Categories: CabinetryDesign

Great Kitchen Design

One of our favorite parts of the new home is definitely the kitchen. We probably got about 90% of what we would consider our dream kitchen. I think the only thing we didn’t do was go all out on the cooking equipment.

This kitchen uses Kraftmaid Birch cabinets with all plywood construction. The door style is Walden Birch with a Cabernet stain. We upgraded all the drawer glides to full extension with the easy close system.

The granite is called Sapphire Blue and it has some subtle hints of blue when the sun light hits it.

The cabinet hardware is solid brass brushed nickel finish. The faucet is by Newport Brass and the hefty price is certainly worth the great craftsmanship.

We installed halogen mini track lighting under all the cabinets and they are all controlled by one switch.

All of the appliances are Kenmore Elite. The stove is a 36″ wide gas range. We also installed a separate electric wall oven in the base cabinet adjacent to the refrigerator.

The best part of this kitchen is probably the layout. We like to have friends over and this layout is great for that. There is tons of room at the island for food prep and the bar is a great place to serve food and hang out.

kitchen design
home improvement
kitchen island
kitchen layout

Todd Fratzel

I'm full time builder for a large construction company in New Hampshire. I run their design-build division that specializes in custom homes, commercial design-build projects and sub-divisions. I'm also a licensed civil and structural engineer with extensive experience in civil and structural design and home construction. My hope is that I can share my experience in the home construction, home improvement and home renovation profession with other builders and home owners. I'm also the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Tool Box Buzz. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, suggestions or you'd like to inquire about advertising on this site.

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Jane says:
March 8, 2011 at 10:22 pm
What are the kitchen dimensions? We're looking to do something similar and your space looks like it might be the same size. I'd also love to know the dimensions of the island and the amount of clearance on each side.
- Todd says:
  March 8, 2011 at 10:28 pm
  Jane - Great question. The island is 5' long and 4' wide, it's made up of several different base cabinet types. Nearest the sink is a pull out garbage cabinet and a deep drawer for pots and pans. on the opposite side is a book case and wine racks. Between those on the sides are two cabinets with drawers and shelving. We have 42" between the main cabinets and the island. It's a VERY comfortable and workable layout.
Jane says:
March 11, 2011 at 8:36 am
Todd--
Thanks so much for the info. We may copy your layout! Can you tell me how long and wide the kitchen work area is. We've got a 14' x 17' space but we have a doorway in there too. I think the island that we were thinking about is the same size as yours but I'm not sure we've got 42" clearance so maybe your space is wider. (I'm pretty sure we left at least 36" around the island in our design.)
- Todd says:
  March 11, 2011 at 9:51 am
  Jane - The area is 16' wide along the sink wall (corner base cabinet to corner base cabinet) and 10' from the sink wall to the end of the cabinet runs before the walkway.
  We actually have 42" clear on the sides of the island and 36" clear in front of the sink/stove. I could probably email you the blue print but the cabinets are not accurate as we changed the layout quite a bit from the original blue print.