[damian]

I'm putting a new kitchen in my basement, and pretty much the entire remainder of the basement will be finished for entertaining/dining for parties and large family gatherings. Other than the obvious double range w/ griddle/broiler and such, what are some other pieces of equipment and/or specific arrangements that i should be looking for? I have a decent sized 200 square foot area to work with for the kitchen. I've always had pretty small kitchens with limited luxuries so i'm kinda overwhelmed now that i see what's out there.

[phatch]

You'll benefit from a butler's style pantry for storing the myriad dishware an entertaining focus requires. Also gives you a place to clear dirty stuff to without cluttering up the work area.

Multiple dishwashers, again, the butler's pantry would be a good place for some of the drawer style DW to handle just the tableware. Then you can put one or more normal ones in the main kitchen for the cookware.

Multiple refrigerators. Even as just a modest home cook, I need two refrigerators. Condiments from all the different world cuisines start to take up more and more spaces plus the specialty bits I make myself that keep well but don't all get eaten at once. A dedicated freezer, probably a wine fridge...

Rather than an island or peninsula, I'd get kitchen karts wtih lockable wheels. they can live in one place like an island most of the time, but then you can roll them out tableside for doing something there or next to you at the counter or sink for specialty work. More versatile and can still look nice. On the down side, you lose the options for sinks, stoves and power outlets at the island. You can do these spring coiled power outlets you pull down from the ceiling to use as needed but they won't look very good.

[damian]

Originally Posted by phatch

You'll benefit from a butler's style pantry for storing the myriad dishware an entertaining focus requires. Also gives you a place to clear dirty stuff to without cluttering up the work area.

Multiple dishwashers, again, the butler's pantry would be a good place for some of the drawer style DW to handle just the tableware. Then you can put one or more normal ones in the main kitchen for the cookware.

Multiple refrigerators. Even as just a modest home cook, I need two refrigerators. Condiments from all the different world cuisines start to take up more and more spaces plus the specialty bits I make myself that keep well but don't all get eaten at once. A dedicated freezer, probably a wine fridge...

Rather than an island or peninsula, I'd get kitchen karts wtih lockable wheels. they can live in one place like an island most of the time, but then you can roll them out tableside for doing something there or next to you at the counter or sink for specialty work. More versatile and can still look nice. On the down side, you lose the options for sinks, stoves and power outlets at the island. You can do these spring coiled power outlets you pull down from the ceiling to use as needed but they won't look very good.

thanks. actually the carts sound like a good idea. My envisioned island wouldn't have a sink or electrical power anyway because i'm not running new plumbing/wiring under the basement floor. the only option would be to locate the island around one of the basement poles, and run plumbing/wiring conduit down the pole into the island.

i'm planning on a wine cellar under the stairs, on the opposite side of the basement, so i won't need to worry about that for the kitchen side. i think i'm going to go with one refrigerator, and maybe another under the counter drawer type refrigerator.

are multiple sinks all that useful?

[phatch]

A LARGE sink is very handy. Mutlitple sinks come into play more for what you have to wash by hand. How big the item is, how many and so on.

[damian]

Originally Posted by phatch

A LARGE sink is very handy. Mutlitple sinks come into play more for what you have to wash by hand. How big the item is, how many and so on.

i'm definitely putting at least one dishwasher down there, so i'm not as concerned with another sink for that purpose. i think i would go with one large double sink instead. i've just seen many new kitchens with one sink on a main counter and second sink 5 feet away on an island and I have a hard time imagining it being incredibly necessary.

[deltadoc]

We remodeled the large dining room into the new kitchen, removed the wall between the old dining room and the old kitchen, and the old kitchen became the smaller part of an L shaped single room. Large U-shaped kitchen with separate 48" island with sink. Main sink in the U-shaped part has a large sink and a small sink as an integral Corian unit. All countertops are Corian (you can sand them down to remove scratches or stains so I like 'em).

ANyway, the point is, I wouldn't be without the two small sinks. They each have a garbage disposal. The one in the island is absolutely indispensable. CHop your veggies, and sweep the unwanted material right into the little sink and grind it up and wash it down the drain.

doc

[ChefRay]

Originally Posted by damian

i'm definitely putting at least one dishwasher down there, so i'm not as concerned with another sink for that purpose. i think i would go with one large double sink instead. i've just seen many new kitchens with one sink on a main counter and second sink 5 feet away on an island and I have a hard time imagining it being incredibly necessary.

Not necessary, but convenient. Especially if you are dealing with chicken and have to clean everything you've touched on that counter without having to move it all to the other counter where the sink is.

As for what I'd have: magnet strips, loads of counter space, two refrigerators, a chest freezer, twin ovens, a six burner range, either a griddle cover for the range or a flat iron grill to the side of it, and a really good hood. You've never smelled stink until you've burned fish(we all have) in a kitchen with no windows and an underpowered hood fan.

Also, if I had my way in my house, I'd have the range and flat iron facing the ovens rather than next to or on top of them.

[KYHeirloomer]

I'm in the process of designing a new kitchen, and have given a lot of thought to this.

I'd include a built-in deep fryer. And, as Phil says, multiple refrigerators are a must have. My current two are barely sufficient. I keep my deep freezers in an out-building, but if I had the room they'd be part of the kitchen.

Primary consideration is storage and work space. You can never have enough counter room. Whether permanent or moveable is up to you. Unlike Phil, I would opt for the island, cuz you'll run out of wall space pretty quick, with no place to move the carts anyway. Don't forget the space under the island, which can be great for storing things.

I would include a special cabinet for storing sheet pans, chopping boards, and the like. Usually practice is to have an open box, with dowel- or ballister separators. What about large items, like stock pots and the like? If you use them you'll need a place to keep them.

Speaking of storage, pots, pans, and, omigosh, lids are always getting in the way. Plan on storage space for them.

How do you intend handling your small appliences? Either dedicate counter space to them, or plan on storage space.

A roll-out pantry comes in handy, and prevents the usual problem of losing stuff in the back of the shelf. What I'm planning, fwiw, is a roll-out pantry under the sheet-pan cabinet.

Most on-the-island sinks I've seen have been used for washing hands more than cleaning up. It's not a must have, but can be very convenient.

Don't forget an adequate range hood!

Do you have strong feelings about how your knives, measuring spoons, ladles, spiders, etc. are stored? I don't care if they're on-view, so tool magnets are important to me. Ditto hanging racks for my most-used pots and pans.

Wheew! I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.

[phatch]

Most kitchen carts have drawers and storage shelves underneath so you're not losing storage space compared to the island.

I like islands, don't get me wrong. I'm just thinking of their usefulness in an entertainment cooking setting.

[damian]

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer

I'm in the process of designing a new kitchen, and have given a lot of thought to this.

I'd include a built-in deep fryer. And, as Phil says, multiple refrigerators are a must have. My current two are barely sufficient. I keep my deep freezers in an out-building, but if I had the room they'd be part of the kitchen.

Primary consideration is storage and work space. You can never have enough counter room. Whether permanent or moveable is up to you. Unlike Phil, I would opt for the island, cuz you'll run out of wall space pretty quick, with no place to move the carts anyway. Don't forget the space under the island, which can be great for storing things.

I would include a special cabinet for storing sheet pans, chopping boards, and the like. Usually practice is to have an open box, with dowel- or ballister separators. What about large items, like stock pots and the like? If you use them you'll need a place to keep them.

Speaking of storage, pots, pans, and, omigosh, lids are always getting in the way. Plan on storage space for them.

How do you intend handling your small appliences? Either dedicate counter space to them, or plan on storage space.

A roll-out pantry comes in handy, and prevents the usual problem of losing stuff in the back of the shelf. What I'm planning, fwiw, is a roll-out pantry under the sheet-pan cabinet.

Most on-the-island sinks I've seen have been used for washing hands more than cleaning up. It's not a must have, but can be very convenient.

Don't forget an adequate range hood!

Do you have strong feelings about how your knives, measuring spoons, ladles, spiders, etc. are stored? I don't care if they're on-view, so tool magnets are important to me. Ditto hanging racks for my most-used pots and pans.

Wheew! I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out.

thanks. That's a lot i didn't think of.

as far as small appliances go, i'm thinking dedicated counter space. i hate digging in cupboards and such for blenders/mixers/etc. I have a nice kitchenaid stand mixer in my main floor kitchen that i rarely use because it's such a pain to move crap around when i want to use it. I'd rather have 4-6 feet of counter space dedicated to small appliances like this.

also, on one side of the kitchen i'm doing a short "bar." basically just a second narrow raised counter above the regular counter. I was thinking under the raised counter, facing the inside of the kitchen, is where i'd store a few small appliances.

also, i don't mind knives and other things i used the most being out in the open. I like the look.

[Tangy]

I totally agree with the large sink. That makes such a difference in making a very useful kitchen. I personally like the sinks that have a divider down the center, so you can separate clean things with dirty things

[damian]

yeah, me too. i'm looking for one like this but with a divider:

[damian]

here's my current plan. fire away.

i used some crappy software so not everything is 100% correct. the upper left corner is actually a closet where the sump pump is. to the right of it is a planned butler's pantry.

all the way on the right wall past the big dining table is the stairway. the room to the bottom right is the utility room, so that can't go anywhere.

on the left wall, the long skinny rectangle is a tv, with a couch in front of it. that is going to be a sofa bed, and it's the only place a tv makes sense, so that is pretty much going to stay.

everything in the kitchen area is just my imagination at this point. the two tiny boxes represent basement support poles. the window on the left wall in the bottom left corner is an egress window. the other window on the bottom wall is a crappy basement window that gets no light anyway because the deck is over it, so it can be covered. the electrical box is just to the left of it, so i'm thinking of putting a pantry here to cover both of them up. the box in the middle is probably a cart, not an island.

the box just to the right of the bottom window is the refrigerator, and obviously that's the range next to it (probably going to be a 48"). the sink is a corner sink opposite the range, near the bar stools, so whoever is at the sink can face the entertaining area. the sink is pretty much limited to the right wall of the kitchen because that is where the plumbing is. just to the left of the corner will be the dishwasher.

also, the width of the kitchen is 17' 6". From the bottom wall to the support poles is 12'.

[DC Sunshine]

You've got a pretty good work triangle going there. I also like the idea of a roll out pantry, having just used a kitchen with one while on holiday.

Are you going a second fridge? I'm a busy home cook, but have 2, the smaller one kept mainly for meat. What about having a deep freezer somewhere? Maybe tucked into the utility room.

Ensure you have good lighting too, nothing worse than trying to cook in half light...my kitchen's like that, renting so can't do much about it.

Got plans for lots of shelving above the benches? I would assume so They're great extra flat space/storage. Or a hanging rack with hooks for colanders, pots and pans, country kitchen style. I reckon they look great.

Decent ventilation is a must.

Keep us in the loop and let us know what you end up with.

DC

[damian]

Originally Posted by DC Sunshine

You've got a pretty good work triangle going there. I also like the idea of a roll out pantry, having just used a kitchen with one while on holiday.

Are you going a second fridge? I'm a busy home cook, but have 2, the smaller one kept mainly for meat. What about having a deep freezer somewhere? Maybe tucked into the utility room.

Ensure you have good lighting too, nothing worse than trying to cook in half light...my kitchen's like that, renting so can't do much about it.

Got plans for lots of shelving above the benches? I would assume so They're great extra flat space/storage. Or a hanging rack with hooks for colanders, pots and pans, country kitchen style. I reckon they look great.

Decent ventilation is a must.

Keep us in the loop and let us know what you end up with.

DC

probably not a second full size fridge, but there will definitely be at least one, maybe two under the counter fridges/beverage coolers, one in the butler pantry thing on the top wall.

i have plans for lots of shelving/hanging racks and such, but i'm not that far in the planning yet.