It is (still) amazing to me to see how shifting the kitchen sometimes can profoundly improve an entire floor plan and improve traffic flow.

People are hesitant to relocate the kitchen, worrying that such a drastic change might cost a fortune.

I say it is all relative. If you are going to gut a kitchen anyway, it is not that much more to extend the plumbing, especially if the move results in a substantially better floor plan. Keep an open mind and see what can happen.

PROBLEM

This two-story suburban home, like many homes, had a couple of unused or “dead” rooms. In this case it was the living and dining rooms (A & B), with an unworkable “dead zone” in between. No matter what furniture the homeowners put in them, they still couldn’t draw people into those spaces. All of the action happened in the kitchen (C), breakfast table (D) and family room (E). This is the “live” part of the house. An example of a poor traffic pattern, notice the trip to the deck (F) to grill out or access the backyard from the kitchen (C) was through the screened porch (G). The laundry closet (H) was centrally located, as was the fairly tight half bath (I). The entry (J) area was larger than it needed to be because of the closet (K) location. These homeowners wanted to get optimal use out of all their spaces, and update the kitchen and bath. They felt that the backyard access was a little strange and wanted a way to make that transition more inviting since they liked to entertain both indoors and out. SOLUTION

All of the views out the back windows were stupendous since the house backed up to a forest preserve. People are naturally drawn to the back of the house. I felt that the natural place the new kitchen (L) should be was tucked into the ‘dead’ dining room (B). This move alone brings life to this side of the house. I found a perfect place for a door (M) that opens directly out to a little grill deck (N) that also works with the screened porch (G). Two special features in the kitchen (L) are a walk-in corner pantry (O) with a door activated light switch, and the “To Go” shelf (P). This is the perfect place for the calendar, keys, phone chargers, and things that need to “go” with you. Notice that now no traffic passes through the work area. There’s lots of prep space by the appliances. The island is large enough for kids to do homework and craft projects as well as eat snacks and meals. The changes to the half bath (Q) and coat closet (R) resulted in a wall for the buffet (S) for the newly combined, expandable dining area (T). The former living room (A) was repurposed as a music room (U). The homeowners could now have a place for their various musical activities. Marcia Lyon is a professional remodeling designer and freelance writer, producing projects locally and several other areas across the U.S. and Canada. Her E-book on remodeling design is available on her web site at www.creatingspaces.net. Reach her at Marcia@creatingspaces.net or at 515-991-8880.