Kitchen Layout help - Contemporary home - new construction
After building our "dream home" and being very active on this forum in 2015, we've relocated. Haha. I miss my kitchen SO much. It really was perfect. The layout was planned on this forum down to the cabinet and drawer configuration for each item we stored. It's a sad day being in a rental with no consideration for kitchen layout. I'm losing my mind on inefficiency.
We're moving forward on a very contemporary project in a semi-arid climate. We've purchased a view lot and are working on a scratch design with an architect.
I'm struggling with the kitchen layout and we are at the point where I need to finalize at least the door locations as we are moving into the exterior envelope and elevation next week. Ignore that there are no windows/doors right now, that'll all be covered as we draw the exterior.
I've attached what we are working with now and the relevant adjacent rooms for flow considerations.
On the wall (top) where the cooktop currently has been drawn, I would like to do no uppers with a window to the countertop. This leaves only one wall where we can have full-height appliances. I'm wondering if I need to make the peninsula an island to make everything fit or reconsider and have upper cabinets and lose those windows (or at least some of them). The ceiling is 9' and there are bedrooms above this area.
List of appliances we are looking to place:
- 36" cooktop - induction, a high CFM hood, and a pot filler - cannot go on the island/peninsula for safety reasons.
- 30" refrigerator and a 30" freezer
- Dishwasher
- Single basin sink - 30' wide
- Under counter ice-maker
- Prep sink
- Insta-hot
- Coffee station
- Microwave (we prefer a drawer-style)
All appliances will be panel-ready and we will do all drawers on the lowers.
The square at the top of the screen print at the bottom is the pool and we will have an outdoor kitchen which is why I think the counter height window will be great for entertaining. If I do a casement there + a double-hung with no screen we can open the double-hung as a pass-through and have a counter on the other side of the top wall as part of a small galley kitchen outside (grill + bev. fridge only).
Main floor for flow:
blank canvas:
Comments (8)
Related Discussions
Kitchen layout for new construction, help needed :)
Comments (11)Since no one has mentioned it, it's not possible to put a ref right up against a corner wall that is longer than the BODY of the ref. This is because for most, but not all refrigerators, the doors are hinged in such a way that they open out to side of the ref body - like some tv units where the doors store on the outside sides of the unit when open - but ref doors just don't open that far. Generally, the ref needs to be placed anywhere from 6" to 15" away from the corner depending the exact make and model. There can be other issues. Door handles can hit (-really, eventually punch a hole into) the wall - even at just a 90 degree opening. Most refs need the doors to open more than 90 degrees for cleaning but a goodly number need the door open further to operate the drawers. Ones that can be placed right up against a corner are called fully integrated. Some refrigerator columns, some gaggenau, and a few others at a pretty steep price scale. Really not dis'in' you or JennieMer, but the location of the ref in your original drawing or Jennie's drawing really can't be done. Most people insert a utility cupboard or pullout pantry in the actual corner for this exact reason....See MoreNew construction - Kitchen Layout help please!
Comments (4)That's quite similar to our kitchen layout and I totally love the workflow of it. I like that I can have the range aisle to myself while family can get to the fridge and snacks at the perimeter without us being in each others' way. We have an extra water source at the side aisle by the fridge so that helps keep them over there where they belong. :) In your case you have water at the butler pantry along with snacks and I assume coffee, etc., which looks perfect to me! I would move the dishwasher to the left of the sink to keep it out of your prep area. And I don't know what all your measurements are, but if there is any way to eke an extra 12" out of the island to the right of the sink I think you'd be a lot happier with 36" there as a your prep area. Not sure if it's possible to do by taking 6" from each side (4' to fridge is enough, not sure about the other side tho). If not, could you possibly scoot the wall back a little into the pantry area? Good luck with your new build!...See MoreHelp with kitchen layout for new construction
Comments (16)ssdarb - thanks for the perspective from a fellow mom! We just have one daughter, so dealing with a crowd on a daily basis isn't common, but we have tons of extended family in the area and usually have dinner guests at least once a week, so we do need to think about ability to scale up. And once or twice a year we have a big party with 75+ people (what can I say, my husband is an extrovert!) but for that we bring in a caterer so I don't end up trapped in the kitchen all night. I'll have to think about #1. Not sure there's any way to avoid it altogether (and it's less of an issue with a small family), but worth putting some thought in. That is definitely an issue with my mom's kitchen - the cooktop and main sink are across a 4' aisle from each other, and the fridge/freezer is one one side and the microwave is on the other. It can get a little crazy when the whole family is over (especially when a small child decides to wander through. :-) As for #2, if we used the bar stools for eating, I think the arrangement you have sounds awesome. We don't eat at the counter, though, just the table (I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've sat at our current counter to eat in the 7 years we've been in our house, and I never did at my previous house, either) so they're really just there to make it easier for my daughter (and a friend/cousin or two) to help or keep me company while I cook. On #3, I really don't want to give up the view while cleaning up option! We're on almost 20 wooded acres that back up to one of the largest urban parks in the country, so the view out that direction is straight into woods that will always be preserved because of the environmental zoning. We're hoping to avoid uppers near the family room because the family room is vaulted, and we don't want cabinets ending into nothing at the far end. That said, I think that section bears looking at again to see how it can be arranged. #4 is important to us, too. My daughter sets the table most nights (but we have to get the dishes down for her) and often empties the dishwasher (but right now that mostly means handing me things to put into cabinets she can't reach). I love that she could do it herself with dish drawers. #5 Great suggestion. No coffee area needed for us, but I have to remember to plan for the tea setup - that's our caffeine of choice :-). Thanks so much for sharing your hard-earned knowledge and suggestions!...See MoreKitchen Layout Ideas for new house construction
Comments (61)I've been thinking about the first plan I posted, with the interior laundry and mudroom. I still like it. If you put the laundry/mudroom inside, you don't need anything in the garage but a couple of steps (between the garage bays, where the steps start on the original plan), so it shouldn't interfere with parking. Moving the door down, across from the MR door, would allow you to have a ROTS pantry beside the fridge, and you could also have shallow storage cabinets beside the entry door. They could be used for extra pantry storage, brooms and cleaning supplies, extra mudroom storage, candlesticks and linens for DR, etc. You wouldn't need to carry laundry through the kitchen, but the W/D are still close enough to monitor while you're cooking. Likewise, laundry isn't lugged back through the kitchen. I incorporated the front entry closet into this version, and it's all included in your 14.5 x 23' space. There's a stub wall beside the oven, so the profile view from the great room is uniform. If you feel that the oven would block light from the great room window, the sink window could be widened. Note: I used 6" for all interior walls because that's easier to draw on my grid; you'd actually have a little more space on either side of the wall. You'd also have more space for storage in the garage. I drew the garage entry traffic paths below--it's not exactly to scale, but close enough to give you the idea of how the interior laundry/MR impacts the plan: Original, for comparison: Of course, if you use a different plan, or have an architect design a custom home, this is moot. I just wanted you to consider all aspects of the interior laundry....See More
just_janni
3 years agoRachel (Zone 7A + wind)
3 years ago
mama goose_gw zn6OH
3 years agoRachel (Zone 7A + wind)
3 years agoanj_p
I'm not sure I'm following your suggestion here. I do like the idea to move the powder back to where the mudroom is drawn and flip those 3 rooms around. I think I like this. Drinkware will be a complete PITB to put away. The DW is very very far from the coffee bar and presumably we'd want to keep glasses closer to the fridge.
Did I capture your idea? I like the location of the pantry, mud, powder and RF much better this way.
Oh where oh where will the coffee go (we will have a plumbed in Keureg, most likely). I guess if I found another place to put the coffee I could put wall ovens on that bottom wall but if not, we'd have to do a range / oven (not opposed, have not decided on appliances yet).
Rachel (Zone 7A + wind)
3 years agoI think I'd have to be toting basically all the glasses and coffee cups back and forth in this arrangement. That's a lot of dishes. Putting away the dishwasher will be a chore. I have to think about it.
I'd have to make the island and that back kitchen wall shorter to make the laundry room door not be 1/2 way in view and 1/2 way out. As I don't have the measurements, I'm going to have to ask our architect to sketch this. It does leave a weird foyer entry issue but maybe he can come up with something there or make the pantry bump back to allow for brooms and things.
I could, I suppose, as him if we can close off the top entry to the kitchen. Then I'd be working with an L and have some upper cabinets.
mama goose_gw zn6OH