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All Things Renovation
My Brother’s River House: How We Designed Their Kitchen Cabinets For Function, Ease And Storage
Welcome to the episode where I answer your most burning-nest question: Where is your brother going to put his Tupperware, XL oven mitts, and Vitamix?? Kitchens need to be first and foremost HIGHLY functional for the needs of the specific family, so as we were all designing the cabinetry I did the exercise that I like to do for all new construction cabinetry – place EVERY. SINGLE. THING. After doing this multiple times (first Portland Project, then the mountain house, then the farmhouse), I feel like I have a decent grasp on what should be within an arm’s reach and what is ok to walk a few steps for (more than you think). Is going drawer by drawer overkill? I don’t think so. And it’s honestly SO MUCH FUN because you get to fantasize about your life there. I usually take the cabinet maker’s drawings (what you’ll see below – NOT AN ACTUAL DESIGN PLAN) and I plug it into Keynote and overlay my text over each drawer and cupboard (aka nothing fancy). I think it just makes you feel really confident that you are designing the kitchen for YOUR cooking purposes.
Where Is The Kitchen In This House?
We wrote a floor plan post that shows you how the whole house was laid out last week, but as you can see above, the kitchen is smack in the middle of the house with a ton of circulation around it, with a bar on the window side and the pantry tucked slightly out of site. It has a nice large island with the sink across from the range wall.
Now before you judge too hard and balk at the design THESE ARE THE CABINET MAKERS DRAWINGS. Meaning, none of the design is in here, including the hardware, wood tone, stone, tile, etc. These are JUST for the cabinet makers to approve the layout and the measurements and not a design plan.
Kitchen: Lower Cabinets Island And Bar
I have a few philosophies to consider (if doing new cabinetry and plumbing).
- Kids’ stuff should be low and in drawers and near the dishwasher if possible.
- Your dishwasher and garbage/compost should flank the sink (if it’s on the island or the same cabinetry run) but which side they land on doesn’t matter. I’m right-handed, I’ve had them on both sides and you just adapt, very very quickly. Sure, you might have a slight preference, but I think proximity to dishes from the dishwasher is more of a consideration (but barely). Of course, what you don’t want is to have a clearance problem or a traffic flow problem (too many people on top of each other because all the main functions are too close) but after years of stressing about which side these two elements should go, I’m happy to say they are both fine!
Kitchen: Range Wall And Back Of Island
Now their kitchen is certainly a lovely size, but once you forget the bar area (which is all beverage fridges and pebble ice) then they really only have the island cabinetry (which houses sink plumbing) and the range wall. Thus we needed to have upper cabinets (which we are executing more like hanging cupboards OVER the tile when it’s installed. OH AND DISREGARD the uppers in the first opener shot, we had to redo them as the wood around the inside came too thick). I took a stab at putting stacks of matching plates and bowls up there, maybe glassware, and then at the top pretty serving bowls (that will be harder to reach but doable). We have since added shelving above the bar for glassware because it didn’t make sense to me to not have your glassware near your indoor/outdoor bar.
The Pantry: Food And Extra Appliances
I deeply encouraged them to have a medium-sized kitchen, with a separate pantry for all the food, mess, and random stuff. I have LOVED having the pantry be a place where I can shove stuff until I have time to clean (specifically when people are over). It’s definitely a luxury, but if you are designing a house with a decent amount of square footage now a more medium-sized kitchen with a separate pantry room (butler’s pantry?) is a great thing to think about. We all really love some of the same things that we have in ours, including the pull-out canned goods drawer and the deeper food drawers with half exposed (this allows you to put potatoes, onions, and garlic in there should you want to). Like so!
FYI since this shoot we have turned the upper shelves (above the drawers) into more oil and snack storage (less serveware).
Now their fridge is not small (it’s 30″ wide, side by side) but they still figured having an additional fridge/freezer nearby is a good idea (think “garage fridge” but in your pantry). Certainly not necessary, but also remember that we were designing during 2021, lockdown food prep time, and the idea of having enough food in your fridge for 10 days felt like a necessity rather than a luxury.
They have plenty of space in here, but knowing where they are putting their extra appliances and making sure they will fit was fun. And I’m not sure if that is a microwave or a steam oven, FYI (I’m not involved in the entire project and didn’t get the appliances sponsored so not sure). Our goal with these cabinet posts is to help those of you designing your own (aka not with an interiors or a kitchen designer) to get more ideas and feel more confident in your decisions. If only we could do this with all the stuff our kids bring into our house every day :)
*Thanks to Annie Usher, the architect on this project, and Max Humphrey co-designing! We’ll link up the cabinet maker when we are done with the project! Shout out to JP Macy of Sierra Custom Construction
*Opening Image Credit: Photo by Kaitlin Green
I think also if your brother hosts watch parties for games a lot (hosting requires so much fridge space!) they will love the extra fridge.
I, for one, love these kinds of posts. But it was a little hard to follow the diagrams because the top labels often went to the bottom cabinet/drawer and vice versa. It would have been easier if they were labeled in the same order as you experience them in the kitchen.
Love seeing these details! Any chance you know the approximate dimensions of the pantry?
Very helpful. We are about to meet with the cabinet maker so very timely for me. Can you tell me what the island dimensions are? Thanks.
This is so amazing! So well thought out and so helpful! Cannot wait to see it come together! For reference, can we know the kitchen and pantry dimensions?
I love seeing these kinds of posts – though I will admit I’m completely opposite on so much of this layout. Reminds me that we are all individuals and I’m so happy with my own kitchen!
I feel the same way! I was surprised by how many different decisions I would have made.
Which I feel like is exactly why I love the premise of the post. Kitchen design should put the emphasis on how YOU are going to use YOUR kitchen. I fully support laying out everything in advance. I’m going to take a lot of these process points to heart when we eventually redo our cabinetry.
Funny – my mom HATES how I lay out my kitchens (I’ve remodeled 3 of them now) and I get super confused in hers. And I grew up in her house! Everyone is unique, that’s for sure. One tip is to make sure your drawers are deep enough for whatever you want to put in them too. Nothing worse than spending all of that money thinking your pot will go in one drawer and it doesn’t fit.
So fun! I think this is one of the most important/fun parts of designing a new kitchen – making sure it will function for the homeowners. I know you mentioned they host a lot and aren’t big home cooks. This looks a perfect set up for that.
Also, curious to know more about the cabinets being hung on top of the tile!
I love these kind of practical thought processes! I’ve been mulling on our own kitchen design, as well as that of an investment property we own – browsing kitchen forums, going through what designers have to say about planning guidelines as well. I seem to be a bit of an odd duck when it comes to how I use the kitchen, so I’m glad to have a chance to design from scratch for myself! For example, everyone talks about putting the trash beside the sink, but I prep (and therefore want the trash) right next to the stove – chopping and stirring and adding ingredients without having to move between prep and stovetop.
I agree! I like having the trash can by my prep island and nearer the stove, which is across the (small) kitchen from my sink.
I agree that it’s ideal to have garbage/compost near the prep area. One thing to point out is that it should also be near the eating area. I’ve been in many high functioning kitchens with garbage not set to the sink, but my parent’s kitchen has the garbage near their prep area which also puts it on the opposite side of the room from the eating area. So to clear a plate, you have to: walk past the sink, past the dishwasher, scrape the plate, go back to the sink to rinse, then back to the dishwasher to put it away. It’s a full zigzag through the space (x7 to clear the table!), and it drives me insane!
I was thinking about the trash and wondering why a second wasn’t added to the beverage wall. I think about kids or guests needing to throw away scraps or other stuff as you’re prepping or cleaning up, and I would not want to clutter the sink area. I love these kinds of posts because, without seeing that spot, I don’t think it would have crossed my mind.
Our large kitchen and island layout had specific non-negotiable structural issues, so I solved the trash issue by designing two cabinet trash pull outs (trash and recycling), one closer to the fridge and stove and one next to the main sink and dishwasher. It was completely worth the investment and makes working in the kitchen much more intuitive and convenient! Something to consider….
My cabinet right next to the stove is where I do prep on a large cutting board. That same cabinet has a drawer at the top, where I hang a plastic bowl to catch the cutting trash. It is so handy.
What about the cutting boards ?
They are with the oven sheets to the right of the garbage pullouts
Thank you for sharing kitchen layouts! I find this fascinating and love seeing the variety of ways people layout and organize their kitchens.
Emily, I see the coffee/tea station is similar to the farmhouse where it’s located in the pantry without a sink nearby. I love the idea of having it tucked away, but in my mind, it also seems incredibly annoying to have to walk back to the main kitchen area for more water or to rinse out the coffee maker. I’m curious, what has your experience been with your coffee station tucked in the pantry, and do you wish you had a sink closer to it?
So there is a pebble fridge, 2 refrigerated drawers, and a large fridge in the kitchen and another large fridge in the pantry? That is a lot of appliances that have an average life of 8-12 years. Something to consider when building – average refrigerator life is not long.
I agree with this. I sorta get the appeal of refrigerated drawers if you are building an entertainment area on another floor from the main kitchen. But, in the kitchen just feels like extra for extra’s sake. But these, and the pebble ice makers, seem to be the hot thing for brand new luxe kitchens. It just drives up the cost to me, but I respect that large families who entertain have different needs. Of course I remember when warming drawers were new and everyone had to have them…. seems to have gone away?
We ended up getting a counter top pebble ice maker that I think is the same as Emily’s, but not built in and much less expensive. My husband didn’t like the built in one, because you had to reach in for the ice as opposed to pull a drawer out. Everyone loves it, so we’re happy with it, but I agree a built in is a big expense.
Love it! How much walk space is in between the pantry cabinets/what do you recommend?
+ thanks for the layout tips!
Does your brother have pets? The half drawers are nice, but I know some hungry animals who would love nothing more than to tear into delicious, easily accessible bags of people food.
So fun to think about functional design- I’m renting an unrenovated 1940s house, and the kitchen is… fine. Plenty of cupboards, but very little workspace (I fantasize about blocking off a door and adding counter across it.)
For this kitchen it looks like there is a single drawer for spices? Madness! I could fill that whole upper cabinet just with my spice collection. I have my spices and pantry supplies at eye level so I can read all the labels, and I have plates in a lower cab because I can just grab whichever is on top.
Different kitchens for different cooks!
I first saw the whole refrigerator in the pantry thing when Sarah Sherman Samual first moved back to MI and remodeled the kitchen, explaining that apparently in Europe inconvenient refrigerators is totes the norm and visually its nicer. I’m still skeptical that it’s “fine” for anyone who actually cooks to be hauling things around the corner all the time. (mind you in her case that was the ONLY fridge.). This scenario has me skeptical for a different reason – how on earth do you sort what is in which fridge? Most garage fridges I know are the “beer fridge” or used for extra holiday foods. If that’s the case here is it just supporting Costco style shopping? Not AT ALL judging the choice here for this family, just skeptical that I would do it is all. Fridge aside, I AM a convert to the idea of a large pantry separate from a medium kitchen and I think Emily’s advice here is solid. Although I keep considering old houses that used to just have small informal kitchens and formal eating rooms. Now we’re all so used to uber casual eat-in kitchens we’re just re-creating a new informal concept with the oversized… Read more »
Yeah, especially if she said they are not big home cooks… what is getting stored in fridge #2? I have two kids and am a big home cook and find one fridge to be sufficient. My bigger concern is 100% a me problem, which is that my unfortunate tendency to let leftovers go bad in the fridge would only be doubled with this extra resource, haha
re: what goes in what fridge. Purely hypothetically (since I currently rent a 1/1 with my husband), but as someone who cooks frequently, I would have fresh produce dominate the “main” fridge – that’s the stuff I need to be super aware of! plus pre-packed meals, and “finishers” for cooking (sauces, citrus, miso, etc.) A second fridge would be for drinks (juice, infused water, kombucha, protein shakes, iced tea & coffee…we love a beverage). I’d probably put meats in the main freezer to pull them out to defrost alongside any complementary produce, and more quick meals in the secondary freezer by the microwave.
One of the best columns ever! Thank you for delineating the contents of every drawer and cabinet! So smart and practical. We have had 14 homes, three of which we designed the kitchen. Had I done this, I think my kitchen would be close to perfection. I have a pantry but miss having an appliance garage and a planned bar area.
Again, thank you for this informative and helpful article with illustrations!!
We planned a baking area and it gets a lot of use.
I love these detailed posts and I followed your advice about doing a kitchen census before we moved out and then unpacking on paper after the drawings came back. It was brilliant – I unpacked and put away the entire kitchen (v. similar in size and layout to this btw) in one day and 18 months later have only moved one thing to a new cabinet.
So they are having two refrigerators and two fridge drawers?
Love organization posts! Do wonder though, how it will work out to have the main sink directly across for the oven/stovetop? Is there enough room for someone to be at the stove while someone else is using the sink? And if the dishwasher door is open (As they tend to be during busy kitchen times), it will be hard for someone at the stove to get to the fridge can other areas of the kitchen. I might consider switching the dishwasher to the other side of the sink. Not sure what to do about placement of stove directly behind the sink….
Excellent point on the placement of the dishwasher!
I think you can do sink and range back to back, but I’d recommend at least a 4-5′ aisle. In the plan shown, it doesn’t look like they have that much space – looks more like the standard 42″.
I totally agree with this comment. The two work zones need space for people to move around easily.
Why do you say you shouldn’t bunch work spaces together and then you put the oven right across from the sink?
Nerded out over this post! When my husband and I designed our kitchen back in 2019, we did this exercise to the fullest extent, too! We did IKEA cabinet boxes and went as far as to bring our pots and pans to the store to ensure they fit the way we wanted. We also taped the footprint of some drawers on the floor to place things “inside” and make sure they worked. This allowed our kitchen to work EXTRA hard for us, as it’s not huge. It’s been great for 5 years, but now we have a toddler and are having to reevaluate some of our drawer “assignments” (THE CUPS these kids need OMG), so I’d say one tip is to consider how your kitchen needs might change/adapt over the years in your initial planning. Kids change a lot, but also so does introducing new small appliances or coffee hobbies (lots of tools there…).
So, Amazing and very helpful ideas and innovation.
I feel that this is a step that is forgotten in new builds. My mom did this when she renovated her kitchen. Every space was designed for the type of work she did. For example: Her baking zone has a lower countertop to fit the industrial mixer, as well as for kneading and shaping bread dough. All the baking equipment and ingredients are close by. The zone for washing dishes is perpendicular to where the dishes are stored. Everything was thought out and it is a very intuitive kitchen to work in. I actually stole some of that design when we built our house.