Layout Help needed for compact Kitchen
We are looking to redesign our current galley kitchen located in a large but narrow multipurpose room that houses our kitchen, dining area and living room. Our current kitchen is approximately 11.5 feet wide, so too narrow for an island. The two sides of the galley are uneven in length as one side houses a large open doorway. The current shorter side is approximately 7.5 feet long and houses our sink, dishwasher and gas stove/oven. The longer side utilizes approximately 13 feet of wall space and houses upper and lower cabinets and a refrigerator. The room in total is approximately 30 feet long with windows along one side. Our current kitchen doesn't function well as the sink only has counter space on one side, the refrigerator is too small for our needs and there is no pantry space at all-our food is stored down the hall and around the corner in another room for entirely! While we could use some additional space to expand the kitchen a little, we need to continue to have space for a dining table and a small living space. Any ideas or thoughts are welcome!
Comments (22)
decoenthusiaste
4 years agoThere seems to be a lot of wasted space under the Bennet sign. If you removed that cantilevered counter, would there be more room for a bigger fridge or a pantry at this end? If you could move all the cabs down to the fridge end, you could add more uppers and have room for a bigger fridge by the dining area. That's a convenient place for it if you've forgotten the katsup and have to retrieve it from the fridge. Maybe you could work in a pull out pantry with the fridge.You might consider making an "L" peninsula the the sink corner and having a larger sink in the peninsula. Here are a couple flanking a big fridge, but you could modify in less space.
The Social Kitchen · More Info
Buehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoYou have a lot of wasted counterspace on the right wall. Do you know why the sink and range are both on the short wall? They're crammed together.
If you can move the sink and range to the opposite wall, you could create a 1-wall Kitchen and then have a pantry and refrigerator on the other side.
Could you please post a fully-measured layout so we can see what you actually have to work with. Fully-measured means a layout with the widths of each wall/window/door/doorway and the distances between each wall/window/door/doorway labeled. See a sample below. If something cannot be moved or changed, label it precisely on your layout (see sample) and tell us why it cannot be moved/changed -- we may have some ideas for you. Please also include the locations of the skylights in the ceiling.
Is the right wall an exterior wall? I assume so since I see windows farther down the wall (but, you never know!)
In addition, please post a sketch of the entire floor so we can see how the Kitchen relates to the rest of the home. The sketch doesn't have to be to-scale, but it should accurately show how the rooms relate to each other and should include all interior & exterior doors. In addition, this sketch will help us see how traffic flows in, around, and through the Kitchen. Include the front entry and family entry, if different. (The family entry is usually a garage or side entry, but it might not be. It's helpful to know which door you use to bring in groceries.)
Tell us about you and your family and how you plan to use your Kitchen. All-adults? Empty Nesters? Children (now or in the future)?
The above and more are discussed in the Layout Help FAQ:
- Layout Help FAQ: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5500789/faq-how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-what-information-should-i-include
- Ice.Water.Stone.Fire, a humorous discussion of Kitchen design: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first
Also see:- Work Zones, What Are They?: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500762/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they
- Aisles Widths, Seating Overhangs, etc.: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500771/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc
- Storage Planning: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500787/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage
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Comments (9)(With no actual layout posted, it's hard to tell.) It looks like you will have close adjacent counters across from the fridge for a fridge landing zone? In that case, pick whichever scenario gives you the most room between the sink and the range. That is where you'll spend 90% of your time in a kitchen and you need to have the most space there. If the sink is not around the corner on the other leg of the L from the range, then do your best to center the range between the fridge and wall as that is what your eyes will focus on. If the sink is on the L, and you have at least 48" of linear counter space between it and the range after shifting it to the left, then that would be fine. Just don't go under 36" of linear space between adjacent sink and range....See MoreNeed help with layout for my parents' kitchen
Comments (17)A load-bearing wall can be removed but you will need to either have a header installed and/or support columns. I think it would be a shame to have a wall between the kitchen and banquette so people couldn't visit better between the two areas. It might be possible to put an opening in that wall so that people can see and talk to each other without a wall blocking them without having to install a header because most of the wall could still be left intact. Something to discuss with the experts anyway. I like keeping the banquette closer to the dining area so overflow seating could be in there without totally separating people into two separate rooms. I like both versions 1 & 2. Nice idea, Lavender! If they go with v2, I suggest moving the wall ovens to just inside the door. Since you're not actually working at the oven, just putting stuff in/out and maybe checking it once in awhile, someone opening that door wouldn't be disturbing someone working there. I would put the prep sink near the wall oven and move the range down to where the wall oven is now. My thinking on this is that if someone rushes in through that door, if they bump into someone working at the sink, there is probably not too much chance of any kind of real injury occurring. However, if they bump into someone who is just pull a big hot pot of soup off the stove, Yikes! I would just feel better if the cooktop was more removed from possible traffic issues....See MoreCalling All Layout Geniuses!! Need help with kitchen appliance layout!
Comments (6)1) I don't like the relation of the cooktop to the sink in option one. The island is starting to impede a straight walk between the two. 2) Your microwave should be closer to the fridge. Usually whatever you are microwaving is coming out of the fridge, so it makes sense to group the two. 3) Is there a specific reason why you want the ovens near the cooktop? Do you make a lot of dishes that start on the cooktop and finish in the oven? Unless you do, there isn't a functional reason to group the two, and it can actually be nice to have the ovens a little more out of the way. Takes a bit of pressure off the main work area -- can mean someone who is just baking can set up in a different area away from the cooktop action, etc. 4) You will get the best feedback if you post the floor plan for the entire floor this is on, not just the kitchen close-up. It is easier for us to consider traffic patterns in and out of the room if we can see all the surrounding rooms too. 5) There is a desk in the pantry? Is there a window in there too (which is not typically a good idea when it comes to keeping food fresh)? Because I cannot imagine wanting to sit and work in a dark closet when I could be out in the light and beauty and space of the dining room and using that big dining table instead. 6) This is quite a large kitchen, and you should be wary of creating a kitchen where the key components are too far away from each other to be convenient. You'll hear often people joking about needing roller skates to get around, and you are veering into that territory here. One thing that really would help cut down on that and also make it easier for multiple cooks to work at once would be a prep sink. If it is spread out from the clean-up sink, you won't ever be far from a water source while working, no matter where you are in thr kitchen, and that will be more convenient. 7) To the same point, having a lot of counter between the sink and cooktop is ideal, but you are almost verging on too much here. It's putting the cooktop and sink slightly too far apart to go back and forth between them easily (like to dump boiling pasta water). Definitely mock that distance up in real life and see if it feels comfortable for you. You might look more at having a deeper counter there (30-36" deep) rather than such a long counter. A deeper counter means you can line up your ingredients and appliances and still have room to work in front of them, yet you can reach everything without moving around as much, and the sink and cooktop could also then be a bit closer together. 8) The island is a barrier between your sink and your fridge in all of these. Imagine taking produce out of the fridge and wanting to prep it, which is almost always the start of any cooking process. The first thing you'd need to do is wash what you just took out of the fridge, so the first stop after you go to the fridge is almost always the sink. Currently, you will have to walk about 16 feet and around the island just to go from step 1 to step 2 in your normal cooking process. It's going to be annoying and feel a little ridiculous, especially if you forget one or two items from the fridge and start running back and forth. Ideally, we usually aim for kitchens where you might take, like, 3 steps or maybe one step and a pivot to go from the fridge to the sink to start prepping. For kitchens where the fridge gets a lot of action from non-cooks (snackers), it can be desirable to place the fridge a little farther away to keep those people out of the kitchen work zones, but we're talking maybe an 8 foot walk from the sink and still a straight line from the sink in such cases....See MoreKitchen help-layout set but need help with cabinet sizes and types
Comments (17)Frankly I'm no fan of a U shaped kitchen because two corners are one extra useless corner. Working off of Mama's excellent plan, I turned it into an L shape. 1. I moved the fridge to the opposite side. The reason I did so is your mudroom and your pantry are on that side. Coming in with groceries would mean lots of steps back and forth to put foodstuff away if your fridge is so far from the pantry. The same holds true when grabbing food to make a meal. Great exercise but really do you want to walk across your kitchen to get stuff from the pantry and then back again across the kitchen to get stuff from your fridge? 2. I moved the microwave shelf to that side too. I did it since it's closer to the fridge and it's out of the cooking zone. 3. I widened your island. 4. I added a 42" dish drawer facing your dishwasher so it's easy unloading to your dish drawer. 5. I moved the trash drawers to next to the prep sink. You didn't mention if you plan on having a disposal unit in your sink? I have a prep sink and a cleanup sink and put a disposal unit in both. They're not too expensive and I felt it was well worth it. I'm also planning on putting a small trash can UNDER my clean up sink. Most trash is generated by the prep area, so the trash under the clean up sink is only for the occasional food stuff that can't go down the disposal. 6. Next to your air return, I added narrow shelving. This can be open or closed and is good for storing stuff one can deep, so would be good for stuff you use more frequently like cereals, etc. One other thing I noticed not related to your kitchen but your pantry/powder room. You don't want the door to your powder room opening into the powder room because think of how you will need to be a contortionist to try and get around the door to use the toilet. Get a pocket door or have the door swing out. Additionally I would not angle the corner where the sink is in there as it will feel quite congested as it's a small room already. The space out of the pantry is minimal but will make the powder room feel larger....See Morelefty47
4 years agoBuehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoSomething like this...this is just an idea
Caveat...To know if this would actually work, need a fully-measured layout, locations of skylights, and answer as to whether the right wall is an exterior wall.
Note that the counters & cabinets are all 3" deeper than standard. It allows more storage, more workspace (depth), and reduces the aisle a bit without having to make expensive exterior changes (which would be necessary if you changed the door to a smaller one). Regarding changing to a single door as suggested below...what is your exterior? Depending on your exterior material, it can be quite expensive to have to "fill in" where the double door was.The base cabinets are 27" deep and the uppers 15" deep. If you cannot get deeper base cabinets or they're not in your budget, consider installing the cabinets out from the wall 3" or so. If you want even deeper, you could make the counters 30" deep and install the cabinets 4.5" out from the wall. Don't go too deep, you don't want to (1) make it difficult to reach upper cabinets and (2) you don't want to crowd the door too much.
I'm not a fan of tall pantry cabinets like I show, but with the ceiling height, I don't think a built-in, reach-in pantry would like right. I'd have suggested two 18" pullout pantries, but there isn't enough room on that wall. You really need landing space for the refrigerator b/c of the wide aisle, so you should not create an entire "wall of tall" in your Kitchen. Plus, it gives you a place to put the MW out of the three main work zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup).
chiflipper
4 years agoBuehl
4 years agosheribennet
4 years agosheribennet
4 years ago
Additionally, as someone else asked, we are a family of 4, two adults and two kids 10 and 7. Thanks again!
Buehl
4 years agosheribennet
4 years agoBuehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agosheribennet
4 years agoBuehl
4 years agoBuehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoBuehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agosheribennet
4 years agoThis is the best I can do. The layout is pretty crazy as the house has been added onto many times over the years. Hope this makes a little sense
Buehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoThree layouts for now. All three have the same basic top wall and Living Room.
The bottom wall and the Dining Room are a bit different in each of three.
The Work Zones (Prep, Cooking, Cleanup) remain the same across all three.
Layout #1
Layout #1 - Work Zones
.Layout #2
(Layout #2) I'd have to see an elevation to see if it would look all right with the built-in pantry.Layout #3
.This is it for tonight...it's very late (again!)
sheribennet thanked BuehlBuehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoTwo more with an island but nothing along the bottom wall (the only way an island could possibly work). The island is only 30" deep, which may be enough. It does give you around 9" from the sink (not faucet) and the back counter edge. You can't go any deeper b/c you need the aisle width on the working side of the island and at least 36" for the walkway b/w the island and bottom wall.
I would have preferred another 3" on the work aisle, but 45" is probably doable. The advantage of this layout is that it gives you another prep area to the left of the range for when someone is helping you in the Kitchen (your kids, for example, when they start learning to cook).
I'll be honest, while I'm not a big fan of cleanup zones in the island, the additional prep zone is very appealing b/c of the ages of your children (at the age to start helping out).
In your favor is that the island is far from the "Living Room" and doesn't face an entry where dirty dishes might be an issue/on display.
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Buehl
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoOne more...note that I do not recommend this one because of the following. However, I thought you should at least see this option and know what's wrong with it.
- Creates a maze to go to/from the Sunroom/Bedroom/Stairs and the Living Room and Garage/Front Entry
- Directs traffic from Living Room, Dining Room, and entries into the work zones to get to the sliding doors.
- Refrigerator and tall pantry crowd the window
- Only 37" between range and cleanup sink, but more space on island. Note that 36" is the minimum recommended workspace for a Prep Zone.
cyc2001
4 years ago
Susan Davis
4 years ago
catlady999