Hello, I want to know if there are any sites out there where I can post pics of my home, in this case my kitchen, & get peoples ideas on possible remodels? I want to know if it is possible to turn my kitchen into an open-floor layout, best placement for oven, etc. Thanks

There are many sites you can do that on just like you can post it here too if you wish. Part of the problem that your going to face is that kitchens are an individual space just like in most any home. As far as an open layout that is going to depend on how your home is built and what load bearing walls are near the area you want your dream kitchen to be.

I wish I could help. You can post pictures here! But you need a pretty reasonable knowledge of your house structure, specifically which walls are load bearing and which are not.

These days I see a lot of huge kitchens on TV shows, and I am dismayed! The fridge is 15' from the sink and cooktop or something. The old 'work triangle' is still my most important part, sink, cooktop (not oven) and fridge need to be within a triangle with 4' sides, 5' at most.

I don't like wasted corners, yet I don't like circular shelves either. I like a row of 12" deep wall cabinets on the FLOOR where those wasteful 24" deep base cabinets would have been.

I am only 5' tall. I have counters that are 33" high for the most part, and wish I had an area with a 28" high counter, for mixing things in bowls.

I have a spice shelf that runs 8 feet just under the wall cabinets.

I wish my oven were at a special height just for me: When the bottom rack is out, it would be level with the island across from it. I don't even have the island yet. Islands are also great for short people, for whom wall cabinets are just unreachable useless towers that need a ladder. So if you are short, have one row of cabinets that hang down much closer to the counter.

If you go to Houzz, you will find thousands of kitchen ideas. I just helped my son open a non bearing wall, made a 10X4 opening with a dining top. Found the idea on Houzz.
Houzz - Home Design, Decorating and Remodeling Ideas and Inspiration, Kitchen and Bathroom Design (http://www.houzz.com/)

Is it only after you post the question that you can add the images? I see how to add images here as I type this, but as I posted the initial question I could not find how to do that?.
joypulv, I am short, so your input is very much appreciated! And I agree on the wasted space with the 24" deep base cabinets-which is exactly what my kitchen has... unfortunately there is no room for an island, which I've always dreamed of having. I have a galley kitchen, I can touch both counters at the same time. & with the placement of the oven & cabinets above, I can not upgrade to a bigger fridge! I have a regular sized 2-door fridge (I suppose its small now looking at the new options) that is almost 3" to wide for my kitchen. Damn!
ma0641- I have heard of houzz & will continue looking there, I am somewhat an unimaginative person I think because I have a hard time taking those concepts & picturing them in my kitchen.
I think I will post pics later, see what you guys think then. Thank you!

I still have a galley kitchen (but I can't reach across) and I took out the 24" corners. I put a wall cabinet on the floor on the 'wasted' wall, on a 2.5" base, and a shallow counter made out of wood, that is slightly lower than the big counters.

One of the best investments many people can make is a new fridge. Freezer on the bottom is much more efficient, as is the rest of the technology, and we saved $35/mo on electric right from the start. I got a good deal from Home Depot on an LG 33" wide.

joypulv you have some great ideas!
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So I have attempted to add some pics here. The wooden cabinets on both sides entering into the kitchen are something I would like to get rid of, however I am not sure how it'd look taking them out & I am SO limited with food storage- really need more. Then if you look at the "dining room" area, how am I supposed to fit a table in their comfortably? Even more so I wanted a hutch but there's just no room. You can see how I don't have the room for a better fridge, unless I cut into the counters but how would that turn out? Before I go on I want to see if the pics loaded...

Screen just says 'attachment no longer available.'

I bought graph paper pads at I think a CVS and drew top view floor plans, one square = 4". Include the thickness of interior walls, and where the outlets are.

Huh attachments work on my end so I don't know what to do. The graph paper is a great idea, & I already have some I got for backyard planning. It's just the appliance placement & food storage that has me stumped. I'll try a pic at a time... 47432

still can't see it

bluepersonality, instead of 'attaching; the pictures, can you use the following directions for 'posting' the pictures. The difference is that the pictures will show up in the post instead of a link. Thank you.


1. At the bottom of the box that you type in there's a link that says "go advanced". Click it.

2. A paperclip symbol will show up on the top option on the box that you type in. Click the paperclip.

3. A new box will pop up called "manage your attachments".

4. Hit the "browse" button.

5. Find the picture you want to post and double click on it.

6. Hit the "upload" button beside the browse button.

7. Under the section "Upload file from a URL", a link will appear. That's your picture.

8. Close the manage attachments window.

9. Click on the paperclip again. Your link for your picture will be there. Click on it.

10. Post.

You can post up to 5 pictures per post.

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Thank you Cat1864, if that worked you should now be able to see my kitchen in all its ugly glory, in large pics. *shutter*... let the ideas pour in!

It's cute the way it is... depends on how many of you in the house (beside the dog)!
Do you wish you could take down the wall between the kitchen and living room? How thick is it?

2 of us in the house, its supposed to be 3, but ex wife is being a pain... but I digress...
Oh yessss I really would love to open it up into the living room. I don't know yet where the supporting beams are but that wall is about 8".
How can I get a bigger fridge in there? How can I incorporate more storage for food? Is an actual dining room possible?
I have day dreamed of extending the outer wall outside so I can fit an island into the center, but that may be pushing it a bit huh...

I mean the wall with the ivy. It would be about 4.5" thick if a bearing wall or an inch less if not - usually, but not always. Where is it 8"?

Sure, a dining room, by moving the microwave and water and putting a drop leaf table against the wall. You can get more counter space for things like the microwave by taking out the pine cabinets and extending out another foot, but they are cute and it's nice to have the glass doors.
Extending through an exterior wall is pushing it, and the hard part is foundation and roof, even if you get a beam across. I don't see an island in the cards.
What's in the next room past the fridge? Could part of that be a pantry?

What is the room to the left of the kitchen and is there a door in it? From the pictures it looks to be a washroom ? If so then maybe part of that space can be repurposed.

I guess I'll have to measure the wall when I get home...
I am kind of wishy washy on the pine cabinets. I like the amount of storage they have, however I'd like if they were facing the same way as the other kitchen cabinets & no matter how much I scrub it never really feels clean. The people who lived there before were kind of dirty. I've just replaced things here & there because of it. We're getting ready to rip up carpet & add hard wood flooring...
Anyway. As for the room past the kitchen, on the side with the fridge is the hot water heater, but I could probably fit some more storage in there once I get the washer & dryer set up right. It's not much however.
I think you are right on with the one wall though. I am pretty sure it is a load bearing wall. If it works out I may open it & put a beam up for support.
What are you thinking for the larger fridge setup? Tricky right? Or am I just not creative enough...

I am not a fan of wide sinks. No more than single bowl, 25", in a 27" cabinet, for me. That would move your dishwasher over and give you room for another cabinet.
I'm not a fan of stoves right next to fridges. Hot next to cold! Put a cabinet on either side of the stove. Then you can have a wider fridge.
Put an open shelf on nice brackets under most of the cabinets. I can't even reach your first shelf in your cabinets. It will add a lot of shelf space for dishes used every day.
I have a tiny shelf all the way across for spices.

joypulv I like the way you think. Do you think it would be worth the cost & hassle to put a fan above the stovetop? I hate not having one there, is it worth it?
5 7/8 is the wall
So if it were your project you would remove the cabinetry & install new, placing the stove in between 2 cabinets, with a larger fridge in the same spot as the current one. You would install a smaller sink adding an extra cabinet on the side, keeping the dishwasher in the same spot. Am I seeing your vision?
Now that we know that is a load bearing wall, would you open it up, or make do?
The cabinets above the dishwasher, I was thinking about doing floating shelving there instead: if I did this 1 would that look good and 2 would it need to be done on the opposite side?
joypulv, thank you so much for this

I asked about the other room because from what your saying it can be converted into extra kitchen space. Also depending on what is on the outside of that room and egress you might be able to build a small attatchment outside to put your water heater in.

That being said you might consider an over / under washer dryer unit and be able to move that wall over another 3 ft. the corner room where the door is may be able to accomedate a small table and you can flow the kitchen into that area.

By moving things around you might get enough room to move your microwave into the kitchen and combine that space with a range hood.

cdad, the idea of moving the water heater outside is an idea I very much like, however, there is also cement in the same cubby as the water heater, I'm not sure how much but I think it may be an old chimney. It'll be some time before we get a new washer & dryer, but I will consider the over under option, however will that work well with one of short stature? If I ever get some help, I think the washer & dryer will both sit against the far wall side by side just fine, if so I bet I could fit a typical shelving unit in there, & I don't use the door that leads outside that's in there either so really I could fit 2 in there- bam! Pantry! :)
I wonder if its possible to set up one of those microwave over the oven set ups? But I still have to think about my short stature. Last thing I want to do is dump something hot onto myself.

Yes to moving cabinets etc, except move the dishwasher left, with a smaller sink cab, and add a cab to the right of the dishwasher.
Take down bearing wall: not so bad, but it means propping up the ceilings on either side with temp plates and studs. It means a beam across, and knowing how deep it has to be, an engineering question dependent on what is above (whole house) and off to the sides (a good contractor will know how deep). It will easily add $1,000 to the job.
Open shelf under cabinets: plan what you will be putting on the counters that might be too tall to fit under them, and leave open. Some people want perfect symmetry; I don't.
I agree with everyone about using the adjacent tiny room for storage, such as a pantry. It could just be wire racks.
I don't use a range hood. I no longer vent anything into ceilings because I have seen too much heat loss in winter. I won't even vent a dryer to the outside, and people have to shower with the door open. But if you do a lot of frying, put in a hood. I'm thinking of inventing a fine mesh screen to hang over my cooktop, and just washing it when it gets dirty. I have a tiny battery powered fan for blowing vapor out of the kitchen when I'm boiling pasta. Helps add humidity in winter. I don't do much cooking in summer.
My ideal kitchen has 3 heights of counters (I have 2 now). I don't care how it looks. I like to cook and am all about practical and what I want without costing a lot.

I would also suggest that if you have big box stores near you to visit them as they usually have kitchens already set up in the store and you can test them for size.

I agree with joy in that every project is as individual as the person that the space is for. For now advance research is your best friend. When you start getting down to the nuts and bolts of it you should have a good idea of how your going to represent the project and yourself within it.

I like my microwave at counter height so I can peer in it and so that lifting in and out is neither too high nor too low. As I get shorter, I'd like it a bit lower!

You can also consider some kitchen remodelling ideas at FabFurnish - modular kitchen solutions (http://www.fabfurnish.com/furniture/modular-kitchen/) to remodel your kitchen