kitchen makeover

[bhnumbers]

I've posted before about my kitchen island and you guys were really helpful--we're going to change it from 2 levels down to all counter height. But with more and more time to consider the best use of space, I've had a few more ideas I'd love to get some more feedback and advice on. This is long, sorry!!

Here is my kitchen as is.




What I know I want to do:
-make the island all counter height
-new countertops--something much lighter, like a white quartz or quartzite-add backsplash tile
-build in a microwave somewhere to free up counter space
-get rid of the horrid beadboard around the island, replace with panels similar to the kitchen cabinets, but painted dark teal
-expand the footprint of the island just a bit on each end to add some small shelves, maybe wine storage? Kind of like this?

What I *think* I what to do in addition to the above:
-pull out my current range and make it just a cooktop there
-modify the cabinets to the right of the current stove and build in a wall oven and microwave.

My concerns with the above items:
-I use almost all of the available space in those big cabinets and don't have a ton of options for larger dishes/pots and pans. That said, I could stand to pare down what we do have and we decent size pantry on the other side of the room. Plus, I would gain some space where the oven used to be. But overall, I'd be losing storage.
-what would I do about the cabinetry that would need to go under the new cooktop where the oven was? I love these kitchen cabinets so much and I don't want to change them. Also, I don't think we have the budget for all new cabinets anyway. Could I have a set of cabinets made that are painted to match the new exterior of the island? I don't want it to look like a patchwork kitchen. Or I could see if the carpenter could repurpose the panels from the large cabinets into drawer fronts for drawers under the new range? I don't think anyone would be able to match the wood grain or stain exactly if they made something new.

So I'd love an objective viewpoint. What am I not thinking of? What would you do if this was your kitchen and your main objective was gaining counter space?

Here is the photo of a very similar kitchen with the microwave and oven built in where my cabinets are:

[orval]

I would not get rid of all of those cabinets personally. I have a wall oven/microwave with a stove top in another area. I do love it but the cabinet space beneath the stove top is a bit of pain to get into. If you did this, get the slide out drawers.
Have you considered a drawer microwave?? Or maybe add shelf on the side of your new island to place a microwave? This page has a few photos of microwave shelves. www.arquitrecos.com/2016/04/um-novo-espaco-para-o-microondas-torre.html
This one has one in an island if you scroll down. www.homedit.com/microwave-shelf/

[bhnumbers]

orval, thanks for the feedback! we initially talked about doing a drawer microwave in the island. We could remove some of the drawers to the left of the sink and put it there. But that's one more appliance that opens into an already narrow space between the counters, so we'd like to avoid that if we can. And we can't just have a regular microwave on a low shelf--DH has significant neck and back issues so that would be tough for him; plus, we're both fairly tall!

And for under the cooktop, I would definitely either have drawers or cabinets with pull out drawers. I'm a big fan of drawers!!

[simpsongal]

I think the backsplash could really make a difference. I’d consider adding color or texture in the backsplash.

I don’t think I would do the range change. It seems like a big change and potentially costly for an upgrade that has downsides. Can you build the microwave into the island extension?

ETA- I like the industrial look of your range area and the vertical lines. Would you put the backsplash on the walk above the cabinets and surrounding the hood? That could look pretty cool and polished.

[bhnumbers]

Jul 21, 2020 20:29:02 GMT -5 simpsongal said:

I think the backsplash could really make a difference. I’d consider adding color or texture in the backsplash.

I don’t think I would do the range change. It seems like a big change and potentially costly for an upgrade that has downsides. Can you build the microwave into the island extension?

ETA- I like the industrial look of your range area and the vertical lines. Would you put the backsplash on the walk above the cabinets and surrounding the hood? That could look pretty cool and polished.

This is the backsplash I'm stuck on


I've ordered samples and the colors are just perfect and I love the randomness of the pattern. I don't, however, think I can do the upper part of the wall because the taller blocks of cabinets are really hard to work around. Our painters had a tough time with that area, so I'd think that tiling would be much harder.

As for the microwave, there just isn't enough space to add that much into the island on either side. It's a really compact kitchen--it's frustrating!

[bhnumbers]

I wonder if we could just have a microwave built in, instead of moving the oven? Just found this photo (see microwave all the way to the right) and I don't know why that didn't occur to me!

[libbygrl109]

Could you move the smaller upper cabinets up in line with the larger ones and build a shelf underneath for the microwave (and maybe the toaster, too)? Similar to how your inspiration picture looks with all of the cabinets in line at the ceiling.

[hazelden]

I think you could build onto your island to add a microwave, like shown here www.thriftydecorchick.com/2016/07/a-diy-kitchen-renovation-update-nine.html?m=1

I'm cheap so I would keep some of the countertop and only replace the island countertop, maybe with cement?

[orval]

Any chance you can recess it into the wall where it is?
www.houzz.ie/photos/kosher-in-baltimore-recessed-microwave-niche-phvw-vp~53283472

This one has it right at countertop level.
www.bhg.com/kitchen/appliances/integrate-a-microwave/

[pierogigirl]

I'd be concerned that the built in microwave would need replacing and then you'd have a hard time finding an exact fit. We had a pretty hard time replacing our fridge and ended up having to resize the cabinets above it to get a modern fridge to fit.

[RockNVoll]

Echoing what others have said already, but I don't think I'd want to sacrifice that big cabinet to put the oven and microwave there. You'd lose so much storage with only minimal counter space gain.

The two options I see for getting your microwave off the counter were already suggested but I'll repeat:
1. Move the cabinets on either side of the stove up to ceiling height and build a shelf underneath both for the microwave and toaster oven.
2. See if there's a way to extend the island so you can build a drawer microwave into one end. I wouldn't want to give up more cabinet space by installing it on the front of the island. But this depends on whether you and your H are comfortable pushing the controls at that height; getting dishes in and out will probably be easier since you're lifting them up and down, but controls and display are still in the front of the microwave so not sure if that would work for you.

[froggy76]

I agree with the others- that is such a great pantry cabinet, I wouldn't want to lose it. I would try to build the microwave into the island, or only build in a microwave into the pantry cabinet.

I have also seen microwaves tucked inside of pantry cabinets. You'd have to have the pantry doors open to use it, but it would give a clean look and be less costly. If you search for images of "microwave inside pantry" you'll get a lot of ideas. It all depends on how easily accessible you want your microwave to be, I guess!

[froggy76]

I also like this option if you want to put the microwave in one of the upper cabinets next to the stove, but have it hidden when not in use:

[lolalolalola]

We have always liked our over the range microwave but I know it’s not considered stylish or upscale. It works great for us.