Kitchen Design: How to Avoid Standing Room Only

Photo Credit: Dennis Jourdan Photography via Remodeling Magazine

Room for Two: Alder cabinets, honed granite countertops and a tumbled marble backsplash give this kitchen a rustic feel.

The homeowners of this 1920s house (pictured above) had been planning a kitchen remodel for a long time. They went so far as to work on a design that would enclose the porch to expand the space, then got cold feet during the market downturn, and, worrying about the return on investment for an addition, put the project on hold.

By the time designer Diane Lawson, of Diane Lawson Designs in Nashville, TN; met the couple, they had revisited the project but had opted to stay within the existing footprint. However, they presented her with a long list of desires that included: good traffic flow for two cooks, separate cooking areas, an island, increased storage, and a rustic Italian design and details that would blend with the home's Italianate style. 

Though most homeowners today want to open up the kitchen to the rest of the house, Lawson says this couple bucked the trend, choosing to maintain the separation from the living and dining rooms.

Fitting in the long list of the client's wants required some compromise, including a peninsula rather than an island, but Lawson viewed the project as putting a puzzle together to set all the pieces neatly in to the outline. 

Photo Credit: Dennis Jourdan Photography via Remodeling Magazine

Window & Wall Upgrade: When the original windows were replaced with low-E units, insulation was also added to the exterior wall.

Puzzle Pieces

To help create a rustic Italian feel, the clients chose knotty alder cabinets. Lawson says that this species has increased in popularity during the last 10 years and that the wood - sometimes referred to as "poor man's cherry" because of it's similar grain and reddish tones - can cost 10% to 15% less than cherry.

Since not all manufacturers carry alder, Lawson opted for custom cabinetry. Going with a custom shop also had the advantage of enabling her to maximize storage and create a furniture look with cabinets that fit the age and style of the house. "[The choice] boils down to [the client's] wish list and what they are looking to achieve," Lawson explains. "And, of course, budget."

The clients wanted to use the same finish throughout the kitchen - a rare choice these days, Lawson says. Currently, most of her clients are opting for a contrasting finish for the island. 

Lawson had known remodeler Michael Menn, of Michale Menn Ltd., in Chicago, for almost 20 years and brought him on to help her with the extensive remodel.  The ceiling above the sink had a soffit. Menn removed it to accommodate Lawson's design, which took the cabinets to the ceiling to provide extra storage. 

One of Lawson's biggest design challenges was the traffic pattern for the family's two "heavy-duty chefs" and keeping them out of each other's way. The original freestanding island really affected the pattern, so Lawson moved the island to abut a wall. "While you don't have access on all four sides [of the island]," Lawson says, "it gave us more room in the busy aisle-way, which is the main entry into the kitchen and is where we needed as much space as possible" - especially when one of the cooks is standing at the island prep sink. 

The island has a small trash cabinet and a shelf for the client's heavy stand-mixer.

Photo Credit: Dennis Jourdan (photo) | Nicole Babcock (floorplan) via Remodeling Magazine

Into the fold: Removing the door and adding upper and lower cabinets makes this former pantry feel like part of the main kitchen.

Photo Credit: Dennis Jourdan (photo) | Nicole Babcock (floorpan) via Remodeling Magazine

Cook Nook: The second pantry has a microwave and an oven. The existing laundry chute remains - but it has been reframed to match the cabinetry.

Separate Yet Cohesive

The existing 360-square-foot kitchen included two under-utilized pantries. Lawson thought the 18-square-foot closet next to the stove alcove would work better as a butler's pantry, so Menn removed the door to make it part of the kitchen and replaced the wire-rack shelves with cabinets that match those in the main kitchen. The L-shaped run of cabinets has upper and lower cabinets and a countertop. An undercounter wine refrigerator is the only appliance. 

The other 24-square-foot closet is closer to the dining room. Lawson considered removing the walls to incorporate it into the dining space, but there were two obstacles to doing that: a laundry chute in the closet and a two-story chimney that runs adjacent to that pantry. "We were bound," Menn says, but the team also thought that retaining the quaint "little pockets" of space matched the style of the 90-year-old home. As they had done with the other closet, the crew removed the door. The existing closet had some shelves, an outlet, and a hanging bulb. The new space contains an oven, counter space, and upper shelves with a microwave. The wife likes to bake, and this area gives her a space to work in while her husband prepares food in the main kitchen area.

Photo Credit: Dennis Jourdan Photography via Remodeling Magazine

Brick or Treat

The original cooking alcove was outlined with faux brick. The clients liked the idea of a brick alcove and felt that it fit well with the new design's rustic feel. And, Lawson says, the material ties in with the brick porch outside the kitchen.

Menn and Lawson thought the alcove could be enhanced to make more of a statement, so Menn's team created a taller, softer arch at the top of the opening and installed real brick - cut ¾-inch thick - on the entire wall, as well as on the wall adjacent to the butler's pantry.

The alcove also has contermporary features, including a sleek stainless steel hood, a Wolf cooktop, and a stainless steel storage drawer custom-made by the cabinet shop. The hood is actually made for an above-island installation that the clients had considered for the addition version of the project. They liked the shape, so Menn installed it here. He made custom ductwork to meet local code and vented the hood through an exterior wall. Narrow base pull-out cabinets flank the stove and hold spices. 

(You're reading Standing Room Only originally posted on Remodeling)

Sensational Space-Saving Kitchens

Photo Credit: Bruce Buck via This Old House

Galley Kitchens

For maximum efficiency when short on space, this layout excels. Its two parallel counters make all points of the work triangle equally accessible. Important things to keep in mind during your design are; aisle space, light and storage.

In this kitchen (pictured), concealing the fridge and dishwasher behind cabinetry panels gives the small space a tidy look. Light-colored cabinets, open shelving, and a large pass-through window make the galley open and airy.

Photo Credit: Joshua McHugh via This Old House

Shake It Up

Defined by simple lines, natural and handcrafted materials, and a muted palette, this Shaker-style kitchen (pictured) is smart and functional. The large wall-hung plate rack makes attractive dishware a visual focus, and offers quick access when setting the table. Small apothecary drawers alongside the range make use of often wasted space, while base cabinets are fitted with pull-out shelves and full-extension drawers to maximize storage. The island is perfect for meals, with a cast-concrete counter and a triple-pendant lamp overhead.

Photo Credit: Joshua McHugh via This Old House

Universal Appeal

Designed for a older couple, this kitchen (pictured) tucks away great tricks for a comfortable lifestyle. The lighting scheme removes the risk of over lighting or glare by using undercabinet fluorescent strips and large milk-glass pendant globes. Easy-to-pull handles are used on the refrigerator and dishwasher, the latter of which is a drawer, eliminating the need to bend down to load and unload. The kitchen sink is equipped with a single lever and integrated sprayer hose, and the rangetop's continuous grill allows for easy movement of pots and pans without any lifting.

Photo Credit: Deborah Whitlaw Llewellyn via This Old House

Form Meets Function

Beauty and function live simultaneously in this small kitchen (pictured). The stylish concrete countertops are complete with a knife block and a built-in drain board. Adding bigger windows and getting rid of the surrounding upper cabinets opened up the space. Cabinets line the adjacent wall.

Photo Credit: Michael Luppino via This Old House

Family Affair

The professional range in this galley kitchen (pictured) serves as the focal point of the design. The configuration offers plenty of counter space, as well as lots of room for cabinets. A pass-through serves as a breakfast bar and looks out onto an intimate corner banquette for family dinners.

Photo Credit: Ann Spurling via This Old House

Fine Dining

A cozy gathering spot, this kitchen (pictured) is equipped with all the necessities of a professional chef's workspace. Two ranges, a large utility sink with an industrial-size pot washer, a pair of butcher-block islands on wheels, and wall-to-wall cabinets make prepping, cooking, and serving food easy as pie.

Photo Credit: Pascal Blancon via This Old House

Old-Fashioned Feel

The U-shaped layout of this kitchen (pictured) offers an efficient work triangle for its owners, a couple with a penchant for cooking. Wine cubbies above the window make use of often-overlooked space. Antique-white painted cabinets, dark green granite countertops, and original oak floors help stainless steel appliances blend into the 1874 farmhouse.

Photo Credit: Eric Plasecki via This Old House

Small Wonder

Taking down a wall and replacing it with a breakfast bar opened up this 11-by-12-foot space (pictured). Additional counter space for prep was added with a second peninsula, which also anchors the work triangle. An existing tin ceiling and a brick chimney were uncovered, coordinating well with the antique pine base cabinets that were salvaged from the owner's grandmother's house. 

Photo Credit: Michael Luppino via This Old House

Gorgeous Galley

This galley kitchen (pictured) is efficient in its narrow footprint, with ample built-in storage and counter space. A pass-through window opens the room up to an adjacent dining area, while providing a two-seater breakfast bar. Glass-front cabinets with lighted interiors offer a visual focal point.

Photo Credit: Peter Vitale via This Old House

Santa Fe Style

This modest kitchen (pictured) is ideal for its setting in the historic district of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Black slate covers the countertops, backsplash, and floor. While custom cherry cabinets flank a s stainless steel range. The custom-made island serves as a centerpiece to the design.

Photo Credit: Alexandra Rowley

Rearranging Things

Chef Michael Lomonaco's plan for his 7-by-10 foot Manhattan galley kitchen (pictured) was simple: use every available space efficiently, without changing the basic layout. So he moved the sink faucet into the corner and the microwave to over the range - the only configuration changes he made - freeing up counter space for food prep. 

Photo Credit: Pascal Blancon via This Old House

Packing it In

With five kids and a passion for cooking, this homeowner was determined to transform her pea-sized kitchen (pictured) into a comfortable working space. The solution? Packing every corner with smart storage solutions. This particular nook houses lots of cabinet space, a coffee maker, wine cooler, wine rack, bar sink, child-height microwave, and a kids' snack corner. 

Universal Design for Kitchens

A Few Simple Changes Can Enhance the Functionality for Any User

Unlike universal kitchens designed years ago, universal design today doesn't mean boring design, but quite the opposite. It is important to note that universal design practices are broader than that of barrier-free design, and are in fact universal. Almost without exception, features or flexibility added to a product to accommodate individuals with temporarily or permanently reduced abilities in some areas have proven to be beneficial to users in general. In many cases, more people without a disability will find features useful than the number of people in the original target audience.

A curb cutout is a good example. First, they were implemented for people in wheelchairs; however, they are used much more often by people on bicycles, baby strollers, pushing grocery carts or wheeled luggage than by people in wheelchairs.

If you've been designing kitchens with your clients' needs in mind, you're probably utilizing universal design. Your clients most likely have specific needs for their families. When designing a universal kitchen, you have to keep in mind the capabilities of each person utilizing the space. In most situations, we are dealing with families with small children, parents and in some cases, even grandparents, so we will take this scenario into consideration. Following are some simple ways to incorporate universal design into a kitchen.

Photo: KraftMaid | Passport Series

Surfaces: make sure they're firm and stable. If there are overhangs on countertops such as snack bars, make sure they are supported well enough for anyone that might use it as an aid for getting up from their chair.

Dish Storage: the bottom shelf typically is the only shelf accessible to average-sized women, and it can also be too high to get a stack of dishes in and out of easily. Utilizing base cabinet drawers as dish storage will make dishes more accessible to people in wheelchairs, shorter people, elderly and for children. When possible, bring wall cabinets down to countertop height to allow more wall storage for dishes. 

Dishwashers: when able, raise the dishwasher 6 to 12 inches from the floor by adding a drawer below or by using two dishwasher drawers mounted side-by-side or on either side of the sink. 

Cabinet Pulls: there are several different options you can use for this application. The touch-latch option for doors and drawers on full overlay or European door styles make the doors longer than the cabinets to create a lip where you could put your hand behind the door to pull open. Knobs and pulls remain good options as long as they are not petite and smooth. Look for larger pieces with plenty of room for your fingers. 

Appliances: some refrigerators are extremely difficult and take way too much strength to open. If designing for somebody with little upper body strength, I would avoid large appliances with heavy doors. Microwave and refrigerator drawers would be better options. 

Light Switches: switches with large flat panels will work best.

Lighting: create well-lit space using combinations of under-cabinet lighting, general lighting, task lighting and decorative lighting. A dimmer switch on each fixture will allow adjustment for every user.

Counter Edges: A countertop that is a contrasting color from surrounding cabinets and the backsplash or countertop, with a contrasting front edge, makes for a visual aid to determine where one surface ends and one begins. 

Wall Ovens: Mount double ovens side-by-side rather than stacked, and mount them at about 30 inches above the floor. 

Faucets: choose faucets that have levers you could operate with a fist, or better yet, faucets with touch control options. Avoid faucets with controls that take a lot of finger strength or dexterity to operate.

Flooring: slip-resistant and non-reflective floors, distressed wood and slate are two examples of universal flooring.

Counter Heights: consider a table height for children, people in wheelchairs, and for those that find sitting and working easier. Create a standard countertop height for an average user, taller heights for taller people and for people that have difficulty bending over. The taller counter height can be anything higher than 36 inches and should be determined by the user.

Kitchen Counters | High-Tech Solid Surfaces Make Maintenance Easy

Solid-surface countertops are the stuff of George Jetson, in which high-tech plastics can be heat sculpted into any imagined shape. These modern surfaces take on many appearances, including stone, yet shed the shortcomings of their counterparts with a nonporous surface that doesn't age or develop a patina. In this cutting-edge countertop right for your kitchen? Read on to learn more.

Photo: Wilsonart Solid Surface in BedrockThe basics: solid-surface counters are a blend of acrylic or polyester resins, powdered fillers and pigments, cast into slab. There are many manufacturers of these synthetic counters, including Dupont Corian, LG Hi-Macs, Wilsonart, Formica, Durat, Staron and LivingStone.

Cost: $50 to $100 per square foot installed.

Advantages: solid surface is durable nonporous, making it resistant to stains, mildew and bacteria. Its unique composition makes buffing out scratches a breeze and provides that appearance of a seamless installation, including for integral backsplashes. This product outshines its competitors with an ability to be thermoformed into unusual shapes and configurations.

Disadvantages: its resin-based composition makes this counter material sensitive to heat and vulnerable to scratches. As with many countertops, keep your trivets and cutting boards handy.

Sustainability: many solid-surface manufacturers tout GreenGuard's approval, which certifies that due to the nonporous surface and low chemical emissions, the countertop contributes to healthy indoor air quality.

The ecological shortcoming of these products is their composition, which comes from finite, nonrenewable resources, including petroleum and aluminum trihydrate (ATH), which is strip mined. Choosing a solid-surface product with recycled content, like Durat or Corian's Terra series, will reduce the negative environmental impact.

Maintenance: soapy water will suffice for everyday spiffing up of this easy-to-clean surface. However, it's essential to dry the surface completely after cleaning or spills, as wet counters can lead to a dull or uneven, blotchy finish.

Special considerations: acrylic solid surface is more pliable, whereas its polyester-based counterparts claim a deeper coloration. Dark colors will show more fingerprints.

Choose Paint Colors With a Color Wheel

Color Wheel Guide

Photo: The Color Wheel Co.

Picking out paint colors can be a confusing experience, leaving you racked with indecision as you peruse swatches from paint companies intent on re-creating all of the 7 million colors distinguishable to the human eye. Trying to figure out which of those colors will mix harmoniously on your living room wall is enough to make you turn straight to the ecru-and-eggshell-white family and never leave.

One way to go, however, is to use a complementary color scheme. Proving the rule that opposites attract, these pairings can always be found at opposite ends from each other on a paint color wheel. When put together, they bring out the best in each other, making both colors look cleaner and brighter than if either were mixed with, say, a neutral gray or a different shade of the same hue.

An essential tool for paint pros everywhere, the color wheel is constructed to help you see the relationships between different hues. The bases are thre primary colors: red, blue and yellow. These are then combined to make the three secondary colors: orange, green, and purple. Finally, the remaining six colors on the wheel are known as tertiary colors and are mixes of the secondary colors, including such hues as red-orange and blue-green.

Familiarizing yourself with the color wheel can help you understand how to best mix and match a cool color with a warm one, for a naturally balanced room. Here are some examples of how to use these color pairings effectively.

Photo: Deborah Whitlaw-Llewellyn

Complements: Red and Green

When considering paint colors, remember to figure in the finish of any woodwork in the room. In this rustic Colonial-style kitchen, the green hues brushed onto the walls and lower cabinets complement the red tones of the mahogany beadboard and upper cabinets. 

Photo: Mark Lund

Complements: Red-Orange and Blue-Green

The two colors you choose don't have to have equal prominence in the room to work. You can use one as the main color as an accent, or bring small colored accessories into an already painted room to see how you feel about the pairing. Here, the energetically bright orange-red towel and glass pop against the cool, blue-green walls without overwhelming the soothing hue.

Photo: Laura Moss

Complements: Orange and Blue

Keep the furniture you already have in mind when considering a new paint color. The cool blue milk paint on this wall accentuates the bright burst of orange on the blank chest in front of it - a scheme echoed in a more muted fashion in the bedroom rug beyond the doorway.

Photo: Laura Moss

Complements: Yellow-Orange and Blue-Violet

Bright colors can breathe new life into traditional woodwork and work especially well in casual living areas. Here, glossy violet-blue pantry doors in a mudroom pop against the yellow-orange of the adjacent wall. When working with more saturated hues, remember that the colors will often appear more intense on the walls than they do on the strip. 

Photo: Laura Moss

Complements: Yellow and Violet

If you're a bit timid about suddenly splashing a couple of cans of color onto your walls, consider using two complementary colors as accents in the same room. In this 1950s kitchen the yellow window casing and violet countertop show nicely against the neutral beadboard and white cabinets. 

Photo: Gregg Segal

Complements: Yellow-Green and Red-Violet

Make sure the intensities of the tones you use are balanced. In this kitchen, the pale yellow-green trim and pantry door meet their match in the subdued reddish-violet paint on the walls.