First draft kitchen layout...any suggestions?
Comments (13)
Mary Townsend
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Tiny Kitchen First Draft
Comments (68)I was so excited to see your kitchen, virtually identical to mine! Yours is a little wider though and a little shorter. I like the original layout, I think it is lacking a little in counterspace but perhaps the table makes up for it. If I were you I think I would make the table completely movable and never fix it, in fact our solution during our reno is to have an "islandette" that is stored under the counter on one side so that it can be rolled out and used anywhere when necessary (also saves on some expensive base cabs but you still get the storage underneath it!). I have to admit that though building in the fridge does make your other room very strange (which I think you could absorb with the closet) I would kill to have a place to build in my fridge, unfortunately it just sticks into the space making it even narrower! Have you considered making the kitchen area a "U" shape and putting cabs/counter on the left wall as well and maybe getting rid of the table? Then you could do a counter-depth fridge and save your other room's closet space, just a though... I agree with many about the half wall but if the living area is not really formal and that is what you want I would say go for it, after all there's no reason to do something just like everyone else and clearly your house is one of a kind! Good luck!...See MoreFirst draft of my kitchen plan
Comments (38)Buehl, excellent points and design, as you always do. But you perhaps miss my fundamental point...or I'm being dense (more likely). I would not want a single wall kitchen either. An L works very well for what I am saying, requiring one 90 degree turn, which is quite safe when moving on your feet. A U shape requires two 90 degree turns, and yet the progression of food from fridge to sink to cooktop always flows in a linear, sideways manner. That's what I am trying to say. When preparing food, why pick it up and move it back and forth across aisles? Seems a waste of time and energy. Do many people really injure themselves tripping over DW doors to the point of needing medical care? I would think a bruised shin would be more likely. I bet few people would make that mistake again. But the nature of slipping on liquid or tripping and falling while moving is totally unexpected and cannot be anticipated like you can with running into an open dishwasher door. The only way to minimize random falls is to reduce the movements and conditions that cause greatest risk for them (but there will always be 180's in a kitchen somewhere). Therefore, I see fridge > sink > cooktop on that outside L in either direction. No 180 pivots or crossing aisles for primary prep. The island could serve as multipurpose secondary prep, storage, cleanup, seating, etc ('could' serve, but not required :) I don't know if this would work for Blue222q, but that's what I see. Blue222q did not mention if this was new construction or not, but hopefully they will follow Jennifer's advice above and do some walk-throughs and get back to us. I'm not a klutz but I probably think more about not falling when I'm moving than most. This comes from years of working in very dangerous professions. My wife says I move too slowly in the kitchen, and yet she is the one who cuts her finger with a knife, slips, trips, burns herself, drops things, and generally creates a mess....See MorePlease help me with my kitchen layout. Any suggestions welcome!
Comments (8)Thank you sena01, Jillius and mama goose. My computer is down as we had to pack up the desk or the family room flooring so I had to take a photo on my phone of the plans I have with more dimensions. Since we are moving our kitchen to a new location, window sizes can be changed. I think a 48x36 would work above my sink window. Sadly, the window will now face the side of our house which isn't super attractive.. Just a fence and some vines. I have plans for a Prep sink on the island but I'm not sure what size I should get. I originally thought a 66" island might give me more breathing room as opposed to 72" but will that make for a functional island? A peninsula could be a possibility, but I worry that I will always be walking around it when setting the table or clearing as the new dining table/area will go to the right if the beverage bar. The family room/dining room is 28 ft long. The family room is long and narrow (11 ft wide where the fireplace is and 15 ft where the fireplace ends...where my family room will be. Where the plans show where the steam combi oven will go, I can chance the cabinet to a 24" as opposed to the 30" shown. Thank you so much for all of your suggestions! If you can see the attached photo, I would love more suggestions. -Susanne...See MoreFirst Draft of kitchen
Comments (9)Cyndy - there have been some excellent Houzz Ideabooks on how to enjoy the natural light in your kitchen - those written by Bud Deitrich are always the best imo. Are you working with a kitchen designer, by the way? Not just someone from the supplier, but an independent designer? It might be a good option for you ... if you can find someone who listens to you and understands your lifestyle, and not someone who has their own agenda and can't cook! A pull-out pantry looks like a regular tall cupboard from the front, but it has drawers - pull-outs - inside, so all your boxes and cans and jars and tubs are easily viewed and easily accessed and remain stored in a relatively orderly fashion. Ikea offers them in 15", 18", and 24" widths, with a gazillion interior configurations for drawers, baskets, dividers, etc. I would strongly suggest you go and play in your local Ikea kitchen area for a couple of hours on a quiet morning (it's also very quiet there early evening when everyone is eating supper and zipping home!). Their kitchens are very "real" - they take a lot of trouble to make them seem like working kitchens, so everything is in the right place relative to everything else, at the right height, and attractively finished. Even if you're not an Ikea fan, it's so worth the trip. Don't be dazzled by interesting countertops or clever sinks, just take a long hard look at where the sink is in relation to the stove or the fridge or the storage, and so on. And open all the drawers (and the pull-outs) to see how stuff can be stored. In the meantime, don't let your contractor or anyone else rush you into this. This is YOUR kitchen, and you get to make the big decisions on what goes where. The fancy granite or the elegant handles are just the lipstick (sometimes very expensive lipstick!)....See More
Buehl
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
PROBuehl
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoBuehl
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoHere's what would work well if you want peninsula seating - Layout #2.
Note: After I drew this up, I realized that I think I like this one better. It has both a great primary Prep Zone on the bottom wall plus peninsula and great secondary Prep Zone. In addition, the Cooking Zone is even better protected than in Layout #1. With the Prep Zone on the bottom wall & peninsula, you can visit with others while preparing a meal. (Keep in mind that over 70% of the work/time spent in the Kitchen is spent prepping - so it makes sense to put the Prep Zone in the most advantageous spot, assuming it works functionally. Cooking is 10% and cleaning up is 20% or less.)
It's a "G", but with a lot more room than the one posted above...and no overlap w/DW and cooktop, no obstacle b/w the sink and cooktop, no DW in the middle of a small Prep Zone, and without that dysfunctional sink. (Imagine moving a running faucet or even food from one bowl to the other - splash/flood!)
However, it does close up the opening by 42". If the opening is really 119", then that leaves 77" (plus 12", if I'm reading the original layout correctly - so, 89").
With either Layout #1 or #2, you have a functional cleanup sink that doesn't put you in a corner. A corner prep sink works in the corner b/c that sink is really for just one person. [FYI...I have a corner prep sink and it does work well.]
Something to think about - when a cleanup sink is on an island or peninsula, it puts the dirty dishes front and center and on display for everyone to see. It also puts dirty dishes "in the face" of anyone sitting at the counter - not very pleasant.
.
Layout #2:
.
Layout #2's Zone Map:
.
Laurie LaScala thanked Buehl
cpartist
6 years agocpartist
6 years agoLaurie LaScala
6 years agoThank you all. We moved into this house last July. I do like the other layouts but I really can't move out on that lower wall. That is my eating area.
The only reason I think I can live with this layout is because it is somewhat similar to the existing layout. Believe it or not, currently both the dishwasher and the oven open into that aisle. We are only two people and I am the only cook.
I wasn't crazy over the corner sink...still not sure...but the KD has one in his showroom and it feels comfortable.
some pictures of the current kitchen. The first picture is from a door opening that is being closed in the new layout. The second shot shows the back wall that is being pushed back into o full bath that is turning into a powder room..and the refrigerator that is in the back of the kitchen. The third picture shows the view from the dining room.the current d/w is perpendicular to the existing sink and opens into that aisle. If u think my layout is bad...this is worse.
i understand all your constructive criticism but to get a separate wall oven, two sinks and a peninsula...no seating...I think it's what I have to do.
Buehl
6 years agocpartist
6 years agokooopons
6 years agotaranator N
6 years ago
Buehl