by Jan Rutgers
As an educator, I feel it is important for me to continue to design and implement kitchen projects so I understand what is truly happening in the marketplace.
These private design projects also give me the opportunity to share my design process with my followers and students, illustrating how it works with real projects.
The following is a recent project that highlights my design process, providing my client with the perfect renovation for them.
I followed my process starting with a needs assessment with the client, moving to design development options for them, and ending with the final perfect design.
This process has never failed me!
Read on to see how this greatroom kitchen was reimagined.
The Project to Be Updated
Around the early 2000’s many new home plans included a greatroom layout with the kitchen open to the dining and living spaces.
This was a layout many homeowners wanted in their new home but the house planners and builders didn’t always get it right.
In this kitchen case study I’ll walk you through the new design developed for a home that updated their original greatroom design.
Existing Kitchen
The existing kitchen was part of an “open concept” space, but it had multiple functional and flow issues.
The layout of the kitchen was a modified U-shape with the corners angled.
This configuration produced a kitchen that allowed only one person to comfortably work in the kitchen at a time.
For the size of the greatroom, the existing kitchen felt cramped into a corner.
And while there seemed to be a good amount of drawers in the kitchen, all the angles made them difficult to access.
You had to be very careful when pulling out a drawer so that it did not hit the cabinet beside it.
After meal clean-up was difficult in this design.
When the dishwasher was open, it cut off access to the sink, making it impossible to rinse dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.
In the cooking zone, the area felt cramped with the low hanging microwave hood and the unbalanced counter space either side of the range.
The homeowners also found the hood portion of the microwave was insufficient for the gas range top.
Finally the intrusive corner wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the greatroom was an irritant.
These walls were not load bearing and cut into the angled ceiling, taking away from the spaciousness a vaulted ceiling should bring to a space.
The Wish List
Now that I knew the problems with this existing layout, it was time to look at the client’s wish list.
These were their priorities for the renovation:
- Improve the overall flow of the kitchen
- Plan an island in the design
- Develop a design that accommodates multiple cooks
- Include 2 ovens if possible
- Increase refrigerator/freezer space
- Position the microwave at a safer location
- Include some pantry space to supplement the existing walk-in pantry
- Consider the function of each cabinet and don’t include corners
- Include a recycle center
- Find space for entertaining supplies
- Sneak in a stool for mom opposite the main dining bar
- Highlight the vaulted ceiling better
- Provide better access to the outside deck door
The Options
In most of my design packages, I provide options called design directions for my clients.
This allows for “no-regrets”.
If we explore all the options at the beginning, the client doesn’t second guess their final layout decision.
For this project, I provided 4 layout options for the clients to consider.
After presenting these 4 layout options to the client, we decided to narrow in on a hybrid.
Option C was the overall winner with the 48″ wide range shown in Option D a new must have.
At the beginning of the design process, the clients believed they would have to do a stacked double oven with a cooktop to get two ovens in their kitchen.
I suggested a 48″ range, which included a large oven and a 1/2 sized oven and it was the perfect choice for this family.
Additional things that they liked in Option C were the angled dining bar, the long built in seat in the dining room, and using the whole wall against the stairwell for storage.
The Final Design
The final design met all the wish list items.
First, the overall flow of the kitchen was improved with the addition to a large island.
This kitchen layout works for multiple cooks with 4 distinct work areas. At the sink, perpendicular to the sink, beside the fridge/freezer and at the range.
The 48″ wide range provided the double ovens and the bonus of 6 gas burners and a griddle.
A 36″ refrigerator column and a 24″ freezer column would provide the family with all the cold storage they would need and the microwave is now placed at a safe height, convenient to items coming from the fridge or freezer.
The tall cabinet that houses the microwave also provided that bit of pantry storage inside the kitchen as requested.
The wall and base cabinetry to the right of the refrigeration became the perfect spot to store entertaining supplies and the perfect place to set up a wine/coffee bar or desert buffet!
The island provided a lot of the wish list items.
A 24″ wide recycling center found a home to the right of the sink.
Mom got her designated stool location on the end of the island so she could grab a seat at any time and keep an eye on everything.
Under the dining bar off the back side of the island, 3 storage cabinets, at 3 different depths were specified for lots of extra storage.
And the shape of the island provided better traffic flow to the deck door, which is located in the dining space.
By providing a bench seat at the end of the dining room, the table could be pushed closer to that end wall, giving much more room to access the door to the outside deck.
The new orientation of the kitchen, the removal of the “L-shaped” wall and the building of a new wall at the stairwell really took advantage of the spectacular vaulted ceiling.
This renovation now has a true greatroom!
Check out the finished kitchen below.
Working on projects like this are a great creative outlet and I love to see the transformation.
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And of course, if you have any questions or comments about this project leave me a comment below.
Jan Rutgers is a Professional Kitchen Designer with more than 25 years experience. During her career she has designed over 1000 kitchens learning valuable skills with each one! She is the founder of VESTABUL SCHOOL OF DESIGN where she educates and mentors people passionate about the Kitchen Design Industry.
