`Dear Home&Garden,” Carrie Krueger of Mt. Prospect wrote, “I would like to present you with the challenge of figuring out a solution to our awkward kitchen.”
An on-site visit showed the 19-by-10-foot Krueger kitchen layout presented problems like when pieces from more than one puzzle are mixed together in one box. Three years ago, when Krueger and her husband, Brian, moved into their present home–what appears to be a large tract home but is actually a two-flat–the kitchen was done in traditional early ’80s style, all olive with gold rooster wallpaper. Unable to afford a complete remodeling, Krueger tried to tackle things on her own–hanging new wallpaper, painting the dark walnut cabinets a lighter color and replacing the carpet, light fixtures and window treatments.
Despite all the changes, Krueger and her husband remained frustrated with their kitchen because the layout did not use space efficiently.
The problems: One of the worse irritations for Krueger was the awkward position of the refrigerator. The massive mechanical monster stands in the line of sight from the living room and even from the front door of the house. Basically all one can see in the kitchen entryway is the big, blank white side of the refrigerator.
“We cannot sink the refrigerator into the wall it is on, and we cannot put it on the [back] wall where the painting is because then a table won’t fit in the remaining space and leave enough opening for the back door,” says Krueger.
The kitchen countertops previously extended another length into the center of the room, opposite the protruding refrigerator, leaving a space 14 inches wide through which one could pass into the eating area. The Kruegers sawed off a portion of the jutting countertop and cabinet, closed the open end with a panel and painted it to match the other cabinets.
The kitchen was very dark at the time they moved in. To relieve the gloom, Krueger repainted the dark walnut cabinets and woodwork. However, the cabinets are not holding up well to the demands of the Kruegers’ busy family life. They have four children under 3 years of age–two of their own and two foster children.
The original carpeting/linoleum combination on the kitchen floor was a nightmare, Krueger says. “Every Fruit Loop or spaghetti strand showed up. I was vacuuming constantly.” She ordered a ceramic floor and hired a contractor to install it. But when he began the project, he said he couldn’t change what was there without renovating the under-flooring. He said this would be a big project and cost $3,000, says Krueger, adding that that was too costly for them at the time. He installed new carpeting and linoleum, but he didn’t measure correctly and left a portion of the old flooring showing through in one spot, next to the refrigerator.
This flooring faux pas was left unfinished by the contractor as Krueger also thought about trying to build a pantry next to the refrigerator, since the existing cabinet storage is not practical or sufficient. The soffit over the refrigerator is also left unpainted because the plan was to rip it out.
The Kruegers recently had the rotted-out kitchen windows replaced, but left the trim unfinished until they decided what to do with the room.
“We decided we needed to stop trying to patch things and reconsider the whole layout and design of the kitchen,” Krueger says. “My husband and I have wracked our brains but cannot figure out how to readjust the appliances and space to its best advantage. We need a creative solution!”
Solution: Carol Helbraun was House Calls’ choice to tackle this challenge. Helbraun, a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, has a great deal of experience in remaking kitchens of all kinds and was accustomed to being creative on a budget, which for the Kruegers was $10,000.
Helbraun could come in under that price for the cabinets and flooring, she said. But the Kruegers wanted expensive new appliances, which would be an additional cost. However, the project also could be completed over time, with existing elements used until they could be replaced.
After measuring the kitchen, Helbraun interviewed Krueger to ascertain her needs.
Of primary concern was that Krueger wants to home-school her children and wants a computer included in an area in the kitchen devoted to that task. “She needed the function, but didn’t have the space,” says Helbraun. “That is what gave me the idea of a custom-made octagonal wheeled table to seat at least six, with locking wheels, so that it can be rolled under the study drawers on the east wall to free up space while the computer is being used.”
Her next move would be to take away the center-dividing return counter. After that she would run cabinets the length of the kitchen to visually extend and open up the space.
Let’s start with cabinets
Krueger chose new cabinets in a laminate in a maple finish. If handled properly, they look just like wood, says the designer. Countertops also could be in one of the new laminates, perhaps something in a “smudged” pattern to match the new flooring. A two-level curvy edge, called an OG wedge, would make the countertops look more interesting and upscale, more like granite, says the designer.
Tearing out the existing cabinets provides the opportunity to solve “one of the major things Krueger hated in her old kitchen–seeing the refrigerator from the living room. It is hanging out there in space like a mechanical monster and it’s got that soffit above it,” says Helbraun.
Helbraun would replace it with a shallower refrigerator, which she would locate to the right of the door entering the kitchen.
She is currently doing many kitchens with refrigerators that are only 24 inches deep and 35 inches across, she says. (The existing refrigerator is 36 inches deep and almost 36 inches wide.)
“The soffit would be removed. If there is something in the soffit, such as a duct or a pipe, it would run through the top of the cabinet that would replace the soffit. That’s one of the advantages of doing custom cabinets,” says Helbraun.
Krueger wants to replace the existing stove with a glass cook top, which would be placed in the corner of the kitchen. A single oven would go under the cook top and a microwave above it. Helbraun recommended Krueger look into the GE Adventium oven, which cooks with halogen light and costs about $1,800.
About that floor . . .
A top priority for Krueger was to replace the carpet flooring with a ceramic tile she had seen at Home Depot. The tile looks like Old World natural stone and is arranged in a random step pattern in “smudged” colors of turquoise, mauve and umber. The backsplash could be in a similar tile in a smaller scale pattern to coordinate with the floor. Or the homeowner could faux-paint tiles to match to cut costs.
“Doing the flooring before the cabinets makes for a much better installation, because I like to do the flooring wall to wall, so the cabinets are sitting on the flooring, not plywood,” says Helbraun.
Critical to the floor, she adds, is finding a good installer who can make the ceramic tiles look natural together. The tiles she chose are rated heavy-duty residential. “I always go for a higher-rated tile, especially in a kitchen, because you’re walking along the same area all the time,” she says.
“People get crazy when they hear `custom’ because they think it costs more money, but I can do it for less than people can do it on their own,” says Helbraun. “People are afraid to call designers because they think it will cost more money. You get the services but because you get savings along the way, the fees are a wash. If it ends up being a little bit more, I think the value is certainly there.”
Krueger says of the plan to make her kitchen more workable: “I really liked that Carol … wanted to know about our lives and what would work the best. “She wanted the kitchen to do a lot of things for our future. It went beyond my expectations. I thought working with a designer would be unrealistic, beyond our budget. She met every one of our needs.”
PROBLEM
One of Carrie Krueger’s primary concerns was that she wants to home-school her children and wants a computer included in an area in the kitchen devoted to that task. “She needed the function, but didn’t have the space,” says designer Carol Helbraun.
SOLUTION
Helbraun proposes (and designed) an octagonal table with locking wheels so that it can be rolled under drawers on the east wall, saving space while the computer is being used.
PROBLEM
One of the worst irritations for Carrie Krueger was the awkward position of the refrigerator. In addition to an unsightly view from the living room, the refrigerator, along with a nearby cabinet, created an awkward space for traffic.
SOLUTION
Helbraun recommends removing the center-dividing return counter. After that, she would run cabinets the length of the kitchen to visually extend and open up the space. The refrigerator would find a new home near the doorway and a cooktop and oven would be repositioned nearby, with the microwave stationed overhead.
– Cabinetry. Custom cabinetry by Pegasus Custom Furniture of Franklin Park would cost around $13,000, or around $400 a linear foot. The price includes demolition and installation, drawers and the European-style hardware with hidden hinges.
– Countertops. Laminate countertops cost $30 a linear foot. Helbraun designed a two-layer edge on these countertops, rather than a formica straight edge, to give them a more substantial look, sembling what they use in granite or glass tops.
– Flooring. This Cobblestone flooring was found at Home Depot for 84 cents for each 6-by-6-inch tile, $1.59 for each 6-by-12-inch tile and $2.47 for each 12-by-12-inch tile. Installation costs are extra, or the homeowner may be handy and prefer to do it himself.
– Table with wheels. The custom table, designed by Helbraun and manufactured by Pegasus, is $850, including the wheels, by Basick, which cost around $22 each.
– Hardware. The 10-inch handle by Renegade is around $40. The 1-inch striped cone-shape knob is around $14 and the 1-inch round knob about $14.
