This REALLY spoke to me because I have thought about this issue a LOT. The issue is if one should substitute refrigerator drawers in place of a traditional tall refrigerator in a small kitchen.

This is a personal issue for me as well as being a basic kitchen design issue that I am interested in.

We own our own little piece of New York City. At the moment, our apartment is used full time, as our son, attending college, is living here for perhaps one more year. He and his girlfriend cook up a storm most nights a week. The tall, old, 33" refrigerator is packed.

As my husband and I talk about the future, we'd love to be in this apartment on a part time basis for the foreseeable future.

Last year we removed the wall that separated the kitchen from the main living area in the apartment, exposing the kitchen. It was the very best thing we could have done. It opens up and combines the living area and the kitchen but makes the aesthetics of the kitchen more important than ever.

So, in thinking about renovating our kitchen down the road, I consider three issues, as I think everyone must when designing a small kitchen space: resale, fumction, and aesthetics.

RESALE

I think the default position on resale considerations is that a tall refrigerator is better than refrigerator drawers for the vast majority of potential buyers. I think that is safe to say. In our case, we think we will hold on to this apartment down the road, but we do not feel 100% sure which makes resale an issue.

FUNCTION

Bending, bending, fruit near the floor, sift through food (while bending.) Limited storage...and where does the freezer go? Platters, larger quantities of refrigerated food storage? Better think about that.

AESTHETICS

Aesthetics IS an issue in kitchen planning and should be examined carefully, the plan with and without a tall refrigerator. My heart wants to forget about the two issues above and build in refrigerator drawers solely for aesthetic reasons! In a small space, yes, I agree with the designer of this featured kitchen by House Beautiful...refrigerator drawers can be an enormous plus aesthetically as opposed to a tall refrigerator - even a fabulously built in slim refrigerator.

That's the thing...aesthetics, at least in my world, are as important, and sometimes more important, (gasp) than function, to which I, personally, am (sometimes) willing to adapt to. That's the other thing...if you go with your heart, make sure your head is very well aware of potential consequences (oh, how responsible, sigh)

I don't know what I'll end up doing when we eventually renovate this kitchen, but I know I will consider ALL issues very carefully and I'll beware of my emotions taking control of the decision. Then, I just may say, ok, whatever, I really want to open the kitchen up to the max, come what may. I can see that. :)

KITCHEN OF THE YEAR

Do you know about the kitchen of the year? It's being built as we speak in the middle of Rockefeller Center in New York. Designed in collaboration with Ina Garten, one of my favorite cookbook authors of all time. I think I have every cookbook she's authored! The KOTY will be on display from July 20-24.  I'll certainly be attending the event!

QUESTION #1:

Susan! Love your blog. Here's my question: Redoing my 1960s kitchen that has a bump out bay window area intended for a tiny dinette table. I wish to change the space to serve a function other than seating. Have you done such a modification before in your work? Could you describe or show other options? Thanks! --Erin in Dallas

HI Erin! My own home had a bump out bay that just didn't work for us. We ended up straightening out the bay section and bumping out another section of a wall in a rectangular way and this dining image shown was the result.

Another idea is to create a lovely (non dining) seating area such as here (bay window partially obscured). In yet another project, actually 2, a kitchen island is floating in the center of the bay window, with enough room around it to clean, or even to walk entirely around, but which features the bay window fully as the architectural element it is. Decorative items can be placed on the floor.

The bay window can stand alone-perhaps install nice, long windows. And, of course, one can build in book shelves, set in a low furniture piece or make it a wonderful spot for a desk. I can also see it as a spot for a decorative/functional wood stove, with some alteration of perhaps a solid tiled wall behind the stove in the center of the bay if necessary.

And, do not forget the view beyond the bay windows. That can be as important a feature to the space as the inside treatment. Consider what your view is and what you would like it to be/how you'd like to relate to the outdoors. That will also give you clues as to how you'd like to enjoy the view from the inside.

Here's one of many possible concepts:

QUESTION #2

Hi. Thanks for this. I was wondering is there a way for me to test whether I really would like to live with a completely different colour on my kitchen cabinets? Currently I have an off-white colour of cabinet and would like to consider a deep, moody blue. I have a lot of natural light in my kitchen so am not worried about it being dark and depressing but am worried about "how can I tell if the tiny picture I saw on Flickr for inspiration will really work in my space"? thanks again, Melissa p.s. I live in Australia

Hi Melissa, and thanks for your question, all the way from Australia! Definitely on my list of places to visit.

That's a really great question. In the end, we never REALLY know how we are going to feel on the "other side" of a decorating/design decision, but the most preparation you can do beforehand will help ease the transition from your current look to something totally new. You mention a tiny picture that you saw on Flickr that is inspiration.

Your instinct is right. One tiny picture is not enough. Have you done a simple search of "blue kitchen cabinets"? If not, here you go, and look at the images tab above the search page as well. Here is a recent post by interior designer Linda Merrill who just posted on blue kitchens. Look at many images. Observe the foundation elements of flooring, walls, lighting, overall size, countertop color, style and find several that are relatively close to your situation, and that will bring you one step closer to YOUR reality. This phase is very important.

Do multiple searches and create an organized bookmarking system, perhaps on delicious of, say, blue kitchens with light or dark countertops, blue kitchens with light walls, a certain type of flooring, etc. This is a research phase. Be methodical. Take your time.

The more you understand about what you like about certain images, being fully aware of what ELSE is going on in the image besides the blue cabinetry, in other words, looking at the space as a whole but understanding the parts, will bring you closer to feeling either more or less comfortable. You need to put the time in. I was going to mention using design software to upload your room and then color the cabinets blue, but that will not go far enough. Be a temporary student of the separate elements of a kitchen with blue cabinetry. That's what will give you understanding of this look.

QUESTION #3

Susan, Sending a photo of our current kitchen cabinet color and flooring. We have an oak - mocha colored hardwood that runs through the kitchen/nook and formal living room (we use as a formal dining room). We are having to replace the flooring due to a leaky dishwasher that caused it to buckle. I chose a black/stainless dishwasher (other appliances are all black at this time), lighting and faucets are that very dark brown that looks blackish. We will be selling in 2 years (military). I am hoping for some quick advice on flooring material/color. We can't get the same to repair. Should we go tile in the kitchen/nook area (color?) and leave the dark hardwood in the DR? Or chance wood again, and if so what color? I don't love the dark wood b/c although it looks great clean it shows ever spec of dirt immediately. We are not in a position to replace more of the kitchen than our insurance will cover ie. cabinetry. Thanks for any suggestions! Becky Colorado Springs

Hi Becky! Thanks for your question. Thank you for your service to our country!

Here we go. There are several missing pieces here, Becky, making it a bit of a challenge to give you solid advice, but I will try my best. Not seeing the context of flooring as relates from the kitchen into other rooms, where the nook is, what it looks like, etc. all have an impact on recommendations.

When you say that you "cannot get the same to repair", that leads me to believe that the existing flooring was a kind of engineered wood. No, I would not do wood strip flooring, even in another color. It can be done, but I cannot see the space enough to recommend it in this situation. If you'd like an earthy, less kitchen-y feel like the wood floor you have now, definitely consider a cork floor. It's comes in many beautiful neutral colors, or other colors such as, say, a smoky blue, is easy to walk on, a sustainable material, and should blend very well with surrounding rooms. If you have 12x12 cork tiles, I'd consider laying the floor in a brick pattern.

You can consider a ceramic tile black and white checkerboard, which is classic and formal. It will relate to your black appliances as well. You can do that also in Marmoleum Click tiles: http://bit.ly/FTvoR another sustainable flooring option, a good one.

Another idea to consider, one that is not very common these days, but may be perfect for you, considering the formality of your surrounding rooms, is wood parquet flooring. If you look hard enough, you can find good deals. Here is parquet flooring in a foyer: http://bit.ly/OI5cP It could be a DIY project too if that is an attractive idea.

As for ceramic tile, the sky is the limit in terms of ideas. Not knowing the layout, you could attempt to bring in a tile "rug" design in your nook or even in the center of the kitchen. Look for similar tile thicknesses, and combine a foundation of simple textured tile in the space with patterned tiles to form a "rug" or other sort of central/formal tile design in a logical area of your kitchen. Ask the tile store for assistance in selecting tiles to work with each other.

I hope this has been helpful!

That's all the time I have now for questions. I'll do this again soon...

Send me your questions on kitchen design! I'm hosting an event on facebook starting today through Saturday. Go here for information and instructions: 

Ask Susan!

While at the facebook page, be a fan!

UPDATE Wednesday: Room for a few more....send in your questions!

I never had one and I never thought much about owning one, even though I have installed many for my clients over the years. I guess it was the cooktop or microwave that did the jobs I needed.

It has a generous 2/3-gallon capacity that dispenses 200 degree water instantly. And the filtration system reduces chlorine taste and odor and is listed under NSF Standard 42 so you can be assured of its performance.

One of my first questions was that I wanted to learn about the green aspects of this appliance. It does use energy, after all. Each tank uses about the same energy as a 40-watt light bulb. That is enough energy to heat and cool the water that is currently in each tank. 

When you use the handle on the instant hot water dispenser, cool tap water flows into the tank. The cool tap water is first filtered and then heated to approximately 200 degrees F for the stainless steel tank and up to 38 degrees F for the chilled water tank, and flows into the expansion chamber where it's ready for later use. So, new tap water is filtered (FILTERED, YES!) and then displaces the hot and cold water that was dispensed. Since the dispenser is not used for extended amounts of time during each use, like a dishwasher or washing machine, it is a very practical and energy efficient product for daily use. 

Here are some great uses for it:

Loosen Jar Lids-great for Aging in Place Seniors.

Remove Labels From Bottles.

Remove Wax Residue.

Polishing Silver.

Polishing Jewelry.

Faster Cooking.

Warming Baby Food.

Quick First Aid.

Keeping Food Hot.

Remove Baked-On Food.

Melt Chocolate.

Remove Shortening.

Creaming Butter.

Removing Fruit/Vegetable Skins.

Cutting Cheese.

Cleaning Cheese Graters.

Scooping Ice Cream.

I love it because the cold water is cold and not only does it speed the cooking process but when I think of how long the gas cooktop has to be on to heat water over and over during the week, among numerous other things, this has to be a better solution.

Here's a sneak preview....one of my kitchens is on pages 24-29.

These are just two of the many images you'll find of this kitchen...get it while it's hot!

I know that honey oak is not the thing now, but our cabinets are new and the budget is really tight. Can you suggest granite colors that would work with natural oak in a small condo kitchen with no windows and very light challenged?

CambriaYou had me at "no windows" Jay! Take a look at quartzite in a white. It's the lightest stone that is also durable. Ask for that. OR, get the classic black and white granite. I cannot think of the name, but it looks fine and is very inexpensive and has a light appearance. Quite "busy" however. There are also many cream colored granites which might fit the bill.

All that said, I'd prefer that you look at engineered stone instead. Caeserstone, Cambria, Zodiaq, are engineered stones that are more solid in color and perform better than most granites. While you're looking, also consider IceStone, which is made from 100% recycled glass or ECO by Cosentino, another eco friendly engineered stone material made of 75% recycled content.

Some of these materials look very close to granite, but in your case, the visual consistency of this type of material will work to your benefit, helping your kitchen appear more spacious....and just easier on the eyes overall in my opinion. Granite may be a knee-jerk reaction, understandably for many, but please be open to other materials for the reasons stated above. I am not sure if you can get some of these materials in 3/4" thickness, but that would help the budget.

Find a kitchen design professional to help you with getting a quote for your countertop. He/she will handle all the details for you and make suggestions that will enhance the countertop design. Trust me on this. A kitchen design professional knows the little tips and tweaks that other sources for your product generally do not care about or know about. There will be a significant difference in the quality of the details and installation when the specifications are handled by a kitchen designer. 

I almost forgot...whatever material you are seriously considering, please do yourself a favor and get as large a sample as you can get and proceed to put food substances on it and let it sit overnight. Give it a variety of tests...food, scratching, etc. to understand the properties of the material under stress. 

This is Caeserstone, Champagne Limestone, which I love and have used before.