New construction Kitchen layout
Jay Walsh
7 years ago
The builder we are working with has the following layout in the expanded kitchen. What I have seen in some kitchens that is appealing is the island turned around so that the seats back to the family room. Do you guys think that would work in this kitchen? How does the layout look in general?
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Comments (11)
lakeerieamber
7 years ago
lisa_a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoRelated Discussions
New construction kitchen layout suggestions pretty please!!!
Comments (15)Hi, Elacey. My initial feeling was that this design uses a lot of space, spread over a lot of space, and leaves nonwork space in a long strip that lacks flexibility of use. Plus, of course, the DRM currently lacks a fairly direct route and is a bit farther away as a result, part of a set of tradeoffs I imagine you guys are fully aware of, though. That said, now knowing a lovely and important view is out that long wall explains a lot for me and makes sense of the island being oriented to pay homage to the view. What might look a little odd on a screen often turns out to make perfect visual sense in person. I also like the relatively elegant simplicity and open feeling of the layout. It seemed very large, but isn't really too large because it has an entire, efficient work triangle contained within a compact area. I normally am not crazy about corner pantries breaking up counters, but there are exceptions to anything, and it works here because of that. It's unfortunate that cleanup is so far from dining, but you're raising a troupe of energetic little helpers, so again an eyes-open tradeoff. If you were to consider change, sena01's island and counter layout have a fairly similar relation to the rest of the house and pull the elements together a bit more, if that were something you wished. And sitters could look at each other more easily as they played and chatted. Of course, creating that more direct route to the DRM, if acceptable tradeoffs were found would be great. If not, oh, well. I have my doubts about the usefulness of that area you're thinking of putting a little table and chairs in. It's a little tight, and the counter's right there, especially if a stool on the short end allowed glancing out the window too. It would hold an easy chair for relaxing with the cook, or by the cook, though. I know you came for positive ideas, but feeling it works well pretty much as it is, without indication yet that you're interested in undertaking dramatic changes to something else entirely, there are only a couple of things I see that I might like to change on that design. One might (I'd have to play with it, though) would be to create short wing walls on both sides to frame and suggest a gentle transition between the living room and kitchen. It would create a little protected space to back that easy chair to but shouldn't block monitoring of what's happening in there. The other would be to deepen the stove counter to more like 30". I always like that if there's room, 25" being a good workable standard minimum depth, not a law of nature. :)...See MoreNew Construction Kitchen Layout - Any Ideas?
Comments (11)Okay, so definitely no cooktop in the island. What are opinions on the main sink being in the island? cpartist - Another option. Thank you! If this was your kitchen, would you lay it out this way? If only I had a couple more feet on one side! Then I'd probably want two more.... I am concerned about the amount of counter space around the sink and cooktop. However, if I am thinking this through, you would work from left to right at the sink. Correct? Then work space at the cooktop would mainly be on the right (if you are standing at it). Hot items out of the oven would go to the island? Making school lunches would happen on the island after pulling items from the refrigerator and pantry? Trying to imagine myself and the family using this space. Our double ovens will actually be an oven/convection oven microwave combo. Oven on the bottom and convection oven/micro on top. That being said. Does this place the microwave too far away from the refrigerator?...See MoreNew Construction Kitchen Layout
Comments (12)I love the convenience of opening my trash pull-out and sweeping debris directly into the can. You can do that with an undermounted sink with a GD on the prep side, but if you use laminate will you have a drop in sink? You can certainly have an under sink trash pull-out--if you search for lisa_a's 'fifty shades of grey' kitchen, you can see her neat under sink storage solutions. Is your under sink trash a pull-out or door mounted? Does it open with one motion, or do you open a door, then pull out the trash can? One motion is much more convenient--I can open my trash pull-out with my toe, if my hands are covered in meat juice or biscuit dough. As for DW placement, I put it to the right of the sink for the reasons you mentioned--so you won't need to walk around it if it's under the prep space. But we all have different methods of cooking and clean-up. My family members are responsible for taking their own plates to the sink, and scraping them into a scrap bowl (no GD--we compost), where I load them into the DW. You mentioned reading previous threads, so you've probably already studied the New to Kitchens? thread. Here are a couple of paragraphs in which buehl explains the DW position: Cleanup Zone...works best when separated from the Prep & Cooking Zones. This can be on the opposite side of a one-sink kitchen from the Prep Zone or it could be in a completely separate location (the latter usually only works well if you have two sinks). Obviously, it also needs a water source and the DW. When the Prep and Cleanup Zones share a sink, the DW should be on the Cleanup Zone side of the sink, not the Prep Zone side. Overlapping zones: Prep & Cleanup Zones…If there is only one sink in the kitchen, these zones will be adjacent to each other because of the need for a water source for both zones. However, true overlapping is not generally a good idea. Instead, try to keep the cleanup area separate from the prep area by putting the sink between them. E.g., DW on one side, Prep Zone on the other side. (You should strive to keep the DW out of the Prep Zone as well as out of the path between the sink and Prep & Cooking Zones and between the refrigerator and Prep & Cooking Zones.) Also try for at least 36" (42" or more is better) of room on the Prep Zone side of the sink for ample workspace as well as accommodating the inevitable dirty dishes that will accumulate next to the sink. You are not overthinking--that's why the Kitchens forum is here! We want you to have the best kitchen possible, and we want you to be sure about it before you start the framing and order the cabinets. :)...See MoreNew construction Cabinet/kitchen layout help
Comments (25)Perhaps an outlet in the pantry for a potential microwave? I’m no pro but have very similar needs to you and planning a very similar layout! So I’ll throw some of my ideas at you that I’m using. The RoomPlanner app might be helpful for you (even the free version) to lay it out. Here’s a screenshot from mine. You can’t get specific with cabinets but it still helps. I want a lot of lower drawers as well. On my baking station side I chose to do shelves to break up the cabinets and I’ll do jars of baking ingredients on them. Then to the left of the fridge is a cabinet that will open up and have a counter inside for our blender to sit on, coffee stuff may go there or on the baking station. I wanted the blender close to the fridge. My baking station will be 30” deep instead of standard depth which will make my fridge look like a counter depth fridge, deepen the blender cabinet, and provide me with more usable counter in front of counter top appliances. I’m considering Ikea cabinets with custom fronts from somewhere like Scherrs or Semihandmande I think is the other, or possibly all out custom. If I do Ikea cabinets I’ll just have them installed more forward for the deeper baking station (except for the blender cabinet I’d need a custom solution) and the counter tops will hide the gap. I’d love to see your project progress as it’s so similar to mine but you’re ahead of me!...See More
Jay Walsh
7 years agolisa_a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agopractigal
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoJay Walsh
7 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoBased on 17'4", and a lot of modifications, you can have a 72" island, turned 90°, if you recess the oven into the current pantry, then use shallow pantry cabinets along the interior wall. If you have the option of a prep sink on the island, you would have separate clean-up and prep zones, and could prep facing the living area. Disadvantage is that the fridge can be seen from the living area.
MW could go on a shelf beside the ovens (if not combined in the stack), or in a MW drawer in the island. Depending on how the stairs are configured, a standard drawer base cabinet, with MW drawer, could be located beside the oven stack, but recessed under the stairs. Yellow lines represent functional flow with one sink, red lines with a prep sink on the island.
The fridge, if not counter depth, can also recessed a few inches into the wall behind, to provide more space in the work aisle.
______________________________
You could keep the pantry and oven wall as is--with a 72" island, the aisles would be narrower, but still within acceptable widths:
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If you can cut back the opening to the DR, and recess the fridge into the pantry space, the hood is the focal point from the living area, but there is no landing space beside the fridge:
Jay Walsh
7 years agoJay Walsh
7 years agoBuehl
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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