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Lighting spacing is a function of the type of bulb and the desired ligting level. For a grid of downlights, I recommend going to www.lightolier.com. If you call them they will walk you through their software designed specifically for this purpose. You can compare incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, LED.
Ed Kopel Architects, P.C.

1:57 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

We are renovating a kitchen on the garden floor right now. In our renovation, we are trying to mostly restore what is there, but we have had to make many decisions about floor plan and finishes. What is your current setup -- is this the original kitchen and bathroom, or a later renovation?
Lighting will be more flattering if it's not only overhead. You can install sconces on walls and pendant lighting over the sink and table. It's a good idea to illuminate niches and work spots. If the original bead board has been covered up with fake tile or some other material, the surface is likely to be ruined. The cheapest route is to keep the existing cover and paint it. You could also rip it out and replace with new (custom milled to match), which is what we did. Or you could replace with sheetrock and plaster, and put white subway tile or beadboard running up to the wall behind the sink. If you still have the original dish cupboard, you can refinish it and improve the drawers with new slides for smooth gliding. Strom makes reproduction 1920s farmhouse sinks with drainboards, or for more counter space, just install cupboards in the sink area between the fireplace and back wall. Ikea makes some nice ones. I'd put decorative open shelving above the sink over new beadboard for extra storage and to make a pretty display. Our stove stands alone on the hearth with no counter next to it, which is not ideal, but we use the burners or a wood cutting board on the opposite table to hold hot dishes coming out of the oven. If you are putting in gas or electric, see if you can allow enough room on either side of the hearth for a 36-inch or bigger stove. (Ours is just 30 inches -- it's difficult to fit four pots at once.) The nicest looking floor covering (and also very cheap if the floor is still there) is the wood floor; use an Ikea washable cotton rug at the sink to avoid wear to the finish. We have Marmoleum.
As for layout, hide the washing machine, and maybe even a fridge in the adjoining pantry, or use the niche opposite the stove for the fridge. Don't put the washing machine in there as I did -- it's very ugly. Don't put the fridge between the windows -- it looks horrible and blocks the light. We simply have a table for food prep and eating in the middle of the room, since our kitchen is too big for a galley and not big enough for an island and a table. We also have a tiny little table (about the size of a nightstand) that holds appliances such as our toaster between the two doors opposite the windows. It fits very well there and looks very cute, and it's very convenient for making breakfast. I didn't want to shorten the windows for counters, so the rear wall is empty, which looks nice. But you could (with an engineer, architect, and lots of spare cash) open up the rear wall completely with a wall of windows over a counter. You could put in a door, etc. The bathroom entrance can be located off the hall, rather than off the kitchen (and would have been originally). Don't know what your bathroom setup is, exactly, but I have seen the small powder rooms that open into the mudroom turned into laundry rooms with a sliding door or curtain off the hall. The pantry in the middle of the house could also accomodate a full-size bathroom, if you don't need that room for something else. If your ceiling is plaster and not tin, you can also hang a pot rack over the stove, sink, or table.

4:49 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

Here's our kitchen mid-renovation. We still need to plaster, paint, refinish the dish cupboard, get a nicer stove, etc. You can see next to the stove the plug whose location prevents us from getting a bigger stove.

5:01 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

Our fridge is more or less opposite the stove, next to the pantry closet. You would think this would be terribly inconvenient, but it's not bad at all. The lack of counters is definitely a hindrance, but this could be solved with a regular sink, counter, and cupboard unit where the 1939 farmhouse sink is now. Between the pantry closet and the dish cupboard, we have all the storage we need.

5:15 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

Here's a similar solution:
http://www.owi.bz/pic/?uid=7B5...

5:21 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

Here's what these kitchens probably looked like originally (but the layout is different):
http://web.me.com/gavinmaloney...

5:23 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

If you are able to use your dining room for dining, so you don't need a table in the kitchen, then you can install a counter-high table or island opposite the stove. One of my neighbors did this and it looks fantastic. He had a gigantic island-size table with legs custom made and it looks very handsome.

9:26 PM 03/12/2012 | 0 Votes

Mopar, your kitchen is very cool. The original cupboard is great.

4:21 PM 03/14/2012 | 0 Votes

Thanks, BHS! That's very kind of you. After I posted, I felt a little embarrassed because it's not done and it looks a little shabby. Gotta get some new furniture too. :)

9:18 PM 03/16/2012 | 0 Votes