Main House Cogitating

Most stories encounter some problems in the middle. Promising start, not a bad ending, but nagging difficulties in the middle that we hope the reader doesn't get hung up thinking about. Robinson Crusoe--great beginning and he gets rescued in the end. The author has to work hard in the middle to convey the boredom and routine and yet be exciting enough to keep us from wondering why he couldn't have been rescued sooner, since it's just a story.

House designs are the same way. A single design can't solve everything without leaving some oddness that we hope people won't be too critical of. 

The house needs storage--entry closet (winter coats, umbrellas); linens (sheets, towels, comforters); vacuum, broom, mops; and pantry items.

I'm happy with the idea of a fairly formal room off the living room, convenient to the kitchen, to be used as an office for a family therapist, architect, lawyer, who sometimes sees clients at home. This room could be restaged for a party or even a couch surfer.

I like the idea of using the breezeway as the dining room. If we don't expand the breezeway (and new roof and foundation would be $$), then the path from the kitchen to the new dining area has to be through a dark inner part of the house. I think we need a butler's pantry there. Pantry shelves and a closet for mops and brooms. The tile floor of the kitchen would continue into it.

I think the remodel needs to end up with a tub, but I want a walk-in shower, darn it. This plan gives BR2 a full bath and lets me have a walk-in shower in the en suite. 

I studied how I use the laundry and concluded that it has only two deficiencies: I have no place to put soap, softener, bleach, and so on; and it could be closer to linen storage. The laundry is only related to the two bedrooms.

The problems I hope no one obsesses over are:

• The refrigerator has no counter adjacent and it's too far from the sink. This is partly mitigated by water in the door
• The butler's pantry is a little awkward, but I'm hoping that a French door-sized window will make it more attractive ("walk toward light," Sarah Susanka says) and I haven't thought much about traffic in the breezeway.
• For the bed to use that wall, I have to shrink the closet door. So, I made it an open alcove. Now I'm thinking a hinged bookcase might be cool for potential buyers--put your jewels here.
• I didn't worry about the TV in the living room for now; there are several good options possible.
• I'm not thrilled with looking directly into BR1 from the front door, but we can do things with the framed opening to make it clear that the bedroom hall is private space--dropped soffit, subdued lighting and I'm thinking of carpet or maybe a long runner.

Kitchen Scheme #2

Wing's Visual Handbook includes 21 of the 31 rules from the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA).

Sum of the work triangle is 14' (less than 26'). Sides are 6', 4', 4' (in range 4' to 9'). The tall cabinet next to the refrigerator does not separate work centers. No traffic crosses the triangle. The work aisle is 48". The traffic walkway is at least 36".

Clearance at the dishwasher is too tight--NKBA wants 21" from dishwasher door to center of corner sink.

Positives: 

• Tight work triangle, out of traffic
• Corner sink meets corner window
• Cantilever pop-out for refrigerator is clever; takes place of greenhouse window
• Coffee service (on right) and in refrig door water stays out of cook's way

Negatives:

• Open to Office, but only a doorway; no Living Room TV view
• Area to the right--the Laundry--still unresolved
• Moving the range means vent goes through roof, visible from street
• Dishwasher is tight
• Lots of unusable counter space in corners; too little where it's needed
• View from Office to Kitchen is of tall cabinet
• Cook at sink or stove with fan could probably not hear call from Dining Room

The struggle continues

Not on my watch

January 2015. I didn't like the juniper, but the yard looked okay.

2019: A gardener got agressive trimming it back

The street side was hacked

 

Hacked, see?

2021: I bought new clippers and finished it

I left some grips for leverage...

...but I didn't need all of them

Almost gone

This was the goal.

Strange Ideas

I feel like I'm kneading clay, or arranging and rearranging wildflowers. I'm not sure what this remodel should be.

Maybe I don't build a second floor apartment, just a real garage and move the dining room into the breezeway. Maybe I just rebuild the roof over the west wing to include a proper attic for storage. 12:12 pitch gable, for example. Pull-down stairs in the garage.

In Bath 1, I only showed a tub because, you know, resale. But I want a shower. It doesn't have to be curb-less--I could step over a 3" curb. I like a fixed glass divider instead of a glass door compartment.

I've been focused on the kitchen recently, and it could not be more obvious--a range saves money and cabinet space compared to a cooktop and a wall oven. On the other hand, the cooktop and wall oven...what? What the heck is the advantage? The fact that the oven is at a more convenient height just isn't compelling. Then there's the microwave drawer. I like the new new thing, but an OTR (over-the-range) microwave, like I have now, saves money and cabinet space. Wall microwaves waste a lot of space and you end up with a weird aspect ratio to the oven volume. I really like the sink I like (or something like it)--Kohler Prolific Workstation Sink (K-5540), so we'll use that.

The new kitchen has a lot going for it:

• Kohler Workstation Sink
• Induction Cooktop
• Counter at corner window
• Full-depth refrigerator doesn't protrude
• New stainless steel range, microwave, dishwasher
• Coffee, soda, ice and water in door, all out of the way of cooking
• Quartz counter wall-to-wall at the sink
• 12x24 slate-like porcelain tile floor
• Framed view of living room TV; open to home office

Pretend the broom closet is more flush with the refrigerator

French door refrigerator with extra drawers

Samsung NE63B8611SS

Handle design matches refrigerator

I'm thinking we could use matching Ikea wall cabinets and reuse the existing base cabinets, doors, drawers , and cup pulls below the counter.

Kohler K-5540 Prolific Workstation Sink

IKEA Kitchen

IKEA generally offers smart, clever solutions for household problems. On the downside, with kitchens in particular, home buyers tend to see "dorm room cheap." So, we may not end up with an Ikea kitchen, but from an efficiency perspective, the slightly smaller European sizes might suggest better designs, and the lower cost allows us to do a studs-out remodel rather than trying to reuse existing cabinets.

Cabinets are generally SEKTION system with a wide choice of doors. ENHET is the new system.

There are lots of door/drawer styles, so we'll organize by the cost of a 15 x 30 door:

HAVSTORP "Turquoise" $21 for 15x30

Lower Cost - $21-$57 for 15x30

VEDDINGE Flush White; HAVSTORP Beige/Teal Flush; ASKERSUND Flush Horiz Grain, like plywood, light/dark; ENKÖPING White/Wood Frame; BODARP Flush Green; STENSUND Bead Board Like, KUNGSBACKA Black Flush

BODARP "Gray-green" $47 for 15x30

Mid-Range - $70-$90 for 15x30

JUTIS Frameless Clear/Tinted Glass; AXSTAD White/Gray/Blue Frame; SINARP Flush Walnut; BODBYN White/Gray/Green Wood inset (like existing cabinets); LERHYTTAN Dark Wood/Gray Frame; HASSLARP (18" @ $102) Wood Herringbone

ENKÖPING "white wood effect" $33 for 15x30

High End - $97-$156 for 15x30

RINGHULT Gloss White; VOXTORP Gloss White/Gray/Horiz Washed Wood; VEDHAMN Vert Wood Frame; VEDHAMN Glass (3 lite)

AXSTAD "matte blue" $74 for 15x30 (also available in "matt white" and "dark gray"

Appliances & Fixtures

Sink: I like a square-cornered single bowl stainless steel undermount, like the Kohler K-5540 Prolific Workstation. Ikea seems to be phasing out the NORRSJÖN, Ikea's only sink like that.

Dishwasher: They are all the same size, so I can put off the Consumer Reports of it until later.

TVÄRSÄKER range with induction cooktop ($1400). Controls on back (not my preference). 30" W, 26-3/8" D. Controls are 11" H

TVÄRSÄKER

Or, Cooktop and Oven. SÄRDRAG induction cooktop ($950). 30" W. ADRÄTT wall oven ($1830), true convection and self-cleaning. Clearly, cooktop and oven in a range is $1400 and as separates it is almost twice as expensive at $2780. The oven is 30" W, 29" H. Looks like floor to oven top is 48" or so.

SÄRDRAG

The HUVUDSAKLIG microwave oven ($750) is designed for installation above the ADRÄTT oven. It's 30" W, 18" H.  

HUVUDSAKLIG above ADRÄTT oven

The UPPSEENDE microwave ($650) is an over-the-range model. 30" W, 16-3/8" H, 15-3/8" D. True convection. Lights and fan on the bottom. Stainless steel look interior.

UPPSEENDE

If we have a wall microwave (HUVUDSAKLIG), we need a hood. There is a basic, GENOMDRIVA ($100), and a mostly hidden in the cabinet version that I prefer, the UTDRAGBAR ($430), with a pull out shelf to keep steam off the cabinet. 30" W, 13" D, 11-3/4" H, but only 1" or so below the cabinets.

UTDRAGBAR

Two alternatives: 

• Range with microwave above (TVARSAKER, UPPSEENDE) $2050
• Cooktop, oven, built-in microwave, hood (SARDRAG, ADRATT, HUVUDSAKLIG, UTDRAGBAR) $3960. This would be more expensive electrically and for cabinets, as well.

Compare Ikea to the "Real" World

Range: KitchenAid KSIB900ESS $3400

Microwave over Range: KitchenAid KMHS120KPS $650

Cooktop: Samsung NZ30A3060UK $1300

Wall Oven: KitchenAid KOSE500ESS $3100

Wall Microwave: KitchenAid KMBS104ESS $1850

(Combo Oven/Microwave: KOCE500ESS $4600)

Hood: KitchenAid KVUB400GSS $900

Alternatives:

• Range with microwave above: Ikea $2050; Real $4050 +98%
• Cooktop, oven, bi microwave, hood: Ikea $3960; Real $6800 +72%