kitchen sketchup

During the last week or so, we have been updating our sketchup 3D model in order to study our ever evolving design ideas for the kitchen. While we had worked out the general cabinet layout and “what goes where” in autocad, we wanted to see how the materials and colors were coming together. As a result, we did a good deal of tweaking. We then went to IKEA to more closely examine colors, sizes, and door and drawer operation. Then, more sketchup tweaking. We’re pretty happy with where things are at, but will likely continue to adjust things here and there in the next couple of months. [click on images to enlarge.]

The bluish-gray base cabinets are IKEA Abstrakt as are the upper white horizontal cabinets (both have a high gloss finish similar to our bathroom vanity). The darker base cabinets provide some visual grounding and will show less dirt/food splatters/etc. White upper cabinets (and maybe countertops) will help the space feel light and bright. Since the kitchen will be part of a larger great room, we’d like to express the different components as a cohesive, built-in cabinet. To achieve this, we’ll build two infill boxes out of fir, one over the fridge and one to the left of the white cabinets and then wrap the entire composition in fir plywood.   

The range shown above is the actual range we bought yesterday(!) and the refrigerator and dishwasher are what we currently own. For the range hood we’re thinking of going with a simple and clean model from vent-a-hood. We bought a sink on sale a few years ago, though we’re considering swapping it for a single, deep basin. We have yet to pick out a faucet, but will be looking for something that’s modern with a pull-out spray nozzle.

Here’s a view standing at the dishwasher looking back at the dining and living area. The island will be constructed of two drawer units and a shelf unit, with the opposite side and back wrapped in IKEA end panels. The shelf will hold the microwave and Bailey’s bowls (hence the cutouts). For the countertop, we’re thinking IKEA’s beech butcher block or lyptus. We really want the island to be a large, open work surface that can accommodate several people [attention future dinner guests, you will be put to work!].

We had originally planned on chocolate brown paperstone countertops, but with the darker base cabinets we’re now thinking of something lighter – maybe either ecotop or a quartz material. We’re also still mulling over the backsplash at the range. It could be an opportunity to introduce some color (mustard yellow?) without being committed to that color forever. A few ideas include back-painted spandrel glass or just a really high gloss paint.

This bird’s eye view shows the overall layout and the connection to the adjacent dining area. The back door and windows are part of the work we did this past fall so at least we can already check off one thing from the list!

We’re also assembling a collection of material samples and will share those once we decide on potential countertop materials. We feel like we’ve made some good progress and it’s exciting to see things come together. In addition to finalizing materials, there are still a few design decisions to be made including finalizing our lighting plan [and selecting the fixtures] and deciding if we want to add any skylights. Before demo can begin [March, we must make ourselves wait till March!], we need to do some work in the attic so insulation does not rain down upon us once the ceilings come down.

Oh, and we still need to finish the porch/mudroom. Blerg.