Small kitchen layout - No room for the fridge!
Our kitchen is long overdue for an update. Items to note:
1) Everybody enters the house from the sun room into the kitchen, so I'd like to relocate the refrigerator to open up that walking path. You can imagine that when there is a table in the dining room, you have to zig-zag from the sun room door around the fridge, around the peninsula, around the table, then up the stairs (note that the door at the stairs actually opens into the dining room and not as shown).
2) I'd like to take down the wall between the kitchen and living room. Depending on the engineer's assessment, this may be a half wall or a pass-through.
3) My preference would be to replace the peninsula with an island so the dining room doesn't feel so tight, and people can comfortably push in/out of the dining room table.
4) I'd strongly prefer to keep the sink under the window.
5) Right now, my oven is in a wall unit immediately to your left when you walk in the door, and the stovetop is separate. I would like to go to a standard single-unit range during the renovation.
6) I have an electric range and no gas in the house at all. I'd be open to quoting getting gas run to the house (it's already on the street) but I have no idea what it costs so it may blow up the budget.
I've included a floor plan and two photos of the current-state below, as well as a sketch I put together with a tentative layout (just some early brainstorming here). The main problem I'm running into is where to put the refrigerator... right now it juts out of an otherwise empty wall into the middle of the room and partially blocks the doorway. To put the fridge on either of the kitchen utility walls would really kill the counter space next to the range or the sink (<10" counter space in the brainstormed sketch below). Is the only option to relocate the sink to the island? I was trying to avoid moving utilities at all costs, I'd appreciate any other ideas.
Comments (15)
grewa002
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Small Kitchen & Dining Room - Layout Advice Needed
Comments (59)I have a split style home with a planned layout similar to your last one on 3/31. Looks similar except I have about an extra 6' in the length (kitchen to DR) as well as no door to the garage on that side. I think ideagirl2 has good ideas. You will want an opening on either end for easy access into the kitchen or DR side. If the basement is unfinished, then swapping the steps might be a practical solution. A contractor can order a prefabricated set of steps to put in. If the closet in the hall is basically useless then this might be a good idea. Since its a ranch, then you should be able to flip it since there isn't another set of steps going up to a second story where then it would be impossible to flip them. However, this would mean you could not overlay another staircase on top of this one to expand for a second floor one day. You then would have to add another staircase somewhere else in the house and loose space. Moving the utilities can be expensive and it can affect headroom or remodeling plans for the basement. It depends where the waste lines are located in the home more then anything, since they need pitch from the sink to the waste stack. If that waste stack is located where the steps are then the pipe will have to drop below the floor joists below, since they will run front to back, and you will loose headroom. Not a big deal if this ends up in a utility area. Does the garage run all the way front to back? If so I would do the following to the plan noted above. 1) Move the garage doorway more to where the table is on the LR side. Thus, the door would start roughly where the table ends need the opening between the LR & DR. You then will be flipping the DR table and the door. This way when you come in from the garage you can enter into the LR or walk through the kitchen with Groceries. I would make the back window a sliding door. So the table is looking out the sliding door. It will make the room feel much bigger. I am putting in a nice 10' 4 panel sliding glass door for this very reason. If in fact no furniture could be placed between the right side of the fireplace and the wall as you drew it, my last recommendation is more structural and one I am grappling with now in my own home. That would be to make the opening even wider between the LR and DR table area. If you look at your pic you posted of the fireplace. I would take that opening and open the fireplace side all the way to the wall. This will make it more open and feel less cramped. You could even have them cut the ceiling joists and put the beam up so that you have a flat ceiling in the opening. This is what I am contemplating now. You then can see the fireplace for the DR table and the kitchen area, when facing the peninsula. You also can extend a table out into the LR if you have larger company at holiday times....See MoreCalling small kitchen owners/small space layout problem solvers!
Comments (22)Continuing to beat the dead horse. Whack! Whack! I'm sorry about this, if the realities of the house structure means this layout simply isn't possible then just ignore me. It is just that I think there is the possibility of a kitchen that is far more functional than the current plan. If you're going to live with this kitchen for many years, the $600 cost of replacing the refrigerator (appx price for 30'' wide Frigidaire left-hinge top-freezer) or the $2,000 (?) cost of modifying the basement stairs (assuming a basic rough carpentry stair run, not a finacy finished stairwell) seems money well spent, in order to double the useful workspace and get well-defined, separate work zones. The wash zone is to the left of the sink, where a full-size dishwasher lives. Dish storage can be across the aisle, if the lower and upper cabinets are deep enough. Dirty dishes go immediately to the wash zone, without even passing through the rest of the kitchen. The dishwasher door might block traffic, if so you could consider dish drawers which still stick out but are easy to slide in and out. The prep zone is to the right of the sink, something like 80 inches of unbroken counter. Room for a trash pull-out, drawer storage for prep tools and supplies, and then some drawer storage for food staples. If the upper cabinets are used for food too, that lower-right corner functions as a sort of pantry. If the refrigerator sticks out, a sort of blind-corner cabinet arrangement may be needed. The refrigerator is adjacent to the prep zone, so that the prepping cook has everything in reach. Some people like to have the microwave in the prep zone. The cook zone is across the aisle. One person can be cooking and two others washing and prepping, without crowding each other. Plenty of landing space on either side of the range. The lower-left corner could be small appliance storage, home for a microwave or toaster oven, maybe a baking center since the counter can be decently deep. I think the kitchen will also ''feel'' more spacious since you won't have a big refrigerator looming right in the center of it, cutting apart one counter and blocking the sightline....See MoreFinal kitchen layout review - small galley kitchen
Comments (26)I am the original poster- don't know what happened, but my original garden web account seems to have gotten mixed in with my houzz account. Anyway... not trying to troll or anything here. This is really a fascinating thread, and definitely highlights the challenges of designing for a smaller space when every inch counts! I think the most compelling argument here is focused on what is needed for today vs. what MAY be needed of tomorrow. So, it's not really about functionality but risk and probability. It's too bad we don't have a nice little financial equation that will help us determine the "net present value" of the choices. I really just hate wasting money, and want to do every bit of planning possible to avoid the potential of having to rip something out in the future because it was a poor decision. I think my primary problem is that I really want a 30' x 40' kitchen with high end appliances and all of the bling I could possibly imagine. But, that is not my reality. And, it's really hard to figure out what is most important and how to choose when I can only afford about 35% of what I want. It's really hard on these forums to communicate a budget - I have no issue moving my fridge and range to opposite ends of the universe, but there is a cost involved in that, and I really need to be careful how I allocate my budget. So, I have chosen to leave my electrical and plumbing pieces where they are - and stay within the current footprint. I have to say - it can be pretty intimidating posting and asking for help when you are one of the "I have a small kitchen" folks. I really have no idea what I will end up with. But, I do know that I will post my updates as they occur as I want to ensure future "small galley kitchen" searches have something to reference! Thank you so very much to all of the wonderful comments and advice I have received. Funkycamper, benjesbride - you guys have been providing feedback and valuable input for the past 6 months as I have persevered to navigate the very rough waters of kitchen design. The end is so very near and this is the most stressful process I have EVER experienced!...See MoreNeed help with small open kitchen and living room layout
Comments (21)Your home is just so lovely, I don't think you should remove all that architectural detail. What are the dimensions of the laundry room? I'm wondering if there is opportunity to turn that into an efficient office space (not legal bedroom.) Maybe you could leave the living room and dining room alone and put that part of the budget into an efficient shower bathroom with stackable laundry so the laundry can become office space or guest space if there's room for even a daybed?...See More
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoHere's my suggestion for the kitchen layout.
Maybe take part of the patio for a mudroom?
Judy Mishkin
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoscrappy25
5 years ago
gm_tx
5 years agofunctionthenlook
5 years ago
gustaviatex
5 years ago- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
5 years ago Judy Mishkin
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
PROJAN MOYER
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoKenny Adams
5 years agoJudy Mishkin
5 years ago
zmith
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoHi, Kenny
Since we're just kicking around ideas for your kitchen, I thought I'd toss this one into the ring:
The big idea in this plan is to create a hallway for the staircase which gives you a spacious U-shaped kitchen. I took out the 9x9 bedroom and made it the dining area, although 9' is kind of narrow for a dining room. The wall is needed to separate the dining space from the bathroom and basement doors. I know this plan as shown is flawed as I have the refrigerator against the closet wall and didn't check spacing for an island, among other things. You lose the breakfast room window, but you can put a small window at the end of the hall and a second window in the new kitchen.
- PRO
JAN MOYER
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
jck910