The Kitchen: the issues and the plan

So, you know now that we are doing our big kitchen project, and I am happy to say that things are already on their way. But, I first wanted to share with you why we are making some changes in the kitchen.

Here is how the kitchen looks now.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way our kitchen is now when you first glance at it. It looks great, and we feel lucky to live in a small twin home and have a large eat-in kitchen. But, the reality is, this kitchen is not very functional. We have lived here for almost 3 years and very slowly I have become annoyed with how difficult it is to function in this kitchen. I remember when Rob mentioned this past summer making some changes in the kitchen and I thought he was crazy. But, then the more I thought about it and paid attention to my frustrations, I realized he was right.

Issue #1: Lack of usable counter space.

Our kitchen has 2 main work areas- where the sink is, and where the stove is. The counterspace next to the sink is usually taken up by our drainboard, which, even in my best efforts not to have it out all the time, pretty much has a permanent home there next to the sink. Even with a dishwasher, we need to use a drainboard. So- no counterspace is really left except maybe to pour a glass of water. The area by the stove is ok, although with the toaster and other various things taking up room, there is not much space left to work with. Plus, the area by the phone is always junked up with stuff- keys, mail, etc. I hate this, but I am not sure there is anything I can do about it. So, then there is this large piece of counterspace in the far corner of the kitchen (see above picture) that would be great to be able to use but because of its location, it can't be. We had the kitchen cart from our apartment when we were first married, and this is probably what we end up using more than any other counterspace. Which is honestly ridiculous.

Issue #2: The things that are stored in the large cabinet space in the corner are not easily accessible.

Therefore, I end up getting VERY frustrated every time I try and take a cookie sheet out of the cabinet. This results in less baking of cookies, which makes Rob very upset. I end up having to move chairs around, and sometimes even pushing the table out of the way to get things out of this cabinet.

Issue #3: It is all very awkward with the table, corner cabinet, and kitchen cart.

We love this table. In fact, we just posted it on Craigslist and are a little sad about it because it is such a great table, but the truth is, it just doesn't work in here. More counterspace is more inportant than a sit down table. Plus we have our dining table just a few feet away in the dining room. If 4 people eat at the kitchen table, we have to pull it out from the window so that person can actually sit down.

So, with all that said, the plan is to remove the above three things- getting rid of the table completely, making a large kitchen island in the center of the kitchen, and also getting rid of the kitchen cart. We are planning to put a shelf under the pot rack so that I still have some space to put things that are now on top of the corner cabinet and kitchen cart.

Sorry this post is somewhat long and boring. We are going to Ikea this afternoon to pick up a few things, so I will have an update for you later as we have begun tackling this project this past weekend. Stay tuned!