New Kitchen Layout--Need Help! Thanks!!!
This is my new layout (caused by need for wall to enclose pipes). I have some questions, and would welcome comments!
1. Do I have enough workspace in the right places? It looks to me like the main workspace is now to the left of the stove (a corner) and to the left of the sink. Is this right? Where would you store knives in this design? In a drawer by the sink?
2. My coffee machine (espresso maker and grinder) are important for me. In the original design, I was going to have them on the bar/pass-through by the sink. But that area now seems better for workspace, so I am thinking of moving the operation to the window (the one to the right in this picture at the bottom). Dish drawers and utensil drawers going under coffee, with a drawer for cups also there. (I mostly use silly little glasses for coffee, but will need to put drinking glasses someplace, by the sink also, I suspect.)
3. I am thinking of ditching the butcher block by the window in the bottom left in this picture. It has gotten too big in this design, and I think I can do everything I was going to do on the quartzite or on chopping boards. If main workspace will now be to the left of the sink (seems reasonable?), I will keep knives and chopping boards in a 1' 11" stack of four drawers (6",6",9",9") there. I also have a silly 4-stack to the right of the dishwasher that is only 12" wide. But maybe most of the chopping boards would fit in one of these. Also food wrap and storage going in these drawers. (Garbage pull-out is also to the left of the sink, before the above mentioned 4 stack.)
4. I will have a lower cabinet by the wall ovens for my mixer, but where would you put the food processor and blender (used pretty frequently)? I thought they could tuck in on the counter under the mixer (top of plan), but it's a little far away.
5. I am putting upper cabinets on either side of the stove. I saw a layout on Houzz that had glass cabinets above and a smaller open shelf below with some Lazy Susans for spices. I will have a pull-out drawer to the right of the stove for utensils, salt, pepper, olive oil, and the like, and could have something like that to the left of the stove for spices, but it seems to me, spices open at eye-level would be good? Spicey thoughts?
6. This is a ridiculous question, I know. The back of my kitchen, laundry area, is now closed off by walls in this design (it was all open before). Dog bowls will go back here. There are two counter areas in the deign, one next to the W/D and one across the way. The one across the way has open shelves above and nothing below the counter except dog bowls and a step stool I'll stick there. Next to the W/D also has open shelves above, but has at the moment, a three stack (6", 9", 15") of drawers 3'1" wide. I'm wondering if instead I had a 1' pull-out for dog food and a 2' stack of drawers if you think I would regret this choice? My thought would be to keep the huge bag of dog food in the 1' pull-out?
7. There's also an option to put a counter/desk around the back of the little wall between the two windows at the bottom center of the plan. I lean toward making that wall disappear as much as possible, but I could have a little corner there, potentially a better spot for dog bowls, though the floor in this part of the kitchen is wood, and in the back, it is a porcelain tile.
Thanks for any advice you have! I have never done a renovation before of anything, and I'm having to re-imagine now that all of my stuff is packed up. I scrupulously measured everything, but never thought I would have to completely remember why I put which drawers where! A little panicked, but it does look like I will have plenty of space. I will also post the before picture and layout again here! (For orientation, the dining room is that big empty space to the right in the new plan.
Comments (17)
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
3 years ago
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
help with kitchen layout needed
Comments (18)I can't see the pictures. it maybe because I am at work. 1. Sodastream and French Press for coffee. I use both. My soda stream is in the walk in pantry. We use it about 1 x per day. It was not worth the trouble of keeping it on the counter. I use the electric kettle to boil water. I use the kettle 2 plus times per day. I keep the kettle on the counter. The french press goes in the drawer when not used. I keep the kettle close to the faucet so that I can fill it easily. I find that the electric kettle boils faster than the gas range top kettle. I have high power gas range. Even so, the electric is easier/faster. It is also easier for the kids to use. I have a large island. that is where I do most of my prep work. So I can afford to leave some stuff out on the perimeter counter. 2. I have a 30 inch range plus a Miele speed oven which is a combined MW and regular oven. It was expensive but it gives me the second oven that bakes well and allows us to have a MW and saves space. We only use the MW to heat stuff. I only put glass or ceramic in the MW. So even if i have already started to preheat my oven to bake cookies and I forgot to melt the butter, I switch the hot oven to MW setting, put the butter in a pyrex, melt the butter and switch the oven back to preheat mode. It works fine... 3. I have a L plus island configuration. Ref/range on one leg and sink/DW on the other leg of L. I put the speed oven under counter on the island. I opted to not have a second sink. Sometimes i wish I had one. When my kids are doing home work for hours on the island and the paper doesn't get splashed by the water or I need the large surface to layout stuff, I am glad that I did not put the sink in the island. there are pros and cons to every decision you make. Another thing about the L + island versus a galley is how the room feels when you are in it. The L has a more open feel since there are multiple ways out of the working space. So you don't feel as locked in. This is an important concept in design. How does the space feel when you are in it?...See Morekitchen design layout- NEED HELP!
Comments (39)Thank you for your designs and comments! My phone is on the fritz and I wasn't able to open house and have not been near my computer. Anthony, I like how everything is lined up but that would give me a 7' island and I was hoping for a large one since we have the space. so I think the island would need to start closer to the slider wall. Will that look strange, things not being lined up? damiarain, I had thought about moving the kitchen to the front but our windows are low, 17" from the ground. Nothing would fit under them and hardly any uppers would fit there and I already struggle with lack of cabinets....See Morekitchen layout needs help
Comments (24)I really really want a microwave drawer on my island but I’ve priced them at $1000 so I’m not sure it’s worth the added expense? I'm sure it's not worth it to me. Good heavens, I'm officially no longer wondering if I should include one when the lowest price I saw was ~$800. I'm putting a small one on a shelf since it's not a "must have". The cleanup zone on the porch wall is really far from the dining room, so that's definitely a compromise. We all have to make them but it'd be nice if you could implement a step-saving layout for preparing and cleaning up for meals. Starting from the porch wall - fridge, wall oven if desired, countertop with corner super susan to house blender/FP/IP/slow cooker/etc., prep sink, trash pullout, countertop with prep tools below, range/cooktop, countertop with spices and cookware below. Cleanup on island with silverware/dishes in the drawers on the end closest to the dining room. Secondary trash under island sink. I realize that it's not ideal but Cpartist has her cleanup on the island because it's better for workflow. Fridge location would be convenient for non-meal times but distant for dining room fare....See Morekitchen design/layout. Need Help!
Comments (6)I agree the open shelving is just bad especially around a range , the swap of the fridge and pantry is not a bad idea, a prep sink in the island will save many steps each day. All the base cabinets should be drawers even in the island and make sure the walkway in front of the range is at least 48” and also in front of the fridge. I would remove the shelves and get some fun art for either side of the range hood for a bit of fun....See Morekatzander
3 years agoP.S. I don't think I can move the kitchen to the top left. I think that might be weirder. The door at the top of the plan is the back door to my apartment. This is a New York City apartment, so I don't have the ability to take down any wall I want. The electric box is in one of those top walls. Here was the original plan, no measurements, but we found extra pipes in demolition that no one knew anything about.
katzander
3 years agoThere were wall ovens where the microwave is in the above drawings, and the microwave was more over by the laundry. I could put the stove on the bar. There were two other options, posting here. I didn't really want the stove along the back wall, but perhaps that is the way to go. The other one put the stove on the pass-through and no room around the sink. '
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
3 years agoemilyam819
3 years agokatzander
3 years agoI don't have a plan that has just walls, but I circled the two walls in this plan that I don't think would need to stay. The rest definitely need to stay. Please let me know if it's not clear enough? Also, originally the suggestion was to put the fridge in the corner where the double wall oven are now behind the wall. I objected to this...
Thanks again and again for looking at this!
emilyam819
3 years agokatzander
3 years agokatzander
3 years agokatzander
3 years agokatzander
3 years agokatzander
3 years agobiondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)
3 years agoI think you might be surprised at how much you will mind walking that 10' from fridge to sink, especially since the stub wall will be in your way (REALLY in your way if you swap the sink and DW). My sink and fridge are about 10' apart now (with range between) and I hate it - adding an island helped but it's still far from ideal.
Anyway, you have much bigger problems with this layout than just flipping a sink and DW will solve. Generally speaking, I think you need to start over with plans that find a way to incorporate that stub wall rather than just ignoring it. Your current plans also devote a lot of space to weird hallways and passageways that could be put to much better use - the former powder room space, for instance, is totally under-utilized. I created a blank version of your floorplan that I think shows only the permanent walls/obstacles in the space - if you can fill that in with accurate measurements and any permanent fixtures I have missed, I'm sure some of the pros here will be able to help you.
biondanonima (Zone 7a Hudson Valley)