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Need help with Eat in Kitchen
I have an eat-in kitchen that was renovated before we bought the house. It's maybe 5 years old, and I definitely don't have the money to reconfigure it to make it more workable. That being said, my question is about what type of kitchen/dining table to look for and the placement of that table. I really wish I knew how to post pictures, or that my kitchen was big enough that I could get one or two pics to help explain what the issue is. So I'll try to paint a picture for you.
When you walk into our kitchen from the living room, it's through a very small and narrow hallway. Basically it's just long enough to fit the door for the basement steps, and barely wide enough for one person to walk through at a time... there is no passing someone in this space. When you get to teh kitchen, to the right is a wall, to the left starts the cabinets/fridge/stove, etc. It's a rectangular space. The cabinets run in an L shape around the wall to the left. the wall to the right is a bare wall, and directly in front of you (on the far wall) is a glass sliding door to our deck and a window slightly to the left. There are no cabinets or anything (and really no room for anything like that on this wall.
So here's my problem. The only place to put a table that makes any sense, is up against the wall that is to your right as you walk into the room... which means it not only blocks the sliding glass door, but it also is right in your face as you walk into the room. I've tried to put the table in the middle of the room, and it seems like no matter how small the table is, I can't work around it to get into the stove, dishwasher or drawers. I've been toying with the idea of making a wall mounted fold away table, but I don't think my Hubby will go for it at all. Right now I'm using an old table that has been in my family for at least 40 years. LOL It was free and it works, although, it's a little too big for the space. I've dealt with it for 4 years, now I need a better option, but I just can't figure out what would work. If you've made it this far on this monster long post, I'd apprecitate any input. Thanks!
Re: Need help with Eat in Kitchen
Planned Executed
Unfortunately, I do need the table. We don't have a dining room. I work from home, so it's my office more than a kitchen table... but when we have a party or around the holidays when I do a lot of cooking, my laptop and office gets packed up and it's extra workspace/food bar. Right now it's the only place in our house that I can set up a quasi-office. I like the idea of a bench seat (mainly for the storage I could put under/in it). I had thought of it, but wrote it off because I figured it would be too long. But maybe I could make it work with a smaller round table. I really do need to figure out how to fit this in 2.2 square feet of space, because that's about what I have for my table/office. LOL
I agree with PP. A bench, built into the wall, with some storage underneath could work. But, instead of a round table - what about a long, skinny table?
From your post, it sounds like your rectangular kitchen is kind of long and narrow. Is this correct?
If you do the bench with a long skinny table, you could put matching chairs at either end. And, the side opposite from the bench could be another bench that could slide under the table when not in use.
I may be able to make a long skinny table work too... The only issue is if it's too long, the table will be in the walkway/hallway like the one I have now is. The idea of a bench on the outside of the table too is a really good idea... That way it kinda stores out of the way when not needed. Love that idea.
My kitchen isn't really narrow. It's maybe 10x13. I know that sounds big, but once you put the cabinets in, factor in the extra room needed to open the fridge, oven and dishwasher, then with the placement of the slider being kinda bad, you don't have much room to put a table where you wouldn't be running into it constantly. I have floor space, and it's nice, but if I put a table in the middle of the room (or if it's slightly too big like mine is now), it's either in the way of the slider or in the way of getting into the cabinets and such.
Your kitchen has exactly the same layout as mine! Except it looks like mine is slightly larger, it's 13'x12'. We also do not have a dining room and we previously had a large 44' wide oval table up against that wall blocking the way to the sliding door, and finally I had had enough of it and went out and bought a new table.
The new table is a standard 5'x3' rectangular table with four chairs and a bench on one side. It was essential for us to get a table with a long bench that could be pushed underneath the table on the side closest to the cabinets. I have the table about 38" away from the counter, 3' away from the fridge, and a little more than 2' away from the sliding glass door wall. Now I can use the table like a slightly lowered kitchen island, which works great for me because I'm short, and we haven't had any issues with the cabinet doors, dishwasher, or fridge getting in the way. If you have any spare room anywhere else in the house, maybe you could store extra chairs there? That way they won't be in your way as much, and when you do have guests over and need all of the chairs you can pull them into the kitchen.
This is the table we bought...
http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/p_10151_10104_021C123458150000B?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1