Hey friends! Here is a link to my online design solution - mailchi.mp/1baf2bf5b7b7/the-dream-package If you or someone you know is looking for a kitchen design, but don't know where to start, this may be the place!
Another piece of cautionary advice. If your contractor is building cabinets for already existing appliances these appliances one day might break and you can’t fit new appliances into your old space. This happened with a great stackable washer and dryer we had from the late 90’s. When the washer died all the new models were larger than our old ones. So now from being concealed by a folding door …we had to take the door off so our new ones fit. We just redid our kitchen but our fridge is old. This time they gave us room to the sides and up above if we end up with a larger fridge. The extra space is camouflaged with white trim. Thanks for another great video.
Kitchen renovations are not for the faint of heart. Unless you're going to hand it over totally to a designer and/or contractor to do everything for you (which most people will not) you have a interesting road ahead of you. Everything you said in this video & your others are on point. This is the short of what I've learned. Take your time. I know...everyone wants to get their project done in 2-4 weeks, but especially if you're doing a custom kitchen & DIYing it, that's not going to happen & that's okay. I have learned the more time you take, the more you figure out that what you thought you wanted or were going to do, you end up not doing. That's a good thing, it gives you more time to think & rethink your choices, as to not make a mistake that you'll regret. PLAN: I can't stress that enough, think about everything FIRST, before you pick up any tool. How do you work in your kitchen, how messy are you, what's your REAL budget, what storage do you need, what can you get rid of, there are literally hundreds of decisions that go into a kitchen reno, I had no idea, I ended up in tears sometimes due to poor planning. Think about this, your cabinets, counter tops, flooring are the most expensive purchases & also are permanent, but so is something people don't think of, your back splash, that's half your kitchen, so choose slowly & wisely, I've had to take out old granite, scrape tile back splash off walls & rip up glued down floors, it's not fun! Then, if you're doing your kitchen yourself, think about how you're going to get those upper cabinets up, get as much help as possible, you'll need it. Bringing up "fillers" for your cabinets is such a good point, you need space for them in your kitchen design, don't just measure the total space, remember to allow for fillers (aka) you might not know up front how much filler you will need, until you have the cabinet up) also another very important tip: NOTHING is perfectly perfect! You might have high & low points on your walls & ceilings, that affects the overall way your cabinets will go up & how much filler you'll need. Measuring is ultra important, but knowing your high & low points are too. There's so much to do to get the dream kitchen everyone wants, but, if you plan & take your time & know, for at least a little while, you're going to live through the grime & fustration of doing your kitchen, you WILL achieve it & be happy, it'll be worth it.
What about a blind corner where two cabinets are coming together? Is 1” filler on each side enough? My tentative DIY remodel plan has an IKEA unit with the pull out half moon shelves that already has a built in filler attached to the cabinet there, but the opposite wall I’m not putting a unit in the corner because it backs up to the back entry that is very small so I want a cubby there as a landing surface, place to put my purse, keys, things to return to store or library, etc. Is just 1” sufficient? What if I wind up with a farmhouse sink in the end if my U next to one of the legs of the U? How much do farmhouse sinks extend beyond the front of the cabinet, as I’m sure that would have to be factored in for drawer units at a right angle to the sink unit?
Excellent point about fillers. In my kitchen, the dishwasher is at a right angle to a bank of drawers. After the dishwasher was installed, we opened the door and found that it just barely cleared the drawer pulls. Disaster averted - we got lucky! A one inch filler next to the dishwasher would have given more clearance for the door.
Mark thank you for this. I need every inch in one wall plan, so and I am hoping that 1" filler between a ikea 24" base cabinet and a vertical dry wall will work instead of 2".
We improved our two-person kitchen by installing two sinks, one big and one small. The small one is adjacent to the dining room and right next to the dishwasher. The big (double) sink is for food prep and washing items too big for the dishwasher.
Great video 😭wish I had watched this tips before we signed off on our countertops. we now have a blind corner cabinet, where the drawer cant open fully because it runs into the handle of the stove. I knew this, but in the midst...things got forgotten.
Hey Sandra! Thanks for the comment. Sorry to hear about that corner though. It's so easy for things to get overlooked on a kitchen project. There's just so many details. You are not alone on that one.
I took note of your mention of the design mistake of installing the cabinet door hinge on the wrong side, which left me wondering about a kitchen renovation that was completed by a contractor in 2018. For reference, the work involved renovating a builder-grade kitchen (about 11'x12') that was nearly 20 years old at that time. The cabinets back then were those orange oak ones with that foot of space above. Cabinet hardware (knobs or pulls) had never been installed on the builder-grade oak cabinet doors. The 2018 renovation involved replacing these build-grade cabinets with Shaker cabinets with installed T-bar pulls. This set included 42" wall cabinets and 36" base cabinets. The issue that continues to bug me to this day involves the 12" W base cabinet between the range (left, facing the cabinet) and the refrigerator (right, facing the cabinet). On the 12" W base cabinet, the hinges were installed on left and the pull was installed on the right panel of the cabinet door, with the door opening towards the refrigerator. However, the pull on the 12" W wall cabinet was installed in the opposite direction. Facing the 12" W wall cabinet above this base cabinet, the hinges were installed on the right, with the pull installed on the left panel of the cabinet door to allow the cabinet to open towards the refrigerator. The installation of the hinges and cabinet pulls seem backward to me with these aligned wall and base cabinets opening in different directions. Does this installation make sense? Too bad that I realized this too late given that I had no reference of how hinges and handles were supposed to be installed before I started comparing this condition with photos of other kitchens. Looks like I have to buy a cabinet door and have the holes plugged (a job that I plan to have a tradesperson do since I don't want to mess up this installation). Hopefully, I can obtain touch-up paint with the cabinet door order and that the plugged holes won't detract from the appearance of the cabinet box.
Yeah, that was definitely an oversight by the contractor or designer. That's one of those palm to forehead moments. Plugging holes in the doors is definitely possible, although is tricky. Thanks for the comment.
I learned the very hard way that my non refundable floor mode Bosch dishwasher was about 2 inches shorter than most dishwashers. I assumed they were either 24 or 18 inches and had no idea until I installed it that they came in different heights as well.
Yikes! Yeah most dishwashers have adjustable legs. Maybe they took them off the floor model for some reason. Either way that is not good. I hope you got it installed ok.
Great video! Once you know the HxWxD of the fridge, how much space should you allow? (ie so the doors can open properly etc). Is there a general rule to follow?
Well, it's always best to refer to the manual, but for an opening, an inch all around is fine normally. If the fridge is against a wall, then you definitely need to check the model number to see what they say. It's different for most fridges. It could be 3" or more normally for full function.
I have a bad kitchen layout, now dont know how to fix it, cant move the stove or sink, they are together without any space in between, one side of the stove is against a wall, etc.. any idea how to fix when the whole basic layout ?
This is the best channel for kitchen design/advice. I would like to make the distance between the bottom of the wall cabinet and the worktop to be 28 inches to make the kitchen look more spacious. What do you think about this?
@@MTKDofficial Thanks for replying. It’s not a wide kitchen but long so I wanted wall units to be high but family are saying they will be impractical- I’m only 5 foot 3. It’s an Ikea kitchen and I’m going for tallest wall units.
@@coverupper1354 yeah, if you were 6' 3" it may be a different story. You may be sacrificing accessibility by doing it. What about doing one section of cabinets like that? If you have the room, it would allow for a break in the layout while not making every other cabinet hard to reach.
@@MTKDofficial Hi! Wow so amazed you responded! Thank you! Trying to cram into one quadrant of a 14Lx12w lol. So Area is approximately 7x5 plus some give and take. I’m sorta using wall shelves as “countertops” lol. Lots of hight available though, hi ceilings. Maybe 10’. Also flexible with the space so could run a straight kitchenette along the 12’width of the space. Idk , heads spinning with all the options/variables. It’s fun to work on though! Thanks so much for reading and responding! Your amazing!
@@danielcontreras9343 Hey! Yeah, my pleasure, I try to respond to as many as possible. The good thing, is you sound like you have options. I think the 12' straight run is the better way to go. Even though they are both 12' options essentially, turning a corner always eats up space. Appliance sizes will be critical in making the space work as well. Thanks again.
@@MTKDofficial thank you so much! Tiny homes really are mysterious beasts. They sort of demand ingenuity/creativity. And because it’s such a small space you can splurge on more luxury materials since you only need like 2 ft.² sometimes LOL. Thank you again for the great suggestion!
It's basically just a strip of wood or even melamine sometimes. it's cut to fit to the size it needs to be during installation. If a the side of a cabinet is 1" from the wall, the filler "fills" the space. It is most important if the wall is not plumb or level. Hope that makes sense.
We are adding onto our kitchen with a pantry. I am wondering how much space you need to walk through an area. It is in a traffic area from the front door
Great advice on allowing for fillers. .... btw, your music levels are so low that it sounds like whining, pulsing machinery.-no music needed... Your words are enough.
Hey friends! Here is a link to my online design solution - mailchi.mp/1baf2bf5b7b7/the-dream-package
If you or someone you know is looking for a kitchen design, but don't know where to start, this may be the place!
Another piece of cautionary advice. If your contractor is building cabinets for already existing appliances these appliances one day might break and you can’t fit new appliances into your old space. This happened with a great stackable washer and dryer we had from the late 90’s. When the washer died all the new models were larger than our old ones. So now from being concealed by a folding door …we had to take the door off so our new ones fit. We just redid our kitchen but our fridge is old. This time they gave us room to the sides and up above if we end up with a larger fridge. The extra space is camouflaged with white trim. Thanks for another great video.
Kitchen renovations are not for the faint of heart. Unless you're going to hand it over totally to a designer and/or contractor to do everything for you (which most people will not) you have a interesting road ahead of you. Everything you said in this video & your others are on point. This is the short of what I've learned.
Take your time. I know...everyone wants to get their project done in 2-4 weeks, but especially if you're doing a custom kitchen & DIYing it, that's not going to happen & that's okay. I have learned the more time you take, the more you figure out that what you thought you wanted or were going to do, you end up not doing. That's a good thing, it gives you more time to think & rethink your choices, as to not make a mistake that you'll regret.
PLAN: I can't stress that enough, think about everything FIRST, before you pick up any tool. How do you work in your kitchen, how messy are you, what's your REAL budget, what storage do you need, what can you get rid of, there are literally hundreds of decisions that go into a kitchen reno, I had no idea, I ended up in tears sometimes due to poor planning. Think about this, your cabinets, counter tops, flooring are the most expensive purchases & also are permanent, but so is something people don't think of, your back splash, that's half your kitchen, so choose slowly & wisely, I've had to take out old granite, scrape tile back splash off walls & rip up glued down floors, it's not fun! Then, if you're doing your kitchen yourself, think about how you're going to get those upper cabinets up, get as much help as possible, you'll need it.
Bringing up "fillers" for your cabinets is such a good point, you need space for them in your kitchen design, don't just measure the total space, remember to allow for fillers (aka) you might not know up front how much filler you will need, until you have the cabinet up) also another very important tip: NOTHING is perfectly perfect! You might have high & low points on your walls & ceilings, that affects the overall way your cabinets will go up & how much filler you'll need. Measuring is ultra important, but knowing your high & low points are too. There's so much to do to get the dream kitchen everyone wants, but, if you plan & take your time & know, for at least a little while, you're going to live through the grime & fustration of doing your kitchen, you WILL achieve it & be happy, it'll be worth it.
Hey Susan!
This is great! You should script my videos for me lol. Thanks so much for all this insight.
I highly recommend all viewers to read this.
What about a blind corner where two cabinets are coming together? Is 1” filler on each side enough? My tentative DIY remodel plan has an IKEA unit with the pull out half moon shelves that already has a built in filler attached to the cabinet there, but the opposite wall I’m not putting a unit in the corner because it backs up to the back entry that is very small so I want a cubby there as a landing surface, place to put my purse, keys, things to return to store or library, etc. Is just 1” sufficient? What if I wind up with a farmhouse sink in the end if my U next to one of the legs of the U? How much do farmhouse sinks extend beyond the front of the cabinet, as I’m sure that would have to be factored in for drawer units at a right angle to the sink unit?
Just be careful on the handle size. 1” might be tight.
Mark you are a great help.
Excellent point about fillers. In my kitchen, the dishwasher is at a right angle to a bank of drawers. After the dishwasher was installed, we opened the door and found that it just barely cleared the drawer pulls. Disaster averted - we got lucky! A one inch filler next to the dishwasher would have given more clearance for the door.
Yes! You cannot overlook those fillers. So important!
Mark thank you for this. I need every inch in one wall plan, so and I am hoping that 1" filler between a ikea 24" base cabinet and a vertical dry wall will work instead of 2".
Yeah 1" should be fine. That's all I ever allow, unless for some reason it needs more. But that should do.
We improved our two-person kitchen by installing two sinks, one big and one small. The small one is adjacent to the dining room and right next to the dishwasher. The big (double) sink is for food prep and washing items too big for the dishwasher.
Ah! Very cool. Great idea.
Great video!
Thanks Rob. As always!
Hi keep it up im sending all your videos to my designers as education
Hey! Thanks for the encouragement, I am honoured.
Great video
😭wish I had watched this tips before we signed off on our countertops. we now have a blind corner cabinet, where the drawer cant open fully because it runs into the handle of the stove.
I knew this, but in the midst...things got forgotten.
Hey Sandra! Thanks for the comment.
Sorry to hear about that corner though. It's so easy for things to get overlooked on a kitchen project. There's just so many details. You are not alone on that one.
You are awesome!!! This was an incredibly helpful video!! Thank you!
Hey Wanda! Thanks again. Glad to hear that I was helpful!
I took note of your mention of the design mistake of installing the cabinet door hinge on the wrong side, which left me wondering about a kitchen renovation that was completed by a contractor in 2018.
For reference, the work involved renovating a builder-grade kitchen (about 11'x12') that was nearly 20 years old at that time. The cabinets back then were those orange oak ones with that foot of space above. Cabinet hardware (knobs or pulls) had never been installed on the builder-grade oak cabinet doors.
The 2018 renovation involved replacing these build-grade cabinets with Shaker cabinets with installed T-bar pulls. This set included 42" wall cabinets and 36" base cabinets.
The issue that continues to bug me to this day involves the 12" W base cabinet between the range (left, facing the cabinet) and the refrigerator (right, facing the cabinet).
On the 12" W base cabinet, the hinges were installed on left and the pull was installed on the right panel of the cabinet door, with the door opening towards the refrigerator. However, the pull on the 12" W wall cabinet was installed in the opposite direction. Facing the 12" W wall cabinet above this base cabinet, the hinges were installed on the right, with the pull installed on the left panel of the cabinet door to allow the cabinet to open towards the refrigerator. The installation of the hinges and cabinet pulls seem backward to me with these aligned wall and base cabinets opening in different directions.
Does this installation make sense?
Too bad that I realized this too late given that I had no reference of how hinges and handles were supposed to be installed before I started comparing this condition with photos of other kitchens. Looks like I have to buy a cabinet door and have the holes plugged (a job that I plan to have a tradesperson do since I don't want to mess up this installation). Hopefully, I can obtain touch-up paint with the cabinet door order and that the plugged holes won't detract from the appearance of the cabinet box.
Yeah, that was definitely an oversight by the contractor or designer. That's one of those palm to forehead moments.
Plugging holes in the doors is definitely possible, although is tricky.
Thanks for the comment.
Very informative, straightforward, easy to understand. Thanks for your effort to explain it well. New subs here.
Hey! Thanks so much for the comment and the sub!!!
Awesome!!!
I learned the very hard way that my non refundable floor mode Bosch dishwasher was about 2 inches shorter than most dishwashers. I assumed they were either 24 or 18 inches and had no idea until I installed it that they came in different heights as well.
Yikes! Yeah most dishwashers have adjustable legs. Maybe they took them off the floor model for some reason. Either way that is not good.
I hope you got it installed ok.
Great video! Once you know the HxWxD of the fridge, how much space should you allow? (ie so the doors can open properly etc). Is there a general rule to follow?
Well, it's always best to refer to the manual, but for an opening, an inch all around is fine normally. If the fridge is against a wall, then you definitely need to check the model number to see what they say. It's different for most fridges. It could be 3" or more normally for full function.
A bit late, but need to also consider where the heat is going to go.
What refrigerator do you have? Are you happy with it?
Very happy with it. Samsung RF-265BEAESG/AC
I have a bad kitchen layout, now dont know how to fix it, cant move the stove or sink, they are together without any space in between, one side of the stove is against a wall, etc.. any idea how to fix when the whole basic layout ?
I'd have to see it to be of any real help. Feel free to send a picture if you want. I can at least give my opinion. mark@mtkd.ca
This is the best channel for kitchen design/advice. I would like to make the distance between the bottom of the wall cabinet and the worktop to be 28 inches to make the kitchen look more spacious. What do you think about this?
Hey, thanks so much! As long as you can access the cabinets and don't mind the height. It would definitely open up the space.
@@MTKDofficial Thanks for replying. It’s not a wide kitchen but long so I wanted wall units to be high but family are saying they will be impractical- I’m only 5 foot 3. It’s an Ikea kitchen and I’m going for tallest wall units.
@@coverupper1354 yeah, if you were 6' 3" it may be a different story. You may be sacrificing accessibility by doing it. What about doing one section of cabinets like that? If you have the room, it would allow for a break in the layout while not making every other cabinet hard to reach.
Teach me how to make the most out of my tiny home! How do I build a kitchenette in such a small space?
Hey. Sounds challenging!! What are the dimensions?
@@MTKDofficial
Hi! Wow so amazed you responded! Thank you!
Trying to cram into one quadrant of a 14Lx12w lol. So Area is approximately 7x5 plus some give and take. I’m sorta using wall shelves as “countertops” lol. Lots of hight available though, hi ceilings. Maybe 10’. Also flexible with the space so could run a straight kitchenette along the 12’width of the space. Idk , heads spinning with all the options/variables. It’s fun to work on though!
Thanks so much for reading and responding! Your amazing!
@@danielcontreras9343 Hey! Yeah, my pleasure, I try to respond to as many as possible. The good thing, is you sound like you have options. I think the 12' straight run is the better way to go. Even though they are both 12' options essentially, turning a corner always eats up space. Appliance sizes will be critical in making the space work as well. Thanks again.
@@MTKDofficial thank you so much! Tiny homes really are mysterious beasts. They sort of demand ingenuity/creativity. And because it’s such a small space you can splurge on more luxury materials since you only need like 2 ft.² sometimes LOL. Thank you again for the great suggestion!
4:45 Someone tell this to the airlines 😅
really though!!
What's a filler? What does it look like?
It's basically just a strip of wood or even melamine sometimes. it's cut to fit to the size it needs to be during installation. If a the side of a cabinet is 1" from the wall, the filler "fills" the space. It is most important if the wall is not plumb or level. Hope that makes sense.
We are adding onto our kitchen with a pantry. I am wondering how much space you need to walk through an area. It is in a traffic area from the front door
42” is the usual go to. If people are going to be passing each other in this space , that’s the minimum.
Great advice on allowing for fillers. .... btw, your music levels are so low that it sounds like whining, pulsing machinery.-no music needed... Your words are enough.
You should show examples instead of just describe things. Show the appliance and door swinging open the right way, for example.
Good point. Thanks for the input!