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Help! Seeking kitchen floor plan advice and ideas.

11 years ago

Hi all,
The title is fairly self explanatory.
I'm posting a picture of the existing kitchen set up for our home that we will start building within 6ish months.

My question.....
- If I leave the floorplan as is, i'm considering moving the fridge to the other side of the counter top. I'll be getting a french door fridge with a pull-out freezer on the bottom. And then I was thinking of putting in a prep sink to have a more efficient work triangle.

OR

Switch the main sink location with the stove. Still move the fridge. And put a prep sink over by the stove.

At this point i'm open to ideas, I just can't decide. (btw I love to cook alot so will be having a range hood from above, no matter on the location of the stove.....and we love to entertain, and there will be two cooks in the kitchen.)
Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

dekeoboe
11 years ago
Why is the island 4 ft deep? Are you planning on putting stools on one side? Because I think it is too tight between the island and the dining table to do so. If you aren't planning on having stools, then I don't see the need for such a deep island.
virgilcarter
11 years ago
E, here's my criteria for kitchen design; I hope it's helpful in your case.

--The kitchen triangle still works and makes sense, so plan you kitchen to maximize the work triangle (this means, among other things, don't stick a humongeous island the size of the USS Ronald Reagan in the middle of the triangle);
--Refigerator and pantry belong together, since that's where a lot of the food prep starts;
--The refigerator and pantry should be oriented close to where the food arrives from the grocery store after purchase;
--Sink and dishwasher belong side by side, with the dishwasther closest to the dining area;
--Cooking may vary from a single drop-in range/oven to a seperate cook top and seperate oven(s)/microwave;
--Whatever the cooking arrangement is, keep the cooking units close to one another (in the triangle);
--Cooktops need ventilation, and the most effective is a hood above the cooktop that is at least 6" wider than the cooktop on either side (a lot more can be said about hoods, including CFM, location of exhaust fan, duct size, etc);
--Cooktops create grease, so plan the adjacent backsplash and wall finishes accordingly (that wonderful detailed tiled wall may soon have the grout lines darkened with grease, depending on what and how you frequently cook)
--Provide space for the number of people expected in the kitchen at the same time, i.e., 4'-0 is the minimum space for one person to open a cabinet or refrigerator door. If you expect more than one person at a time in the kitchen, increase dimensions in that area to 5'-6' minimum
--Storage: decide where the kitchen-related storage should be and where the dining-related storage should be and put each there! That's why the old "Butler's Pantry" was and is a good idea when it comes to storage.

Hope this helps.

Good luck on your project!
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kirkhall
11 years ago
Also, please use the wonderful resource that is the Kitchen Forum! So many amazingly helpful and experienced people there.
kirkhall
11 years ago
And, I'd definitely switch your cooktop and sink locations. Venting from an island is a pain (not to mention the hazard of having the cooktop in the island).

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