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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Final Kitchen Plans

Since we signed off on our Kitchen Design last month we have been back to the kitchen company QN Designs about 3 times to confirm final measurements.
 
Final kitchen design signed and complete
Firstly, there wasn't enough room for our  fridge which meant the drawers beside the fridge had to be reduced so the fridge would fit. I was pretty upset about the drawers because it would mean I had nowhere to put  my pots and pans which is kind of crucial! So we tweaked it to make the fridge area smaller - fingers crossed the fridge doors will open OK or worse case scenario we might have to buy a new fridge!
 
We also squeezed room for the drawers by reducing the size of the microwave area - there are so many different microwaves on the market and they don't need such a huge space as they did years ago. I can live with a smaller microwave if it means I have more drawer space. Storage is my main goal in this design!
 
We made the glass cabinets over the oven bench bigger which means they should fit all my different wine and cocktail glasses. Every domestic goddess needs wine glasses within easy reach! 

Fridge cabinet and Glass overhead cabinets
Cooker bench - Drawers, oven and microwave cabinet
Onto the Island Bench in the centre, unfortunately this had to be reduced in size to allow enough room to walk around the kitchen. I'm not too happy that we have lost both bench top preparation space and drawer space in the Island Bench but there's not really much we can do about it. We have a small kitchen and maybe the Island Bench isn't the best design for a small space, but having all drawers instead of cupboards is what I see as the benefit to this Island Bench Vs L Shape Bench.
 
Island Bench
Over to the sink area, we have squeezed in a dual pull out bin which I'm really happy about - no more running into the laundry with my hands full of food trying to open the lid with the foot pedal while food falls everywhere! A bit of an extravagant extra at $450 but the convenience makes it worth the money.

We made the sink cupboard smaller so we could make the drawers on the end bigger - again with the extra storage - storage is my best friend in the kitchen!

This means we can only have a single basin sink which is fine because we'll have the bonus of having a dishwasher. The plumbing will be a bit tight under the sink with such a small cupboard but luckily we have a super star plumber friend who completely redid our bathroom plumbing and so this sink will be a piece of cake for him to install here's hoping!
 
Sink Bench - Drawers, dishwasher, cupboard and drawer bin
Finally, the pantry with the overhead cupboards we ended up making the pantry and overhead one cabinet so it looks like one unit. Then the overhead cupboard with the open shelving next to it will be set back slightly. This is because we don't want to cover the existing window. Hopefully you wont notice they are different depths.

The only other option we have is to reduce the depth of the pantry but this would mean less storage room for food etc which isn't really practical. Once I have some nice decor and cookbooks displayed in the open shelves that should distract the eye from the different cupboard depths and I don't think it will be too noticeable.
 
Pantry, overhead cupboards and open shelving
They are also making a pelmet to go over the top of all the cupboards to go to the ceiling height. We will then install the cornice ourselves. I don't like cupboards that stop short of the ceiling as you accumulate so much dust, oil and dirt and who wants to clean that? Not me!

Pelmets overhead of cabinets
 
So that's the final kitchen plans and I'm feeling pretty good about how it's turned out. The kitchen company have been really helpful trying to do the best they can to meet our needs and being patient while we tweak and make changes until we're absolutely happy with it. 
 
This week we will pay our first installment which is 40% of the total cost of the job so the cabinets can start being made. We are also being sent a schedule of works so we can see what we need to get done on our renovation action plan in time for the kitchen to be installed.
 
Stay tuned for more kitchen updates in the coming weeks!
 
[All images my own]
 

8 comments:

  1. Loving the design and how much thought you have put into it. I now have serious kitchen envy!

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  2. Love the design of your new kitchen. I agree with storage space being the most important! Need room for pots and pans.

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  3. I need more storage space! That is my dream if I ever get a new kitchen. And you are right about needing your wine glasses on hand ;)

    Annaleis - Blogs and PR Team Member

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  4. Michelle that looks amazing! You must be excited. In total agreement re: the pelmet above the kitchen cupboards - vital! They get so oily and gross otherwise. My mum also has an older kitchen and puts greaseproof or baking paper on top of her cupboards. You don't have to clean them then, you just have to chuck it in the bin! :) nice and easy. Can't wait to see how it progresses.

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  5. When we were building we actually made our floating bench into an L shape to get more storage and work bench space, but that was because we visited the same house as ours that another couple were living in and they suggested it! You're lucky to be able to make whatever changes you want, ours cost BIG bucks -Emily via Blogs and PR TUST :)

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  6. love it!!! can't wait to see it all done! very cool :)

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  7. Very exciting stuff! I love the idea of glass cabinets for the wine glasses ;)

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  8. Michelle, good luck with the new kitchen. You have put a lot of thought into it so I am sure it will turn out just great. Cheers

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