Reno 1950's kitchen

[katew164]

Hi,

I'm looking to update my 1950's kitchen. The most annoying things are the glass cabinetry over the benches and narrow bench space. Plan is to replace the bench tops - would prefer with timber but not sure how it would go with floor colour. Install new wall cabinetry, replace sink. In order to make the benchtops wider, do I need to do a waterfall edge to ground for stability? CurrentCurrentNew format potentially

[Isobel]

eBay, Gumtree and Facebook marketplace would all be good choices. 

[pete_brig]

@katew164 

Hi. I've got a couple of ideas but before I share those, can u indicate

• what your budget is?
• how much you can/want to do yourself (don't know how to but willing to try hand at tiling etc)
• how long U want it to last (e.g. 2 yrs till I do a full reno)

so is it t to be a makeover rather than a reno?

Cheers peter

[katew164]

My plan now is to combine the laundry into the kitchen ( I have another room to move the laundry to) knocking the walls out. Incorporate an island bench/large pantry cupboard. Budget of $15k.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @katew164,

Thanks for the update on your plans. With the budget of $15k are you now planning on a full renovation including replacing the lower cupboards?

I trust @redracer01 would be interested in assisting with some renderings for inspiration if you could provide some additional images of the kitchen and the new laundry inclusion. You might like to provide another plan of how you wish to utilise and combine the laundry into the kitchen so we have an idea of what layout would like to see.

Mitchell

[pete_brig]

hi @katew164 . i'm encouraged to see you're thinking outside the square by contemplating combining the kitchen & laundry. My first thoughts tho are (1) be careful to not overcapitalise & (2) will the extra space of the large kitchen be useful/usable or will it just be a big kitchen? My suggestion would be to look at making the bathroom bigger (e.g. a separate shower) but that's another discussion.

For a kitchen makeover, after removing the glass divider cabinet you could look at revamping the cupboard fronts (e.g. repainting DIY or commerical in-home, two pack finish) altho if they're dated, maybe replace them with new doors & handles to bring them up-to-date, & add new benchtops. Once you start down that path tho is the money better spent on replacing the entire cupboards? I'm a huge fan of drawers, to the extent that I replaced some cupboards in our 10 yr old house with drawers (here's the post).

If you take up the challenge of  replacing the cupboards, you could also go for a new layout as per @redracer01. I took up RR's suggestion to use the old stove space as the pantry but would orient the kitchen as a galley across the room to remove the "maze" feeling of the current walkways. I dont have fancy software but here's some images of what I came up with. Note there's no door on the "pantry"--I couldn't do that. Suggest 400mm deep shelves on the back & RHS walls as you enter the pantry. I also like to get the oven up to a reasonable height--I have seen some units that have 2 drawers under the oven to make it &, more importantly, the microwave lower & at a more usable/safer height. You might be able to bring the bench closer to the cooktop wall depending on the width of the side door & that'fd give a little more space back to the dining room.

Of course this assumes you can "easily" replumb the sink to the bench (or you could choose to reverse the position of the sink & cooktop). And the other thing this & RR's "clean slate" designs mean is that you'd need to redo the floor bcos the cabinetry has been moved.

Hope you enjoy the suggestions. Cheers, Peter

Kitchen 3Dkitchen/dining floorplan

[katew164]

@pete_brig thank you for your ideas - has given me a lot to think about. Plumbing is easily moved. My main reasoning behind wanting to combine the laundry /kitchen is the laundry is a lovely light room and quite under-used as it's an awkward space as an L shape. The kitchen is quite dark having the northern light blocked off by the laundry wall. 

[redracer01]

Hello @katew164 

Based off the plans you posted once the laundry wall is down you could possibly do this layout.

Cheers,

Red

[pete_brig]

@katew164 here's a couple more thoughts/comments:

• if the walls are load bearing, removing them is not EZ/cheap  so you'd need to check that esp. if you're total budget is $15K
• to add light to the kitchen, consider a skylight--might be a viable option $$-wise
• take any money you wouldv'e put into removing the wall towards putting more windows into the dining room--more light there and that would partially flow thru to the kitchen (I like louvres coz they can more easily be partially open during rain)
• I used the Kaboodle planner for the images I supplied--I can't get it to work ATM to check but I think the cabinet costs were under $5K if you want to factor that into your budget. Add tiles/splash back, oven, cooktop, dishwasher, electrical & plumbing work etc
• consider how the reno'd kitchen fits with the rest of the house--while it's nice to feel like you've got a $1M kitchen, if it's not consistent with the rest of the house it could look/feel out of place, sort of like a pimple on a pretty face but in reverse 😏

As I said, good to see you're thinking outside the square. I recommend looking at the whole of house floor plan to see how you want to reconfigure it--it'd be unfortunate if you made decisions now that limit your options later or you end up redoing part of your current reno.

Cheers

[pete_brig]

P.S. @katew164  you could also consider removing the wall between the living & dining rooms to make a very open plan space & further remove the "maze" of walls & doors

[katew164]

Thanks @pete_brig - apologies for the late thankyou I missed this reply. Am now removing the wall between rooms which will open it up nicely and have my kitchen appointment with Bunnings next week so hopefully it comes together!