Please help - kitchen layout emergency! Gurus needed, my mind gone.
Renaming thread as suggested to get advice from kitchen gurus...just posted earlier and in other forums.
Original: I'm so beyond time to make these decisions, need to pull the trigger to start cabinet builds but having major second thoughts!! And rightfully so, after seeing comments from a previous thread. It started as wondering where should the microwave go??... Original post:
First we had a connection microwave above the oven, but we (think) we want a double oven so we moved it to the fridge wall, in an appliance garage - but then I wanted it symmetrical and put an appliance garage on the other side of the fridge also, for mixer, keurig and toaster but as i'm typing i'm realizing those will not all 3 fit! And the appliance garage was designed tall to accommodate those (22") and I'm thinking its just too large -- and will make upper cabinets harder to use as well.
Should I put micro under counter, next to fridge and eliminate garages? Should I abandon double oven and go with oven/micro combo? Do oven/micro combo and put 2nd oven under cooktop?
My goodness help!! So behind schedule. Need to decide like today for the sake of my marriage.
Since original post... I will move DW back to right side of sink (with trash on the left) - that was my change, and an error. I'll swap lower cabs for more drawers.
I don't think I can move fridge, and probably not sink or oven at this point, unfortunately. We are seriously behind the game, and I'm tired of stressing about how this build process should have gone; all I can do is go from where we are to make it the best we can.
I'm hoping by moving DW, eliminating appliance garages and making lower cabs drawers it will solve many problems...but still don't know about ovens/microwaves.
Please tell me what you'd fix, before it truly is too late! I imagine I've been afraid of what I'd find out which is one reason why I never posted. Ignorance is bliss I guess, but not really! And we thought we were working with a kitchen designer, but I realize now not really.
We are behind "schedule" to our frustration but I'd rather be frustrated now than when we are living in it for years to come with a beautiful but difficult to function kitchen.
Comments (17)
linzita512
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoAnnKH
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Hello Kitchen Gurus! Will you help me with my layout?
Comments (6)Have you thought through the paths that food will take within the kitchen from arrival to storage to prep to cooking to plating, etc. It seems to me that you have paths that will cross and double-back on themselves. That will make your kitchen less efficient and more likely to have conflicts as you make a meal. You do have quite a hike from fridge to sink and back to stove. Where do you eat your meals, in the DR? Have you considered having two sinks: one as clean-up on the DR side of the prep/cooking zones, w dish storage nearby; the other located closer to food storage zone or enroute from there and closer to the range. Your butler's pantry sink is not going to serve either of these needs, though useful on its own for other purposes. Although overlooked by many, and clearly not as fun as thinking about styling issues, for me the essential first step in kitchen planning is thinking about the food & work pathways. If you get those as right as possible (there is rarely perfection) then no matter what else you do in the kitchen it will be fab since it will work so well. Right now, your plan has the three main things the fridge/food storage, the sink and the range out of order. You'd have to walk from the fridge, past the stove to the sink to rinse the carrots before trekking back to the range to cook them. Then back to sink to add (and later to drain) water to the pot. You are correct to be wondering where to store the dishes. If they are stored near the present sink location then you'd have to walk back to there to get a dish, before schlepping the plate past the stove where the carrots were cooked, onward to the DR, etc. Using the outlines of the space that you have, start by thinking through where the food will arrive, be stored, be prepped (with easy access to water) cooked, plated and served. Then where the plates will come back from where ever the food was eaten to be cleaned and leftovers stowed. Think about whether you will be going out through the french doors for outdoor grilling. Forget, for the moment, the notion that sinks need windows. Keep in mind that ranges need direct, or easy upward venting. Some people with young children like to have a fridge near the DR. Just ponder the food flow, then afterward walk through in your mind each step in a dozen or so commonly prepared meals. Every time you have to double back make a note of it, when and why. Use those notes to smooth the paths out. HTH, L....See Moresmall kitchen layout gurus please help
Comments (36)You guys are great. No I don't really cook and my saint of a husband just wants me to be happy. I would love to make it a space he enjoys more too. We are so used to just working with whatever we've got that I'm not sure either of us would really know how to make it more functional. We lived mostly in tiny spaces in grad school so when we bought this home, it felt like a real improvement. He was so happy to finally have a gas range! I was home alone last night and made dinner and tried to think about how I was using the space but I suspect the things that bothered me (trying to reach up to get things or trying to dig them out of corners) would not necessarily bother him. When I get past the initial estimate stage and settle down with a KD I think I should make a list of all the things that need to be stored in the space- that might help. I think Jakuvall's galley kitchen is GREAT... I think it is a good possibility if I can figure out a way to use a 30in fridge. We definitely can't go down to 24....See MoreEmergency: Need help with layout
Comments (18)Jasperdog, Buehl's first drawing bears a very striking resemblance to the kitchen I designed for myself. So does your initial drawing, for that matter, down to the French door to the left of the short side of the L counter and sites of sinks and stove. We differ in that mine is shorter, the long counter ending with the island, which is a bit shorter than yours. I don't have seating on the island and my fridge and pantry cabinets are set into a wall opposite the island, which has a door to a sitting room near the door to the garden but is otherwise solid. Also, I have no uppers over my L counter, just windows on both walls interrupted only by the stove hood. Buehl's ideas basically sound great to me. They should--I'm living with a lot of them. Moving clockwise from the French door in my kitchen: I put the DW to the left of the sink, which is about 42" from the island, allowing us to pass with the door open. I don't prep on the short arm of the L-counter to the right of the sink, but I like that most cleanup tends to arrive to its left, on top of the DW, ready to set in. Scrubbing from the stove tends to arrive to the right of the sink, or likely in it. Glasses and cups, which are small, hard to carry items, are stored on the outside of that end of the island (sink and coffee/toaster niche both a step away). In your case, I'd at least consider having island drawers opening toward the DW, even if it would require some adjustments. Full depth'd be nice, but even 12" or 15" deep shelves or drawers would put very good storage right there. I put a row of 12" deep full-extension drawers on the top of the outside of my island, over shelves behind doors, but I may just someday install some where the bottom shelves are too to access that storage more easily. Still unloading, silverware, other small items, storage containers, are in drawers directly to the right of the sink, very close and easy. Dishes, cooking utensils and pots and pans are stored at point-of-use in drawers under/alongside the stove area. Most are larger items, and since they go farthest, they're stacked on the island, shoved over, and set in the drawers. Without storage in close-by uppers, unloading is not optimal, but it's still quick and easy. I had good reasons for doing it this way, but it was an experiment that fortunately has worked out. I'd definitely do it again. Directly to the right of the sink is my trash pullout. The rest of the short L/corner on that side is mainly used for putting food in containers, so containers, baggies, plastic wrap, etc., are stored in that area. The reason my trash is by the main sink is that we're on a septic tank, so dishes are scraped into the garbage, not the sink. If we were on a sewer, I'd have a trash pullout on the island where I prep because that's where most of the disposables originate. My one oven is under the counter to the left of the stove, where I don't have to stand in front of it as......See MoreKitchen gurus, please review new construction kitchen layout
Comments (33)OK here's another suggestion without changing out the front windows. I do love that large window and I think it will help with light into the kitchen. I extended the foyer wall and moved the stove to that wall. I moved the opening from the hallway up a bit and added the fridge there with about 3" of room on the end so the fridge door opens. The sink is in the same place it was. Didn't move it. Moved the dishwasher to between the sink and the fridge. Shortened the island. It's now 6' long and will seat 3 comfortably. Moved the prep sink over a bit so you can put things on the end of the island before washing. So now you have two excellent spaces for prepping food. Or if it were me, I'd probably ditch the prep sink on the island and leave the island "bare" and instead get a large prep sink like the Kohler Prolific. It's about 45" long and if you put two faucets on it, 2 people can work at it at the same time. BTW: You can also get a dining table that is wider than 36"....See More
cpartist
5 years agocpartist
5 years agocpartist
5 years agoI don't know your dimensions or where the rooms lead to but based just on what you gave us to see, this is what I'd do.
1. I'd move the oven down a bit more and then move the fridge to the opposite side and then center the cooktop on that wall.
2. I'd move the dishwasher and cleanup sink to where the fridge was.
3. I'd put a prep sink on the island but make sure it's off centered so that there is plenty of prep space to the left of the sink.
4. I'd put a drawer microwave to the right of the sink so it's across from the fridge. Easy to access then.
5. I'd add a double trash drawer to the left of the prep sink.
6. I'd make all the cabinets under the cooktop and to each side of the cooktop drawers and make them as wide as possible.
I would forget about symmetry. In reality your version wasn't symmetrical either since the island was off center of the back wall. You will never be viewing the kitchen symmetrically. It's only in 2D that we care about symmetry in the kitchen.
What you now have is distinct zones for each task. A separate zone for prepping food (on the counter). A separate zone for cooking (on the back wall) and a separate zone for cleaning up (along the lefthand wall.)
linzita512 thanked cpartistrantontoo
5 years agolinzita512
5 years agoI'm now available again and digging into these now....here is floor plan to kitchen area as requested. And to answer first questions I saw...family of 4, with hopes of entertaining...don't currently do much in our small house.
linzita512
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agolinzita512
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agolinzita512
5 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH
5 years agoI would sacrifice a bit of symmetry for better function. If the plumbing can't be changed, I'd at least move it over to the right, and place the DW on the side nearer the DR, which I assume is off to the right. Then I'd put a dish hutch on the perimeter counter, to balance the ovens on the other end. With the DW and dish storage on that side, a helper can unload the DW or gather dishes to set the table, without interfering with prep and cooking.
I moved the pantry door forward, to give you more space in the pantry, and to incorporate the door into the fridge wall. If you need elbow room on both sides when removing something from the wall ovens, you can open the pantry door. Cooktop and hood are centered between the ovens and dish hutch.
The fridge is beside the pantry door, bringing it closer to the prep area, and providing a counter beside it for landing. The MW is on a shelf beside the fridge, with a cubby beside it, for cookbooks, cutting boards, or coffee cups, with space below for the coffee maker. Someone can re-heat left-overs, make a sandwich, pour a glass of juice, etc, without needing to turn to the island. The MW could instead be a drawer model, beside the fridge, but I wouldn't recommend an under-counter MW. Dog bowls could go in a low drawer, or toekick drawer under the dish hutch, or in the side of the island nearer the DR, to keep them out of the main prep/cooking areas.
Trash pull-out is on the end of the island, convenient to the prep zone, cooking zone, and also the fridge/snack area. The single bowl sink is off center, but if you use one with a left back drain, you can put the faucet more toward the center of the island.
Images--dog bowls in drawerlinzita512 thanked mama goose_gw zn6OHlinzita512
5 years ago
muskokascp