Finally My Own Kitchen!
After 17 years of designing other people's kitchens, I am going to design my own.  I have been planning this in my head for years but it is real now and I will probably be my own worst customer.   I've always envisioned a super large kitchen and planned on knocking down as many walls as possible to achieve this.  Well, the new house is a row house and only 17' wide and 50' long and narrows to 12' in the back where the kitchen goes.  There are no walls to knock down so my kitchen will be 12' x 25'.  This means I will have one extremely long island.  One bonus is that the back wall is 4 windows so I will be facing windows while working at the island and also facing anyone that happens to be sitting at the island. But those 4 windows face a brick wall.  I plan on replacing 1 window with a door and building a 4ft x 12ft deck.  I need some outdoor space.  I insist on 42" walk spaces around the island so I will be stuck with a 3ft deep island, so it will have to be long, really long, like 18-20 ft. long.   

Since most time is spent prepping food, I will definitely have a prep sink on the island.  Maybe even a clean up sink too.  I believe in the station approach to kitchen design -- the work triangle is just so yesterday.   So clean up and prepping will take place on the island.  My dilemma is whether to also cook on the island.  I love the Wolf cooking modules.  Single units are the way to go, so you don't have to reach behind a pot to stir something in another pot.  Cooking on the island means you better have a good looking hood above it (or a downdraft) as it will become a focal point.

Instead of the cooking modules maybe I'll get a 60" stove and put it on the back wall.  Though I hate to be facing a wall when I'm doing anything.  Oh, I am definitely going to be my own worst customer!

So what's left for the back wall?  Well, refrigeration, pantry storage and I small appliance storage plus a coffee center.  I have way too many small appliances -- KitchenAid mixer, 2 juicers, blender, food processor, ice cream maker, waffle maker, and a quesadilla maker that I going to throw away.  My husband called a moratorium on buying any more single use appliances anyway and really, the Bodum juicer is pretty but I don't use it.  But I do want all of those things behind doors.  They are all pretty but I don't want clutter. I will keep all of my Le Creuset pots in view, they are really pretty colors and I use them constantly.

The layout may end up to be the easiest part.  Materials/finishes are another story.  Every time I do a white kitchen, I want white.  Everytime I do a black kitchen I want black. Granite countertops or concrete. Traditional or contemporary.  I am so wishy washy.   One thing that I don't believe in is that you need to stay with period of the house.  I like the juxtaposition of old and new. It's interesting and your house doesn't end up looking like a theater set.