need help! kitchen layout...pics.

11 years ago

Hi Everyone! I have been lurking on this board for quite some time and all of the expert advice has been sooo helpful to me since we bought our fixer-upper last year. Thank you to all of you!

Right now we are working on the kitchen and we have quite a time crunch because we are expecting our first child in just 3 months. The problem? My husband and I cannot agree on the layout, more specifically the placement of the refrigerator. I won't say who likes which layout but please help me by telling me which you prefer and why. I have never done a kitchen before so I am POSITIVE there are a ton of things I'm not thinking of.

I realize that one of the photos adds a bench and extends the kitchen further out. Both designs will end up doing that except now we are thinking of putting a desk in that spot instead of a bench.

All opinions and thoughts will be greatly appreciated! :)

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Comments (13)

slavin
Original Author
11 years ago
Here is the 2nd layout...
itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
I like the 2nd layout better. In the first layout the refrigerator seems to take over the wall and the windows seem to become more separated and kind of lost. Plus I think the refrigerator will block light coming out of the windows as it is deeper than the upper cabinets in the 2nd layout.

Have you considered doing more drawers where possible in your lower cabinets?
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Here's an initial attempt at a design that keeps the dining room essentially as it is: Here's a perspective view to give a feel for what it looks like, with some furniture added in the dining room: For some reason Sketchup didn't export all of my dimension measurements when I created the picture, but there is about 4.5' between the table and the wall in the mud room. There is 4' between the range and the island and 3' between the island and the wall with the stairs. The island itself is 30" wide, and the black box is a dishwasher, which would open toward the sink. Here's what I don't like about this layout: Having the fridge, range, and sink all along one wall seems awkward. This range is 30", and I was hoping to fit a 36" range. This layout has the microwave over the range, but that may not be possible if I go for a range requiring a big hood. The only other option seems to be under the counter in the island, but' I'd like to avoid that too. I'm also not sure what to do with the pantry space. Here's another view that shows it: As you can see, it has a tall pantry/broom closet, a lazy susan, room for wine or beverage storage under the counter, and an appliance garage. I'm not sure what to do with the space above. Perhaps there would be a better arrangement? I'd appreciate any thoughts! --Optimus
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Sorry, they are difficult to read! I had to shrink them a lot to get them to be a reasonable size (not too big/not too small). RHome410 & ScooterMom are right, while it's nice to have 24" on each side of the range and you should strive for it, it's not always possible. In this case, it's more important to have the additional work space on the other side of the range and 18" is a good amount of space for emergency landing space as well spoons, etc. I also agree about the corner prep sink...while it gives you two Prep Zones of a sort, the one nearer the range is the more important and it's just too small w/that corner sink. I just included it so you could see various options. The corner susan, btw, is a great place to store pots & pans. In my old kitchen all my pots & pans, colanders, etc. fit in our 36" lazy susan (the one w/the pole in the middle). Here's a closeup of the Snack Center containing A tall 24"W x 12"D cabinet either for additional pantry storage or for a utility cabinet for broom, mop, cleaning supplies, etc. A long counter that is very shallow by the garage door and gets deeper as you move away from the door. The widest part is 22.5" deep, which means... The two cabinets (24" & 30" wide) under the deeper part of the counter are 21" deep instead of the standard 24" (Ikea cabinets can be cut down, check IkeaFans for more information.) Under the shallow portion of the counter is a bookshelf for cookbooks A MW sits on the counter as part of the Snack Center. If you also drink coffee, you could put a coffemaker there as well. If you like them and they're in the budget, you might consider a 24" MW drawer so the MW is off the counter, leaving quite a bit more room for the Snack (or Snack/Beverage) Center. Snack Center Pros: It gets the MW out of the main area of the kitchen so it isn't taking up valuable counter space nor is it taking up cabinet space (under or over) in the main part of the kitchen (where the primary zones are located: Prep, Cooking, Cleanup) The MW is still fairly accessible from the kitchen's Prep & Cooking Zones but out of the main working area so snackers can use it (and/or the refrigerator) w/o getting in the way of those working in the kitchen The MW is located near the refrigerator/freezer where most foods cooked or warmed up come from MW is near the prep sink so if water is needed it can be gotten w/o, again, getting in the way of those working in the kitchen If you also put a coffeemaker there, it's also close to the prep sink for water. Actually it's not that far from the main/cleanup sink as well, but the prep sink is much closer and more convenient It helps spread out the various functions of the kitchen so you have more overall workspace. You could even work in front of the DR window if you needed to Snack Center Con: It might make that area a little...
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slavin
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for responding itsallaboutthefood! There are some drawers which you can see better from this angle. Also, the Island has a microwave as well as 3 more drawers. Curious, are the drawers more usable than just a regular cabinet?
itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
Oh yes...do a search on drawers and you will find loads of gardenweb threads on this. Drawers are much better than lower cabinets with our without roll-outs.
herbflavor
11 years ago
From the point of view of the cook,I like layout 1..from the point of view of visuals straight on,layout 2 has an advantage. Could you do layout 1 with a square island -seating on 2 sides and kitchen use on 2 sides? that gives alternate views for seated individuals:they can face the cook or face each other at the island[2 people on 2 sides-4 people total-much more social]. It doesn't mean the fridge is disapearing from that spot, but re-arranging how the island is used accomplishes many things. Make your island work for you-make it bigger and better as it is not a big kitchen[show some measurements perhaps and you may get more ideas thrown in the mix].
slavin
Original Author
11 years ago
Itsallabout...doing it now, thank you!

herbflavor...This is exactly why I love this forum! We can't really make the island any bigger unfortunately. There used to be a wall on that side of the kitchen that we knocked out and now there is a big beam on the ceiling that sort of delineates the two spaces.

The measurements are 9'9" by 12' not including the space under the window and beyond.
aries61
11 years ago
slavin: What's your ceiling height? It looks like layout 1 has a taller ceiling then layout 2.

How much room is between the refrigerator and the range in layout 2?
blfenton
11 years ago
For the cook and ease of cooking, I prefer layout #1. It gives you more room around the stove for prep work and cooking. I just think that having more counter space around the stove will be more useful than counter space past the DW.

Most of your prep work will be done between sink and stove and perhaps some on the island. Having the fridge as in layout 1, allows someone to be using the fridge and helping you with prep work by working on the island. If you put the fridge right next to the stove and someone wants in the fridge to help you, they will either have to walk around the island to get to it or walk behind you (i.e. get in your way) while you are prepping, cooking, baking etc.

I also think that the size and symmetry of the cabinets work better in layout #1.
Oh and by the way - DRAWERS, drawers, drawers.
itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
Just a thought, but can you put the range on the wall between the windows in layout 1? It's still not as much landing space as in layout 1 though...and you wouldn't be able to keep a dish rack on top of the dishwasher but I guess some people don't do that (I do).
slavin
Original Author
11 years ago
aries- We hadn't thought about the ceiling height yet when we sat with the designer of layout #2. LOL! It is 9'5". I thought if we could at least figure out the best layout, then I could go back and extend upward with cabinets or crown molding. Not sure exactly of the measurement on that space between the refrigerator and stove...she didn't give us dimensions. I want to say either 9" or 11"?

itsallaboutthefood- We can move the range. I don't know why none of the designers have suggested that. We've seen 4 so far and 3 of them came up with pretty much the same design (layout 2), only one designer was different (layout 1).

blfelton- that's a good point about having to either walk around the island or behind the cook to get to the fridge.
itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
I meant "range between the windows in layout 2"...so the fridge and the range would not be on the same wall. You probably figured that out though.
itsallaboutthefood
11 years ago
Another thought...if you are not going to put a bench seat under the window...and put a desk there instead, you could extend the lowers there so that you have more counter space to the right of the range. (Course I'm not sure you would want a desk that close to the range...I know that eveything near my range tend to gets a little sticky from cooking residue).
slavin
Original Author
11 years ago
Bump...still in disagreement. Any and all thoughts welcome! :)

need help! kitchen layout...pics.

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