Cabinets from J&K Austin; Work by Endeavor Construction

Kitchen pain points: This kitchen was pretty small and space between the peninsula and stove was tight, especially if you were standing at the sink. The dishwasher was immediately adjacent to the sink meaning that if it was open, you actually can’t stand at the sink. Then you had the large pantry next to the fridge; It made the entire area small.

What we did: First, we had a few inches that we could move the peninsula pony wall outward. I think it was 7 or 8” and we could still have a countertop overhang. Then we moved the dishwasher out to the end of the peninsula. I do usually like to have the trash in that location, but being able to actually stand at the sink with the dishwasher open took priority and it was worth it. The trash is now directly adjacent to the sink and that works well. The final thing is that we moved the pantry out to the laundry room just on the other side of the door you see beside the stairs. There was plenty of room in there and it is still easy to access from the kitchen. This enabled us to scoot the fridge a little further from the corner and then we added a beverage area. Another thing I usually don’t like is having a refrigerator break up a counter space. I drew this up with a smaller pantry + fridge at the end of the run, and also with just the fridge at the end. In both of those scenarios, having a large floor to ceiling obstruction at the end made everything feel less open, and made the entry into the kitchen feel cramped. The beverage area has a shorter upper cabinet and larger backsplash area for a light and airy feel. Overall, I love how this turned out.