True to form, we’re all over the place over here. After switching up the ol’ blog design (and figuring out why the header was MIA for 20% of you – here’s hoping it’s back) we’ve also been plugging away at our $6 cabinet makeover but aren’t quite done with the painting/building-up process (here’s hoping we’ll have photos and lots o’ words to share early next week). But crazily enough, in the meantime we’ve also been doing some yard work, a random bedroom project, and have even started brainstorming the next phase of the kitchen. Hence this brain dump.
We’re still saving our pennies for things like new appliances to begin the next step of our slow & steady kitchen overhaul (remember when we upgraded the fireplace and wood paneling a little while back?). So as we wait for the bank account to say “sure, go buy a new wall oven that’s not bisque, and a new microwave that’s not black”, we thought meeting up with an old friend of ours to get a few kitchen ideas might be nice. Who is this mysterious old friend that we speak of? Why it’s Nancy Kulik, the lady who helped us plan our first kitchen makeover through Home Depot (they offer up Certified Kitchen Designers to help for free if you buy cabinets or counters through them, of which we got both).
We knew that we wanted white cabinets and light marble-esque counters (they were actually granite) during the planning stages of that makeover back in 2007 – so we didn’t look to Nancy for much “style advice” during our 113 day kitchen reno. But she was truly invaluable when it came to space planning. She just knows how people use kitchens and where appliances should be placed to maximize function, and we fully believe that our first kitchen would have been half as useful if we didn’t have her free-with-the-purchase-of-cabinets advice when it came to where to squeeze in a dishwasher, relocate the fridge, and build in the microwave. Lesson learned: sometimes the pros know best. So take their advice whenever it’s free (and even when it’s not if you need it). You know, so you don’t DIY a kitchen all alone that’s semi-functional when you can DIY something twice as useful with some pro advice and a smidge of well-spent cash (assuming you can’t track down free services like those from HD or Lowe’s).
But back to our buddy Nancy. We actually kept in touch with her over the last three years since our big kitchen makeover in 07′ (she and Clara are practically BFFs). So she was sweet enough to offer to glance at a floor plan and a few photos of our current house’s kitchen to give us a little here’s-what-I-would-do advice. Second lesson learned: there are definite perks to staying in touch with any kitchen geniuses that you may encounter.
But first a little refresher. You’ll remember that the eat-in part of our kitchen currently looks like this:
We’ve always planned to add a built-in island in place of the too-small dining table, just because when we knock out a huge doorway in the wall across from the fireplace to connect it to the dining room we thought two tables lined up through that opening would look odd (a big round one in the dining room and another one so nearby in the kitchen = crazytown).
So we thought a big round table in the dining room and a smaller built-in island by the fireplace would make sense and be less “hello table, meet my friend, table.”
Here’s an old floor plan that we shared last November before we even moved, just to give you an idea of what we thought might work when it came to the island (with the new wide doorway to the dining room that we plan to add worked in there too):
Oh while we’re on the topic of someday dreams, we’d love to paint our cabinets white and craigslist our white, bisque, and black appliances and upgrade to stainless steel. When it comes to our counters, we plan to work with the granite that we have, but completely redo the backsplash for a crisper, lighter look. And those florescent tube lights and big brown fan? They gots to go.
While we’re rattling off things on the list, of course we’d love to redo the floors but aren’t sure if there’s hardwood running all the way under the entire kitchen that we can refinish (we know it runs under part of it, but haven’t confirmed all of it) or if we’ll have to just redo them with something new entirely. The challenge of that is that we’ve learned that our floor joists aren’t built strongly enough to hold the weight of stone or ceramic tile (I thought slate would be awesome in there, so yeah… le bummer). We’ve toyed with everything from lightweight cork to some sort of linoleum (Candice Olsen has done some surprisingly awesome kitchens with that on the floor) but we’re nowhere near a decision. We’ll keep you posted though.
But I digress (who’s surprised?). Back to our talk with Nancy Kulik and the big kitchen idea she came up with (pretty much on the spot because she’s cool like that). Are you ready? She looked at the new to-scale floor plan that we brought with us (and a few photos) and realized that something was wrong, wrong, wrong on our little whole-house floor plan (seen three photos back, which we did months ago in November). That something? The fireplace is almost in the corner of the room in real life. So the placement of the fireplace in that old floor plan is totally off.
Thankfully it was drawn in the actual correct location in the newer kitchen-only floor plan that we brought with us to our Nancy meeting, but since it’s not actually centered on the wall (and practically kisses the door that leads to the hall), no island could be centered on it without nearly touching slash completely blocking that doorway (which we definitely want to keep open). So Nancy suggested something that we never would have thought of ourselves. And I mean never. Brace yourself. She proposed a floating L-shaped banquette that faces the fireplace and the frame wall.
Note: don’t mind that vertical line that follows the back of the banquette to the door to the living room, she just dropped that in to tell us that we should line those things up- but the banquette wouldn’t be attached to anything, it would just float in the middle of the room to keep things open- just like an island would, but since it would face the fireplace in a way that an island wouldn’t it could make a lot more sense.
I’m not going to lie. Both of our first impressions were “thanks, but no thanks.” But as she further explained her vision we slowly started to come around. See, I’ve always adored the cozy-factor that is an L-shaped banquette. And if you search “banquette” some pretty cute images come up on google and Pinterest. A breakfast nook-ish type space like that might not be everyone’s cup of tea (there are definitely some die-hard island-lovers out there), but we actually thought it could be even cozier than our previously considered idea of an island. Especially because it would make sense of the off-centered fireplace in a way that an island never could (since it couldn’t ever be centered on it or lined up in any real way). So we took Nancy’s little scrap paper sketch home and taped out her floating L-shaped banquette idea on the floor:
To explain what you’re looking at, the smaller L that’s being spooned by the bigger L would be the actual bench seating that faces the fireplace & the frame wall (which would make sense of the layout a bit more than a big floating rectangle that doesn’t line up with the fireplace at all). And the bigger L would be built-in cabinetry that wraps around the back of the bench seating to create a nice nestled nook that looks as good from the back and the side as the front (and provides a nice amount of concealed storage that’s accessible from the back, just like an island would have done).
As for the height, we thought keeping the tops of the cabinetry and the banquette seating the same height as the lower cabinets in the rest of the kitchen would make things feel cohesive and open (many of our inspiration images above have banquettes that are the same height as the base cabinets). And of course knocking out a huge 6 foot wide doorway to the dining room behind the banquette (which will have pretty cabinetry that faces the doorway so it looks good from behind) should keep the flow nice and airy – so nothing feels too boxed in.
I know it’s pretty much impossible to picture, so here’s John sitting at the fake banquette (although the table would be a smaller pedestal based thing, possibly square, oval, or even round – and possibly white or even a color, but probably not dark brown).
Note: we’ll have to move the lighting on this side of the room regardless of an island or banquette creation since it’s placed too far apart to make sense either way – and in the case of the banquette we’d center it over the table, not the seating (like many of the inspiration images).
It’s admittedly still impossible to picture (and I would bet $20 that nearly everyone reading this is completely not sold on this idea), but here’s a round pedestal table tossed in there in case that helps the picture come together for a few of you (since our banquette table will definitely have a pedestal base to make maximum room for legs).
And here’s a lower square table (of course too low for a banquette, but this sized top might be right) to possibly help the vision come together a little more. As of now we’re both actually bigger fans of a rounded top – like the one above – but who knows where we’ll end up.
Who am I kidding. This probably doesn’t help anyone. And you all think we’re crazy to consider this. I know it. And we might be. But we’re excited enough about it to at least keep this idea on the table for now. Har-har.
See how the fireplace in the corner almost makes sense in that location with the cozy banquette facing it (which will be lined up with the doorway to the living room, so that doesn’t feel random either)? Nope. You still don’t see it. Haha. Well in person it actually has a lot of balance and makes considerably more sense than any island shape / placement that we’ve taped out on the floor over the last eight months (of which there have been many). We might just have to build our cabinet-backed banquette with cardboard or something to try to envision it further. Or use some serious photoshop magic to help picture it (the challenge is finding photos of the backs of banquettes since so many shots are looking into the L-shaped seating nook as opposed to looking over its shoulder from this angle).
Oh and ignore the crazy white fireplace surround on the floor, since it seems to encroach and crowd the table waaaaay too much. When we redo the flooring in the room that’ll be remedied since we have plans to double side the fireplace down the road so you can peer into the living room through it (but will either make it gas or keep it completely inoperable so kiddo(s?) can crawl through the hole like it’s a secret passageway – so there won’t be a huge tile rectangle on the floor anymore).
I’ll leave you with this picture again, because it’s the one that makes my brain hurt the least when I try to picture things:
So all of this is to say that we taped off a crazy shape on the kitchen floor and we’re seriously considering some sort of cozy banquette-ish breakfast nook as opposed to a centered island with an off-centered fireplace nearby. It should be interesting. And the odds are that we’ll end up making some semblance of a decision someday. And we promise to keep you posted. Off to dip back into the aforementioned bedroom project and the office cabinet makeover. Ah DIY, you fickle friend. Maybe next week we’ll be less scattered. Who are we kidding? Probably not.
Alexis says
I love it. You could possibly anchor it further by having the side that backs up to the kitchen (does that even make sense?) have some kind of counter function business kinda like your third inspiration pic. I don’t know/ just an idea. When you first said floating banquette I was super “say it isn’t so,” But now I think it would be a really great idea and would totally fit your lifestyle. Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea! Another possibility!
xo,
s
Kate S. says
I don’t know why you’d assume we’d all hate the idea–it seems like most people like it. I’m definitely intrigued, since, if it were my kitchen, I would actually put some comfy armchairs in there around a breakfast table, essentially for the same sort of look/idea.
YoungHouseLove says
I just thought it was so hard to picture and I wasn’t doing a good job of explaining it. Haha.
xo,
s
gena says
I also love it ! Although we’re on the other side of life from you guys – old enough to be your parents, grown and married kids – we recently did a 2400 sq foot addition to our house.
At that time we took out the family room and replaced it with a gym (one of our sons was recently disabled and gets PT there). With out a cozy spot to watch tv, I had to think outside the box and switch things around. So…. we hung the huge flat screen in our kitchen eating area ! I replaced the kitchen chairs with love seats and a big cushy (executive style office) chair. Toss in a few quilts and some pillows for snuggles and it’s the ideal spot to watch tv, eat, pull up the laptop or just about anything else we ever did in the family room ! I wish I’d thought of this when the kids were little – it’s perfect and sure beats the little 12 inch tv we used to watch in there – lol !
I figure you could be doing something similar with your cozy banquette and really take advantage of the fireplace on those cold winter days. You might even want to hang a smaller flat screen over the fireplace !
You kids are dong a great job with the house – it looks like a spectacular place for Clara to grow up ! You both remind me of my oldest and his wife that are working hard on their 1900’s Dutch Colonial.
gena
Kelly says
I’m sure whatever you guys end up doing will work. I myself am having a tad hard time envisioning it. But I loved your last kitchen, so I trust Nancy. I have always had a hard time trying to figure out what something will look like before it’s actually in place (even when I squint my eyes and tilt my head.) My only slight concern will be how the back of the banquette will look from the dining room. Once that wall is opened up, I just wonder if the back of the banquette will sort of “block” that doorway, visually speaking. Like I said, hard to envision right now. Once you get the mockups in place, I’d love to see some photos from the dining room looking into the kitchen…oh wait, the wall isn’t opened up yet. Shoot.
Does that make sense?
But overall, I’m excited whenever you guys try something. You always make me smile.
:-)
Kate says
I love the idea of a banquette so much more than the original island plan! I’m not a huge island fan to begin with, and thought the size of the one you were planning had the potential for a lot of unusable and wasted space. Love love love the banquet, and think it will be such a cozy place to curl up and chat! Would you consider putting cabinets or shelves along the back 2 sides for additional storage?
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, that’s the plan! And we’ll get some countertop too out of the deal!
xo,
s
Charlotte says
LOVE the idea…but I would face it towards the kitchen, so storage faces the dining room and the photo hallway…with a round table for sure!
Valerie says
love, love, LOVE the idea!! Between the sketches and the pictures (nice work John) I can picture it and am in love with it! It will make for such a cozy kitchen!
Julie says
I just think it is really weird that your kitchen is on the interior of the house with no exterior windows. Doesn’t that drive you crazy, especially when you need to air out the food smell? Any plans on that kind of room re-planning?
YoungHouseLove says
Thankfully there’s the side door in the laundry room right off the kitchen that we can open up. And I think when we knock out the big wall to the dining room (which has a giant window and front door in it) we’ll be all good! Here’s hoping.
xo
s
EJK says
I really like the banquette idea as long as you can be sure it will be big enough for a (growing) family! Very cozy with some good drop lighting over the table and a fireplace (I would do gas, personally). One thing that my mom is doing in her kitchen redo is a great little bookshelf on one end of her L-shaped island that can hold cookbooks and pretty serving bowls (or white ceramic animals, who knows?). I think it’s a great storage and display idea. FWIW.
Andrea Roberge says
I think the banquette is a great idea! I also never would have thought of that, and when you first mentioned having a floating banquette, I thought it was crazy. But after looking at the mock up with the round table, and thinking of all the amazing fabrics you could bring in for cushions and pillows- I’m sold! It would be so cozy to have a relaxing brunch sitting there in front of the fire. And the built in storage is always great!
BTW- I’m finally able to see the new header. I wasn’t able to this morning, but it seems to be working now!
Annie says
Yeah, I don’t love it. I do like the idea of an “L”-shaped banquette and/or seating that creates a hang out ares (so important in a kitchen!). My worry with the floating banquette is that it will feel too closed off from the flow of the kitchen and dining room and will be too much in its own world. Plus I envision awkward, unusable space around it. To me, a kitchen needs a gathering spot for people to chat, do homework, browse the internet, etc. But that space should be free-flowing and easy to come in and out of. The banquette as you’re proposing feels restrictive.
Gina says
Love your new blog design! And I also love to watch your kitchen progress. I wish I had a ‘designer friend’ to pick a brain or get outstanding ideas!
Just one thing to consider for you guys: feng shui or the idea of energy flowing in your home. You want to open your wall towards your existing dining room. This wall opening would also have your entry door right on the opposite side. While you sit at your L-shaped breakfast nook/island/banquette, your back will face that side.
Good/bad/indifferent?
Maybe I just can’t visualize it yet.
On the other hand, I am sure it will turn out great. Your previous kitchen certainly did..
Beckie says
Hi guys, I didn’t have time to read the 725 comments before mine, haha. so someone may have mentioned an idea like this already. However, I was thinking some cardboard boxes cut to the hight and depth of the banqette seating could really help you visualize what a piece like that might feel like. Best of luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Love it!!!
xo,
s
RVA Born and Raised says
Didn’t read through all of the comments, but all of the photos are now MIA.
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! We have heard some offices have started to block photos from amazon.cloud (where we store all 100,000+ pics, and have for the last 3 years) so we hope that’s not the case and it’s just a glitch. We didn’t change anything on our end, but here’s hoping they pop back up soon for ya! Fingers crossed…
xo,
Katie J. says
Love it! Great idea.
VOL25 says
Just wanted to say… I also LOVE the idea!! :) It sounds like more are for it than against it. :) I’m just thinking it sounds suuuper cozy, AND since you have the luxury of a formal dining area/table it would be the best of both worlds to have something comfy and cozy. I think that the fireplace and banquette would be a match made in heaven. ;)
Traci says
I like the breakfast nook idea. I don’t know how much you cook, but when I grew up my mom cooked a lot. My favorite place in the kitchen to lay and talk with her was on the bench seat of our kitchen table. My brother and I even started writing on the underside of the table every year on special occasions. I still have the table in my house and can’t bear to get rid of it because it holds so many special memories. The point of this long story is that at Christmas-time you could even slide the table out of the way and let Clara lay on the bench in front of the fire while you guys talk and bake and merry-make! Always good to consider the warm and fuzzy memory potential of home design.
Julianna says
just wanted to say that I LOVE it!!
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
UM I think you should totally go for this idea. I never would have thought of it either but it’s awesome. Can’t wait to see how it turns out if ya’ll decide to do it!
Ingrid says
I think this is a genius idea and will work great with the space you have, go Nancy! I think the Tulip table from Ikea would be perfect for that space. I think you need something round with all the square edges in there. I can’t wait to see what you do!
Krista says
I love the banquette idea, very inventive. Definitely something only a professional could come up with, especially since it is in the middle of a room instead of in a corner of the room. I saw some tape down in your hurricane post but I thought you were looking at rug sizes. I’m looking forward to seeing that makeover.
Ursula Ellis says
I think the banquette idea is perfect. It’ll be functional and resolves the fireplace issue nicely. And I’m so envious…we have a dining room where the beams, two windows, and ceiling fan/light don’t line up. And unless we put in a third window, they’ll never line up. Frustrating, I’m thinking of paining in a window.
I also want to tell you how much I enjoy reading your blog everyday. It’s fun, informative, inspirational. I do sometimes feel a bit like a voyeur. Not so used to this blogging thing as I’m probably your parents age. But, Sherry, my parents are from Austria; I’m very short; I grew up in New Jersey; and John, my son Nick goes to UVA. Not trying to say anything with all of that except that I think it’s funny. Love Clara too. And Burger.
Thanks again for a daily does of great entertainment.
jbhat says
Nice work, Nancy. And who are we kidding. You are her favorite customers, walking in with your to scale floor plan for her to work with. (Having the cutie pie baby doesn’t hurt either.)
jbhat
Sarah says
I think it’s a great idea! I can’t wait to see what you do with it, and everything else in that kitchen. I can just imagine a light, airy, clean space.
And a bonus to the banquette is that it could serve as a kind of buffet for the dining room once you knock out that pesky wall..
Mollie says
i’m totes game with this idea! i actually wasn’t sold on the standard island because i didn’t think it would bring enough balance to the room since it seems like that end of the room has the same sq. footage as the “kitchen” part. and the lower seating makes more sense looking into the fireplace probably too?
and i of course love that john has no shame to pose like that. you could do some fun photoshopping w/ that pose. :)
Elizabeth says
I love the idea of a banquette in the kitchen. Plus as Clara (and any other littles) get older it will be so nice to have a spot to park her for doing homework etc while you make dinner or whatever.
Vivian says
Although I love the idea of a banquette/kitchen nook, I can’t help but feel it still doesn’t quite work in the middle of the room. As Allison mentioned above, you normally see these nooks in the corner because they look out onto an open area whereas this nook would face the fireplace. You guys always style your mantle well, but it would feel a bit claustrophobic staring at the wall while eating everyday… maybe? Personally I prefer the island idea. It sort of feels like you are trying to design around the off center fireplace which wouldn’t even really be used (from the kitchen side) instead of making that eating space work better for your soon to be larger family. Your rooms are always so airy (even if they are small like at the old house) and sticking the banquette in the middle facing the fireplace just seems tight and awkward. Ok, I am stepping off my soapbox now. Whatever path you decide I know it will look amazing. Cheers! :)
Alissa says
Have you guys ever considered using Google sketchUp? It is a really simple program to use, they also have a free trial version- and video tutorials. You could test your banquette idea out without having to Photoshop everything to death.. The cool thing about the program is you can measure your kitchen space.. and build the banquette to scale inside. Then you can rotate around and see it from all angles. It might seem intimidating at first, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it within an hour… it’s really that easy.
Also, if you build the banquette to scale, you could use your sketch-up model as a guide for when you build.
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to use that to try to picture it- and cardboard too probably!
xo,
s
Monica says
I think it is a brilliant idea – I had a breakfast nook in or first house and loved it. I am guessing that someone may have already suggested that you switch the “L” so that when seated, you will face the kitchen – also- I think it would be hard to
“get in” if you have to go around to the side near the hall door to get to the longer seating bench. But am sure you have thought of it. I’d try setting it up with benches and a table and stuff and living with it for a while to see if you can deal with walking around to get in and to see if you don’t mind facing the hall. Can’t wait to see how it all works out!
andrea says
The header is there, but the photos wont load :( I am using IE 8 on a computer I use every day…so I am not sure why it isnt working!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! We have heard some offices have started to block photos from amazon.cloud (where we store all 100,000+ pics, and have for the last 3 years) so we hope that’s not the case and it’s just a glitch. We didn’t change anything on our end, but here’s hoping they pop back up soon for ya!!
xo,
s
katie says
I love the idea and think that it would help the fireplace placement make more sense and it could look so cute with pillows, cushions, etc. And I’ve seen a ton of these in blog-land/ on Pinterest lately. However, I wonder about the convenience of walking around the thing to put food on the table since it would face away from the kitchen prep area towards the fireplace…? Just a thought coming from someone who likes to save steps when getting dinner on the table.
YoungHouseLove says
I think it’ll be easy to place things on the table from behind and next to the banquette. Hard to picture – but we’re hoping to share a few renderings sketches that help more this afternoon!
xo,
s
Chris says
What software do you use to draw your floorplans?
YoungHouseLove says
Floorplanner.com- it’s free!
xo,
s
Nell says
i love this idea! very practical if you build out the back to include extra storage. also… the built out back could serve as a sort of buffet table if you are entertaining… since it will be seen from the dining room.
Whitney says
I LOVE THE IDEA! I am all about cozy! I can just picture Clara coloring a picture snuggled in a bunch of pillows (more reason to buy more pillows right?) with a fire going while you whip up something in the kitchen!
Cristina H says
I actually LOVE this idea- I see it and I think it’s the perfect way to incorporate the fireplace. I think with an island it will just look out of place. Just my thoughts- loving where the kitchen is going.
AJ says
I LOVE the idea of the banquette. I actually want to put one in my house too. They are just so cozy. Maybe after you do it, it will give me the inspiration to plan one for my own home. That is if I can get the hubby on board with the idea too. haha.
Diane says
I love the idea of the L-shaped bench/storage combo that faces the fireplace. I think it would be cozy.
But I must say I would think that it would be better utilized with a really low table and for drinks/small snacks, than with a taller table (blocks view of fireplace) and actual meals.
Also, I wonder if visitors would actually sit there (out from underfoot) and talk to the cook(s), as readily as they would sit at an island facing the cook(s). I bet they’d feel cut off from visiting with the cook(s) and come stand in the kitchen, rather than sit at the L-shape bench facing away from the rest of the kitchen.
I’m just curious why you want to keep the doorway at the far end of the kitchen, next to the fireplace, open… the one that leads to the hall? You’ve got three other entries. Maybe closing that doorway would open up some other options?
Best of luck with it!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions! We’re having trouble keeping up with them all, but we’ll definitely consider everything as we go and share all of our plans (which probably will change by the minute)!
xo,
s
maryb says
you would win that $20 on my account lol but its YOUR kitchen and you should do what makes sense for your family – and while i love breakfast nooks, i guess i just cant visualize a ‘floating’ one. cant wait to see what you decide!
Sara C. says
A pun in disguise?: … “Second lesson learned: there are definite perks to staying in touch with any kitchen geniuses that you may encounter.”;) Kitchen… en-counter… ? Get it? Or am I the only one?!! btw.. LOVE the new look! I’m a lurker… but I sure do love hearing (reading) from you guys everyday!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahha- an accidental pun. I love it.
xo,
s
Sheryl J says
I thought you guys were going to make the livingroom doorway wider. This would make the island a little more centered.
YoungHouseLove says
We decided against that since we wanted to keep the whole house from being too open (being in the living room at night is nice because folks can’t see straight through from the street). Widening that doorway wouldn’t move the fireplace itself anyway, so any thing centered on it would be too close to the hallway opening since it’s only about a foot away.
xo,
s
Casey says
What about turning the breakfast nook so it is facing the fireplace and rest of the kitchen. It might make the actual kitchen feel more open and then people sitting can talk to people cooking instead of having their back to them.
YoungHouseLove says
Sadly, that just won’t make sense of the off-center fireplace. We’ll be sharing a sketch this afternoon that will hopefully clear that up!
xo,
s
Claire says
I know this may shock you, but I am totally on board with this idea! I think it’ll be great to have a warm little nook that makes sense with the fireplace. I hope you guys decide to go for it!
Melissa says
Not sure if anyone mentioned this or not, but it would be pretty awesome to mount a tv above your fireplace in the kitchen. The banquette would be a really cool place to have coffee and breakfast while watching the morning news. Love the banquette idea!!!!!
heathyr says
I just had to post a comment to you that you don’t need to convince us that the banquette is a good idea because we’re already behind ya on it so I don’t think you’re crazy. I am actually really surprised that both you and John were hesitant once Nancy proposed the idea, that’s how awesome it is. I was secretly wondering how the island idea would look since the current state of your kitchen is a bit lop-sided (cabinetry on half of it, fireplace on the other half), so wasn’t sure if sticking an island in the middle of the fireplace area would work. I wasn’t doubting you as I know you pull off everything anyway. This is rambly, but my point is that I think the banquette is a much better idea :) I am totally on board and can’t wait to see it play out. Plus, I’ve always wanted a banquette in my own home; unfortunately, we don’t have the eat-in kitchen space for it!
Sabrina says
I love the idea of a breakfast nook. I have always loved them. But then again I have always wanted one of those beds that are built into the wall like on David the Gnome. Kuddos if you remember that show lol I just saw a banquette for sale on craigslist and wanted it to refinish but sadly there is no room in our kitchen. Poo!
Savannah says
I think it will be great in your kitchen! You seem to have the perfect space for one – And even with a fireplace right in front! Can’t get better than that if you want cozy! I saw that someone mentioned an island on casters… That might be an idea, if you’re not completely sold on the banquette?
You guys are awesome, by the way. Much thanks for the continued inspiration with my own little home! :)
Jenn C. says
Have y’all seen this? http://www.ikeahackers.net/2006/12/andrews-daybed-turned-banquette.html
Jenn
YoungHouseLove says
So genius! I love it!
xo,
s
heather c. says
Ok at first I probably had the same reaction you guys did – then I saw some examples and I am SO.ON.BOARD!
Here’s a thought – what about if you guys closed off the hallway walk thru/door. You guys are doing a HUGE open doorway to the dinning room so there will be plenty of light. And that way you could have the banquette back against that wall (where the hallway doorway is now). And I can’t remember if there is an entrance from the kitchen to the family room – but if there is not, then can you make a doorway? It looks like there is room on your drawing between the fridge and fireplace.
I can’t wait to see what you guys end up doing – you guys are always so fun and creative and FEARLESS!!
YoungHouseLove says
We have thought about closing that off but keep going back to the fact that we love an open room and we use that doorway all the time and love seeing the frame wall (instead of a closer wall that we could put up instead). Who knows where we’ll end up!
xo,
s
Jill says
That is brilliant! You now have me rethinking the island we’ll be putting in our kitchen within this next year and trying to decide how to make a banquette/nook work in our kitchen instead! Love the new header as well, very fitting for you guys!
Adrienne says
Yea! First I couldn’t see your pictures and now I can again! But I guess I’m in the minority here with the banquette idea. I find it akward. I don’t like that there is no one sitting across from the person facing the fireplace. Also, you can’t get to the table without walking around the banquette. The banquette can’t double as serving space when you have a party.
Also, an island is so convenient for food prep, projects, storage, etc. You can use the island as a buffet area for food when you have guests. And the island is right there for serving people from the kitchen.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad the pics came back for you Adrienne! I have no idea why they disappeared for a bit! Thank goodness it’s over. As for your concerns with the banquette I think a rendering we’ll share this afternoon may help. It shows how you can easily use the back of the banquette (the countertop that will go over the cabinetry behind the banquette) for serving space and even kitchen prep space. Hope it helps!
xo,
s