Would love some "Kitchen in a narrow townhouse" layout feedback!
Hi Everyone,
We are gut renovating a townhouse and need to make some major decisions on kitchen layout now. I've posted a sketch of one of my layouts.
My must-haves: a large clean-up sink, at least 28" wide and a separate prep sink, or a super-long "galley sink" or Rachiele "signature II"-type sink;
an induction cooktop or range with a good vent hood.
Our townhouse is narrow, only 15' wall-to-wall. To go from entryway to living room (at back of house), you have to walk past the kitchen, so it is very public. You will also see the island straight ahead when you open in the front door.
I'm concerned that this layout cramps the clean-up sink and range areas. It also makes us put more small appliances on the island, which might make it cluttered. The problem is, I loathe to put the clean up sink on the island because, to be honest, we are not that neat with our dishes, and I don't see that changing. I also hesitate to put the range on the island, because a hood would partially block our view to the back yard. We put in large, expensive windows in our living room and would prefer to enjoy the full view. On the other hand, a hood would only obstruct the view from the front of the house, not from the dining or living room area.
My other ideas have a long "galley sink" or Rachiele signature II type sink against the wall. It would seem strange to me to have this in the island, so I think it would go against the wall, and the range would be on the island. I don't have safety concerns about having the range on the island, just the hood issue.
Any comments? Suggestions? Thank you so much in advance.
This post was edited by LiliReno on Fri, Feb 15, 13 at 10:45
Comments (8)
herbflavor
11 years agopalimpsest
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Would love some layout feedback before ordering my cabinets!
Comments (64)It's definitely not too late to consider this plan-- however, I'm still not entirely convinced it's the right plan for us. a) This pantry is a fantastic idea-- in theory. However, DH and I feel we lack the DIY skills necessary to pull it off. We'd have to be very careful to bring it out close enough to the garage door that we have room for a bi-fold pantry door. Also, it would be very, very difficult to get the measurements just right so that the rest of the cabinets line up correctly with the window and wall. It would also be very difficult to find a reliable professional who would come out for such a small job! Once I pay someone to put in that pantry, the money from less cabinets is no longer saved. (And that's IF I can find someone to do it.) b)It still doesn't really allow me to have my pull out pantry near the stove-- it's in laxsupermom's drawing next to the 24" pantry, which I would no longer need with the drywall pantry. I don't think I'd want to put a pull-out pantry next to the wall so it pulls out in front of the garage door. I suppose I could do a short one on either side of the stove. I have no idea how to set up the other wall/base cabinets... This: vs. This (only withOUT the short pullout): c)I don't think it would be nicer to look at from the living room. In fact, all you can see is the dining area from the living room, but when you walk in the front door and head for the kitchen, there is a hallway on the left (not portrayed in my drawings). If you're walking directly into the kitchen from the living room or hallway, the first thing you'll see is the wall directly across from you, which is where the fridge is in laxsupermom's drawing. I don't think that's nearly as attractive to look at as the wine wall with the glass cabinets... This would be the view walking in: vs. This: d)I lose some of the functionality I wanted, which is even more important to me than the counterspace by the stove and the pathway from the garage. I would lose my pet center and my peninsula drawers would be narrower (because of the lazy susan), and the peninsula is where I wanted to store my plates/bowls. Argh, I feel like my head is going to explode!! :)...See MoreAnother one for the layout experts! Would love feedback...
Comments (2)As Breezygirl said, dimensions would help and a wider shot of the area around the kitchen. Can the kitchen push out to the right at all? If you could get rid of the angle, and fit in an island, you could get better work spaces, I think, and room to work with the little ones as they get old enough. The angle might not be doing you too many favors in the work zone...It gives you something to navigate around/a hip bumper when getting things from the fridge to the sink, and a pretty wide aisle that makes it a long way across to the stove area with dripping wet veggies, or across from the stove with a pot of boiling water to drain. The other thing I see is that most of your workspace faces the wall. Where do you plan to store dishes? There isn't much cabinet space near the dishwasher. Sorry to sound so negative! Just want to give you things to think about so you can consider them now and not be disappointed later....See MoreWould love feedback on my kitchen layout!
Comments (18)With the prep sink, Lavender's plan alleviates the issue with the barrier island but it doesn't do anything to make it safer to be at the cooktop with traffic coming through that door right into the cook. And the aisles are quite narrow at 36". Yikes!! Sorry, your kitchen is one of those that is too wide to be an efficient galley but too narrow for an island. A small, movable counter-height work table should suffice. This plan moves your range where it's out of the traffic corridor and safer to use although I would prefer to see a wider counter between it and the door for safety. I would go for a 30 range and be done with it. 36" max. Also, hoods should be 6" wider than the cooktop. A 48" cooktop means a 54" wide hood. Expensive and will probably need make-up air. This plan also has all the prep/cook functions on the same side of the kitchen will be a lot more efficient. And all the clean-up functions on the other side. It's much safer to get bonked by a passer-by when you're doing dishes than it is when you're cooking, for them and for cook....See MoreWould love some feedback on our remodeling plans, and a money question
Comments (17)Thanks for all the hints, guys. We like the corner sink now-as I mention above, the view is great and I’ve spent a lot of years watching kids climb the tree outside while doing dishes. Willing to reconsider though. I share your though about the front door and the stools-except we never actually use that door. We always come in through the kitchen door, which will be a mud room after the remodel. I mean, we use the front door when we have trick or treaters and solicitors. I really think of the mud room as our entry. We will use the front door ourselves to go to the porch but don’t see it as a main entry generally though hopefully it will look pretty :). That being said, we’d love to expand our kitchen more in a useable way. We are pretty constrained in space in this part of the house, unless we switch the kitchen to the dining room area which I think would cause all sorts of other expensive changes....See Morepalimpsest
11 years agoThe fridge was put in an alcove on the peninsula side of the kitchen like herbflavor suggests. The kitchen is not finished and there is a concealed range hood above the range.
Here is before the cabinets were installed. The entry is next to the full length window in the background.
View from entry: open, but screened.
blondelle
11 years agoLiliReno
11 years agoblondelle
11 years agoIf you bring out the pantry wall you will have more space that you can use for a washer dryer if you want, but a smaller pantry area. You can also move the fridge there to have a longer run of counter and cabinets. I assume that's a load bearing wall there as it looks thicker. Moving that wall if you can, will give you more space to use however you like.
honorbiltkit