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I am posting this for my brother as he is old and not much of a computer person.
He is building a new home and after he signed the contract to find out that his builder would not allow for plan change - Builder said they would only do windows next to cook top as they dont want to change their design/architect, etc... The current plan for his home has the cooktop in the middle and the kitchen sink/ diswasher located on the island countertop (see pictures.) My brother really wants for them to move the cooktop to the side and move kitchen sink/dishwasher and open large window where old cooktop was.
Question is would it look strange and/or decrease the home's value if he leaves the cooktop as is and do windows next to the cooktop.
Looking at plans it does not look as if it would look strange BUT, I have no idea what the plot looks like, what he would be looking at and what the elimination of those cabs would mean overall. Not one person I know ever has said they have too many cabs in the kitchen so I would be careful about deleting them for a window.
It would be a Patio home so he would be looking at bricks wall of the neighbor's house but he plans to do nice landscaping on this side. Key thing he said is he wants natural light as there is none at the kitchen. From what I read on the web, kitchen cabs are nice but the upper ones are not considering much useful comparing to pull out lower cabs which he plans to have many.
He is building a new home and after he signed the contract to find out that his builder would not allow for plan change - Builder said they would only do windows next to cook top...
So which is it?
Builder will make changes or not?
Like most production builders, changes to plans on an individual basis are taboo. It just gets in the way of the production schedule, budget, and overall design.
What some people see as rather simple can actually have a snowball effect. For this kitchen example- it would effect recepticle placement, HVAC duct/register placement, plumbing placement, cabinet configuration, etc. Not to mention the additional framing material and the window(s) themselves. So, as you can see it gets very expensive, very fast. But the process goes very slow- because they're geared for the samething over and over again.
First I would say that becuase of the extensive windows in "casual dining" area and the adjacent covered patio I would not worry too much about lack of natural light in this style of structure.
Second I can understrand why the builder does not want to relocate sink -- that would mean moving plumbing and that is a HUGE pain in this style of house.
Of the "options" you linked to I most like #1 and this very much like what I did in my own home. It allows for light while still giving the cooking area enough separation from the rest of the kitchen without making the hood hang out all by its lonesome self nor having the windows so close that one needs to worry about cooking messes on them. I would STRONGLY suggest NOT using double hung windows as casement / crank out windows are FAR more practically in this application. I would also caution that the windows should be sized on the modest size and mounted high enough so that there is no interferance with any materials used for countertops / backsplash.
The layout shown as a decent sized pantry and I doubt that swapping the two cabinets for windows will truly knock out too much actual storage space.
I have seen windows with a cabinet in front of them, like #3 but it NEVER comes out as "sexy" in real life as it looks in the magazine becuase NO REAL PERSON has such a limited range of shiny dishes and glassware to showcase and instead it looks like a huge mistake where some idiot mounted a cabinet over the window. Similalry I have seen very modern homes with a window configuration like option #2 and it only looks good if a) there are SUPER high ceilings & b) there is an actual SCENIC VIEW out of those windows as no sane person wants to stare at the side of their neighbor's house...
Last edited by chet everett; 01-10-2014 at 10:17 AM..
The part that i dont understand is builder have to install sinks, stove, etc... anyway so why would it make such a big deal to just re-arrange things a little. After all the house has not yet begun - it's not like concrete had been poured, etc...
I told my brother about the part that he has to stare at the bricks wall of the next door neighboor with the opened windows at the kitchen and I think he is kind of lighten up a little and may just go with "option 1" as suggested by Chet - thanks Chet
Anyhow, if he chose to go with "option 1" - the house won't look out of the ordinary and he would not have issues if he is to sell it later on right ;-) . Most if not all houses/plans that I see usually have windows open at the kitchen's sink.
The only problem I ever had with a window close by was next to a gas cook-top in our first home, if a good wind came blasting through it blow the pilot out, wake to smelling gas, happen alot ...Scary really...:P
Besides moving the plumbing, you'd need a new vent for the cooktop.
Frankly, with an open kitchen like that I'd rather have the cooktop on an outside wall... the farthest away I could have it from living areas. Plus you're not splattering all over the island. Been there, done that. Never again.
Also, I would not give up wall cabinets. You'd be surprised how quickly they do get filled just with dishes and glassware.
The current plan is what most people would expect to see in a kitchen for window placement. I wouldn't worry about it.
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