Gina was kind enough to go through my sketched layout and enter it into her system. It’s great to get a pro’s input, constrain the design to what’s easily available and typically done, etc. What I was not expecting is how useful the 3d renderings are in visualizing the space. They’re by no means photorealistic and don’t reflect our choices for styles, materials, and finishes (which we haven’t made yet), but give a good impression of flow and visual impact.
In the first shot, we’re standing about where the new fridge is slated to go.
There are a few problems here — in particular, the right-hand end of this peninsula is not at all the bar / hang-out area we had in mind — but you can see the vast expanse of work space around the prep sink, accessible from 3 sides, and how it relates to the rest of the kitchen.
This second shot shows what it really means to this space to tear down the wall between these two rooms. You also catch a glimpse into the new, better-integrated pantry space (on the right). I think the extreme perspective exaggerates how far away the fridge appears, but it’s worth checking into whether that’s going to be a problem.
Here’s an example of how useful these 3d views really are. We’re looking at the cockpit of the new kitchen — the area just around the stove. The idea is that the L on the left gives us more storage there, as well as more work surface accessible to the cook. It’s clear from this picture that to accomplish the latter, the stove needs to move more to the left. As it stands, the perpendicular section of countertop is a little too far away to be useful as a landing area. I could see putting a cookbook or laptop there, but not ingredients waiting to go into a stir-fry, or a turkey that’s just come out of the oven.
We’re having 2nd meetings with two contractors this coming week, so with luck we’ll have two rough estimates in hand and can choose a contractor the following week. Then the design phase of the project can really start in earnest.
