kitchen archetypes - Alrum concept

One challenge in designing the open kitchen is to make the overall look calm and simple. Too many different materials and too many lines will give a confused look. That holds mostly for the long wall.

First I tried the most obvious (I think) design with a wall of cabinets and an island in front, each with either the sink or cooktop. I modeled it with IKEA kitchen designer as well as VectorWorks renderer, and I came to realize that the calm look I am striving for cannot really be done if the wall surface is extensively broken up - by either a sink or a cooktop.

And if sink and cooktop instead are both in the island, then that will have to be at least 9' long to allow for sufficient space on the sides of each work place. So this is bad news for some of my "domino" concepts from a previous blog post (i.e., the partial overlapping of a dining area and the island just doesn't work - there is not room enough for sink + cooktop + seating.

So if I am to make the long wall un-busy, here are 6 different concepts for the kitchen. For each "archetype" I have estimated the utilitarian value in terms of # sf of usable counter space (excl. sink and cooktop) and # sf of shelf/drawer space

I think I have too little space to make the dbl. niche (4) look really stunning; and I am not really sure the single niche (5) is a good idea from a visual point of view though I still like the idea of putting all the dirty dishes away ;-)

Although there are less cabinet space in the horseshoe, it will likely be the most expensive solution since so much has to be customized. But it is intriguing
The two orthogonal island solution (2 and 3) could both be made wider if I don't need a separate freestanding table.

The double island provides tons of space, but unfortunately it is a bit tight as a 2 person work area. There ought to be 4' between the two islands to allow people to pass one another; but here I have only 3' or so (The total of 15'2" would be divided into 6' for island space and approx 9' to be equally divided between the three passage area). I could take out the shallow cabinets from one of the islands, or i could assume that the sliding door toward the hall will be open most of the time and therefor allow only 2' between island and wall (toward hall).

Landscaping questionnaire

(from a questionnaire on Bob Cleaver's web site)

PROJECT DESIRES:

I have 1 acre of land, and the nature here is magnificent and it seems a violation to impose on it - but perhaps we can give it a gentle helping hand ;-) Because for now 2 years (since I bought it), I feel I have not really been able to enjoy the outdoors.

As mentioned before, here are specific challenges:
1. getting visual screening to neighbor and Alpine road
2. establishing outdoor "rooms" where I would like to hang out - and not have to wear parkas and mittens to shield for the winds
3. trying to make good sense of 1 acre is too much for my own design skills: I would like to have the basics established - the "good bones" - so it would be easier for me to take on small projects


Describe your family members and their primary outdoor activities to be done at home.
- family = me
- ideally: hanging out with a book, my work, or entertaining (mostly grown-ups)

Describe what kind of gardeners you are or wish to be.
- lazy! or rather unpredictable, occasionally inspired to do new planting, pruning, etc ;-)
- and for the ongoing maintenance in the past I had a self-taught helper spend approx. 6 hours every week ( every other week during winter months) checking irrigation and drains, cleaning, weeding, doing small projects for me etc.

---

List the elements that you would expect to see in your garden.

Veggie garden:
mostly as planters near the kitchen - i.e., herbs, tomatoes, basil

Mini orchard??? In my previous home (Emerald Hills in Redwood City) I had dozens of cherry, almond, peach and plum trees plus several citrus trees. Most of them were old but producing faithfully. Only the citrus and peaches needed significant watering in growing season.

New entry
yes! Some serious work is needed to make the entryway more "communicative": where to go, where to park the car, ... and more inviting

Play area for children ages ?
N/A

Entertainment area (how many guests, how often, when, what type of event?)
informal garden parties, food/buffet, wine etc. for unpredictable number of people (12-28)

Meadow
I bought this property very much because of the unfettered view down towards the far (low) end of the meadow and then I raise the eyes gradually seeing depths of trees, ending with the Skyline ridge in the very back.
I absolutely don't want this area "manicured" or overly structured/built

List accomplishments you would like in your garden.

A quiet corner
I love to sit outside and work - under trellis or umbrella; problem with winds! It has to be close to the house; otherwise I am not likely to move out there with books, computer etc.
It is tempting also to think of small seating areas in the top oak grove (between street and house), in the lower redwood grove. Thinking of places to be when it is way too hot, or when it is way too windy on the south side

A dramatic scene for viewing
Important not to obstruct my million dollar view. My view is in several dimensions. Both a panoramic 180 degree view of the hills. And the expanse of the view looking from the house downwards to the end of the property. There is a beautiful oak down there, with lots of moss hanging from its branches.....

Privacy from the street
I need some planting to block the look into the LR and future study, but the planting must be in harmony with the oaks.

Find a balance about deer:
I could fence in the property and be over with the deer problem, but I kind of like to see the deer pass through in the early evening. I am leaning towards potentially fencing in a part (orchard) and just be selective on plants and diligent w/ liquid fence

A style and what that means to you:
Native Californian - but I am not a fundamentalist ;-) - To me it is important that the plants look like they are "at home" and that they like the climate and doesn't need too much fuss (water, care, etc).. So, I prefer native and drought tolerant plants both ecologically and aesthetically - however, I also love orchards ;-)
Drought tolerant - but again, I am not unreasonable: it would be ok to irrigate in the first couple of years to get the plants established and get some early fast growth, but the end goal should be an extremely drought tolerant landscape
In terms of hardscape and decor: I am a severe minimalist, with a lot of appreciation of a single surprising and possibly not-at-all-useful effect if it is clever!. I like when plain materials are being used in interesting new ways, e.g. a plant trellis made of rebar that looked beautiful against a stucco wall. Plain sidewalk concrete pavers can look beautiful if cut in interesting shape (e.g., into halves on the long side), laid with thyme or similar green stuff between


List your likes/dislikes/things that have impressed you.

A certain color(s), plant type
Absolutely no pansies -- How about a million different sages and grasses

Other gardens you have enjoyed and why
I admire the designs of piet oudolf - can spend hours drooling over his books (e.g., designing with plants).
I have seen pictures of some of Ron Lutsko's landscapes and find them beautiful, stunning



BASE INFORMATION:

Site Plan:

Property boundaries with bearings and distances (or limit of project area)
Here is a survey file with all the contours etc. It is a pdf file that - if opened from acrobat, will print out to scale in 24" x 36" format
http://www.goldenoak.us/SurveyNov2008.pdf - I also have a dwg file if preferred...

Location of house, proposed additions, other structures, trees, special site features
- (see above)
- And check out http://picasaweb.google.com/elinsphotos/GardenPerimeter# There are a couple of pictures of the existing perimeter planting plus a photo of a site analysis that was done last year; I am not sure it is very helpful though.
- I have a copy of a 2004 soil report (http://www.goldenoak.us/SoilReport.pdf) - originally created for the planning of the Tuscan villa that the prev. owners designed for the lot.


Elevations of site improvements, 2’ contours (elevations) of site
(see survey)

Architecture:

Footprint of foundations
I can provide drawings if we go forward

Door/window locations at all levels
Still being worked on w/ architect
Room descriptions

Elevations of building facades
Finished floor level approx 18" above ground on south side, approx. 12" on north side

Future additions anticipated
I can provide drawings if we go forward

More Velfac - even more relevant now

The discovery of Milgard's less-than-pleasing level of finish was a setback. I know I am awfully picky and not everybody would be willing to go through all the trouble of importing etc. just because of wacky miters and sloppy gaskets. But I am ;-)

So the Velfac find is becoming relevant. Even more because both Lars and Leif said Velfac is likely the best I can get for my application.

Here is a handle to the window-door-schedule that I would like to have priced.

Milgard windows and doors

Bad news on the window front. I had thought it would be a no-brainer to go with the Milgard aluminum windows. I mean, how hard can it be not to screw up the design of a simple modern alu-window?
I went and took a closer look at Milgard aluminum windows, and I found they looked really tacky.

The rubber gaskets creep out and bulge at the corners	The hardware is really unpretty	... and I hate the cranks
Ugly mitered corner	No thermal break
From WindowReview

Velfac

Velfac is a Danish window manufacturer who looks really promising. I like their 200 series with very narrow profiles, and then they have all this crisp hardware that I so miss in US windows and doors. Like narrow vent in the frame or the friction brake:


And they have a UK/Ireland distribution so the documentation is available in English (http://velfac.co.uk).
I'll check with Leif (my architect brother) and Lars from Arkitema to hear what they know about quality etc.
And I am sending off a request for pricing to the Danish sales office.

kitchen thinking - plans/sketches

Bob did some quick sketching of the idea of swapped kitchen/family with eating area in the kitchen. He preserved the definition of two rooms/two functions. As he said: it was quick and he had not put a lot of thoughts into whether there should be walls between or not.

I decided to play around with the "alrum" idea, staying within the parameter of using the 4 bays for kitchen&family with space for eating in kitchen:

A: Make the family room and kitchen be one big room; use the west wall for floor to ceiling cabinets, and provide an eating area in connection with a large multi-function island.
B: Make a pantry in the west-most bay, and provide an eating area in connection with a large multi-function island
C: Use the west-most bay to create 2 niches into which the most messy part of the kitchen stuff goes, leaving one "clean" profile for the open kitchen. The island could be the multi-function as in idea A and B, or just a large cooking and food prep island.

kitchen thinking - a few design concepts

Three kitchen concepts keep coming back to me:

1. niches or pantries: the HTH kitchen shows two niche - they serve to de-clutter the open kitchen



2. the countertop that continues down the side: my Seattle kitchen used the countertop idea from Kvik's mano kitchen. From SeattleKitchenFinal



3. partly overlapping breakfast place and kitchen island, as for instance in Randers/Arcos:

kitchen thinking - locations

The question of how/where to place the kitchen is up again. I am a bit of worried about the planned kitchen (see also posting from Thursday, February 5, 2009):

My first thought was it looked like a dentist reception or ticket booth, and my second thought was 'not enough useful cabinet space'. It continues to nag me... from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.
Addressing the aesthetic issue: I think the current (-ly planned) location would work much better if the kitchen was a true island - with no walls at all. But it would certainly accentuate the functional concern (about too little cabinet space).
The more I look at the plan, the more tempted I am to move the kitchen two bays west, allowing us to take advantage of the wall towards the BR/BA section of the house. That raises some functional issues: what happens to the family room and where would the dining area go - if anywhere.
Bob thinks that swapping the kitchen and family room will make the distance from the kitchen to the dining area (in the west end of the living room) too far. And he thinks that a family room is important for resale and that it also would make the living room too big / too long if it didn't serve multiple purposes (e.g., LR and DR).

Now, I think one of my problems is that I don't really know what a family room is; I never had one. It seems somewhat different form the "alrum" we have in Denmark - which is mostly a large multi-function room with places for cooking, dining, bill paying, homework; usually we don't have both a dining area and an alrum. And it would not be the primary TV watching location, I think.

What would I use an "alrum" for?
- cooking, everyday dining
- listing to music or radio, watching TV (very little)
- sorting mail and possibly bill paying (to prevent that they get burried in the mess of my office)
- garden planning
- fitness? possibly a place for a gym ball and the wii setup (requires some free space)
This suggests a couple of comfortable chairs (my 3 BM chairs? or the BM loveseat? not room for both). Cabinets with drawers and shelves, and possibly a smaller writing area. Possibly a TV that is mounted on a tiltable, turnable arm. Music system setup (where to place speakers?). And ample floor area (possibly: easy-to-move furniture).