Please critique our layout

13 years ago

We have been reading every post we see for months trying to plan the best kitchen we can. Here's what we've come up with and would appreciate your feedback.

DH and I cook every meal together so this was designed for us to both work without getting too much in the way of each other. The island has a trash pull out at each end, opening up in opposite directions. There is an Advantium oven in the island facing the trough sink.

The refrigerator aisle is about 44" wide, the prep sink aisle about 38". Sink to the island is almost 4'.

Thanks for your help!

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Comments (6)

marcydc
13 years ago
I'd add about 6" to the width of the island - for 30" at least. 2 feet can look too skinny.
pps7
13 years ago
You will have to walk around the island to the prep sink. All of you cooking supplies will be coming from the fridge and pantry, so maybe put the prep sink in your island.

Do you want 2 smaller pantries? Why not have one bigger one and move the fridge over to the left?
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Dekeoboe, That is such a great question!!! How perceptive of you. We spent a lot of time going over that point and feel we'll be okay not building the extra rooms. Most homes have a lot of entertaining space because it's far from the city, so we think our open plan will satisfy that requirement. Even though it seems really odd, based on the other homes in the neighborhood, we don't think having the two bedrooms will be too much of a problem for resale. Having more certainly wouldn't hurt of course. Because most of the residents don't have kids still at home and the lots are large, the future owner would probably build a guest house if they needed more rooms. Thanks for pointing that out because it really does seem weird.
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Wow! Thanks to all that have responded so quickly! Lot's of great ideas to consider and glad to here the compliments. Some answers to holligater's questions (and others...). We are currently a family of 4, DD is a college junior and DS is a high school junior, so they will not be living at home much longer. Both DW and I cook and the kids are always helping, that's why we went with more space in the center of the kitchen (current kitchen is very cramped). We have a large extended family and will have many future holidays to host. We also want to start entertaining more now that the kids are taking up less of our time! DW bakes more, I cook more; both want to do more of both! Style? Hmmm.. Our designer had a hard time giving it a name. Definitely updated and not retro. As she said, not quite contemporary. We like simple and clean lines. We're looking at shaker style cabinets, probably maple with a lighter stain. We like the Thermador Pro-style SS appliances, both functionally and style-wise. On the fridge/oven wall, the ovens will be a stack of two. The cooktop is on the island because there is no place else for it! The current cooktop is on the wall the separates the kitchen from the living room. That wall will be gone and the kitchen extended 7 or 8 feet into the current living room. Had not considered a beverage fridge, but that's a great idea and will consider it if there is enough room (that is storage). All "clearances" are at least 48". Oh, yeah. We are a tall family DS and I are 6-5, DW is 5-9.
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Can you label the doors as to where they go and how heavily used? Where do the groceries come in? Which doors are less used? How big is the family? (Are kids running through?) How many cooks? Given what you just posted, the dishwasher door will be blocking the way when clearing dishes from the breakfast room, or if you are trying to do a little clean-up while someone else is trying to set the table. You may want to try the free IKEA kitchen planner to draw your kitchen to scale and make a 3-D rendering of actual cabinets. If you can't draw to scale, at least write the measurements on your drawing.
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If you're willing to move the kitchen entry a few feet (6'?) toward the top wall, you'd still have traffic coming through, but it wouldn't pass by the ovens and fridge. In this plan you still have a snack center on the periphery, with the ovens close to the cooktop. You still have a view while you prep, and a second prep area by the clean-up sink. There's room for a small appliance in the corner between the cooktop and ovens. (Forgot that the fridge is drawn too small--the pantry on the right of the fridge might need to be a pull-out, or make each pantry smaller.) In the laundry area there's room by the W/D for a short counter over a pull-out for storage. This close to the kitchen sink, I'd skip the sink in the mudroom/laundry. I wanted to post this plan, but also want to say (and I'll take the hits) that I don't think the ovens in the original plan are much of a problem. You won't be carrying hot dishes--with the oven door open and racks extended, you'll be pivoting in a 3' arc, to set them on the end of the counter by the cooktop. Turn the other direction, and you can use the island as landing space, if you have more than one hot dish. Ditto for anything you want to set down long enough to open the oven for loading. Just yell, "Oven's open!" before you use it. If you have small kids running in and out through that entry, you can always put a latch on the sliding door, and get in the habit of latching it when you open the oven. :)
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breezygirl
13 years ago
Where is your Prep Zone? At the trough sink? That's an awfully long ways to the fridge around the island for fresh ingredients, and it's a long trek around the island to the cooktop. Prep Zone should ideally be located near the fridge and near the range/cooktop.
Buehl
13 years ago
Very quickly...

What is the purpose of the "Trough Sink"? Is it for prepping? If so, it's not situated correctly. You will either need to move the range to the same wall as the "trough sink" or move the "trough sink to the island. As it stands, the expanse of counter b/w the DW and the "trough sink" is pretty much wasted b/c it's not located where it's easy to get to/from the range, refrigerator, or the main sink.

Are you measuring aisles counter edge-to-counter edge or cabinet-to-cabinet? If the latter, then your aisles are 3" narrower than what you stated. Cabinets have approx a 1.5" overhang...for an island that means 1.5" on all sides. So, for a wall run, the depth of the cabs + counter = 25.5". For your island, assuming you have 24" deep cabinets (standard), your island is going to be 27" wide, not 24". The overhang is to protect your cabinets from spilled liquids, etc. The overhang directs the spill to the floor and away from the cabinet doors/drawer fronts. It also protects the cabinet/drawer insides since it covers the opening b/w the door/drawer front & the cabinet box.

Is this a new build or a remodel?

Can walls, windows, and/or doors be changed?

Where do each of the doors/doorways lead?

Have you tried eliminating the bottom wall and making the island deeper?

Another option would be to move the sink & DW to the top wall, leave the pantries there as well. Deepen the bottom wall and move the range to the angled wall and the refrigerator to the far right on the bottom wall. Put the "trough" sink b/w them. I don't think an island would fit, but perhaps a small peninsula on the sink side? It could offer a couple of seats, if you like. It takes the range out of a thoroughfare (b/w the deck & the rest of the house) and offers some protection for it and the Cooking Zone. This is assuming, of course, that windows and doorways can be changed.
kiffgirl
Original Author
13 years ago
Wow, everyone, thanks for the feedback!

marcydc: I don't think we have wide enough aisles to make the island 30" (although I wish we did).

pps7: We had the prep sink in the island at first, but because it was so narrow we moved it to gain counter space. We also had a 4' pantry to one side and separated it to surround the fridge. We thought that was a better look, but maybe not. Didn't think we would loose THAT much interior space to separate it.

breezygirl: yeah, I know. I think we would use the trough sink sometimes and the main sink sometimes.

buehl: We did add in for the counter overhang in our measurements and still come up with 44" and 38". Where am I going wrong?

This is a remodel/addition. Our current kitchen is 7' deep, we are adding the rest.

We can't really change the walls/windows/door.

The door in the kitchen leads outside to the yard. The wide opening at the other end opens to our dining room.

The bottom wall can't change. Our powder room is on the other side of the wall and there is an elevation change at that wall.

We originally had the sink, etc., on the top wall but that wall backs our entry to the house and I didn't want people to see in to the sink area (we're not always neat). People approach the entry by walking down a flight of stairs, seeing straight into our kitchen below.
kevinw1
13 years ago
I suspect with this layout, you'd find yourself using the main sink for prep all the time, and the trough sink would end up as an expensive decoration.

You might consider marking out your layout somewhere (on the lawn?), perhaps placing big cardboard boxes for island, appliances and cabinets, and try a run through of preparing a meal (or even a single dish). That will teach you a lot about how it feels to go around that island repeatedly. Right now, it's more of a hindrance than a help IMO.

Please critique our layout

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