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).
