What is the layout of the home in the rooms on four sides of the kitchen?

I would not want the washer/dryer sticking out as shown. Is there a closet or space in a surrounding room that the back of the laundry unit could be recessed into? Reframing and drywall would not be too expensive. If insetting is not an option, I would pull cabinets out from the wall and order deeper covering side panels or get deeper cabinets and exttend what looks like a wall next to the washer/dryer combo unit.

Have you mocked up your aisle widths? Will you be happy with 70+ inch aisles? Based on aisle and kitchen size, have you considered adding a prep sink?

Placement of cooktop/hood does not look balanced to me; does it bother you?

Do appliances and main sink have to stay where you have them?

Congrats on your new house, and welcome to GW. rantontoo makes some good points. Without too much rearranging of appliances, the following plan uses the suggestion to pull the cooktop run forward to be even with the W/D, which will result in deeper counters. The cooktop has also been moved over slightly, and I extended the stub wall beside the W/D--another of rantontoo's suggestions. The fridge was moved down to allow space for a prep sink and corner susan. If you do not want a prep sink, primary prep stays on the island, but I repositioned the island and flipped the layout to put the prep zone closer to the cooktop. The green lines represent functional flow if the fridge stays in the original location. I didn't change the length of the island, but depending on the size and exact location of the support column, the island might still be too close to it to allow traffic to slide by.

The advantage to having a prep sink on the fridge wall is that the prep and cooking functions are on one side of the kitchen, with clean-up on the other side--a helper can be loading or unloading the DW while the cook is prepping/cooking, with no overlapping steps. In a one-sink kitchen, if the dishes are kept in drawers in the base of the tall cabinet, which is between the ovens and W/D, it will be easy for a helper to load/unload the DW, while someone else is prepping on the island. Good luck with your fixer!

New to Kitchens? Read me first.

GW discussions--dishes in drawers

GW discussions--deeper counters

I have a washer and dryer in the kitchen although they are smaller units under the counter. My favorite feature is that I can dust the countertop above them before I do the laundry and that way when the laundry comes out I have an excellent folding table. This design gives you almost nowhere to work with the laundry. Is there any reason why the w/d couldn't go side-by-side and just have a bit higher countertop over them? You could bring down the upper cabinets to rest it directly on top of that countertop. Also I like the idea of pulling all the other cabinets forward so that you have the same depth along the wall but that may be much more costly depending upon your countertop material- The added death may mean that you would have to buy more slabs. It may be much more cost-effective to just bump out the area that is over at the washer dryer.

For the chairs at the island when somebody moves them backwards and wants to step out behind one of the other chairs is there enough space there? I'm not clear as to whether there's a room on the side of it or a wall but it looks really tight behind those chairs.

Washer/Dryer - you may have an "all in one" now, but will you in the future? You really need to put in a place that can handle a separate washer & dryer. Stacked may work where you have it now, but I would want to at least have a door in front to close it off when not in use - but that's my personal preference. I also do not like having laundry - dirty or clean - in a public place, but, again, that's me.

Note: Most people prefer to have their washer & dryer close to the bedrooms where most of the laundry comes from/goes back to.

Kitchen:

Unfortunately, I see quite a few issues. Some of them:

• You have a lot of wasted counterspace where it's useless b/c there's no water access (b/w the refrigerator and range)
• You have very little workspace for your Prep Zone - the non-DW side of the sink
• You have your sink in the island so your dirty dishes are front and center - on display for all to see.
• You have people sitting in front of your dirty dishes at the island - with those dirty dishes "in their face".

Look at some of the things MamaGoose did - they help alleviate some of the issues.

.

Have you had a chance to read the Layout Help FAQ and the Kitchen Design/Best Practices threads? If not, I recommend reading them. The Layout Help FAQ will tell you what we need to know - from a fully measured and labeled layout to a sketch of the entire floor the Kitchen is located on. The layout you posted has only partial measurements - there are no measurements for the window and the walls or the doorways (we need the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances b/w each wall/window/door/doorway).

It also discusses what information we need about you, your family, and your goals/needs/wants for your Kitchen - things we really need to know to help you design a Kitchen that works for you and your family. Yes, the basics don't really change, but details do!

The Kitchen Design/Best Practices threads will help you understand the comments you receive.

Asking for layout help:

How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information

.

Kitchen Design Best Practices/Guidelines Threads:

Kitchen work zones, what are they?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they

Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc

How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where?

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage

Looking for layout help? Memorize this first.

• http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first

Where do the doorways lead? Are they doorways only or do they have doors as well?

Thanks everyone for the thoughts and ideas! So I have read the rules and here's more information:

Background: this is a fixer we move into next week. 3 bed, 1.5 bath. We're making it into a 2 bed, 1 bigger kitchen, 1 full bath, and 1/2 bath.

Goals: Current home has a smallish kitchen, new one has some load bearing walls we can't move but aside from that we're wanting an open plan, light, airy kitchen and living space. Compared to the current place we need more counter space, more storage, seating in the kitchen with an island, and a place for people to hang out when we entertain, though the dining room is nearby for eating.

What is your family composition? To adults, two cats, no kids. That's it. Not having kids.

How many kitchen workers are there? He cooks while I sit and chat or work, I clean afterwards. The cats get in the way.

Structural changes:

• Can windows or doorways change size? Yes

• Can they be moved or eliminated? Yes

• Can windows be raised/lowered? Yes

• Can any walls come down? Yes, except exterior and the one column in the kitchen's corner.

• Does the sink have to be centered under a window? No

• Does it have to be under a window at all? No

Other questions:

• Do you bake a lot and do you want a Baking Center? Not really, but he does bake

• Do you want a coffee/tea/beverage center? No

• Do you want a snack center? No

What appliances do you plan on having:

• Range or Cooktop or Rangetop? Cooktop

• Single or Double or no Wall Oven? Single

• Warming Drawer? No

• MW? Yes, built-in, or shelf

• DW? Standard

• Refrigerator? French door freezer bottom

• Ventilation Hood? Yes

• Other? Combo one piece washer/dryer in the kitchen which is 39" tall, 31" deep 28" wide.

  Pantry: Cabinets in the kitchen

Is there anything you:

• Cannot live without? Light, airy space - all white

• Definitely do not want? Cramped, cluttered, ornate, dark, very expensive

• Would like if you can find a way? No upper cabinets? Bigger window. Everything hidden.

Other answers to questions/comments:

1. Washing machine size/location: love the idea of deepening the cabinets next to it so it doesn't stick out. I can see how future homeowners might want a side by side but we will be
here a long time and just bought the all in one and love it :) Dirty laundry lives in the bedroom closets until a load is ready.

2. Have you mocked up your aisle widths? Will you be happy with 70+ inch aisles?They'll be 4-5' wide - is that too narrow? Can move island out easily.

3. Measurements are not quite accurate yet - we did very rough measurements when we last saw the house.

4. I tried to keep all the pantry-like stuff (fridge) to the left, cooking in the middle and cleaning to the right.

5. "You have a lot of wasted counterspace where it's useless b/c there's no water access (b/w the refrigerator and range)" It's about 6-7" between the two: is that too far?

6. "You have very little workspace for your Prep Zone - the non-DW side of the sink" - how much is needed?

7. "You have your sink in the island so your dirty dishes are front and center - on display for all to see." "You have people sitting in front of your dirty dishes at the island - with those dirty dishes "in their face"." Is it so bad to have the sink in the island? It's a way for us to talk
to each other while he preps and I work, or interact with guests
(otherwise all the work stations put your back to the room) :)

8. I made new diagrams with better visuals - hope this helps. I did take on board some suggestions but am still trying to process them all!

Kitchen:

Whole house:

Congrats on your new home!

The laundry location next to the DR seems an odd choice. Why not move it closer to the bedroom, the source of nearly all dirty laundry?

From what you've written, this is your "forever" home so you're not concerned about resale but even so, I would think that you'd want to make the best use of your space. My comments stem from the missed opportunities I see.

Is there a reason why your bedroom is so large? It's bigger than your kitchen! Is the front walk right outside the master bedroom? That doesn't seem to offer a lot of privacy for you. I'm guessing that you created it from two bedrooms. Did you consider joining the two rooms facing the front garden instead? Seems that would offer you more privacy and possibly allow you to make the one full bath accessible directly from the master bedroom.

The one bathroom looks quite large, too. Are the 2 sinks really next to each other? Given how large the room is, why not give yourselves more elbow room around each sink?

I only see one closet for the entire house. Is that correct?

Is your fridge a counter depth fridge or a standard depth fridge? If the latter, I suggest moving the W/D to the fridge wall and building that whole run deeper to hide the extra depth of both of these appliances.

Kitchens and Baths · More Info

You could also turn the W/D sideways and have it face the hallway, not into the kitchen like this:

East Village Apartment · More Info

Thanks Lisa!

The master is made of two bedrooms - and it's on the side of the house. What you can't see is the street is on the right of the plan, on the other side of the front garden. So having the bedroom at the side is more private.

The bedroom is about 13' x 22' (walls aren't exactly correct) which I don't feel is that bit - and we doubled the size of the current bathroom from a minuscule 13 x 5 to 13 x 14 in this plan, which isn't vast.

Closet - yes there's one but I added 2 wardrobes in the master.

I think maybe the washer/dryer solution is to enclose it? I do like the idea of moving the W/D net to the fridge and then I could lose the tall cabinets near the dining room.

Does the W/D need to be on an outside wall for venting? Since the bathroom is so large, can you put it in a closet set into the bathroom space, facing the hall? It would be convenient to the bedroom and bathroom. I added a shallow storage closet off the hallway, and storage shelves in the bathroom.

I moved the clean-up sink and DW to the wall near the DR, and put a prep sink on the island, and moved the fridge and oven down, with a wider pantry to the left of the fridge.

I also added reach-in closets to the bedroom--my bedroom is almost exactly the same size (almost twice as big as my kitchen), with closets along the short wall.

Or, how about this. (See below for the Zone Map)

Laundry:

I moved the Washer/Dryer to the other side of the Kitchen so it's closer to the bedrooms.

To hide the laundry center when not in use, the washer/dryer is in a cabinet or closet. While it fits your current appliance, it will also fit a stacked washer/dryer if you ever want separate appliances. (I don't know your experience with your all-in-one model, but the reviews I've read about them in general aren't that great - but if you like it, great!)

Above the washer/dryer are shelves or cabinets (your choice) for storing laundry detergent, dryer sheets, etc. If in the future you switch to stacked washer/dryer, you can simply remove the shelves/cabinets and put in the stacked appliances. This gives you options.

.

Kitchen:

All perimeter counters are deeper than standard

• The sink/cooktop counters are 28.5" deep with 27" deep base cabinets (3" deeper than standard.
• The short counter run on the right is 6" deeper than standard with the upper cabinet to the counter 9" deeper than standard (at 21"D).

There are two windows - a 63" one centered over the sink and a 36" on the other side of the cooktop. Both flank the range hood over the cooktop. The 36" window helps to open up the corner and adds more light.

There are only two upper cabinets - the Dish Hutch next to the DW and the appliance garage (or other storage) next to the tall oven cabinet.

I moved the refrigerator to the other side so it's now next to the DR and is a straight shot from the Living Room. This way, someone looking for a snack or setting the table will not get in the way of someone prepping and/or cooking.

The move of the refrigerator also helps keep the workflow consistent with the normal Kitchen workflow of: Refrigerator --> Sink & Prep Zone --> Cooktop/Oven & Cooking Zone

Instead of pantry cabinets, I put in a reach-in/step-in built-in pantry. This type of pantry is not only much less expensive, but it's also much more efficient, flexible, and overall useful pantry than cabinets. You can utilize the entire height (ceiling-to-floor), can see everything with one glance (no opening/closing drawers/doors looking for something), and shelves can be adjusted to fit your needs now and in the future.

The oven cabinet houses the wall oven and a MW in an alcove. With an alcove rather than a built-in MW, you can easily switch out the MW if it dies; plus, a standard MW in an alcove is less expensive than a built-in MW. Another option is a MW drawer - perhaps in the 24" cabinet next to the prep sink. I was trying to save you drawer space since you want as few uppers as possible and you do not have a separate pantry elsewhere.

Above the oven & MW is tray storage for cookie sheets, cooling racks, muffin tins, roasting pans, etc.

Next to the oven cabinet is an upper cabinet to the counter for appliances or other storage. This helps to eliminate the "dark corner" that often results from tall cabinets near corners. The upper cabinet is 21" deep - plenty deep enough to house just about any small appliance you can think of. It will also provide you with some deeper storage for items that might require it. Other than appliances, I probably wouldn't store frequently used items, though - unless you're tall. [See the end of this thread for how it might look. I can't easily show the 3D version of the appliance garage - but the upper cabinet is shallower than the base and there's counter b/w them.]

The range hood is 6" wider than the cooktop and 24" deep. It's especially important to have the wider & deep hood b/c you do not have upper cabinets flanking the hood to assist it with capturing steam/smoke/grease/odors/etc. I wasn't sure what size the cooktop was, so I put in a 36" wide cooktop. If you're putting in a 30" cooktop, then you have 6" to play with. Personally, I'd increase the space b/w the sink and cooktop those 6" to give you more space to work with either as a tertiary Prep Zone or for the Cooking Zone, but it's your call.

There are several Prep Zones in case the two of you want to prep or cook together - or if you have guests who want to help out.

Finally, the island.

The island has the primary Prep Zone with a generously sized prep sink. You said you like to sit and visit while your DH preps - this provides ample room for that.

There are 4 seats arranged in a better configuration for visiting. Sitting all in a row is not conducive to visiting - it's more like sitting with strangers at a diner. By having the seats around the corner like this, it makes it easy to converse with guests! Note that I put an 18" overhang on the end - this is in case you or your DH or guests are tall. 15" is the minimum recommended overhang depth - but it's for short-to-average height people, not tall. I wish I had done an 18-inch overhang instead of 15"! (We're all relatively tall - we range from 5'10" to 6'7".)

There is plenty of workspace for your DH! There's also additional workspace if you also help out occasionally or if a guest would like to help.

There is plenty of storage on both sides of the island. (I added storage wherever I could to make up for the lack of upper cabinets.)

Overall, the island has an area (to the left of the prep sink) with a wonderful expanse of uninterrupted counter for large baking projects (like holiday cookie baking), crafts, wrapping gifts, etc.

Here is the layout's zone map.

Zone Map:

.

Oven cabinet with wall oven + MW + Tray storage and a sample of what it might look like with the appliance garage next to it.

.

.

Tray & platter storage example:

So I have come around to the idea of moving the W/D to a cupboard in the hallway, jutting into the bathroom but opening in the hall. And yes that way the next owner can have a stacked W/D ;)

Also loving the idea of fewer/no upper cabinets if possible. And have learned what an appliance garage is!

Since we are on a budget and only one person cooks I will have to scale back on some of the other ideas though - but they do look amazing! We're going with IKEA cabinets so we're restricted on some of the custom sizes too. Thanks everyone for the input - very, very useful, all of it!