Kitchen Update - Part 2

[Another re-dated post. Originally written in June.]

Having determined that plan "A" wasn't going to work (see "Kitchen Update - Part 1"), we set to work on plan "B".

An option we had previous considered was moving the refrigerator and putting the washer & dryer in it's place.

This option involved building a cabinet/closet to enclose the washer/dryer. That seemed like a bigger project than plan "A". However, now that plan "A" was out, we reconsidered.

Of course replacing the fridge with the washer/dryer meant finding a new home for the fridge. The only easy option was the coat closet directly across the room from the fridge and using the coat closet space for something else was already on the table. (We had previously agreed that the front doors would be our main entrance which meant we didn't need a coat closet in our kitchen/dining room next to the "back" door.) In fact, we considered changing the coat closet into a washer/dryer closet and this likely would have been our first choice but for the amount of plumbing work it would have required.

However, we weren't sure if the fridge would really "fit" in this spot. Since a new home for the fridge was critical to plan "B", Bill took off the closet door and the framing around the closet and slid the fridge across the room. It looked GREAT! I don't have photos from back when he did this, but here's how it looks now.

Aesthetically, we much prefer the fridge in this location. Yeah, it totally violates the kitchen work triangle rules, but it tucks in so beautifully. (BTW - it turns out the old set-up violated the rules too - 2 of the 3 legs were too long. We simply completed the violation by making the 3rd leg too long as well.)

Next, Bill opened up everything from the corner across about 2/3 of the "east" wall. (These photos are from later in the process. You can see the water lines that have been moved over.)

While the plan was fairly straightforward in concept, there were LOTS of details to work out. To add to the fun, space was tight - in both directions. The "width" along the kitchen wall as well as the "depth" from the kitchen wall to the window frame. "Height" was no problem!

Some of the details included ...

New stove
Like many homes on Lopez, this one had an electric range and, of course, it was fairly new. Although we both have a bias for gas, we had decided to give it a try rather than run out and replace it. Well, now we needed electrical for the dryer and the easiest way to get that was to steal it from the stove.

Range hood
This kitchen didn't have a range hood - just a fan above the stove - plus, the stove wasn't centered under the fan. Our old house had a great range hood - beautiful and functional - which Bill had searched for and found (at a very good price). We decided to bring that range hood over and, if at all possible, to center the stove below it.

New freezer
This house didn't have a good place for our chest freezer and we wanted more freezer capacity than the fridge alone. We had thought about putting a freezer in coat closet, but since that was the new home for the fridge we needed another plan.

So, Bill went to work. He researched and bought a new gas range and a new under counter freezer. He made careful measurements, determined where each element would be placed along the wall and figured out that there was just barely an extra 6 inches - the space to replace a 24-in wide cabinet with a 30-in wide cabinet. He tracked down the 30-in cabinet and a new counter top to match the existing cabinetry and counter top (luckily it was all Ikea and all still available) and laid out the plan on green tape on the floor. (Another photo from later in the process.)

As usual with simple remodels, things had become much more complicated!