Fridge placement dilemma opinions welcome

[eclecticcottage]

I would happily give up cabinets to save the built ins, but they aren't the problem.

In the 3d model, the far left corner is 31" between wall and window trim, but only 21" deep to the door trim. The cabinets will "encroach" on the trim, but I plan to try not to cut it, rather put the cabinets in an inch or so over, so that they sit against the trim and leave a little void at the end. Not sure if this will actually work in reality, but it's my plan if it's possible.

In addition to not being being deep enough, the door from the mudroom (and outside) opens into that-not good for an oven/cooking on a hot stove.

A fridge is typically 33-36" wide and 35" deep.

A stove is typically 30" wide (unless you buy a vintage one, then those are hard to find-ask me how I know lol) and 25" deep.

I can't recall the size of a dishwasher (24" wide?), but that really isn't causing any issues with the fridge placement. Neither can go where it is located.

To the left of the dining room (if looking into the kitchen) is a closet and bedroom. You walk through the closet to get into the bedroom. There isn't a way to remove the den or dining room doorways into the kitchen without ending up with an equally ackward layout-and making that bedroom no longer a bedroom because you would lose the closet.

[TexasRed]

I certainly see your problem. Hmm... still thinking on it, but at this point I have to agree that the wall with the built ins is your only option, sad as that is.

I did want to mention you can get base cabinets that are less than 24" deep. (21" is standard for vanities). This would work well beside the DW without encroaching on the door (or trim) from the mud room. Since you have the break with the DW, no awkward transition in cabinet depth from sink base to end cabinet. JMHO

I'll keep thinking on the fridge dilemma...

[Vined Porch]

I will also second what TexasRed says about the 21" deep vanity base cabinets.
We had to use one in our kitchen as there was only 21" of wall depth to the dining room door without trim! It was PO cheap 1970ish trim around an already very narrow doorway and they had cut into so it looked bad anyway( unfortunately all the original trim downstairs had been ripped out by PO) so we removed the trim and were able to use the vanity base with matching drawers to the rest of the cabinets,that then bumped back out to 24" for the rest of that run (you would never know it was really for a bathroom it is identical to the rest in looks)

Re: refrigerator - you might want to look at counter depth,ours is only 28" deep and is not built in as there was no room for it hehe..it just stands alone on its own small piece of wall ,plus the freezer above fridge below single door types are way narrower than the side by side or French door types.
Not sure this is helpful but thought I'd just throw it out there.

[JacquieJet]

I'm not going to be much help here with the fridge thing, but I just wanted to agree on the shallower base cabinet idea- we have this in our kitchen for a section of cabinets and it works great for giving us some storage but also not cutting too far into the walking space. I just measured the depth of it, and it is 17 1/2 inches.

Our kitchen before the remodel originally presented a similar issue of fridge placement, but the PO decided to notch the back wall in of the downstairs bathroom to create a sort of fridge "cubby". It only fits a smallish fridge, but it works.

[eclecticcottage]

I was considering the vanity, I had to go back to the store to answer a couple questions but since you all brought it up...

A vanity is slightly shorter height wise (1 1/2" I think?)-how do you get it to flow with a counter top and not look like it's lower and been shimmed up? I think the only one that matches the cabinets (same mfg/style) and fits has doors. So they would have to line up with the other doors or it would look odd. Has anyone dealt with that? How did you overcome the difference?

[Vined Porch]

Re: vanity cabinet height~ ours is the exact same height as the adjoining kitchen cabinets 34 1/2" (excluding counter top..we have only had chalkboard painted plywood for 2 years as counters atm as we are saving up for real ones lol)

[eclecticcottage]

Hm. I just looked again and it actually doesn't show a height. I must have googled it and found the typical height. I wonder if these are the same. I'll have to go in and ask.

I found this photo a while back and it gave me the idea-I'm sure it will add to countertop costs though! It's a bath, but it's the same idea, "stepped back" cabinets:

[TexasRed]

Vanity cabinets come is all sorts of configurations. Could you use a drawer bank instead? This would eliminate the "doors with dead space above" (for sink drop) issue.

The old standard for vanity height is 31". Modern trends have made the "adult" height of 34 1/2" common. A taller vanity should be readily available. That being said, aren't you using a stock cabinet from a box store? Perhaps they could order just this one cabinet for you if they don't carry it in store.

... Or, have you considered just having them made by a cabinet maker? You are adding so few cabinets overall, I would think the cost would be within reason. A cabinet maker could match the style of your built ins as well as deal with the depth issue by the mudroom door. It would result in a more unified "vintage" look.

The step back example in your picture is very attractive - and practical. Uniform cabinet sizes (wall & base) are a modern thing. Vintage kitchens often had various depths, heights etc. to get the most storage in the space they had.

What type of countertop are you going to use?

We have "flipped" (hate that label) 3 houses over the last decade, although not old houses. I understand the multitude of decisions that play into a reno for resale. Budget, time, what matters / what doesn't... True fact - kitchens and bathrooms sell houses. While there doesn't seem to be many good options for the fridge dilemma, you could make this the best possible kitchen going with custom built. Might be worth getting a quote.

Just my

[eclecticcottage]

The market here is pretty tight, so this isn't one of those TV show profit margins. Unfortunately, with the other basics (like a roof, which is huge-and needed a full tear off), I've got to keep costs down. I am pretty sure custom isn't possible-but even then, I don't think that would solve the placement problem for the fridge.

I agree, and I LOVE unfitted kitchens personally. However, like you said, kitchens and baths sell houses. So, that might not be the best move in this case, although it would be the one I liked best lol.

Cabinets will be classic white shaker with subway back splash (which, apparently is the "in" thing now, I just like the classic style of it myself). Counter isn't completely decided yet. I want black. Granite (ugh), marble, soapstone, silestone, solid surface-all have been discussed.

[phil]

how wide is your mudroom / basement door? is there an actual door there? maybe you could go to a 29 inch door if it is now 32? or think about eliminating the casings rather than loosing the pantry? you could pull the casings and finish the wall with little or no trim and just store them away.

The fridge height might not be an issue but just maybe don't' overlook it or any room that you might need beside the fridge for the doors to swing properly. fridges come in a variety of heights. Check how the hood fan will work out. the reason I made my uppers and lowers 4 inches deeper was because I wanted to put the hood fan under the upper cabinets without the thing jutting out from the cabinets.

I had planned to have stone counters originally but when I got to that point the cost was a consideration so I went for formica that looks like stone. Ive never liked the cold hard feel of stone in kitchens but I guess it's popular now. they do have some beautiful choices, there is a place near me that has like hundreds of stone slabs to choose from.

I didn't want to go with the particleboard molded ones, and I didn't' really want a square corner typical of formica countertops. What I did was put a wood front edge on it to finish it off, that way I could make the countertop myself and just had to buy the formica. I still need to do a backsplash but that got shuffled aside for now.

If you need a nice heavy gauge single under counter sink for the stone countertop I have one that is quite large and deep and made to under-mount. there would be shipping costs but I know they can be pricey. I bought it and then put it aside and opted for a top mount double sink after I made the decision not to go with stone. I'd planned to post it for sale locally but in case you were interested I thought I'd mention it. we can discuss if that's interesting but I know we are a bit far from each other.

I put my fridge near an outside wall and in a partial recess that was a pantry cabinet. one thing I had planned was to build some 1 foot wide counters along that wall to then make it all flush with my fridge. I also got the idea that this would also provide a pocket for the fridge and I insulated the area around the fridge. I planned to put a seal around it so the back of the fridge was in this little cubby hole. I figure I can put an outside vent in the wall so in the winter I can open it and make it cold around the fridge. i always thought it was dumb that we all pay to keep our houses warm then put the fridge in the house where it is warm. If it could be vented outside I think the fridge would run about half as much in winter, Just like if you were to put it in your unheated garage or something. I figured I could put a vent to open or close it up if it got to freezing but it doesn't freeze here that much. In summer that's the cool side of the house so it would still likely help, or at least vent the fridge heat outside. often old houses had cabinets vented outside so they kept cool so it isn't that much different.