Common Problem Spaces in Home Design

Homes often feature areas that aren't optimized, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms, leading to wasted storage or counter space. This post shares a couple of examples where a door's proximity to a wall creates a design challenge. Both of these older homes could significantly benefit from maximizing their space.

The first example comes from a small master bathroom. Initially, the linen cabinet had a reduced depth. The contractor chose to build an angled cabinet from the vanity sink to the linen cabinet, which created a visually jarring effect. The homeowner contacted me to upgrade the bathroom and inquired about building another angled cabinet. While I can have an angled cabinet built, I questioned its necessity. Stepping the cabinet back and rounding the countertop corner offers an easier solution, resulting in a more visually appealing and practical cabinet and vanity top space.

Homes often feature areas that aren't optimized, particularly in kitchens and bathrooms, leading to wasted storage or counter space. This post shares a couple of examples where a door's proximity to a wall creates a design challenge. Both of these older homes could significantly benefit from maximizing their space.

Before and after slide show

The first example comes from a small master bathroom. Initially, the linen cabinet had a reduced depth. The contractor chose to build an angled cabinet from the vanity sink to the linen cabinet, which created a visually jarring effect. The homeowner contacted me to upgrade the bathroom and inquired about building another angled cabinet. While I can have an angled cabinet built, I questioned its necessity. Stepping the cabinet back and rounding the countertop corner offers an easier solution, resulting in a more visually appealing and practical cabinet and vanity top space.

In addition to the doorway issue, the bathroom's small size made it difficult to use for an older couple. We removed the tub/shower combination and installed a walk-in shower. Keeping the field tile and cabinets in monochromatic white and replacing the shower curtain with glass made the room feel bigger and brighter. To add visual interest, we incorporated a marble mosaic pattern on the floor that extends into the shower, creating a more cohesive feel.

The second example is from a kitchen in a historic Everett neighborhood. In the "before" photo, it's hard to see, but there's only 13-1/2" from the wall to the mudroom door trim. Ther was a cart placed there for extra storage. The homeowner wanted to add a dishwasher that didn't have to be wheeled across the kitchen to wash dishes.

In the "after" photo, you'll notice the new dishwasher placed to the right of the sink. Since all dishwashers are 24" deep, and given the 13.5" space to the doorway on the other side of the kitchen we needed to get creative with how we treated that wall. The question became how to transition from a 24" deep cabinet back to a 13.5' deep cabinet. We decided to step-back the cabinetry. The homeowner loved the Barclay sink with its built-in drainboard, which also fit the house's historical style. Inspired by unfitted English kitchens, we treated each piece as individual furniture. The Barclay sink is 18-5/8" from the backsplash to the front, so we had a console built for it that was 18" deep. The dishwasher and drawers next to it are a separate piece with their own countertop. Adding the tall pantry cabinet to the left of the new sink cabinet allows for extra storage of items that don't get lost in the back of a cabinet. This design maximizes the space while remaining visually appealing.

Other improvements include switching from two small sinks in the double bowl to one large sink in the single bowl. Also, there was previously no place to set anything to the left of the sink, as the countertop just dropped off. The Barclay sink with the built-in drainboard provides counter space to the left of the sink that can be used as a drainboard.