Need help with kitchen layout, please!
Hi! Please help with our kitchen layout.
The stairs from the basement are between the family room and kitchen (why?!?!) They are completely closed off from each other. We had hoped to move the stairs but that isn't a great allocation of budget. Instead we will put in a rail on the family room side and a pony wall on the kitchen side.
We need to have a casual eating space in the kitchen. The window next to the bay is about 4 inches below countertop height and we are trying to avoid replacing the window.
I want to keep enough formal space to have a dining and seating area, but we don't need as much as we currently have. In the plans, we have taken part of the dining room for storage (the house basically doesn't have any) and laundry room (it's currently in the basement). We are open to a different allocation of space.
I attached the 2 options the architect and I came up with (her plans and my very rough 3Ds) -
Option 1 - Keep the sink where it is, range over the stairs
Pros- good cleanup, dish storage area
Questions about - range over the stairs
Opiton 2 - Move sink over stairs, range under window (close up window?)
Pros- no vent hood between rooms
Questions about - range in front of window, dish storage
Which do you prefer? Suggestions? Changes?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Kate
Comments (6)
anj_p
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Hi EVERYBODY – newbies need help with kitchen layout please
Comments (34)Just off the top of my head, I would probably move the table into the flex room right now and put your piano front and center in the great room. Make your piano the star in the room. Use the flex room as your dining room since you don't use it that often. Then I'd probably put a prep sink on the island with your cooktop centered as you had it. I'd move the ovens down to the left side and put the cleanup sink on the right with the dw to the right of the sink. You don't need a window over a cleanup sink as you spend maybe 10 minutes a day cleaning up. Put a pretty shelf or a dish rack or a pretty tile arrangement over the cleanup sink. I'd make the laundry room into one long room and move the W/D against the outside wall. You could also just enclose it with pocket doors and have the mudroom/laundry as one large room. I'd ditch the pantry sink and just have the pantry as one large pantry/butler's pantry. You have room to make the guest room larger. I did so in the plan. Yes it's not equal but you'll never notice it when you're actually walking into the room. Trust me on that. You don't view your space from the ceiling. That automatically narrows the foyer and since the door opens against the guest room, that too will help you not see that it's not "equal"....See MoreNeed help with layout of kitchen please!!!!
Comments (11)Wow! A lot of options! Before we can advise you other than with generalities, what are your goals for this remodel? What about your current kitchen do you not like and want to fix? In general, we need more information to be able to really help you. I recommend reading the following: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include . Next, read the Kitchen Design FAQs so you understand the comments you receive: Kitchen Design FAQ threads: Kitchen work zones, what are they? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638270/faq-kitchen-work-zones-what-are-they Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638304/faq-aisle-widths-walkways-seating-overhangs-work-landing-space-etc How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/3638376/faq-how-do-i-plan-for-storage Ice. Water. Stone. Fire (Looking for layout help? Memorize this first) http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2699918/looking-for-layout-help-memorize-this-first ....See MoreNeed kitchen remodel layout help, please. Sketches and pics included!
Comments (8)Thanks for the advice, Kristine! I moved some things around in the Ikea planner like you suggested. Your suggestion for the fridge location is where my fridge is currently located. I moved it in my original plan because I dislike how much it sticks out into the middle of the room. I could probably solve that issue by getting a counter-depth fridge. I need to do more research on that because I am concerned that we won't have enough fridge space with a counter depth model. I frequently put cookie sheets in the fridge and they take up the entire depth of my current fridge (a side-by-side model). I think I could fit them in a counter depth fridge if I got the kind with 2 french doors on the top and the freezer on the bottom. I moved the wall oven/micro over to the far left wall because I didn't want to make the peninsula any shorter than it already is. It is only 6 feet and any smaller seems like it won't be long enough. I would like to be able to have enough space for 6 girls to be working around it at one time and 6 feet will already be tight (3 girls on each side). I do really like moving the cooktop to the far left wall as well. It seems to give me a lot more bottom drawers for storage along the top wall which would be great. I was only able to fit an 18" cabinet between the cooktop and the wall oven. I'm not sure that is enough space on that side. I think I remember seeing that 24" of working space should be the minimum. I could get more space by using a range instead, but I don't really like that setup. I frequently use both the oven and the stovetop at the same time with 2 people cooking. So the person using the stovetop is always in the way of the person trying to open the oven. I would really like to have the 2 separated....See MoreNeed help with kitchen layout please
Comments (44)@emilyam819 Yes exactly; the sections of existing counter space aren't totally usable as they are. They are small, broken up segments. What we are trying to do is make longer, more efferent prep spaces. We measured last night; it's 47 square feet of counter total not all of which is useable mind you;) our old house had 80. So...that's a huge difference. We've lived in five houses now and have never had a prep sink. The only issue with putting it next to the fridge and double oven is then we lose what small section of counter we have to begin with over there. It's broken up by the appliance garage. Someone mentioned moving the pantry and sliding the fridge down. That frees up about 3 feet of counter space that would be useable so maybe by doing that a prep sink could go in on that wall (where fridge is now?) That's a much longer, continuous area if appliance garage is removed that adds another foot or two into the mix. Funny you mention the back wall of the dining room. We just installed a storage unit there three days ago (the royal "we" I actually didn't help at all!) It houses our linens and stuff we don't use everyday or only use around the holidays, as well as a few other odds and ends we don't need access to on a daily basis. I think we need to think about putting in a small beverage fridge in the storage unit in the breakfast area but that's not a priority right now. Maybe when we remodel and knock out all the walls! Thanks for all the suggestions! :)...See Morek8cd
2 years agok8cd
2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago
Here are the blueprints, so you can see the rest of the space. (The kitchen bay was a change and is faintly visible in red. Wouldn't it have been great if the change had been to square off the house instead?) The wall between "other" and "living" is solid and load bearing.
We will use the stairs up from the basement/garage. It is a terrible design - currently we all have to shuffle into the kitchen and then close the door to the basement to access the rest of the house. Why is the main thoroughfare of the house only 3' wide with 2 doors opening into it? (And how did we not notice until we had already bought it?) The house was designed by the original owner's twin brother - I can only assume they didn't get along.k8cd
2 years ago
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