The 5-Inch Gap Between This Kitchen’s Oven and Waterfall Edge Was a Chance for Storage

We break down a Brooklyn couple’s blueprints.
Lydia Geisel Avatar
kitchen on grid background

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You’ve probably heard of the kitchen triangle or that the typical countertop height is 36 inches, but despite many layout standards, kitchens are not a one-size-fits-all equation. In Made to Measure, we offer a glimpse of the math that went into creating some of our favorite kitchens

When Megan Ananian and Andrew Ginn bought their Park Slope, Brooklyn, apartment, they quickly realized their 56-square-foot kitchen was operating at minimum capacity. The 24-inch-wide dishwasher, while average size, took up valuable space that could otherwise be dedicated to extra drawers, there was barely any room for utensils, and there was a big gap between the upper cabinets and the ceiling. A renovation was inevitable

With Ginn largely overseeing the planning and construction, the couple gutted the cramped space, adding IKEA cabinets with sleek Semihandmade fronts, a marble countertop and backsplash, and a slim spice drawer that serves as a buffer between the oven and the waterfall edge. In the illustration, below, Ananian offers a peek at some of their math, plus what they’d do differently if they had to lay it all out again. 

measurements marke on kitchen

Our top compromise…

Not getting a new oven (yet).

The most critical measurements we accounted for…

Raising the upper cabinets to the ceiling and shrinking the dishwasher from 24 to 18 inches wide. 

If we could change one thing, we’d…

In a dream world, we’d have room for pull-out trash, but this is New York City.

The one thing we’d add more of if we could…

More pull-out drawers, or room for an appliance garage.

The most difficult measurement to determine…

Figuring out what to do with the 5-inch gap next to the oven. We decided to add the spice cabinet (Andrew cut a larger IKEA cabinet base to size and then we bought an insert from Rev-a-Shelf). 

Lydia Geisel Avatar

Lydia Geisel

Home Editor

Lydia Geisel has been on the editorial team at Domino since 2017. Today, she writes and edits home and renovation stories, including house tours, before and afters, and DIYs, and leads our design news coverage. She lives in New York City.


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Belle Morizio

Staff Photographer & Assoc. Photo Editor

Belle is the in-house photographer and associate photo editor for Domino, capturing everything from home tours to gift guides, plus the occasional how-to project. She joined the photo team as an intern in 2018 and was brought on full time in January 2021.


Brit Ashcraft

Design Director

Brit Ashcraft is an award-winning creative director and graphic designer. She joined Domino in 2019, where she oversees all things design. She has over twelve years of experience working in branding, design, and marketing specializing in interiors, lifestyle, and real estate.


Julia Stevens

Contributing Editor

Julia Stevens is a Domino contributing editor. Basically, she’s a professional online shopper. She started at Domino as an intern and spent almost seven years in the style department curating products for our gift guides, trend roundups, and product reviews and on set styling the beautiful homes we get to share. Off hours, you can find her scouting New York’s newest design shops and restyling her shelves


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