Where does the door on the left side of the fridge lead to? If it is a door to go outside, I don't think it's necessary as you have 12' of doors in the family room + easy access to the mud room. It would allow you to extend the cabinets a few more feet.

I would place the dishwasher on the left side of the sink to avoid obstruction between the sink, ref. and cooking area.

Here is an idea if you can remove that door and move the window. There is a sink in the prep area between the ref. and the cooktop. I think it would be ideal to place the microwave in this prep. zone or on the right side of the island (in front of the baking area.)

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

This is always hard. I've seen the house pictures, but its not the same as being there! Also, stuff like this takes a bit of living with to understand the ins and outs of the house.

So, this plan just pleases myself - a plan that I'd at least blue tape down and walk around in, but with some flaws that need more thought.

I have a yen for a bathroom as big as Kansas!
I like a cleanup area that is separately accessible from the main cooking-prep area. If it can function as a bar, even better. It would be nice if it was closer to the dining room. Got some refrigeration hoping to divert browsers from the main ref.
For the cooking area, I have choice of two sinks for getting/dumping water - would wish one was a little closer. Second oven in a baking area - hopefully a speed oven or convection micro.
All-in-all, prep areas that could handle 4-5 people working.
The door outside from the great room is so close to the kitchen door, I cut it in favor of a walk-up passthrough window with a small counter on the outside.

So the bummers are the location of the cleanup area-bar could be better. Altho I personally like that location of the bedroom door better, lots of people like to have an anteroom to the bedroom. If it was a resale house, I'd go on and see what else I could do, but if its for me... I'm moving it.

In the morning, I want my coffee, my portable and my table out back before the sun hits it. Sitting, sipping, sometimes pretending to work and yelling at the squirrels in the garden from time to time is my peace of heaven.

The doors in the living room aren't for sure yet. I will know this week if we are putting them in. (The foundation will be in and we'll be able to visualize if we can fit those doors in the great room ... there might not be enough room.) Most likey, that door in the nook is necessary---unfortunately.

With that said, I like the idea of possibly moving the bedroom door into the nook. My DH does NOT like the idea of that door being anywhere near the kitchen, but it optimizes the space so much better. (He would prefer the anteroom, I would prefer to use every foot of our floor plan.) I also like the idea of the bathroom being the size of Kansas. It is already quite large, but I wouldn't mind having even more room! :)

Both of you are giving me things to think about.... If you have any suggestions on what you'd do differently while keeping the door in place, I'd really appreciate it....

What if you slid Bmorpanic's design UP four feet, got the master bedroom door back behind the fridge and pantry, connected "ov" to dishes, and made a shallow U, and made the island smaller and more square.

I've been playing with the layouts.... Here is my last attempt *shrug* ...

{{!gwi}}

Fridge/pantry wall would look something like this: {{!gwi}}

Might I ask why you want the main sink and the range right across from each other?

I had that set up in my old kitchen and it was always, always congested there. Because it didn't matter if you were cleaning up, cooking, doing dishes, or prepping, that was the area you did it in. There were other areas to use, but everyone prefered the areas by the sink and range.

After separating out the zones, I can't imagine wanting that traffic congestion back. Have you really thought through your reasons for wanting the main work areas to be conglomerated into one?

Go for what you want, but I do want to share that I STRONGLY resisted the initial layout ideas/warnings presented on this forum. In the end I capitulated (even though I think it caused me to go through the stages of grief in having to give up my ideas!). But now every time I use the kitchen I am overflowing with thankfulness. It works SO well. Paying attention to as perfect of a layout as was feasible was the best thing I ever did.

I am not trying to persuade you toward anything, just wanting to share my experience. I am glad people said to me think and rethink what you are doing. But if that's what you want - totally go for it.

I really like bmorepanic's layout or if your DH really needs the BR anteroom, palimpsest's suggestion of moving the door so that the L is at the top and the cleanup zone is at the bottom.

The prep sink in your latest rendition seems kind of pointless. It looks like most of the prep would occur at the cleanup sink because of proximity to the frig and range. Maybe if you could explain the reasoning behind lining up the cleanup sink and range, we could come up with work arounds. If it's a visual need to have things line up(which I understand some people really need,) then they both need to move down a little to line up with the FP. Lining up the sink and range makes this nice sized kitchen a one-butt kitchen.

I need the door in the nook, so I can't use either idea exactly as they were laid out..... Also, I really want a large island... so sliding everything and shrinking the island wouldn't work.

laxsupermom, yes, I want the sink in the island and the range to line up visually. The faucet for that sink is beautiful! :)

In my last layout, that window sink would be at a beverage area/bar area. I was thinking... wine & drink glasses, liquor, etc. over in that area. Plus, my coffee pot needs water nearby every morning! ;)

My DH wants the anteroom, but he'll be ok with whatever I decide. (He doesn't care that much.)



needsometips08, I appreciate the advice. Honestly, I rarely cook and we are (indefinitely) a family of two. That is a big reason I haven't worried about those details. That isn't to say we will never sell the house and have someone else who does worry about them, though.... Thus, it's good to hear. One thing I'm considering is a built-in oven (or double built-in ovens) on the wall between the cook-top and the coffee garage in my last layout. This really would depend on the additional cost.



Here is my layout with the MB door moved.

{{!gwi}} I don't know if I like it better..

Another take.... moving the dishwasher to the "bar area" .... {{!gwi}}
This would decrease the congestion around the oven, I think. Thoughts?

{{!gwi}} Here is the photo. Didn't work last time.

Your last plan is close to what I was going to suggest...Basically, Bmore's plans with a single-bowl, good-sized sink in both places, so you can have your sink and faucet by the stove (a good-sized sink there would be wonderful for dealing with pots and pans, etc) and the dishes, cleanup sink, and dishwasher off to the side. Malhgold has equally sized sinks for cleanup and her prep sink in the island, and I think it's a great idea. This plan separates your zones, making it a great place for 1 cook or multiple kitchen workers.

Your last plan is a nice one, better, IMO, than plans you posted earlier.

I get the whole "must have symmetry" thing but have you thought about how lining up your sink and its beautiful faucet with the range might mean that the faucet gets overlooked? There will be an awful lot going on in the background, especially if you're planning something special in the backsplash above your range. If you want the faucet to be a feature, too, you'll need to watch that you don't end up with a lot of visual commotion in one place. Or maybe that's not as big a deal to you as symmetry.

I'm liking the last plan. After talking with DH, I think we will put double ovens in the wall just below the "coffee garage." This will help move congestion away from the cook top area. What do you guys think about that?

The sinks would be large, single bowl. :) If I'm going to pay for the plumbing and have the room, I might as well get another large one. I checked out Malhgold's kitchen and agree that it looks good.

Lisa_a --- the range hood matches the cabinetry..... and the backsplash will be simple (like white subway tile.... or nothing!) Thus, the ORB bridge faucet should pop against a white backdrop.

With the ovens moved, would it still be too congested for me to put the dishwasher in the island?



{{!gwi}}

With the ovens moved, would it still be too congested for me to put the dishwasher in the island?

The point is to get the collected dirty dishes, cleanup tasks, and dish storage away from the cooking and prep area, so I would answer 'Yes.'

ok... makes sense

Anyone have a suggestion on where they would place the double ovens? I have a place holder in that last layout, but not quite sure what would look best. (closer to above sink wall? closer to cook top below? ..)

{{!gwi}}

Might use a 24" and a 30" Moving them down the wall a bit and keeping them off floor level, but not creating as much of an obstruction. Drawers below and cupboards above.

Coffee garage would probably not work with most coffee pots, they are tall and the garage normally cuts 1.5-3 inches off the height of the opening.

Lowered area is for baking prep and to have a place to park something like a slow cooker - can have a couple of outlets over the lowered section.

thanks :) I'll show it to DH... what's the square on the island?

if you went with 2 of the same sized ovens and placed them as Bmore suggested, you might be able to incorporate a look similar to this, if it appeals to you. Somehow link the tall ovens cabs to cabs closer to the coffee area?

Just another thought. How will you be venting the stove? Having the stove right next to the bedroom wall makes me nervous. If the focal point for your kitchen from your great room is the vent, then I understand. But make sure that wall is insulated well! We have a bedrooom off of our kitchen and it is very noisy due to poor insulation. You hear the vent fan, the water running, the coffee being ground....
My second question, if you are going to move the sink to an outside wall, maybe make the sink on the island a prep sink off to one side? I am sure there is an equally lovely prep sink faucet that you could use.

And I agree with your husband, I like the ante room leading into your bedroom better than walking into the bedroom directly from the kitchen. It will also give you better space in your bedroom for furniture arranging.

A recent episode of Holmes on Homes was all about sound insulation. The tricks they suggested were to use double wall construction when possible - especially important when homes share common walls but it can also be done on inner walls - QuietRock soundproofing drywall and a specific kind of insulation. You don't want to use the standard pink stuff. That's useless in this situation. Wish we'd known that when we built. We paid extra to add insulation between walls for soundproofing and it does not make a bit of difference.

Oh, they also used this blue plastic-y molding stuff that they fit around electrical boxes to prevent sound from traveling through. Wish I could remember what they called that stuff.

Great suggestions on the sound. We only cook when we are together....... but who knows what could happen. My husband can sleep through anything, but I cannot. I'll look into the QuietRock products..

debinnh: I'm trying to figure out if it is a full size sink or prep sink. :) I want to be able to fill pots up there, so a full size sink might win out... (On the flip side, I don't want dishes to accumulate there if the DW is at the window area!)

malhgold.... Thanks for the photo. I'll look around for photos online for similar inspiration.

bmorepanic ... if I did a coffee garage there, I was thinking the doors could open to the side (instead of from the top.) That way the pot should still fit. I was also toying with the idea of hiding the microwave there (or in the pantry.... I just want a small mw anyway.)