Everything we did to make our 90’s kitchen more functional

Let’s talk 90’s kitchens. What is it that made them so… not functional?

The size, the cupboard layout, the cabinets that stop one foot short of the ceiling.. there is just so much that doesn’t make sense to me. And I swear there IS potential in every kitchen.

We are verrrry close to finishing our kitchen remodel in our second fixer upper (check out our first kitchen renovation here!), and I thought it’d be fun to share everything we’ve done to make our kitchen design more functional so far.

Watch my REEL breaking down everything we’ve done to update our kitchen so far HERE!

Change the SIZE

Maybe it’s just where I am in East Tennessee. Maybe it’s everywhere. Maybe it was the architectural design on the 90’s. But WHY were kitchens so teeny tiny thirty years ago?! We have a four bedroom house, but we could only really fit one person in the kitchen at a time when we moved in. It’s so crazy to me! It seems to me that the lifestyle of the family has changed. I want my kids to be able to pull up a barstool at the kitchen counter and hang out while I cook dinner. I DON’T want to be tucked away in a small corner of the house while while I clean up after dinner. I wanna be part of the action!

We took down a wall (non load-bearing, thank goodness) and relocated the laundry to gain about six feet in our kitchen. It was such a good decision – that extra space gave us:

• room for an island (rather than a peninsula)
• a lot more cabinet space
• a dedicated coffee bar area
• a fridge location that wasn’t so cramped (the old one had to be counter depth)

It’s hard to tell from still photos, but the fridge is pushed back about six feet – creating a much nicer space that multiple people can be in at one time.

Now we also have a lot more storage and large cupboards for things like paper towels, extra bags of chips, etc., and we created a space for a coffee bar. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s fun to have a dedicated counter for coffee! 🙂

In my opinion, the laundry just didn’t make sense where it was. We had multiple options of where to relocate the washer / dryer, so it was a no brainer to expand the kitchen and make a better use of that space.

Reorganize the layout (add an island)

I am just not a peninsula girl. I will do everything in my power to avoid one. Since we removed the wall, we were able to rearrange the layout a bit.

It can be tricky deciding on a new kitchen layout. To decide if an island is right for your kitchen, you can ask yourself questions like:

• How big can my island be? (ours in 3’x4′, enough for two people to sit at)
• Will I have enough space for comfortable walkways on each side of the island?
• Will it make cooking / prep work / organization easier and better?

Once your kitchen is demoed, lay out blue painter’s tape where you’d like the island to be. This will help you get a feel for what size would work best.

I also love this guide from This Old House:

Add open shelving

Is there anywhere in your kitchen that you could add open shelving? Next to a window or on either side of a stove is a great option. I feel like open shelving lets the room breathe a little more. Shelves help break up the monotony of upper cabinets, and when placed next to a window, they let more light in. And who doesn’t love more natural light?!

Open shelving is a great way to show off your favorite dinnerware, too. I love having our glasses here, and it’s convenient to have the shelves right above the dishwasher! Makes unloading go much faster!

Be intentional about what cabinets you choose

There are so many different cabinet options! A few that I love in our kitchen are:

• Pull out spice rack
• Pull out drawers for pots and pans
• Static shelves in our corner cabinet
• A small 6″ pan cabinet – such a great way to fill a small space!
• A microwave cabinet – love how this frees up counter space!

Have you done a kitchen remodel before? How did you design your space to make it more functional?

I can’t wait to share more pictures once it’s all done! I hope you found these functional kitchen design ideas helpful. Later this week I’m breaking down the cost of our kitchen & linking all the details. So stay tuned for that! 🙂

In the meantime, check out my kitchen reno highlight on my instagram!