Helping friends design new kitchen in a trailer

[zannej]

I found out some friends (who have almost as bad luck as my friend that I've been helping) are renovating their trailer & volunteered to help with the layout/planning and painting. They love the unfinished oak cabinets my other friend got so that is what they want to get. Which limits them to the options from Home Outlet in Alexandria (although Lake Charles store is also an option).

We've been chatting online as I live out of town & they work out of town. I've mostly been talking to a friend I'll refer to as Lulu. I haven't gotten any feedback from her fiance yet.

The trailer is 11' wide & the front wall has a huge bay window inside the kitchen. The adjacent walls are 10' on the left and 9' 6" on the right. The door to enter the trailer is on the right. There is currently a 4' 2" peninsula closing off the room but Lulu wants to get rid of it and open the space up more. She wants the fridge, pantry, microwave, and stove on the left side and the sink & prep space on the right. After much discussion we decided that the side with the sink should have 8' of counters. Lulu is left handed so she wanted the sink more to the right. The base cabinet we can get is 5'. That means she can still get a 2' and a 1' cabinet to fill out the 8'. Sink is 33"x22".
The ceiling is only 7' high (which is the height of the pantry cabinets so the pre-made pantry cabinets will not fit.

I believe there is about 6' of space from left to right if you add in the cabinets (not counting the countertops). That could leave room for some sort of small portable island (but that is something I have not discussed with her yet).

Thus far we have only discussed base cabinets and the appliances. I figured that since the fridge opens to the right, it would not be good to have it against the wall. Best use of space would be to have the 35"wx15"deep pantry rack shelf thingy in the corner. She wanted the stove between pantry & fridge. There is enough space to fit a 30" base cabinet between fridge and stove to have some prep area. Lulu wants drawers rather than doors on the base cabinets (but I haven't drawn in the drawers on the placeholder cabinets yet).
Left side of room:

Right side option 1 (24" & 12" bases to the left of sink base)

Right side option 2 (24" in corner & 12" flanking)

The fridge is pretty small

I'm not sure whether or not the 12" cabinet would look better against the wall (if having both bases to the left) or if the 24" should go in the corner. I will have to draw on drawer faces & find out if she wants 3 drawer or 4 drawer cabinets.

Once she gets back to me we can start discussing upper cabinets, countertop options, colors, etc.

12" base (4 drawer) is $139

3 drawers for $148 (currently out of stock at that store but should come back in- it is $199 in LC)

4 drawers for $209

60" base $169

30" 3 drawer base $275 (the version with 1 drawer and 1 door is only $156)

Any suggestions?

 

[Pearl]

I found out some friends (who have almost as bad luck as my friend that I've been helping) are renovating their trailer & volunteered to help with the layout/planning and painting. They love the unfinished oak cabinets my other friend got so that is what they want to get. Which limits them to the options from Home Outlet in Alexandria (although Lake Charles store is also an option).

We've been chatting online as I live out of town & they work out of town. I've mostly been talking to a friend I'll refer to as Lulu. I haven't gotten any feedback from her fiance yet.

The trailer is 11' wide & the front wall has a huge bay window inside the kitchen. The adjacent walls are 10' on the left and 9' 6" on the right. The door to enter the trailer is on the right. There is currently a 4' 2" peninsula closing off the room but Lulu wants to get rid of it and open the space up more. She wants the fridge, pantry, microwave, and stove on the left side and the sink & prep space on the right. After much discussion we decided that the side with the sink should have 8' of counters. Lulu is left handed so she wanted the sink more to the right. The base cabinet we can get is 5'. That means she can still get a 2' and a 1' cabinet to fill out the 8'. Sink is 33"x22".
The ceiling is only 7' high (which is the height of the pantry cabinets so the pre-made pantry cabinets will not fit.

I believe there is about 6' of space from left to right if you add in the cabinets (not counting the countertops). That could leave room for some sort of small portable island (but that is something I have not discussed with her yet).

View attachment 73861

Thus far we have only discussed base cabinets and the appliances. I figured that since the fridge opens to the right, it would not be good to have it against the wall. Best use of space would be to have the 35"wx15"deep pantry rack shelf thingy in the corner. She wanted the stove between pantry & fridge. There is enough space to fit a 30" base cabinet between fridge and stove to have some prep area. Lulu wants drawers rather than doors on the base cabinets (but I haven't drawn in the drawers on the placeholder cabinets yet).
Left side of room:
View attachment 73863

Right side option 1 (24" & 12" bases to the left of sink base)
View attachment 73864
Right side option 2 (24" in corner & 12" flanking)
View attachment 73865

The fridge is pretty small
View attachment 73862

I'm not sure whether or not the 12" cabinet would look better against the wall (if having both bases to the left) or if the 24" should go in the corner. I will have to draw on drawer faces & find out if she wants 3 drawer or 4 drawer cabinets.

Once she gets back to me we can start discussing upper cabinets, countertop options, colors, etc.

12" base (4 drawer) is $139
View attachment 73866

3 drawers for $148 (currently out of stock at that store but should come back in- it is $199 in LC)
View attachment 73867
4 drawers for $209
View attachment 73868

60" base $169
View attachment 73869
30" 3 drawer base $275 (the version with 1 drawer and 1 door is only $156)
View attachment 73870

Any suggestions?

No suggestions, but keep it updated as it comes along!

 

[zannej]

Thanks. I talked to her more and she's open to having shelves above the sink but doesn't want wall cabinets. I guess maybe her cat isn't a climber. I'm still going to suggest she get a wall cabinet for a range hood vent.

She might have to go to a 24" cabinet between the fridge & stove and get a 10' butcherblock (since she wants butcherblock countertop) and cut 2' off for the 24" cabinet. Or maybe see if there are any countertop remnants at the surplus place.

 

[zannej]

I thought I took more pics but my phone's screen dims to almost black so I can't really see when taking pics & apparently some of them didn't actually go through.

So, here's what I got:
She said she wanted to use this towel as color inspiration (she wants a sort of 50s diner vibe) She wants white walls (or black & white checkered) with some pops of color like red and yellow.

The metal rack is what she referred to as the "pantry". I didn't get the height but it's about 15" x 35.5". The archway is being removed.

As you can see, the countertops are destroyed. Cabinets were all rotted. Someone tried to paint but didn't finish. The black mini fridge is not being kept. There's a small chest freezer in front of the window (it is about 30"x25" if I recall).

I've suggested a magnetic paper towel/spice rack that can stick to the side of the fridge.

This is the front so you can see how the bay window looks. Someone put a hole in the front of the trailer while they were away. They have no idea who did it, why, or how.

The flooring in the room will be gray vinyl plank. Traffic Master brand I think.

 

[zannej]

Lulu changed her mind and wanted doors instead of drawers. They changed the design of the base cabinet to have two fake drawers instead of 1, but that doesn't matter-- they wont use it anyway.

Picked up the one door + 1 tiny drawer 12" base cabinet and the 60" base. Lulu will go back later for the 30"x12 wall cabinet for the range hood-- found one on clearance for $25. No wires, instructions, etc but doesn't matter. Old range hood doesn't work.

The plumbing couldn't be moved to the other side because of the metal support structure for the bottom of the trailer so it ended up on the side they originally suggested.

They pulled up the old floor & tore out old cabinets which were full of black mold. Got new plywood down but it was too rough to put vinyl plank over-- had dips where the knots were, so they called on me to come haul 1/4" luan and then haul the cabinets.

We discussed paint colors and Lulu liked a suggestion of going with the 50s style light blue on one accent wall near the bay window. I still need to send her reference pics. She liked the suggestion of a border of checkerboard pattern (instead of a full wall) as a backsplash near the sink. She also liked the suggestion of a red face plate around the gfci outlet.

She does not want to go with the microwave cabinet since she likes having her microwave on a metal rack where its harder for roaches to hide.

Pictures will take up 2 posts.

 

[zannej]

More pics:

I've suggested putting some of the luan on the wall behind the cabinets so peel & stick vinyl can work as a backsplash/border

I forgot to mention that the 4' wall they were planning to leave ended up being torn out since it was too difficult to remove the archway without removing the whole thing (one piece of wood all the way across)

 

[zannej]

So, moving the stove to a different position is out because there is already a hole for the range hood. Fridge is staying put because they have the right outlet there & they decided its better to have the doors swing near a wall instead of when it is on the other side of the stove.

Lulu mentioned she wanted a baker's rack and I think I found one on marketplace for $40 but I'm waiting to hear back from her on whether or not she wants it. She likes the ones with the black metal that are sort of like wrought iron design. Won't fit a huge microwave, but should be ok. She wants to get a red microwave eventually.

I initially forgot about the chest freezer and I know it should not go next to the stove. Honestly, fridge shouldn't either- but I'm thinking a small shelf in between will fill the gap. Maybe a series of 2x4s (one vertical, one horizontal, and one at an angle as a brace) to form a little shelf between the stove and fridge would work. The tall metal rack that microwave currently sits on can be turned sideways to allow room for the bakers rack next to the stove.

The chest freezer can go next to the sink base cabinet.

This is the baker's rack (don't know measurements but looks like the same type that are 25"W x 16" deep and ~60 high. Might be smaller though)

Could clean and polish it up to make it a glossier black, paint the wooden shelf (I like that color, but Lulu would probably want it a different color) and/or put a silicone mat on it.

I don't know the size of the trash can so don't have a designated home for it but figured since Lulu is left handed, to the left of the cabinet is easy for her to throw away kitchen scraps while preparing food. It could also go on the other side of the chest freezer.

There is another small rack with the metal legs and adjustable shelves but the top shelf is like a butcherblock thing. It's fairly narrow and is taller than counters. Lulu mentioned she wouldn't mind it being against the windows. So trash can could be next to it or on the other side of the chest freezer. The chest freezer could sit a little closer to the counter so long as it can open freely without scraping.

I was thinking this wall mount paper towel holder would go nicely somewhere behind the counter.

 

[zannej]

Got the bakers rack.. Seller was happy to have it gone. She had a sweet pitbull that greeted us & let her know when we arrived. His name was Bruno & he was excited about people being around. Owner went over to calm him down & he wanted cuddles. Was licking her and jumping up for hugs. The donkey about 200ft away got jealous and started braying. The sheep were ignoring everything. She told me there used to be a trailer on the nearby slab but the storms blew it away. She seemed like a nice lady.

Rack has very minor rust--on the bolts and some tiny spots on the very top. Nothing some Rustoleum can't fix. I had my mom look at similar racks online and she was slightly disappointed that I didn't bring it home, but it turned out to be larger than I'd thought so it wouldn't have fit anyway.

Lulu loved it though. Online ones are around 25"W x 16"D. This one was 26-3/4"W x 17-7/8"D. Heights ranged from 60" to 68". I would say this one looks to be about 64" but I forgot to measure. My brother carried it in and Lulu's boyfriend helped set it in place. For now it is temporarily against the window (I forgot to get pics as I'd left my phone in the truck while charging). Lulu immediately put stuff on it. I think she wants to go with a matte black. We can go over rustoleum options later. Debating whether or not the bolts should be replaced with ones that aren't rusted. We can at least figure out what size they are, but hopefully rustoleum will help. I'm debating whether or not it should be high heat kind since it will be adjacent (but not straight up against) a stove. IMO, the high heat kind would be the safer option.

She also got the sky blue paint to try out and liked it, but the wall panels will need to be replaced or covered. It's that faux wood stuff & the primer didn't stick to it well so the blue looked dull.

Mom just asked for food so time to go.

 

[zannej]

As an update, this pair of friends broke up because the male friend is a narcissist and was verbally/emotionally abusive to his gf. She is now engaged to my best friend and lives with him. So, this kitchen reno is scrapped.

 

[Woody]

I did not realize this was an old post.


I would try moving the refrigerator over to the sink side. For a work triangle, many items from the refrigerator will use the sink before the stove. This will also give counterspace on either side of the stove. If they cook, this is a requirement or things get ‘cramped’.

In a small area, like a trailer, efficient use of space and double use of space is a must. Since having the refrigerator on the sink side now cuts down on that available counterspace, you can get a cutting board that fits over one of the sinks. The other sink is still useable to wash things like vegetables while cutting.

Glassware will be on the sink side, by the refrigerator and sink. Grab a drink, glass right there. Plates and serving ware on the stove side. When cooking, everything will be plated by the stove.

I would imagine there will be a table in front of the window. This can be used for extra workspace between the sink and stove, and the refrigerator is right there also. Rough calculations: 11’ wide space, 2’ counter on either side leaves 7’. 4’ table, 18” on either side to squeak in.

 

[zannej]

Woody, I don't know what the guy staying in the trailer is going to do with the kitchen now. He was relying on his gf to pay for most of the updates. He partially blames me for the breakup & is mad that I'm happy for her so he doesn't speak to me anymore. I was willing to help him, but his loss if he won't speak to me.

His gf gave the baker's rack back to us though so it is in my front room. Eventually I want to move it to another spot, but for now it is a good spot to put cases of water.