calling all pros!!! is 30' too narrow for a kitchen island???
dixiechick_07
16 years ago
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cat_mom
16 years agoRelated Discussions
30-36' all fridge and 24' all freezer ideas pls, have layout pic
Comments (6)hey 3waller, i was having a tough time deciding on refrigeration myself and recently made a decision which I think will work for me. Originally I was considering the 27" all fridge and 27" all freezer by subzero. These two units would have the cabinet panels on them and be divided in the center by a 27" pantry. I was concerned that the 27" fridge was too small for my family of 5 so I began searching other options. My wife and I came across the Miele 30" all refrigerator in a showroom and fell in love with it. It is a stunning piece inside and out. I have had Sub zero in the past and the miele just seems better built, better to look at a better usable space inside, of course all my opinion. However, after looking further into it, the Miele only offers a 18" freezer (too small), and the next size is a 30" freezer (too large for us) So I was disappointed. After researching a bit more I decide to get the 30" fridge by Miele and a 24" freezer by Thermadore. These units will both be covered on front so you would not be able to see a difference and because of my layout with the pantry in the center this option is possible. After calling the salesman he informed me that people do this combination quite often because Miele lacks the 24" all freezer. So in the end I wind up with the sizes I want and actually save a decent amount of money on the freezer end. From what I understand Thermadore is a solid product but may have lacked in the past with their service, I was informed that they have been correcting this issue and it is something I was willing to risk by purchasing their product. Hope this gives you a potential option. Good luck....See MoreReview of Electrolux ICON 30" Double Oven Pro Series E30EW85G
Comments (20)Both Wolf and Electrolux have issues with the blue porcelain. And its a really big oops on the Wolf. Electrolux seems to have resolved their issues with blue porcelain as there are not any complaints from recent ovens. Wolf still has ongoing issues, but the repair will now be easier with the bottom as a separate piece. Search blue porcelain in this forum to read about this. Looking at cubic feet or even the depth and width of the oven can be misleading. In looking at oven size, measure the rack to see what the usable space would be and then see how your pans will fit. Look at how the convection fan takes up space in the oven. Some have the fan sticking out into the oven cavity, which might allow for a handle of a pan to hang over a rack edge. Others place a wall across the front of the fan so they can say the back of the oven is flat. Some examples Wolf Electrolux The new Wolf ovens seem to be blue. Different fans! Wolf M series illustration Wolf M series photo Also look at where the racks are and how they can be used. On Elux, at least mine, the rolling rack cannot be put on the lowest position. The regular rack can be placed there. The best feature of the Wolf is the dual fans/elements. I think that is more significant in the 36 inch width though. Whatever you buy, get the longest extended warranty you can get....See MoreToo many pantries? Too many narrow spaces?
Comments (23)Hey, Fori, the repair guy called! At a reasonable time, and I was already gone to meet the cabinet maker and contractor. We had a very productive session. I'll call Mr. G. tomorrow. Meantime, I'm going to post about the cool factor in Appliances. I got 2" of countertop on both sides because the cabinet maker was making pretty frames around the ovens and Advantium. Instead there will be 1" nice frames. The ladder is too tall for the right of the ovens, and I wan't still more counter, so that's going to be a tall pullout like Gizmonike's, only with trays for spices, etc. The little cupboard over the ovens is only going to be about 8" tall anyway, so will have a flip up door rather than swing doors. Should be good for oven pieces. He can do rails and stiles with the bamboo, so the stemware cupboards in the butler's pantry will have inset glass (probably pebble) in the uppers and glass shelves. I think this will cure the bamboo forest problem, because it'll draw the eye away from the slabs. The only view I was ready to go all out Gumby for was standing in the prep area of the island. That, and my mother's jazzy hardware. :) No gumby ;( Glass would be too heavy and unsafe. There will be a message center with an 8" deep flip down writing surface in the center of the pegboard cabinet (on the right from the pantry. We also hashed out a lot of drawer depths, etc., and things look good. I came away feeling very good about the whole thing. I even might have found a top for the island. BTW, sorry for going off on the dye. I'm a fiber artist with respiratory issues so I took that literally. :D RIT's a different story. ;)...See MoreCalling all cooks! Sell me on a wood top island (vs. marble)...
Comments (17)Samantha, the rules for catering differ from place to place. Where I live, rather than having confusing different rules, they pretty much don't allow home kitchens for any kind of cooking/baking that will be sold to the public. Anything more than maybe a small time bake sale or bid-a-basket has to be done in a commercial kitchen. Wood is a great surface for prep. Proper cleaning in a commercial establishment is different from a home kitchen, however. At the end of the day, in a commercial kitchen, all of the surfaces are cleaned with heavy duty cleansers, and during the day, after each task, they're supposed to be cleaned as well. The daily cleaning is top down, with the upper surfaces cleaned, the counters, the lower shelves and surfaces, then the floor. How many times have you heard horror stories about commercial kitchens where that didn't happen? I've done some catering in a shared commercial kitchen where there was a cleaning crew. Too many times, we'd come in and have to clean before we could start cooking, to meet standards. It wasn't any worse than many residential kitchens--probably why the crew thought it was okay--but we wouldn't work in that environment. So... Your gov't safety office or health dept. is trying to set standards for home catering. They can say, "wood counters must be scrubbed in XYZ manner and thoroughly dried before food prep can take place". And you're drying your counter and totally miss where the kids have put their boots on the counter and brushed off the evidence. Plastic cutting boards can be disinfected in the dishwasher. Wood cutting boards can be scrubbed down in the sink and left to dry vertically, away from said boots. They do have to be hard dry to keep the bacteria from growing. Most people can tolerate a lot of contamination. That's the whole point of the body's immune system. You don't know, when you're catering, who is going to eat your food. There could be someone with a compromised immune system, the very old and very young, who are more sensitive, etc. It's hard enough accounting for unknown allergies, and making sure to point out and label things appropriately. Standard food labelling rules don't require an ingredient to be listed if it is only a trace amount. That's why the newest rules require listing of common ingredients or contaminants (from shared equipment) that may cause allergies, even if they're only in trace amounts (e.g., "contains: milk") Being extra vigilant with food safety, however, is a must. As a professional, you have to control that which is in your power. It's also a good idea to have different color/composition cutting boards for each kind of food: meat, poultry, vegetables/fruits, and baked goods all have different requirements for storage and cleaning. Using the different boards really helps prevent cross contamination. In theory, an installed wood top could be used just for vegetables, but there's still the issue of accidental contamination. Like, what if you put the grocery bag down on the island and the chicken leaks? Or the boots. Or whatever. There really is no situation where a multi-use surface, like a home kitchen counter, should be used for commercial prep. OTOH, in a normal, healthy family, accidental contamination of the cutting surface, a missed spot on the scrub down, a cutting board run quickly under warm water and detergent and not dried, etc., is probably no problem at all, and, in fact, might provide the challenge that an immune system needs to continue to be healthy. Residential catering can be done safely, but it does take a certain level of diligence. BTW, this is a reason why "personal chefs" are popular here. Unlike make and take catering, personal chefs bring ingredients into the hosts' home and prepare the food there. My understanding is that a meal cooked in the home is considered home cooking for most purposes, unless there is an egregious violation on the part of the chef....See More
dixiechick_07
16 years agorhome410
16 years agocelticmoon
16 years agoMy island is 31 x 62 and functions great whether cooking for 2 or for 102. I wouldn't want it wider - the reach is just right as is. Big enough for seriously large prep, but small enough to force good habits in keeeping it clear and ready to go.
Proportion is a consideration - width vs length of the island itself and its scale relative to the rest of the room.
Like your idea of the storage hutch on blank wall. SIL Barrrelhaus had even tighter space restraints and went with even more shallow. Works very well. Give thought to your counter sliver and accessibility - beware of door swings making that sliver unusable.
Here's a pic of Barrelhaus' storage unit. Your base would be a couple inches deeper:
User
16 years agosholt576
16 years agochefkev
16 years agoljsandler
16 years agoYou will be happy with the 30 inches--it will be very functional!!
My island is an kind of in an "L" shape going from 45 inches at the widest to 32 inches. It is a little over 7 feet long. I LOVE it!!!
Hope this helps!reno_fan
16 years agoWow. I had no idea how small my island was until I just measured it for you! I thought mine was about 30", but it's actually 24". The granite overhangs to 27".
It is *the* most loved aspect of my kitchen. It's very functional, great for buffets, great for prep, etc.
Reno_fan's VERY skinny island:
cotehele
16 years agocpang74
16 years agotalley_sue_nyc
16 years agodixiechick_07
16 years ago
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