Kitchen Design Planning

One of the big projects we will do first in the house is replace the kitchen.  Right now, it's a galley kitchen with an entrance from the hallway and a pass through from the living room to the laundry room.  We want to knock out the wall between the living room and the kitchen.  At one point we discussed knocking out the wall to the laundry room but we also need to put a 2nd bathroom up somewhere and the laundry area is the best place for that.

My husband told me last night, as he was mapping out the kitchen plan/option that our courtship would have gone like this:
Friend setting us up for dinner, "he is a marriage and family therapist AND he worked as a cabinet designer."
Me:  "Yes".

Well, it took us a little longer than that but we really are a perfect match - I've wanted to buy a fixer upper for a long time and I have a husband who will encourage my desires and dreams.  But it's great to have someone who understands spacing and all of that.

So in a small space, we're trying to fit a large stainless steel french door refrigerator (with bottom freezer) and everything else - AND make it feel spacious.  So, what are our options?

My husband drew this last night:

I would like to make the island have cabinets on more than one side.  My husband thinks it's large enough as a 3 foot width island.  

The issue we have with this kitchen is ALL the appliances are on one wall.  Should we move the sink or stove to the island?  Can we put a TALL pantry across from the fridge?  Does it face the fridge or the island?  These are all things we have to explore.

I started searching pictures on HGTV and found the following image that is something I want to explore:

I am wondering if our cabinets can wrap around towards the laundry room and we put a door out there?  I don't know.  It's something to explore.  The side where the sink is - wouldn't be a wall but an island and open to the living room.

Thoughts?  

I found the following kitchen planning sites that help with layouts:

http://www.floorplanskitchen.com/

http://www.floorplanskitchen.com/kitchen-layouts/galley-kitchens/

http://www.floorplanskitchen.com/kitchen-layouts/kitchen-plans-with-peninsulas/

http://homerenovations.about.com/od/kitchens/a/artkitchendesig.htm

http://www.kitchens.com/Design/Layouts/Common-Layouts.aspx

http://www.floorplanskitchen.com/kitchen-layouts/island-kitchen-layouts/

The best tools for actually playing with layout (and Free) are:

1. MY DECO 3D ROOM PLANNER

I really liked this site and playing around with seeing the room from an aerial view (2D) and being able to see it from a 3D view.  I was even able to put french doors at the other side of the room where we currently have windows.  It's fun to play with options. My complaint with the program is the options for cabinets in the kitchen were sparse.  Some of the refrigerators and appliances didn't show up in 3D view.  Also, there was no way to make the finishes of the "cabinets" match.

2. HOMESTYLER Don't be intimidated by the fact that the creator of this is Autocad - what the professionals use.  This is a user-friendly option.  I created this in 5 minutes.  I had a couple cabinets get "stuck".  I'm not sure why I couldn't get them to move past the far left corner.  So, a couple issues but overall would be a good space planning program to use.  The 3D and the cabinet/appliance options seem to be flashier than My Deco.  Definitely try this program.

3. IKEA HOME PLANNER and IKEA KITCHEN PLANNER

We went to Ikea last week and were able to pick up their kitchen catalog.  They have a lot of options and really are an economical way to go for quickly updating a kitchen.  We might go this route.  I shy away from Ikea products that look like they are from Ikea - I probably shouldn't.  It's a very useful store!

For additional program options - check out this blog posting at Freshome.