Old Kitchen Layout Design: Limited Space...New Dishwasher?

by Alicia
(Delaware, USA)

Wow! I can't believe that I made this work!!!

When my mom passed away in 2006 I moved into her house. It was the house I was raised in. The kitchen was exactly the same as it had been when we moved in some 30 years before. Yeesh.

This kitchen has very limited cabinet space, counter space and floor space. The kitchen layout design just wasn't working for us!

Redoing the kitchen was easy as far as putting in new cabinets. A new modern, and deeper double sink. New updated appliances. A new tile floor. Everything was great, except...I wanted a dishwasher. And since this was something the kitchen did not have previously there wasn't already a spot for it.

I had three little kids. We'd been living without a dishwasher for years, but now I really wanted one.

No way an island dishwasher was going to work because there wasn't the floor space for it. To me, it seemed there was no way to get a much needed dishwasher into my otherwise beautiful new kitchen, then my sister had a brainstorm.

Why not go with an apartment sized dishwasher? I'd never heard of an apartment sized dishwasher. We had a spot that was formerly cabinet space. It was smaller then a standard sized dishwasher, but it was the perfect size for an apartment sized dishwasher!

Going from no dishwasher to a small dishwasher was fine with me. It was a compromise I was willing to make. Now my kitchen has all the modern appliances I need, and that any potential buyer would be looking for.

So when you're looking at that layout, or contemplating your kitchen layout design, don't get discouraged if it seems you don't have enough space. Consider unconventional replacements or custom made items to make your dreams fit into the space you have.