Please review my layout - new build
Hello everyone,
This is my first post to the kitchens forum, but I have been reading all of your posts faithfully for months as we plan for our new build. We are in the final steps of our kitchen design, and I am hoping to get a little feedback here.
We are currently a family of 3 - we have a 4yo daughter. Our home will also have an in-law apartment for my parents, who will have their own (smaller) kitchen, but I envision cooking with my mom a lot in our kitchen.
The overall layout and a few snapshots of the elevations are below. Our cabinets will be full overlay with stacked cabinets to a 9ft ceiling on the range wall. The range is a 36" capital culinarian. The fridge will be a standard depth, and next to it is a stack with a steam oven and microwave drawer. On the same run, we also have a wine fridge. In the island is an undercounter drawer refrigerator. Our sinks will be Blanco Silgranit II - the performa cascade super single by the window and the precis large bowl in the island as a prep sink.
We have tried to keep mostly drawers on the base cabinets. We do have a trash pullout in the island and two 12" pullouts flanking the range to store utensils, spices, etc. We plan to use the 30" 2-drawer stack at the end of the island for dish drawers and the 33" 2-drawer stack at the end of the range run for pots/pans. The doorway at the end of the range run leads to a walk-in pantry and next to that is the doorway leading to a hallway through which the mudroom (with garage entrance) and dining room are accessed. The kitchen opens into a dining nook and great room.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements on this design. Thank you all in advance for your help!
Comments (13)
cpartist
8 years agoRelated Discussions
New build - please review and comment
Comments (3)Steelerfan, The elevations are lovely. Very nicely proportioned, IMHO, and the windows are lined up, which I didn't get from the floor plans. Is there a reson that there are so few windows on the left side of the house? I would think that the study and the dining room would benefit from a pair of windows on that side. Ditto bedroom #2. Can you sneak a window into those stacked bathrooms? It sure would be great to have a little natural light in there. Maybe a round or oval pretty window high enough to stay out of the shower spray? Regarding the 3/4 rear view, as you enter the front door and walk into the foyer, you will begin to see the end of whatever piece of furniture you put on the angled wall going back into the family room. But you will see it from the end and almost from the back. If it is a console table with lamps, you most certainly will be looking at the gap with the wall (created by the base molding/furniture fit) and all the cords dangling down fromt the lamps in that gap. It might look fine in person - just strikes me as odd. Do you have the flexibility to scretch the foyer to the right and center the front door on the back of the pantry wall for an art wall? Right now it isn't on an axis with anything. I hope others will chime in. There are some really great minds on this forum and some folks handy are redrawing plans rather than just describing in words....See MoreKitchen layout to review, new build
Comments (17)Sorry for misreading your original. Just to repeat what pal said in a different way, a counter depth ref is often 30" deep by the time the doors and handles are added. A normal depth ref is 36" deep. Your aisle can become only 2'9" right in front of the ref. Also, in case you might not know, a sxs or a french door ref pretty much needs landing space that is behind you as you stand in front of it (pivot and set down). Landing space to either side isn't so good because most people can't reach the counter without walking around the open door. I think you thinkin' looks with those shelves and I'm thinkin' they won't actually work. Try this out at home with cardboard boxes holding books - it's not so easy to find the one you want when the spines face the other direction. For me, I'd be forced to reach blind and wronghanded for the ones stored on the right side. I wouldn't be able to reach most of the ones in the other corner at all without a step stool because the micro would get in the way. Pretty much, you can't put a hood that high over a range. Most of them max out at 30-36" above the surface of the burners (or whatever). So - these are two different little sketches on one drawing - conceptual, not measured. The first is a blue sky thought that would take resiting the mudroom and what I hope is an extra powder room. Cause I would be looking to do something more like the sketch in terms of kitchen space and placement. The second is an alternate of just the window area - much like rhome's cleanup area - to eliminate some of the access issues and possibly better positioning of the micro....See MorePlease review new layout
Comments (3)The shape looks like it can work well, but your arrangement has the heavy duty work in the eating area. I wouldn't put the works, like your knives and boards, on that side of the island. Also, a much better place for the warming drawer is where your utensels/baking sheets stack is. Unless you all are particularly tall you could put the warming drawer under the utensils. That messes up your symmetry, but that cabinet for tall bottles will be a pain to use. Drawers or a pullout would work better. How often do you use the baking sheets, etc.? Because they'd be okay in the outside of the island unless you're using sheets and trays or whatever daily while the family are gathering--possible in some homes, but not usual. Another thing that could go on the outside of the island is the under counter fridge, especially if it's for drinks. If you're worried about the looks, you can get it panelled to look like a cupboard, or drawers. And also the cereal and snacks cupboard. My mother put those in the breakfast room because it kept the bugs that came in the packages back then from spreading to other things. It's handy to have them by the table. The small sofa crowds the patio door and the island, and leaves no passage room. Those boys are going to be walking on it or hurdling it to get into the kitchen, pushing it back when they want to get past someone seated at the counter, and is just plain in the way of people going in and out of the door. Where is the TV? On the wall with the back hall door? I don't see a good way of furnishing enough seats for the comfy part there, it's hard to see from the table, and far from the cook. How about shortening the island a little and putting a TV stand against the required column? The pedestal TVs swivel well, or you could use a turn table. That way it could face the kitchen, eating area or seating, and you could put the seating against the wall wrapping under the window and have a really useful amount. You could even do doubles, which is often done in a large room. That is, one piece of furniture with two screens. They even make them so that the TVs retract into the cabinet. Not cheap, but a possible solution. I'd like to move the main fridge more into the kitchen proper though I'm not sure where it will fit comfortably. Close to the stove and table isn't a bad choice--I wouldn't want to undo that--but pulling more of the works to the inside of the island will define the space better. OTOH, it does help close off the desk area which might be a good thing if you need a more private feeling for your work. I'd get the creeps with my back to the activity, though. What's that door there by the desk? Is mirror symmetry really important to you? If you moved the stove over so that it was protected by the island it would help to compact the kitchen, and be good for the cook. is the door at the back by the brooms the existing pantry? Or is it a people door? If the latter, how busy is it? I'm wondering if the stove and sink couldn't fit nicely on the current sink wall, and have a nice row of pantries on the back wall with the fridge, ovens, and storage. Or if you want a counter on that side, maybe a beverage/snack area. It's too late for me to make this a cohesive message. It's really not bad. Other than the small sofa there are no "errors". But I think there are a lot of things you can do to polish it up and make it that much better....See MorePlease, please, please review our new build kitchen!
Comments (25)I have a very similar space and tried and tried as you are to locate the sink and stove on the same run and it just couldn't happen without cramping and majorly sacrificing function. We ended up with our main and only sink in the island. I was hesitant I really was but it really has allowed effecient use of space and keeps the auxiliary traffic out. We have 2 boys and use our island all the time for all sorts of things - snacks, wrapping presents, homework. Having the sink in there has not impeded any of those things. I know you said you really didn't want to do that but to sacrifice functionality to avoid it you might want to really think hard on it before you get too far. On the other hand if you can squeeze more length in maybe you can do it - but then I'd want a prep sink on the island, a water source there somewhere even if it's a smaller one. Our island is 9' long and has room for 4 stools on the long end and one on the short side. It houses the sink, dw, trash and a 4 drawer stack. We have a decent over hang, about 16" which makes seating comfortable. I like green designs - our MW is right by the fridge and that works well and usually those 2 appliances are used right in succession - no crossing zones to get to them. Good luck! It is so tough to get everything just so! If only I'd have analyzed the rest of the house as much as the kitchen! ;O...See More
rebunky
8 years ago
Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
8 years ago
irina654
8 years agoI'm including a rendering of the first floor layout below. The kitchen plan there was just the architect's sketch (before we met with the KD).
Per the plan, the aisle widths are all 48"
The area behind the garage which shares a wall with the main kitchen is the in-law apartment.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoYour kitchen is labeled 199" wide.
Subtract 50" (2x25" base cabinets) = 149"
Subtract 96" (2x48" aisles) = 53"
Subtract 46" - island cabinets without seating overhang (25"+21" cabs) = 7"That leaves 7" for seating overhang--less than half the recommended depth. What is the width of the island as drawn?
irina654
8 years ago
K C !
8 years agorebunky
8 years agomama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agorebunky
8 years agomama goose_gw zn6OH
8 years agoHere's a rough rearrangement to something you might consider: Move the fridge down past the end of the island, which will give you some 'step back' room, and move the oven where the fridge was drawn. Put the prep sink (I'd do a larger one than was originally drawn) nearer the fridge, which gives you a nice stretch on the island for prep. You can scoop prepped items from the end of the island and drop at the cooktop, which I've moved closer to the door by m/l flipping the cooktop wall layout.
This gives you a second prep area between the clean-up sink and the cooktop, for a helper. You still have a couple of seats at the island, if someone wants to hang out while you work.
Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
8 years ago
irina654Original Author