Help me design my kitchen (see pictures)

Almot wrote:
Grease and spatter WILL go all over :)
The best you can do is to make the surrounding wall easy to clean. Wallpaper is relatively easy to clean if you do this every time after using a stove, but who does? I'm thinking of getting a piece of cheap laminate on the wall - you know, those fake tiles sold in big sheets. One of those projects that might never materialize. Will paint the wallpaper when it gets too ugly, I guess.

The counter is plywood but I will cover it with Formica
I will do the same thing with the backsplash around the sink (behind and on the side)



As for the grease splashing I could simply get one of these cover and also add some counter top space when not using the cooktop...

Grease and spatter WILL go all over :)
The best you can do is to make the surrounding wall easy to clean. Wallpaper is relatively easy to clean if you do this every time after using a stove, but who does? I'm thinking of getting a piece of cheap laminate on the wall - you know, those fake tiles sold in big sheets. One of those projects that might never materialize. Will paint the wallpaper when it gets too ugly, I guess.

The only way I could imagine fitting a shield there would be a removable one that would stick to the side of the stove top with a magnet strip on the bottom?

A magnetic mounting would be good. I dunno' about your cooking but I can get a fry pan spitting without too much thought. If I don't surround the area with something, that grease and spatter can go all over.

evy wrote:

Having a small spice rack on the wall scares me, I'm afraid that whatever is in it will rumble all the time when I'm on the road...

Yes it will. Besides, I don't see where you could mount it.

Chromed plastic faucets close to the stove? take them back to where you bought it and get metal ones. About 20% of faucets in Home Depot are plastic these days, but not all of them yet, thanks God. Handles are often plastic, but it's a tough plastic. Metal handles still exist.

westend wrote:
I'd suggest to make a swinging metal shield between the burners and the sink. Mine hinges back flush with the stove's backsplash when not in use.

I'm not sure how I would do this, if you look at my setup...

The only way I could imagine fitting a shield there would be a removable one that would stick to the side of the stove top with a magnet strip on the bottom?

Naio wrote:
Hello evy :(.

I am folowung your thread with great interest, as I have lived 15 months in my minivan (not all in a row) and am looking at moving up to a full sized. A permanent kitchen on the road is one of the things I look forward to!

What are you doing for water tanks?

Here's my setup (nothing hooked up yet)
I have :
-30gallon clean water tank (under the bench/bed)
-Revolution 3gpm Shurflo pump
-5gallon porta potti
and for the grey tank, I'm probably going to end up with an 18gallon tank under the van and that sucks because I wanted to keep all my tanks in the heated area (above ground) as you can read in this thread http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28780942.cfm

Hello evy :(.

I am folowung your thread with great interest, as I have lived 15 months in my minivan (not all in a row) and am looking at moving up to a full sized. A permanent kitchen on the road is one of the things I look forward to!

What are you doing for water tanks?

I'd suggest to make a swinging metal shield between the burners and the sink. Mine hinges back flush with the stove's backsplash when not in use.

Almot wrote:

evy wrote:
I think the sink is big enough, 16"x13"x6"deep and the faucet has a high arch neck with a detachable head, I don't think I'll have any problems fitting anything under there.

When I wrote spice rack I was thinking not the biggest one and I would use it for salt, pepper, steak spices, toothpicks and one or two other.

I might buy the trash can rack that you screw behind the door and maybe gain storage space?

Yes, 16x13 is big enough.

You're right about spice rack - my objections were against that full-length niche type that you see on factory-made RV cabinets sometimes. It collects dust and food crumbs, I don't need it for those few small items that I could put in there. Moreover, it wouldn't hold them well while on the road unless filled up tight to the limit. Dish soap is behind the stove, it's a wet item and belongs on the counter or on the rack above. Tea can is at the back of the counter (but you don't have any counter space, so it would have to be on the shelve somewhere). Yes, maybe some small rack or shelve, up high and out of the way if you find a good place.

Trash can on the door rack still doesn't resolve the problem of space. When you close the door, there has to be a space in the cabinet of proper height and depth.

I have to admit that the word silverware is not of my dictionary :), few measly items of that "ware" hardly deserve a drawer, not to mention two. Originally my kitchen had 3 tiny drawers, short and narrow, useless. I removed them and couldn't be happier. I "would" use one wide drawer if I had one, though for things other than utensils. OTH, knives I prefer to be accessible like any tools, and they need to be kept dry so they are on the wall knife holder.

evy wrote:
Do you guys think the heat from the burner will be a problem?

For what? There is nothing too close, other than your hands when you're messing with faucet.

I just bought this thing, it's 13" long, if it's strong enough I might buy another one and stick my salt/pepper/spice tins to it?


Having a small spice rack on the wall scares me, I'm afraid that whatever is in it will rumble all the time when I'm on the road...



For the heat question thing, I was looking at my faucet and noticed that there's some chromed plastic, the base seems metal and sits at 4-1/4" from the burner's guard.

Use a grease filter like this under your fan. I would vent the exhaust hood right away. An operating hood cuts down on the cleanup and odors quite a bit. Also, I made metal backsplashes to contain any cooking spillage. I don't regret that at all.

I like what you're building here. A van is challenging because of the space requirements but it seems like you are able to locate everything essential. Looking forward to the next installment.