our neighbourhood with the creation of a hall to the garage, and access to the bathroom through a hall door and laundry room through a separte door. However the layouts are not efficient (not to say ours is!) and your idea is welcome, and seems another method to address this concern.
    Thanks for your input!
    Roy and Tina

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi @MidAmericaMom:disqus ,
    I have to say we appreciate your comments and experience with the front entry/ laundry room, (along with our own comments about it), however I don’t want to lose sight of our original request (or throw a wrench into the works in the process) and John and Matthew’s stated focus on the back half of the house..

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi @MidAmericaMom:disqus ,

    Now that I’ve rung the bell about the garage entry, I should respectfully mention that what appears to be a closet in the laundry room is a mechanical area for the furnace and hot water tank- tough (but not impossible) to move- (whew!!).
    We’re both very anxious to see more of your ideas as well as the next installment!

    Tina and Roy

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi All,
    There’s a few things that are important to us about the kitchen that haven’t come up:
    - a wall to separate the cuisine creation process (mess) from the dining area
    - a kitchen table; if not possible, alternate seating for at least four
    - Stove/ cooktop on different / separate surface vs. eating area (no samurai/kinetic knife displays, or lighting of brandy allowed!!)
    - Good design: kitchen triangle that prevents trekking around large islands/ obstructions (all pretty good- and much appreciated- so far!)
    Opportunity for engagement between family room and kitchen (couch/ sectional facing eating area).
    “Old” impulsive (fast) Roy would have jumped on the first design.
    “New” methodical (slow) Roy appreciates the results that careful and conscienscious design bring. Really.

    Thanks for your input, and keep them coming!!
    …Roy

  • Anonymous

    Regarding the mess.

    I would either go for JimBaer’s plan (running with a high half wall behind the sink).

    Or I would run with my first one from yesterday with a high half wall topped with a bar height counter to the family room. Then, following along Oscar’s lines, take out the wall between kitchen and dining room and do a high half wall there.

    Mid America Mom

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi @MidAmericaMom:disqus ,
    We discussed the merits of the half hieght wall and seating facing the kitchen from the family room, and that works for us. The dining room requires more exclusivity, which I beleive can be achieved through what Oscar described as a wall at the end of the island, however I question whether that defeats the purpose of the island(?) One of thoses things I can only sort of see with my mind’s eye, and I think it’s cool- although this may not have appeal when we eventually sell…

  • jim baer

    another, more modest, try.

  • Anonymous

    Hello Roy and Tina,
    I added the wall to help screen the kitchen from the perceived “exclusivity of the dining room”, again I think it can work.

    It also allows another wall for artwork on both sides of it; incidentally, what is the small space opposite this wall used for; a credenza, shelving or what?

    As to turning the furniture towards the kitchen area, it doesn’t work for me, when I cook and entertain, I always involve those around in the cooking process, there in is my idea to have a “flexible working area” in the kitchen, which will allow more to people to participate in the cooking process and those that don’t like to help around the kitchen can be on their own group, close by however connected to the kitchen.

    Oscar

  • Theresa Strecker

    Lots of great plans here but based on your stated preferences I think Terri’s fits best. I cloned her plan and moved the stove to the exterior wall to free up the island.

  • theresa@ny

    I accidentally posted using my last name – can you delete my full name?

    Thanks.

  • Brad W

    Since most options require reworking the rear facade of the home, I decided a small addition is not out of the question. This provides the space needed for a good sized kitchen and the much desired kitchen table.

    Oscar – nice detail
    MAM – I like minimal intervention
    Terri – love it
    Jim – got ball rolling, inspired my design

    Roy and Tina – good luck with your project

  • Anonymous

    Nice to see you BradW! This home sits on a slab so I assume foundation work may not be a huge undertaking and the roof would be probably easy to tie in.

    Hope your reno is going well.

    Mid America Mom

  • Tina and Roy

    We see that you’re up for a challenge: the change to the front entry closet and narrowing the entry to the living room.

    We have to agree with the notion of reversing the kitchen / eating area as you and a few others have. We are encouraged to see more plans!! Thanks Jim and everyone!

  • Tina and Roy

    Hi Brad,

    This plan is outstanding and answers many of our issues- as it happens we recently completed a significant change to our back patio area- the backyard is about 4 feet higher than the floor level of the house. The patio depth is about 10 feet at the right edge of the kitchen, which unfortunately may not work with a significant addition to the back of the kitchen.

  • Tina and Roy

    Hi Oscar,

    Thanks for the ideas- I see you addressed the points from part 2 with your latest plan. I appreciate your logic about the work/seating and think the plan is great, especially the exclusivity wall part…

    Roy and Tina

  • Terri

    Hi Theresa,

    I like your modification, which will probably suit Roy and Tina better since (we now know) they want to hide the messy prep area as much as possible. But now I’m worried about my sink placement–it’s probably too visible for them. Don’t think I’d put it back on the right unless I used a U-kitchen, and M.A.M. already offered that option.
    ..

  • Roy

    Hi Oscar,

    I didn’t answer your question – the dining room bump out accommodates a china cabinet and its exclusive contents
    .

  • theresa@ny

    Lots of great plans here but based on your stated preferences I think Terri’s fits best. I cloned her plan and moved the stove to the exterior wall to free up the island.

  • Steve in Van

    Oscar, I quite like this version of your plan, though I wonder if there’s enough room for circulation on either side of the island. Would an alley kitchen be considered “appropriately sized” for this house?

  • theresa@ny

    Lots of great plans here but based on your stated preferences I think Terri’s fits best. I cloned her plan and moved the stove to the exterior wall to free up the island.

  • Oscar B. Morales

    Hello Steve in Van,

    You do bring a great point, however if we had an extra 12” (12 inches) it would meet most standards for the cooking aisle. I have cooked in aisles that are as tight as 36” in both residential and commercial kitchens, it is tight quarters but doable.

    Although the preferred minimum is 48”, 40” is not bad; this is where Tina and Roy’s opinion and personal working space tolerance, will determine if they need to start shaving inches from the island or the sitting area, again I have worked in situation where two of us worked back to back in a 40” aisle.

    The sitting area under the counter is already small; therefore I would take it from the circulation aisle between the island and the pantry storage, again 40” is not bad even if there are people seated at the island, people can circulate behind the low stools.

    Could you sketch your idea of an alley kitchen for this condition, I am having a hard time picturing it.

    Again, thank you for your question,

    Oscar

  • Oscar B. Morales

    Hello Steve in Van,

    You do bring a great point, however if we had an extra 12” (12 inches) it would meet most standards for the cooking aisle. I have cooked in aisles that are as tight as 36” in both residential and commercial kitchens, it is tight quarters but doable.

    Although the preferred minimum is 48”, 40” is not bad; this is where Tina and Roy’s opinion and personal working space tolerance, will determine if they need to start shaving inches from the island or the sitting area, again I have worked in situation where two of us worked back to back in a 40” aisle.

    The sitting area under the counter is already small; therefore I would take it from the circulation aisle between the island and the pantry storage, again 40” is not bad even if there are people seated at the island, people can circulate behind the low stools.

    Could you sketch your idea of an alley kitchen for this condition, I am having a hard time picturing it.

    Again, thank you for your question,

    Oscar

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,

    There’s lots to like about your plan, and it works in my mind’s eye. We’ll see how that pans out…

    That said, we were discussing the fridge placement, and determined that locations were probably chosen based on door swings for the Fridge, Stove and dishwasher. In shopping the plan around at work, there were a few strong opinions about placing a fridge at the end of the run, particularly when there wasn’t a wall to act as a “gable”. Your thoughts?

    By the way, there was a lot of “counter envy” (kitchen envy??) when your plan was passed around at work at coffee time… particularly by the cooking/ entertaining crowd! We were comparing the island to the size of our substantial (12′x 3′) lunchroom table and jaws were slackened, and I was inspired! There looks to be enough room to prepare, cook and serve a meal!

  • Oscar B. Morales

    Hello again,

    I am glad to hear that you are studying the plan in more detail.

    I did post a blow up of the kitchen with some dimensions, this was in response to Steve in Van (I gather it must be Van for Vancouver), I did include a wall to hide the refrigerator as well as to put some dimensions as part of his questions, I would love to hear your comments as to those clearances.

    I did return a wall to hide the refrigerator, although an end panel (gable) would also work, I am constantly fighting and bad mouthing electricians and cookie cutter developers and builders that don’t pay attention to electrical switching for lighting, power outlets, and walls for artwork, cork boards, calendars, white boards, chalk boards and such, this wall would house some of these.

    There is another layer of design that I did not pay attention at first, but as I read comments and went back to the plan, some things became more apparent which I did address. As to location of fixtures, there is some room for shifting them, as long as they don’t interfere with one another.

    Keep the comments coming to achieve “happy Slow Home” !!!

    Oscar

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi Oscar,

    Thanks for the follow-up review. I agree that those sort of dimensions could work: in my youth, I used to repair commercial kitchen equipment, so I appreciate a little wiggle room when it comes to servicing this stuff. You can only imagine the stories…

    I agree that intuitive placement of lighting and switches is important, and those walls can accommodate switches to enable lighting from either entry point. (the pocket door’s current location requires switches to be on the right wall when entering from the dining room).

    On another note, we’d need a location to allow for phone/ cel phone chargers and message/ junk- I expect this could be made by setting the fridge in toward the stove approximately a foot, and having a “stand up” phone message station.

    Thanks again!

  • Roy and Tina

    Hi all,

    We’d like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for their input to the blog, we’ve found the experience interesting, educating and motivating.

    In particular, we’d like to thank John and Matthew for hosting the website and the direction they are providing. Their concepts of thorough design and creating useable spaces are inspirational.

    We’re looking forward to their direction in the final installment, and in all the upcoming episodes!

    Sincerely,

    Roy and Tina

  • Rob Wane

    While the rest of your home’s rooms create a style by the use of furniture and accessories, your kitchen has fixtures, appliances, and other style choices that are relatively permanent and set the tone for the room.

    basement remodeling Atlanta

  • http://slowhomestudio.com John Brown

    Rob,
    That is a good point and particularly important to remember in an open plan house where the fixtures and finishes in the kitchen directly affect the living and dining spaces.