Help me redesign our kitchen layout

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

We just bought a home that has a kitchen layout that we think is okay, but I'm wondering if others here have ideas about how we might redesign it. Any ideas are welcome, regardless of cost. Also would welcome thoughts if you think this is truly the best design possible. As a primer, we like more contemporary/modern open floor designs.

Here's what our kitchen looks like right now:

Note that to the left of the fridge are two doors that lead to two separate pantries (one walk-in) and then next to those is the doorway to the formal dining room.

Here's what the kitchen layout looks like from an overhead view (kitchen is the tiled area with dimensions):

Here are some things that I don't love about the area, but I'm at a loss for how it can be improved:

I don't like where the fridge and ovens are right now. Even though it seems like it completes a square with the counters, it makes the kitchen seem more crowded and blocks the pathway from the formal dining room door.
I also don't like the location of the pathway to the formal dining room door. It seems to limit how much counter space we can have.
I would slightly prefer the kitchen island be oriented horizontally versus vertically, but there doesn't seem to be enough width in the kitchen to do that.
There's very little distance between the breakfast table and the kitchen island as it stands now. There's actually almost no room to put a chair between the island and the round table, so the way it's staged now the chairs are placed strategically to avoid that. But the reason the table is there is because the ceiling, light fixtures, and walkways/windows are placed in a way that it designates that specific space to be a dining area.
We'd be open to combining the two pantries into one or even moving them, but they currently occupy a space that is outside of the kitchen square.
I generally don't like how narrow the kitchen/dining area/great room seems. The dimensions are 15 feet by 40 feet approximately, but I prefer spaces like this to be wider.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

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Comments (6)

Buzz Solo in northeast MI
2 years ago
Well, I'm not a kitchen designer, but I think you're right about your island going in the wrong direction simply because it is a barrier between either of your sinks and the refrigerator. But I don't think you could actually just turn in 90 degrees without shortening the length drastically.

What would be better to access the fridge in its current location would be a C shaped kitchen, the island being turned 90 degrees and becoming a peninsula attached to the end of the counter on the main sink side. Of course that would pretty much kill having that round table where it is. (A narrow rectangular table might fit better than the round one in the current situation.)

What would be nice to see for you to get more help though is a drawing with the widths of the aisles between counters, fridge to counter, etc. People on Houzz like to see those.

Also how far are you able to go to change things? It can get pretty costly rearranging a kitchen.
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
Before doing anything live there for awhile IMO 3-6 months for sure . Then you strat finding out what works and what does not. I hate walk in pantries IMO total waste of space but again my choice.Once you have lived there for a bit come back here with a to scale floor plan showing all windows doorways , where the doorways lead and gas lines and plumbing if not easily moved. I aslo find it very helpful to know what your appliances will be. I would say right now it looks like a pretty contemporary kitchen and not horrible for function. The island definately should not be turned IMO. BTW not all kitchen need or should have an island
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Here's my latest attempt which I think addresses most of y'alls concerns...I hope Here's a slightly modified floor plan for the kitchen. What's different here is that we've moved the fridge to a new wall and recessed it into what was originally going to be some sort of broom-trash storage closet. We also flipped the DW and the sink because EVERYBODY says you can't have a sink at the end of a run of cabinets.... I like this idea because it frees up space around the stove...but now I'm not sure where the broom closet stuff is supposed to go? Where can we put the mop, broom, trash and recycling bins? We Still Need Help With The Closets-Pantries. Here's a different shot of both closets and the appliances we need to fit. How can we best utilize the space in the pantry closet for bulk storage and small kitchen appliance storage...and now possibly broom closet stuff also? Pretty Pictures. Here's what this current design looks like if you are standing at the stove and looking back at the rest of the kitchen. Sorry about the odd color walls...but the granite and cabinet colors are spot on for what we have now....yes our kitchen has a silly amount of granite... Here's how it looks standing at the corner by the fridge and looking back. Yep, lots of granite.... Here's how it looks from the dining room entryway looking into the kitchen. And here is how it looks if you are standing in the entryway and looking through the breakfast bar opening and into the kitchen. So, whats everybody think?
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funky - I totally agree with the practicality of the extra sink, water by the cooktop, the baking area and as a beverage center for parties. Ranges, I don't like them much. The simple freestanding ones are out of the question, spills run down the side into the netherworld between cabinet and stove...yak, shudder! The slide-ins don't create that type of mess and cost less at the outset than built ins, but if either the cooktop or the oven stops working, both need to be replaced, not much of a savings there. We currently have a GE top of the line slide in range in which the oven racks keep falling off the guides as (can anyone even believe this?) the oven walls have started to bow out. So much for "American made" and "top of the line" in today's appliances. Also, we're aiming to achieve a minimalist scandinavian look, and ranges, even the slide-in ones just have so much bulk to them. As to occasionally bending down, it's probably good for us, and just doesn't bother me. I'd say the bending when filling and emptying the dishwasher is much more of an issue, as we do that repeatedly each day and often for a prolonged time. If my DW would butt up to tall cabinetry in my kitchen plan, I'd elevate the DW center to counter height, the way Europeans build theirs right into their cabs, now that would really make a nice difference. benje - I've seen that kitchen, it's very cool looking. An open galley like that is what my dream home would have, so practical and no corners. And yes, it would look and work fabulous in our family room. But, he problem is, the family room would not look good in the old kitchen space, for one the space is just too small. Secondly, the almost wall to wall and floor to ceiling window and sliding door in the current family room are what make sitting there and gazing into the backyard ideal. We also enjoy these views from our kitchen, as we can see through the family room into the backyard. The reverse would not be the case, the kitchen cabinetry would block the view from people who are sitting on low couches. In the current kitchen, the window sills are at ca. 37" and cannot be changed (beneath two of them sits our tall AC). anyway there is no view out the side yard, and we will not add a "picture window" to the front of our house. So, no, I don't think we would ever use this space as a family room. Nice try though benje - thank you.
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I would put the fridge on the corner by the dining area. If there is not quite enough space to the left of the window trim, a stub wall could be built out (red block) to match the bump-in on the other side of the dining room. Then center the sink between the windows, with the DW to the right. You might be able to run the drain under the toe-kick, which is what one GW member did (link at end). The range would stay in m/l the same area. I drew the island at 50" (depth of two 24" base cabinets plus 1" overhang on each side) to accommodate two seats on the short side, and two seats on that end. The work aisle would be reduced to 48". You could make the island all one level, and no one would be seated directly across from the cooktop. (I don't care for a cooktop in an island, especially an island with seating, but I also understand not wanting to move the 220v line on a slab.) You now have two work zones--an efficient prep and cooking zone, and a separate clean-up/dish storage zone, so that helpers can load or unload the DW, or gather dishes to set the table, without interfering with prep tasks. That leaves the wall at the top, which could house a wall oven (more expense if a 220v line is installed, and more expense if using a separate cooktop), and/or a tall pantry, or a coffee/snacks center for the living area, or a combination of those options. Mathteachr toe-kick drain line
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If you put the pantry entrance where the deep cupboards are it would flow better...I find that if the kids have a zone that is pantry/fridge/microwave then they are not getting underfoot in the really active areas. Then you could put either a piece of furniture or cupboards on the wall where the pantry door is presently. The location of the wall ovens seems a really long way from the pantry and fridge and impinging on the breakfast area....and are not the prettiest thing to look at coming into the kitchen. But if not there, then where? If you moved the pantry door, you might have room next to it for wall ovens and a small landing space and then the pantry door...but then the ovens are opening in the main traffic pattern....with 5 kids traipsing through, what could possibly go wrong? I would forego island sink, unless you really have your heart set on it...it’s really close to the sink across the aisle, and I really like having an unencumbered prep space on the island. I would also swap DW and trash area on that sink so That you have room to manouver when the DW door is open. Is the butler’s pantry function that of a bar? To service both the family room and dining room?
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lynzy1
2 years ago
Could you push the fridge/oven wall back into the pantry area some? That would widen that area a little. I typically am not a fan of appliances right next to each other because it starts to look like appliance row, but I don’t know what else you’d do in your case without redesigning the 3 doors situation or extending into the small eating area.
Elaine Doremus Resumes Written
2 years ago
I'm not a kitchen designer, but if this were my kitchen, I'd like to have counter space right next to the fridge and ovens. If there was a food dish that was extremely heavy or hot or dripping, I'd like to have counter space directly next to it - (especially now that I'm getting older).
Hope Stewart
2 years ago
How big is the table you have there in kitchen? And how many do you need to sit at it on a daily basis? One very quick and easy solution would be to get a smaller round table there. Particularly as your formal (assuming also larger) dining space is just off kitchen you probably don't need to seat as many there in kitchen. Additionally, you might consider moving the table over to the window and using a bench or built in if storage is needed to save a bit of room and get table away from end of island.

Re other aspects of kitchen- it seems two pantries (particularly when one is a walk in) may be overkill. I wonder if it would be possible to remove the corner pantry (not walk in one) that is next to opening into dining room and widen that opening up some to provide better access/flow?
mama goose_gw zn6OH
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Making the smaller pantry into shallow cabinets and moving the DR opening to the right would give you space to move the fridge to the cooktop wall. That improves the prep flow, since you won't be running around the island every time you need some thing from the fridge. It will also give you space for landing beside the ovens, even though the island seats are still in conflict.

To get the oven off that run, you could change to a range, omit the cabinets behind the island seating, and make the island deeper. Then by turning the currently useless prep sink toward the range, you could prep between the fridge and range. (I say useless because it looks as if the aisle is too narrow for two workers--if the aisle is 48" or wider, then prep sink is more useful, as two people can work without bumping each other.)

But--I can't say if either option would be worth the expense.

Help me redesign our kitchen layout

Comments (6)

Buzz Solo in northeast MI

Patricia Colwell Consulting

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lynzy1

Elaine Doremus Resumes Written

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mama goose_gw zn6OH

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