I am so excited to share that the kitchen renovation is falling into place. The new larger window was ordered a few weeks ago and I am ordering the cabinets early next week now that the design is nailed down. When we were house shopping, finding a kitchen that needed renovation was at the top of my list. I know that sounds a little odd, but our past two homes had very nice kitchens, and redoing them just to suit personal preferences would’ve been a waste of resources. In both cases, we made cosmetic changes to the kitchens and I ended up really loving both of them. But, with the next house, I was excited at the thought of gutting a kitchen, starting it from scratch, and making it completely my own.
As a reminder, here is how the kitchen looks currently…
I started drawing up ideas for this kitchen before our offer was even accepted on the house because I had such a clear vision for it. The star of the kitchen is the Ilve Nostalgie 48″ dual fuel range. I opted to get it in stainless steel with brass trim. It is such a yummy range and I can’t wait to start cooking on it! Because appliances were having very long lead times, I ordered the range and fridge in the fall, and are sitting in the garage and ready to go.
We will use a propane tank for the range since we don’t have a natural gas line running to the house.
Here was my original sketch for the range wall in the kitchen and it’s only been tweaked a little since the initial drawing.
Jeff and I are going to build a custom range hood and open shelves, so those are unfinished in the mock-ups from the kitchen designer.
The cabinet brand and style I chose (you can read about that HERE) ended up impacting some of our choices and we needed to get a little creative to get the look and configuration I wanted in that line. I’ll explain some of our creative solutions as I share a tour of the plan.
Above is the final plan for the range wall. Instead of the large drawers I drew, we opted for drawers plus a cabinet and a spice pull-out on the left and drawers with a lazy Susan cabinet on right. I was keen on having a spice drawer pull-put and it made sense to maximize the corner with a lazy Susan. The cabinets that meet the counter are going to act as appliance garages. This Waypoint line didn’t offer appliance garages specifically, so we’re using a cabinet with a door that opens up. If the way the door opens is awkward, we will purchase and install hinges that will lift the doors out of the way. I saw this style of cabinet in another line and this one can be adapted if we want. I love that the outlets and small appliances we use regularly will be hidden and that we’re making the most of the vertical height.
Here’s a 3D mock-up showing the cabinets in place. This rendering is more about the cabinets and the general feel of the space than anything else. I haven’t picked the tile, hardware, or sconces, the range isn’t the exact model, the window will be divided into three parts, etc. The floor in the rendering is also a little lighter than the golden oak floors we’ll be installing. It’s enough to get an idea, though.
I also want to point out the upper cabinets in the corner between the sink and range. I really wanted to have two counter-to-ceiling cabinets to flank the range. I had to acknowledge that getting into that corner cabinet was going to be problematic. The solution was to make it two cabinets that both open towards the wall. I already have some ideas for the hardware, though, so it’ll be our little secret. We also talked about that upper corner cabinet and clearance for the sconce. I haven’t picked out my sconces, yet, but the plan is to add a chain to the cabinet door to prevent it from hitting the sconce if necessary.
I didn’t order very many cabinet inserts since a lot of those can be added later or purchased separately. I already have some nice inserts I purchased for our last kitchen as well, like a knife block and utensil inserts. But, I did get a few. I opted for the tilt-out drawer in front of the sink, a two-tiered utensil holder for one of the drawers, and slide-out shelves for the cabinet by the stove. We also have a trash drawer by the dishwasher.
Here is my sketch…
And the cabinet layout…
(As a note, the side door swings toward the wall, not the cabinet.)
We’ll likely eventually get a panel-ready dishwasher, but we’re going to use the existing dishwasher for now. It’s pretty new and we want to put our renovation dollars where they’ll matter most right now.
The fridge and pantry will go on the wall created by turning the staircase. We’re getting the same kind of pantry cabinet we had in our MN kitchen, which was perfect for our use. Our microwave will go inside and we will have some added storage in the remnant of the pantry we have now (to the right in the rendering below.) That pantry is going to be eaten into for the staircase, but we’re planning on using part of it for more kitchen storage and part of it will hopefully become a half bath in the future. At the very least, it’ll be absorbed into the hall closet to make a larger closet. We don’t have to decide that right away, so we’ll decide when it makes sense.
The fridge panels were another place where we needed to get creative. Waypoint didn’t make fridge panels that would fit our Forté panel-ready fridge. I sent some different configuration ideas to the designer and she was able to put together panels that look like two cabinets and two drawers. The fit isn’t perfect, but a back panel will cover the fridge and bring it all together. I’m so glad we were able to make it work because that was throwing a wrench into my selections!
Also, in both of the renderings, the fridge sticks out, but it will be flush with the cabinets and look integrated.
Here’s the overhead view of how the kitchen layout will look…
Now, I bet you’re noticing all of that empty space in the middle of the floor. I decided against ordering a built-in island and I’m going to look for an antique piece. I’m going to wait until the kitchen is done and I get a feel for the space before I decide if I want to look for a counter-height island piece or a harvest table. It’ll likely be an island, but I love that I have options. And, the Lucketts Spring Market is coming up the third weekend of May, so the timing should be perfect!
Here is a look at the cabinets with the counter options in the showroom. I realized when I looked at the pictures later that the reflection of the hex lighting looks really strange, but that’s just the reflection. The cabinets also look a little gray in the photos, but they are green. I decided to do an off-white for the uppers, just to keep things light and open.
Here is how the green cabinets look in a space…
I’m still deciding on my counters, but I have the faucet ordered and the sink picked out. I’ll share those and other details in a future post. Just having the cabinets nailed down is huge!
Construction starts on the kitchen in mid-April…
I can’t wait to see you on your hunt for the perfect kitchen island! We are looking at a house that has a puny built in island and the first thing I would do is rip it out and replace it with an antique piece.
What fun!
It will be beautiful due to your creativity. Exciting.
It’s good that your appliances are already at the house. When I had my kitchen re-done, I stipulated to the contractor that all the appliances and cabinets had to be on the premises before work started. Since the floor was staying and the footprint of the room was not changing much (9 inches additional length each on one cabinet wall and the island, the work went quickly. There were no delays. In fact I had to hustle to get the sink, faucet, lighting and hardware purchased in time to be installed.
Yeah, our contractor won’t start on a kitchen renovation without the key materials on site, so it can be completed quickly and efficiently.
It will be like Christmas! Looking forward to the journey and outcome.
So exciting! Yes…getting those cabinets nailed down is a huge step. One of the best things I did in our new kitchen was to have slotted storage space for cookie sheets etc. above the fridge. I can’t believe how convenient that is. It will be so much fun watching you make decisions along the way. Best of luck!
Your kitchen is going to be stunning, and that range is a real showstopper! I didn’t realize how big your kitchen was and how much cabinet space you have. I was just wondering if you had thought about adding a pot filler over your range since your sink is a good distance from the cooking area?
Wonderful that it’s coming together! Can’t wait to see the piece you choose for the center! It’s going to be beautiful!
Its going to be beautiful! I wanted suggest a table in the kitchen. I have a 1968 ranch and the kitchen has a large open space. I have a fabulous old farmhouse table and it works so well, I couldn’t imagine replacing it with an island.
Hello
Nice design!
Functionally, you have 48” of cooktop, and approx 20-25” on each side for prep. For me, also going through a kitchen reno, I opted to maximize the flanks around the range for prep, plating, etc space. I would relocate the full height cabinets to the sink wall, where they are less obtrusive.
I redid my kitchen last spring, and used a light cream color for my cabinets and a darker green for my island, and I absolutely love it! It looks so good with those two colors together! I didn’t have the option to change out my counters, but it even made my dated granite look intentional!
What an exciting project!
Consider adding an outlet in the floor under your island-to-be, if allowed by code.
It’s going to look great!
Your design is beautiful. Look forward to seeing it all come together!
Waypoint is a beautiful line of cabinets. I love the green.
If I can make one suggestion, switch the two cabinets to the left of the cabinets. If spices and oils are stored so close to a heat source, they won’t last as long. The heat kills the flavor and turns the oil rancid. Love all of the design!
Love the color combo you chose for your cabinets!
Just a thought on your desire for a panel ready dishwasher… perhaps you could order the panel now, even though you won’t use it, so that you know the color match will be right. It would be sad if you ordered the same style and color in a few years only to find the color was slightly off (maybe because the panel was new and the rest of your cabinets had been in place for a few years and had perhaps faded a tad….or simply another color batch). Same thing happens with wallpaper and fabric…. just a slightly different dye lot.
Yes, that seems like a really good idea.
Wow, it’s getting exciting I’m sure. Some interesting ideas there on your corner cabinet. As for an island, we left our kitchen open with that same idea of getting an antique piece to put there instead, but we quickly realized how much we LOVED not having to walk around an island and we kept the space open entirely. It makes the kitchen feel huge, and we now have an impromptu dance floor when needed. I do have some questions about using propane for your stove, where do you put the tank? Is it large? Is it outside the wall of the house? How does it connect to the stove?
Propane tanks come in various sizes, but we would get one that is basically a larger version of a tank you get for a gas grill and will have a company come and top it off regularly. It sits outside of the house and they run a propane line to the stove.
Gorgeous kitchen plans! I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but have you cooked with LP (Propane)? I love having gas burners (sorry indoor air quality), but we didn’t have a gas line when we remodeled our lake house kitchen, so I put in an LP cooktop. It takes FOR-EVER to boil a pot of water for pasta and my egg-boiling timing is all out the window. My petroleum-engineer brother in law says that LP burns hotter/faster than natural gas, perhaps it’s just the valves on my cooktop?
I’m not sure if I ever have. I have cooked with natural gas for years and it was my understanding that propane was comparable.
Did you know that you can have the propane tank buried? I always hated seeing them. When I told our builder, he told me it was easy to bury it. We just have a “round disc looking thing” in the ground which is where it is filled. You can use propane to heat your pool too, if you so choose.
Oh, good to know! We’ll look into that!
Just watch your time on the panel,- ready dishwasher or go ahead and order the panel so you have it. Our kitchen was done 7 years ago and when I went back to order a few”extras” they had discounted the wood I chose. I was so disappointed. Thankfully I went with the panel for the dishwasher. Don’t want you to be disappointed.
Yep, I have considered that and will look into the cost of a panel to have on hand.
We used propane for nearly 20 years and it was plenty hot enough to boil water in a few minutes. I now have natural gas and there was no perceptible difference evident to me. We had a 350 gallon propane tank on the back side of the house.
Marian, It all looks so beautiful! So happy for you! I would love to put a large antique table with a marble top placed on it instead of an island…
Thanks for the information! That’s what I thought, so I wonder if the commenter having trouble with it is having a stove issue rather than a propane issue.
We used propane for nearly 20 years and it was plenty hot enough to boil water in a few minutes. I now have natural gas and there was no perceptible difference evident to me. We had a 350 gallon propane tank on the back side of the house.
Marian, It all looks so beautiful! So happy for you! I would love to put a large antique table with a marble top placed on it instead of an island…
Oh I see your new range is Gas I thought they were outlawed that we were not Allowed to use them or even buy them due to this Climate change hoax ! So now you can buy Gas And I was waiting for all the people who do already have gas ranges to turn them into the govt. !
Ha, well, we bought our gas stove in the fall before it was even a “thing.” I haven’t heard of gas stoves actually being banned, but the mention of phasing them out and no longer manufacturing them. I don’t think they’ll be confiscating ranges any time soon (at least I hope not!)
So excited for you! It’s a beautiful design!
What a wonderful plan — love the green and white combo and all your design ideas. Designing your own kitchen is a real treat making it truly your own. You will enjoy! We tore out our kitchen when we bought our current house. One thought I’ll pass along for you to think about (and perhaps you have) was to place the outlets up under the upper cabinets. This way my backsplash tile could shine without any electrical covers intruding on the design. We even included the outlets on the ends of the island hiding them under the countertop. It seems like a simple thing but I am so glad we did it this way!
Yes, I talked to my electrician about that because I hate outlets in a backsplash! three to four outlets will be behind the appliance garages and in the pantry, so we only have one upper cabinet left, which is to the right of the stove. It’s glass front, so we might end up just having one outlet in the backsplash, but we’ll see. If we do, I’d want it to be a very pretty outlet, so it really blends in.
Have you looked into having a gas line run to your house? If there is already a gas line running along the road right-of-way on your street (or in your neighborhood), often the gas company will extend a line to your house, using directional underground drilling, at no charge to you. Now would be the time, before you do any further planting or landscaping next to the house because the gas meter will need to be installed on the side of the house somewhere (presumably near the garage/kitchen since that would be where you want the line installed. Your plumber will take it from there.
Yes, I did call about having a gas line run to our house and I might have them come out to give a quote just to exhaust that option. What the gas company told me is there is a line run to a neighbor’s house, but they would have to add several hundred feet to get it to our house. If the gas company doesn’t think running it to our house is profitable, we would have to pay for that to the tune of over $100/foot. It could end up costing thousands of dollars to run the gas line to our house. Since we just want it for a range (and only burners since the stove is electric), I doubt they would want to put out the expense to run the line.
Ahh…I see. That’s s good point. If your furnace isn’t gas, too, and, given the length of pipeline, then it might not be profitable for them to run the line free for you.
When I bought this house (way out in the country), the seller was a professional chef and had one of those huge Aga ranges. There wasn’t really any place on the property for a big propane tank, so he used one of the smaller, portable tanks (30 lbs? don’t remember, but it was outside near the kitchen, in a container) and when it was empty, he would drive into town and exchange it at the gas company. (The furnace is an electrical heat pump, so same situation as your house.) Just an idea if you aren’t keen on installing a huge propane tank.
So exciting to see it come together – first in your head, then on paper, then in a computer simulation, and soon in real life! It will be amazing and I know that every detail will be perfect.
A kitchen is a most important room in any house or apartment. Yours is well thought out and will be very functionable. What a hefty range! So many pots over the stove top can serve large diners if you want to cook for a crowd.
In France I hear that gas may not be the thing of the future, I am used to the blue flam and do not like the electric glass top of my sister’s. I guess it is a question of habit. There are so many other things that are not good for the environment that should be forbidden in our world.
Love your kitchen plans and can’t wait to see it all come together. I have a small comment to add on propane since we’ve lived in houses where it was the only way to heat the house and use appliances. It goes pretty quick and in the winter the cost on propane soars. There were time we couldn’t afford the propane (when the kids were small) and we opted for using (somewhat dangerous) indoor portable propane heaters. I would never do that now. I’d ask to see how much propane runs in your area and ask the propane dealers about sizing needs for your stove and (maybe pool?) and see what they say about costs.
Your kitchen design and cabinet style and colors are beautiful! Excited to see what you end up choosing for a kitchen island or table. Can’t wait to see the finished project. Just like another person mentioned, I highly recommend a pot filler above your stove. It is such a convenience on a daily basis and if you do any seasonal canning, plus the pot fillers just look pretty as well.
Your new stove is lovely. But, honestly I think you should bite the bullet and have the natural gas line installed to your home. Propane regardless of the size of the tank isn’t going to be powerful enough to run those burners. I had a propane tank at my primary home and an induction cooktop at my vacation home. My family was always shocked by how fast I could prepare a meal on the induction cooktop at our vacation home. Meanwhile, I would be waiting forever for a pot to boil for pasta or tea with the propane.
When I looked into it, the price could be thousands of dollars based on how far they needed to run the line. That’s too big of a bullet for me to bite and would definitely put us over budget. I can have them do an estimate, but based on my phone conversation with the gas company, it sounded like they weren’t likely to waive the fee to install a line just for a cooktop (the range is dual fuel, so the oven is electric.) Anyway, I did research on propane, and every article I read rated propane as a better cooking option than natural gas. According to several articles, it boils water faster and is more responsive to temperature control. I’ve never cooked with it, but I was encouraged by the articles and, frankly, it’s my only viable option.
As a (retired) national award-winning Certified Kitchen Designer for 40 years, your kitchen looks lovely. Questions (not shown on the renderings): Is the front panel for the dishwasher a 4DB24 (four drawer base 24″ False Front) to maintain symmetry with the 4DB24 to the left of the sink? ~Question #2: Did you ask to have a knob hole drilled on the hinged side of the double door wall cabinet in the corner (for looks only), with a “touch latch” attached to the opening side to maintain symmetry with the cabinetry on other side of the range? ~Question #3: Did you know that you can have the tall pantry doors reversed with 30 1/2″ full height base doors on the bottom and the taller doors at the top to give more of an armoire appeal? Question #4: Are the cabinet side ends paneled? If so, make sure any 24″ deep base or tall cabinet sides are paneled are double paneled side-by-side and (if you go with the armoire appeal), on the refrigerator side paneled to match the face of the armoire, vs a sheet of 3/4″ plywood. You are another detail-oriented artist, and you know how strongly details matter. ~ ~And finally Question #5 to consider: is the Crown molding on the wood hood enclosure the same as the wall and tall cabinetry? Since it is a different finish, it could be an opportunity to do a different style crown to keep the unit a focal point instead of a near-miss-matchy/matchy. Those are all available items for you to ponder and check with your designer at the kitchen studio.
Thank you and congrats to you on such a successful career. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and some questions. 1.) The current dishwasher isn’t actually paneled and is to the right of the sink. You might be looking at the drawers on the left side? I did order a panel, but it’s just a single panel to install when we do upgrade the dishwasher. 2.) I’m actually going to put pulls on the bottom, center of each cabinet to maintain symmetry. Since we’re ordering and installing our own cabinets, we’ll drill our own holes. The ones in the mock-up are just an example and not a representation of what we’re using. 3.) Oh, I didn’t know that, but that’s an interesting idea! 4.) We did not get the side panels. I looked into it and felt like it wasn’t really worth the expense. 5.) We ended up ordering the same crown molding that we’re using on the top of the cabinets and we are not using crown around the top of the room. We’re just going to use it on the cabinets and hood to make them more of a feature. I hadn’t considered using a different molding profile for the range hood, but that’s a good idea. We could always stack some smaller trim to give it a more impactful profile.
Again, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and observations. I was so afraid I would miss something obvious, but working with the kitchen designer made me more confident that we looked at how everything would open, would work together, and explored a few different options and layouts to come up with something that looked like my design but also functioned in the real world! 💙
Blessings to you! My successful career is due to the Lord. He deserves ALL the glory! #3, Reversing the tall pantry doors for the Armoire effect is usually a no-cost item from most cabinet companies. The horizontal interior partition then becomes structural at 341/2″ above the finished floor, so that works well for most people. Don’t forget to let the electrician know to locate the duplex outlet for it at about 42″ above the finished floor. Praying for a successful kitchen completion for your family!
PS/ I meant to type “your Electrician Dad.” If you do go ahead with the Armoire effect, perhaps Jeff could build a custom arched valance to dress the bottom of the cabinet at the toe space to give it a furtniture quality look. (Don’t do a straight solid bottom the toe kick space – I did in our Florida home next to the fridge, and kept stubbing my big toe on it. You’ve had enough foot problems). An arch will work nicely. Whatever you work out, please ask them for a pint can or two of their colored finish – in case Jeff wants to get crafty. They usually send a touch-up kit, and it’s just something you probably have in your supplies anyway. It’s one item that USPS and most carriers will not ship because of the toxicity, and most “make after orders” tagged on later end up in the bottom of the pile at the cabinet factory. Again, Blessings!
We added a pot filler over the cooktop and an outlet inside our pantry cabinet for the can opener. So handy. I laid out the island across from the dishwasher and I barely have to move to put the dishes and silverware away directly. Have fun making a kitchen from scratch!
Instead of a trash drawer you might want to consider a trash compactor. When we remodeled our kitchen I put one in our new kitchen and am so glad I did! We only have to take the garbage out once a week. It is once of the best things I did for our new kitchen!!!