How To Design Your Cabinetry To Work Best For Your Family – Inside Our Farmhouse Kitchen And Mudroom Cabinetry

For the kitchen and mudroom at the farmhouse, we are designing the cabinetry with utility and function first, then we’ll make it actually look good. Anne (ARCIFORM) and I have the exact same perspective that we can design anything to look good with the right finishes, materials, and styling – but it needs to first function right for your needs. It does NOT need to be 100% practical but you don’t want to get done with your cabinetry and realize you have nowhere to put your stockpot (the horror). So we spent a few hours going drawer by drawer and cabinet by cabinet placing everything we own – down to the tupperware. Thank you, Anne and Stephyn!! I’ve done this enough now to know that most of these decisions are honestly just personal preference, none of this is gospel but I thought it would be fun to show and give those of you some insight. Sure, you need to have your dishwasher somewhat close to where you put your dishes away, and you want your pots and pans by your range, but most is just preference and will be determined by how you like to use your space. Also, this is just round 1 and I’ve already changed some things but thought I’d walk you through it all.

Sink Wall

We have plenty of storage in this kitchen, but since we are using a vintage island (which has some drawers, yes) we want to lean hard on the perimeter cabinetry for anything that we would want customized (i.e. herbs/spices, deep drawers for bowls and plates, etc). So starting from left to right here is where we landed right now.
1. Pull Out Garbage and Recycling – Brian wanted it by the door and that made sense to me. It looks narrow to me in the drawing so we might have to reconfigure to make sure that both garbage and recycling fit plus a slot for bags. OOH, what about compost? It’s required in Oregon so I’ll need to triple check where people put that – just in the can?
2. Dishwasher – Now we originally had the sink centered on that wall but moved it to the left and now I don’t remember why… I might move it back also to give more chopping space near the garbage. Oh, I think it was because we might put a prep sink on the island and we wanted them to be spaced apart, but we didn’t want the sink and dishwasher to get too close to anyone cooking at the range to allow for better flow. Stay tuned for that
3. Sink with Cleaning Supplies Under Here – Now I MIGHT do a curtain which I know that Brian won’t be too excited about but I had a few DM’s that said it’s the perfect place to shove a step stool so that kids can easily do dishes. I also love breaking up the wall with something unexpected. I’m still deciding between a vintage sink, farmhouse style with an apron (as drawn in), or an undermount (which is what I’m leaning towards) but again – we are in the “function” stage right now.
4. Flatware, Dishware and Kids Bowls, Plates and Cups for Easy Access – Anne had a good point to keep the “getting of stuff” away from “doing stuff” so I like that it’s near the dishwasher enough, but someone can be loading/unloading or cooking at the range while someone else is setting the table – i.e. we won’t be on top of each other (not that it’s a big deal but good to think about).
5. Cooking and Baking Utensils and Tools, Casserole Dishes, etc.
6. Everyday Spices in horizontal drawer, Pull out utensils and pull out oils (with hidden interior drawer to maximize vertical height) – I guess you aren’t supposed to put spices near ranges because it dries them out way faster.

Range Wall

1. Top Left – Full of pots, pans, and mixing bowls. You might see “hanging pots and pans” on the windows and that’s because we want to do something a little funky there
2. Then on the right we kinda have free reign – more storage.

But after our call, I realized that we didn’t place cutting boards which I think are easiest accessed vertically (and since we wash them by hand and I might not dry them thoroughly it feels a little weird to stack them in a drawer). So I might reconfigure that bank of cabinets too.

Refridgerator Wall (AKA The Bar Side)

Then on the barside, we have fridge/freezer columns, and some under-counter appliances that we use a ton up here (we put kids snacks in the bottom beverage drawer and the mixers, etc in the top). Then on the left, we’ll have coffee and underneath it booze (Stephyn wrote Vodka because we measured the tallest bottle in our bar here and it was vodka, but no, it is not just a vodka drawer). We don’t know what we’ll put above the fridge/freezer yet (and I might do sliders up there) but likely overflow cookbooks, etc.

Island View Towards The Living Room

Then on the island, we have things that can be shallow as the drawers are only 7″ deep. So they’ll house knives, utensils, dish towels, ziplock bags, and tupperware. I’m thinking we’ll need more for tupperware, but you get the idea.

Again, this isn’t designed, just materials thrown in there for us to customize as we get to each element. OOH and we are likely working with Unique Kitchens and Baths on all the cabinetry and their work is AWESOME. Stay tuned for a coupon code for 10% off or if you email them now just reference my name and you’ll get it. More later, but they can do ANYTHING custom without insane lead times. I’ve been very impressed thus far, but stay tuned for more.

Also if you are wondering where our food is going, we have a cute walk-in pantry next to the fridge (hoping to find vintage doors to frame the opening). That’s its own beast to design (which I’m SO EXCITED) and will house small appliances (toasters, blenders, etc) as well.

What’s coming next week is us actually DESIGNING this bad boy. First layout (check), then function (tweaking currently), and next/now is the more fun part where we obsess about every single detail, finish, and material to ensure that we are bringing in the charm and soul that we want. Oh and we are working with Rejuvenation (all lighting made in Portland) and they have a trillion ways to combine their classic lighting so we’ll solidify that soon, too and you’ll see that process. We are pretty close to the fun stuff, y’all.

Mudroom Cabinetry Function

For round one I was obsessed with the idea of having a printer inside here with retractable doors. WE don’t really need a “home office” but we do need someplace to print stuff out and to house pens/staplers. Since this drawing, we’ve realized that we really need more coat space as this room will get USED. So we are going to put the printer in the guest room upstairs and make this more rain/winter coat/sweatshirt/hat needs. Vacuum and brooms on the left (we’ll have a broom in the kitchen pantry too), cleaning supplies, and then a pull-out dog food drawer. So where it says “printer” will now likely be more open hooks and a bench for wet shoes to go under. Up here we have so many coats and shoes at the back door in the winter so we want to make sure we are thinking about all the annoying stuff first.

So that’s round 1 of “how we designed the interior function” our cabinetry in the kitchen and mudroom. People are passionate about this, I know, but ultimately it’s really a personal preference. You’ll get way more of this in our next book, but basically, you want to know “the rules” so you don’t feel like an idiot later and have regret, but you live in your house how you want to, and if you want to put your cookie sheets in your pantry, you will not be arrested and you can still have a fulfilling life

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