Ikea Kitchen Layout Review
Hi,
I'm trying to get to the end stage of a layout for my new kitchen, but am still worried about how tight my work triangle is going to be. Thought maybe I could get some feedback. I've been pretty frustrated with hiring an online designer for an ikea kitchen only to find they really don't give much feedback, only plop things in where you tell them to (and in one case, where I told them NOT to....they had the dishwasher opening into the entryway from the dining room initially.) I basically spent hours in the horrendous ikea software trying to jigsaw puzzle this kitchen together with minimal wasted space as fillers.
This is a narrow galley kitchen, original builders grade cabinets from 1977. The length is 11.5 ft by 8 ft wide. We enter from the small dining room and there is a door leading outside on the opposite end of the kitchen. There is a small window currently where the sink is. The wall that shows the separate oven and fridge is shared with our living room. Currently, we have a new slide in range with a microhood. where we are indicating a new cooktop and currently the fridge is at the entry to the kitchen opposite the sink. The place we are intending to move the fridge is currently a large pantry closet. We have decided to sacrifice the pantry closet (which is always unorganized and miserable to find anything) so that we can take down a partial wall towards the living room in hopes of opening up the tunnel-like kitchen a bit and adding a 2 level counter on that side.
My worries are: is it okay to have the fridge across from the cooktop? We separated the oven so that it didn't open across from the fridge, but then the oven opens across from the sink. I could just keep the slide in range where the cooktop is and leave the area designated as oven for cabinet space. We are fairly limited in that we need to stay within the footprint of the current kitchen and for budget sake trying to keep plumbing and electrical from moving. Sorry to drone on so long. I would love some feedback! Thanks in advance!
Comments (12)
qwertyem
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Final (!?) Kitchen Layout for Review - what do you think?
Comments (15)greencleaning - Thanks for the compliments! singingmicki - "shallow cabinet beside the fridge" "put upper cabinets and a countertop but leave the bottom open for your dog's needs" - Brilliant! We love this idea! What a perfect spot! (I didn't want to get rid of the hutch next to the fridge in order to put the dog bowls there, and now we don't have to.) Thank You!! buehl - We do have a dining room and need to banquette to seat a family of 4. I see what you mean about the leg room issue. From your post, I think we're going to need to put a Lot more thought into the banquette. Thank you for all the great info! davidro1 - Again, thank you so much for your reply and terrific advice! We will take everything into consideration and we revisit the fridge wall options. Right now, we're trying to finalize the "L" cabinets. We put together 2 mockups based on all of the great suggestions we've been receiving here and on IkeaFans. What option does everyone like best for the "L?" CHOICE A: SYMMETRICAL 15's ALL of the wall cabinet have 15" doors (on both the stove and sink sides)! LOVE the symmetry (achieved by cutting down the upper corner cabinet). [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5672410282/) Stove wall base cabinets: From left to right: \* corner piece (with two 12" doors, one on each wall) \* small cutting board pullout \* 15" (not sure if I would do all drawers or some drawers...still need to decide on that) \* stove \* 15" drawers And I gain a bigger stretch of countertop between the stove and the sink. Sink wall base cabinets: From left to right: \* 18" drawers \* 24" dishwasher \* 24" Domsjo single bowl sink \* 15" (for pull out garbage) \* corner piece with two 12" doors (one on each wall) Questions: 1\) Glass cabinets \- I'm not sure that I have enough pretty dishes to fill the deep corner cabinet too. Would it look strange to keep that as a regular door? 2\) There are 2" of extra space to the left of the far left wall cabinet (next to the nook) \- DH would love it if the wall space flanking the nook window was symmetrical (not displayed in pic). Right now it is 13" to the left and 15" to the right. Is there anything that can be done with that extra 2" inches to fill it in? (We ended the backsplash to match the upper \- not sure if that's the best idea either.) CHOICE B: BLIND UPPER CORNER CABINET AND SHELVES Stove wall: [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5672410196/) [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843445/) Stove Wall Uppers: \* a 30" (which has 12" hidden) with an 18" next to it (two 18" doors so it LOOKS like a 36" cabinet) \* 30" above the microwave (two 15" doors) \* 18" with a 6" shelf on the end to fill in the space. Stove Wall Base: \* corner piece (two 12" doors, one on each wall) \* 12" \- yes \- bottom section for cookie sheets and things \* stove \* 24" drawers Sink wall: Here's where it gets super custom. [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843503/) [](http://www.flickr.com/photos/40167831@N08/5671843323/) Sink Wall Uppers: From left to right: \* 6" shelf \* 27" custom cabinet \* window \* 27" custom cabinet \* (not seen \- but there would be 12 inches of the blind cabinet from the stove wall) The two 27" glass cabinets flanking the sink should be the perfect amount of storage to put my beloved dishes. Loving the symmetry here. Now 27" cabs are not that much bigger than the 24" cabs with 12" doors that I was trying to avoid. I think this plan would commit us to paint grade Shaker doors since we'd need custom door sizes. I saw companies selling paint grade doors that might actually be cheaper than Adel White (which is making DH very happy), but more research is needed. Also, while it would give me an excuse to buy some adorable ironstone creamers and/or pretty colored glass vases to decorate the corner shelves \- I'm not sure about all that dusting. Sink Wall Base From left to right (same as Choice A): \* 18" drawers (the pic is wrong \- it should be all drawers) \* 24" dishwasher \* 24" Domsjo single bowl sink \* 15" (for pull out garbage) \* corner piece with two 12" doors (one on each wall) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thank you all again for your help!!...See MoreFinal kitchen layout review - small galley kitchen
Comments (26)I am the original poster- don't know what happened, but my original garden web account seems to have gotten mixed in with my houzz account. Anyway... not trying to troll or anything here. This is really a fascinating thread, and definitely highlights the challenges of designing for a smaller space when every inch counts! I think the most compelling argument here is focused on what is needed for today vs. what MAY be needed of tomorrow. So, it's not really about functionality but risk and probability. It's too bad we don't have a nice little financial equation that will help us determine the "net present value" of the choices. I really just hate wasting money, and want to do every bit of planning possible to avoid the potential of having to rip something out in the future because it was a poor decision. I think my primary problem is that I really want a 30' x 40' kitchen with high end appliances and all of the bling I could possibly imagine. But, that is not my reality. And, it's really hard to figure out what is most important and how to choose when I can only afford about 35% of what I want. It's really hard on these forums to communicate a budget - I have no issue moving my fridge and range to opposite ends of the universe, but there is a cost involved in that, and I really need to be careful how I allocate my budget. So, I have chosen to leave my electrical and plumbing pieces where they are - and stay within the current footprint. I have to say - it can be pretty intimidating posting and asking for help when you are one of the "I have a small kitchen" folks. I really have no idea what I will end up with. But, I do know that I will post my updates as they occur as I want to ensure future "small galley kitchen" searches have something to reference! Thank you so very much to all of the wonderful comments and advice I have received. Funkycamper, benjesbride - you guys have been providing feedback and valuable input for the past 6 months as I have persevered to navigate the very rough waters of kitchen design. The end is so very near and this is the most stressful process I have EVER experienced!...See MorePlease review - our (almost-close-to-final) Ikea Kitchen Layout
Comments (13)Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, here are the responses to questions & the changes we've made (waiting for updated drawings from KD): I would flip the line up on the island, with the prep sink on the right, and a shared trash pull-out on the left Flipped the island line-up, so the prep sink is now in the middle of the island and the prep & cleanup areas won't bump into each other Moved the trash pullout to be under the main sink, will have storage on the left side of the prep sink it would be more efficient to completely separate the prep/cooking and clean-up zones We've not swapped the range & the sink for a few reasons - the range wall will be the "cooking" zone with both ovens, appliances in the appliance garage etc. Plus it will look better to have the range & hood directly across from the living & dining rooms :) While we do value function over form, in this case I'm thinking our kitchen is small enough where it won't be inconvenient to go from fridge/ pantry (supplies) to island (prep) to range wall (cook) Do you know in which cabinet the broom and step stool (and pet supplies if you have a pet) will be kept? Broom, step stool & pet supplies - still trying to figure out where these would go. One option is to add a 6-12" tall pullout closet (Rev-a-shelf or similar) next to the pantry. Another option is @jzlcantu's suggestion to remove the wine rack/ bookshelf and replace it with a 15" pullout utility closet. We like the open shelves because it breaks up the "closed/ large cupboard" feel of the pantry cabinets but a pullout closet might be more functional. why is the door opening at 48" wide We wanted to have a wide doorway leading into the hallway to make it feel a little more open & for convenience (people who want to come in for a snack from the bedrooms), there will be no actual door here just a straight opening in the wall (no trim). We would like this to be atleast 42" which could give us another 6" on the pantry wall. you have zero clearance from the door opening to the drawer cabinet There will be a 2" filler next to the wall oven (it's not currently shown, working with KD on including it in the diagram)...See MoreKitchen Layout help/review
Comments (16)@rantontoo, Gotcha, thanks it does make sense. So any different layout ideas to avoid the barrier issue? I guess I feel like there's an inherent trade off between efficient kitchens with good lines and ones with lots of counter & workspace... or have I just never seen a really well designed kitchen layout? :) There is a powder room directly behind where the fridge is, then the garage is on the other side of the powder room. Edit: Actually the powder room might only be behind the microwave area. Might be the hallway leading to the powder room right behind the fridge location. Either way, there is about 6' of the house indoors between the back of the fridge wall and the garage....See More
sena01
9 years agoIs it very strange to have a sink offset under a window?
I'd definitely consider it since it can give you a larger area for prep and get the DW out of your prep zone.
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9 years agosena01
9 years agoPlease, don't be discouraged. Can you post the layout of the whole floor? There are many talented people here that can come up with great ideas.
Can the back door be moved to anywhere else?
Will you buy a new fridge or use what you have now? I wonder if a 30-33" wide fridge and an under counter one on the DR entry can help with kids' traffic? Also, if you have some room to spare on the DR I'd consider 3 seats since you have 3 kids (could be one level if you can have 15 o/h). If you plan to stay in this house for a long time, maybe moving the MW to the bottom wall can help when kids are old enough to use the MW themselves.
qwertyem thanked sena01
K L
9 years agoqwertyem
9 years agoSorry, I ad to leave town for a few days and didn't get to immediately check I had a few more replies. To answer your questions, sena01, we do intend to buy a new counter depth fridge to help with space issues. I love the 3 seater layout that you posted there, although I'm not sure I can remove the entire end wall of the dining room. We were going to possibly keep a half wall there due to a thermostat and switches being on that wall. We do need at least a corner post because the portion of the wall adjacent to the living room is load bearing, so we'll need a beam and post.
Below is a layout of the kitchen, DR, and LR so you get a better idea of the total space.
I think we are pretty much stuck with the door where it is unless we remove it altogether. We are considering an "outward swing" door to minimize the impact, but our contractor is worried about security on that. The layout is missing that we do also have a sliding door on the back wall of the dining room that starts 20" from the kitchen entrance and takes up most of the 119.5" wall on that side.qwertyem
9 years agoqwertyem
9 years agoI agree about the DR wall, and we are definitely taking it down to at least a "half" wall so it will be more open and feel more spacious.
The kitchen door accesses a small side porch. The slider accesses a fenced in backyard. Technically, we could get rid of the outside door in the kitchen, but since that space is so narrow anyway, I haven't come up with any design that really gives a major advantage to losing the door. Of course, I'm always open to suggestions. :)
I was even thinking about a dutch door. I'm sure there are probably drawbacks to that. I am in love with this idea I find on the web, (see below)
but I think the counter across would interfere with trying to keep at least some pantry space on that end of the kitchen where we are keeping the wall, and the counter would probably be too close to the range and fridge.
sena01