Seeking feedback on kitchen layout
I thought we were ready to pull the trigger on our DIY cabinet order when a friend pointed out a problem with my design, which required me to swap the fridge and range positions. (I wasn't accounting for the extra depth of the fridge when considering distance between the fridge and the island.) I'm hoping to get general feedback from the experts here before I go back to Scherr's yet again with my changes. This is a busy one-cook kitchen with 2 kids. I'm opting for an island over a peninsula, but because this is a pretty narrow kitchen we're having to take a couple walls down to fit it in.
A few things I'm nervous about with this current design:
- I'm worried about the black hole that having the fridge on the end will create. I'm planning on an EZ-reach upper in that corner for a clean look, but realize the fridge there will render that entire corner pretty useless, unless I store stuff there on the counter that want to hide. Will this look just awful?
- Thoughts on the pantry cabinet placement? I realize they seem like they're pretty far from my prep area; however, I haven't been able to figure out a better place, and I prefer shallow pantry cabs over a deep pull-out anyway. The kitchen cabinets will be white, including the island, so I'm planning on a different color for the tall pantry cabinets probably stained) and to have them not go all the way to the ceiling to make them look more like a piece of furniture.
- Does it seem like the fridge is too far from the island? I put it there to allow enough space for the walkway between the island and that corner.
- A friend suggested widening the doorway from the family room a foot or 2 so the pathway doesn't run straight into the island. Is this really necessary?
- Even though cabs will be custom, I added a 3-inch filler next to the DW to make sure it won't hit the freezer handles when opening.
- I know the 40.5-inch aisle is not optimum, but I've worked in my sister's kitchen, which has much less, and I can live with this.
Note the area around the front door/entryway is not to scale - I ran out of space. You enter the front door and go through a 4'-wide cased opening into the dining room. And the closet is the entryway coat closet.
Thank you in advance for any comments.
Comments (11)
chispa
6 years ago
cpartist
6 years agoRelated Discussions
New member seeking kitchen layout feedback
Comments (9)Thanks all - it is terrific to get feedback from this community of "TKO" folks. Marcolo - I haven't decided if the island will truly be out of the way on the fridge to sink run or if it wil be a hip bumping annoyance, but I hate to lose too much island capacity. Lirio - good thought on the best path for clearing from the DR MArinesgirl - It will be fun to see your kitchen evolve too! We are completely switching up the appliance locations. Currently: the fridge is where the range will be the cooktop is located on the island and the oven/microwave is where the fridge will be This doesn't work for so many reasons.... family members like to contemplate life while standing in front of the fridge, blocking my path; guests like to stand in front of the oven, and if someone is helping clean up as I am cooking we are bumping into each other and I am banging my ankles on the open dishwasher.... Do I sound ready for a new kitchen? We are also, on the advice of our friend/contractor, recessing the fridge 3" into the wall. Green - The garden window is pre-existing. As this is a N facing window in the PNW the extra light from my garden window is a sanity saver in the winter. Your comment will get me to examine what we have planted on the arbor to be sure that we are getting effective green screening in the summer. Thanks all!...See MoreSeeking layout feedback/suggestions
Comments (4)I agree it does have a nice feel and love the splurge on stainless steel, my own favorite. Your "2 avid cooks plus some little helpers" thing makes this problem special. How about 1. Moving the counter-depth refrigerator back into the "mud room" in the space labeled pantry. If possible, remove the framed doorway and the little wall between fridge and doorway. If not, just remove the doorway framing to widen the passage and strengthen the relation to the kitchen. 2. Putting a 15" pantry pullout on the end of the counter where you show the refrigerator now. This would be readily available to cooks on both sides and create a 31" counter to its right. 3. Putting a carousel or other base pullout cabinet in the left corner, with small drawer cabinet to its left. OR put a 30" drawer cabinet under the counter AND frame a door to the blind, closed off corner space from the stair landing. 4. If problems fitting what you want in #3, how about moving that doorway to the stairway area south to gain critical inches (31" becomes 36" counter?)? If that's out of the question, would just removing the doorway framing gain a couple critical inches? 4. Personally I'd forget about "centering" the sink--under anything. The very last consideration, especially since you're fitting in standard unit sizes. First consideration would be keeping it accessible to both avid cooks at once, right? Second would be using its placement to designate appropriately sized places for cleanup on one side and prep counter on the other? However you see it, massage its placement into greater functional perfection, maybe even do something with the right blind corner. (BTW, depending on the sink you choose, you could center the faucet under something if you wanted.)...See MorePlan critique please
Comments (9)I like the kitchen, with the suggestions already made, but I have some concerns about the laundry/mud room. Do you think you'll really sit at the desk in the laundry room? There is a lot going on in that room already - adding a desk limits some of the other functions. I added a few drawers and a small cabinet in my kitchen to serve as "desk", with file drawers for papers; small drawers for pens, tape, etc.; a cabinet with shelves for envelopes, in and out box, and a couple of outlets so I can charge devices behind a door (instead of on the kitchen counter). Inside the doors I hang a calendar and a magnetic white board. All the function of a desk, without the seat - I sit at the table to do bills and other "desk" duties. In your mud room, I would eliminate the desk, put the sink where the desk is, and eliminate any cabinetry under the window - make it a straight galley. Those corners would be awkward to use. I'd move the W/D to the outside wall, to make it easier to vent the dryer. Finally, I would need a bench or seat of some kind. I need a place to sit, to put on my shoes....See MoreSeeking feedback on 2 kitchen layouts
Comments (8)One suggestion for Option A is that if you are going to have stools at the island, do you need a breakfast nook? if you don't, you might have the laundry open to the hallway and build in a desk under the window all the way across that wall. It would also be OK to get a wider fridge that is counter depth and extend it even further toward the window. Maybe there would be room for a shallow broom closet on the end of the fridge. As #Sabrina Alfin Interiors noted, swapping the end cabinet with the fridge makes a lot of sense....See Moreherbflavor
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
thinkdesignlive
6 years ago
Karenseb
6 years agoUser
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
lucky998877
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoFor your uppers in the "black hole" I would do something like this. Have the uppers run into the wall and a super susan in the lower corner...see how the shelf pulls out for easy reach.
greenbeetle
6 years agoThanks, luckyblueeye – I think that’s the best solution for
the black hole if I were to keep this design.herbflavor - I wish we had that kind of space!
Karenseb, we thought about moving the coat closet forward a bit, but it would really close off the stairs, since the wall on the other side of the stairs goes all the way down to the landing.
Thanks to
everyone for shaking me out of my “island brain.” My original design included
a peninsula, similar to what Sophie describes, but I've always wanted an island, so I kept trying to fit one into this space.Here’s the current layout. Note it says "primary entrance" next to the garage. That's because everyone in this area inexplicably has 2 front doors. We're considering closing this off to allow for a better furniture layout in the family room.
And here's a quick sketch of what I had for my original plan. I was planning on stacked drawers and an upper with the microwave next to the fridge, but I guess I should try to fit a pull-out pantry cabinet there instead?
Jeff Neal
6 years agoHave you considered a longer and narrower island? We were a bit constrained when we redid our kitchen and decided to go with a narrow island. The base cabinets under it are a total of 30" deep (some are 24" deep with 6" deep on the other side, others vary). The island countertop is 32" wide and 117" long. Rather th
an putting seating along one side, we put it on the end so the people sitting there are facing each other rather than lined up like at a bar.greenbeetle thanked Jeff Neal
User