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I think the opening from the nook area to the front living room is useful even if it means giving up a little wall space, the flow of traffic is better with it, less "dead ends". The closet placement off the foyer is pretty good too, really not a whole lot of options that do not result in worse "step around the door" problems.
I think golfgal needs to keep the scale of the whole space in mind. The architect has done a nice job of considering all the potential issues with light and traffic. The extra distance from the top of stairs from the garage to the new kitchen entrance through the den/ dining room is maybe 40" further, not even two full strides....
We looked at the closed off entry from the front door to nook/kitchen in earlier iterations when this thread was still in CA. OP wants that open, and it makes sense for carrying groceries in, I agree.
You really have to watch putting a refrigerator directly against wall as options 2 and 3 depict. Very few are zero clearance, you end up not being able to take out, (or even slide out) some of the shelves and drawers for cleaning. You almost always need a narrow cabinet- broom or spice- or at least a 3-4" space for the door to swing into.
I think option 2 has the sink and stove too close to each other, you could never have a person at each station at the same time. In this small house having the bathroom around the corner in a hallway from the kitchen I do not see as that big of a deal.
I see the architect also decided you could remove the chase as I depicted, that really allows you a lot of room and options there.
Move that fridge off the wall a bit and I think option 3 works the best. I really hate a fridge standing by itself like some huge metal box that dominates a space right when you walk into a kitchen and see it at the far wall. I'm with you though, I still like a direct opening to the parlor/dining, I guess you have to consider how often you might entertain there with serving food.
As for the exterior stairs anything over a 24" drop requires a railing by code here in CA.
This configuration could also accommodate a full height shower in addition to the tub if you eliminate the linen closet. I think that might be a smart move. There is already a decent sized linen closet shown in the hallway.
Chett, thanks for the great feedback. In regards to the above, there are 48" for a standing show, but only 32" depth which is way too constrained. The shower there right now is like this, it feels like a coffin and I can barely move my arms. I do agree the linen closet iis not as needed. Also we probably would not put linen there, cause it would get moisture every time we take a shower. The idea is to not have a very deep cabinet so we are gaining circulation space. I even suggest having that space as a changing area..maybe just leave it empty (a little chair or cabinet there). What do you think?
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Why the 2 entrances into the living room? I would close off the one by the nook completely. That will give you more wall space for cabinets, etc. You have the entrance near the stairway to use that is just a couple more steps. Otherwise, put the closet in the entry by the steps and close that side off if you want it more open to the living room.
Thanks golfgal, are you referring to the opening from nook to living room? If yes, I agree, I am not sold on opening a door on that wall. Or did you mean anything else? What drawing are referring to?
I think golfgal needs to keep the scale of the whole space in mind. The architect has done a nice job of considering all the potential issues with light and traffic. The extra distance from the top of stairs from the garage to the new kitchen entrance through the den/ dining room is maybe 40" further, not even two full strides....
In all options the architect is closing one of those 2 doors, if not both, so I am not sure what she means.
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I see the architect also decided you could remove the chase as I depicted, that really allows you a lot of room and options there.
What's the chase?
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I'm with you though, I still like a direct opening to the parlor/dining, I guess you have to consider how often you might entertain there with serving food.
I did't want to close all accesses out of the kitchen. Probably would prefer to close nook, but keep a door from kitchen to living room.
About the fridge, the architect said in his options he was trying to avoid putting the fridge between the nook and kitchen. His word: "from going in the corner of the kitchen adjacent to the breakfast area (at the end of the cabinets). I don’t want to have a solid piece which will limit your view from the breakfast area back to the kitchen and vice versa and go against trying to open up the two spaces."
Which I think makes sense.
Thanks for all the feedback, any other ideas? It's really helpful!
I like kitchen #2. However, instead of adding more upper (wall) cabinetry to the section that will be opened up, I might add just some open shelves to the left of the sink, and put in a 2nd window to the left of that. Instead of a skylight, or in addition to one. It will add more light to that area, which really needs it, and it'll make the kitchen feel more open. There should be enough cabinetry in design #2 to serve your needs without covering up that deck wall with more cabinetry.
I put a small cabinet behind the entry door in a small bathroom in a place I had in Seattle, and it was great! If you have a fan by the shower/tub, there won't be moisture accumulating in the room. You can have a shallow linen cabinet if you want. Consult with the wife on that, hopefully you're getting her input. She can decide what the priority in the bathroom should be, storage-wise. (You can never have too much storage in a small place like that.)
Be careful how you grade the brickwork outside the basement french doors. With stairs leading up from there, rain could pool outside your doors.
The one thing that bugs me about all the new kitchen designs is how the new coat closet juts out into the new space. The purpose of adding an entry into the kitchen from the living room was to provide an entry if you eliminate the current entry across from the front door. If you're not going to eliminate that, there's no need to have any opening into the living room, really...
I still think you might consider flipping the coat closet and having it occupy the current entry. You can carry groceries in from the front door through the living room. Might seem a little awkward, but... that coat closet bugs me the way it is now. It's taking up too much space in what was supposed to be a more open design for the kitchen.
For that matter, you can carry groceries in through the dining room and the new opening on that wall to the kitchen (kit. design #2). That would work just fine. I think it might be worth it, in order to have a more open feel in that kitchen/breakfast room transition area. With a 2nd window in the outer wall there, it would look really nice, light, spacious.
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