Fridge 12-13 feet from sink
We are remodeling the home we just bought (our first) and we eliminated the formal dining room make a larger kitchen. We are struggling with the layout given the existing plumbing and windows in the space. I like a window over the sink and so we will need to leave the sink where it is or otherwise we would need to add another window, which we aren’t excited about doing.
The design with the kitchen on the far wall was made by our cabinet designer (D1). The fridge is 12-13 feet from the sink in that design. Each little box is a foot. The design with all of the fridge, sink, and oven on the same wall was suggested by our contractor (D2). There is only about 18 inches between the sink and stove and the stove and fridge. I don’t love either of them honestly. The fridge is super far away in one and everything is crammed together in the other.
My thoughts:
-add a prep sink by the fridge in D1 if we can. An extra source of water is always nice and that way we don’t have to lug everything across the kitchen
-we thought about sink in the island but we really want the island to be clear and would prefer the sink under the window
Anyone see any solutions I’m not seeing? We could cover up the window that the fridge is placed next to in D1 I guess, but I hate to lose the natural light. Thoughts?
Comments (12)
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2 years agoRelated Discussions
Can a fridge be 15 feet from the stove!?
Comments (46)I think there are two kinds of people. Some need their refrigerators close and some people are ok with them further away. I probably have one of the shorter runs between ref and range at 4.5 feet and that 4.5 feet is the everyday prep/baking area. It's perfect for me - I do go in and out of the ref a lot when cooking. Dry foods are two steps, cooking water is another 4.5 feet. There are other people, and you could be one of them, that really don't mind when the ref is far away. For me, you (or the designer) are making "U" with island kitchens. One of the bummers about "U" shapes is that people feel they have to have cabinets on all the walls and the major centers spread out (cooking, prep, cleanup), one to a wall. So, maybe think about clustering more. I would try cleanup on the far right wall, ref and range on the left wall with perhaps a narrow depth, tall, dry food pantry between the windows and the slider. Try a prep sink. Play with switching the orientation of the island (maybe going in the other direction?). I like to have dishes and dish storage an easy shot from the dining room and not positioned where a person setting or clearing or doing dishes has to walk through a work zone. I had a cooking surface in a peninsula with a raised bar. You think its safer, but that isn't how it worked out for us. Our raised portion was 20" deep, but when sitting there, you forgot there was a fire below. dh managed to set a newspaper on fire seated at the bar. I couldn't wipe the counters from the range side - and I resented it. I didn't have enough prep space beside the range and I resented that space I could have USED was instead the bar - with no one sitting there. I really believe it is safer and works better just to have the whole thing at the same height. And the 6" difference between the two counters will not provide much "cover" for either hot splashes or hiding visible mess. Unless y'all are really short. :) You'll need at least 4.5 feet between the edge of the seating overhang and the beginning of the counter for the base cabinets on the wall when you have seating in an aisle with working cabinets on the other side. Five feet or more would be even better. Working at a cabinet takes about 16-24" for your body, USING the cabinet - like opening a drawer takes about 21", using an appliance takes up to 3 feet. The allowance for a seated person is 24" beyond the counter edge - generally accounts for the person and the stool. Add both of those together (3 feet plus 2 feet). Plus its nice for someone to be able to walk through to the back slider or from the slider when the stools are in use. Ovens take an unknown amount of room as they are all different widths and depths. Most people will stand in front of an oven when taking stuff out of it and those doors open anywhere between 18-24" into an aisle. Trash is good to think about. It is something other people will come into the kitchen to use, prep generates a lot of trash and cleanup can generate some....See More14 feet from fridge to sink??
Comments (12)YIKES!!!!! I ripped out the kitchen that was 16' from stove to fridge and 8.5' from fridge to sink because the hike was so awful. This layout is bad. You're not wrong!!! This designer doesn't cook. It's not just the distance of the fridge, but the barrier island with seating in the way. I'm being really strong here because I really, really think this design is a big mistake. Please don't feel bad about it! ...but if you do, that's better than going with this plan and feeling bad about the resulting kitchen. I hated cooking in my old kitchen and avoided it, but at least there weren't any barriers or people in the middle of the workflow. This kitchen is great for people who eat takeout....See MoreHow big of a range do you need for 13+ feet of wall?
Comments (9)Okay, just focusing on the size of range vs wall question, I don't think it matters unless the range is a the main feature of the kitchen. YOUR kitchen's focal point is not the range. It's the windows. Even if you wanted it to be THE FEATURE, there's an island in front of it. So get a range that works for your cooking, keeping old fashioned things like efficiency in mind. Perhaps a 48" range makes more sense because it has smaller ovens than a 36" range and you'll heat up the kitchen less when you bake brownies, even if you never use more than one burner at a time. Maybe a 30" range actually makes the most sense. Get a bigger hood than range whatever you do, especially if you want to make a statement. But in your plan (and if you're having budget issues, reconsidering things is good), I'd be tempted to go with a sleek cooktop, unobtrusive modern hood that you barely notice, and wall oven(s). Downplay all the cooking stuff (without being silly about it) and just let the windows be the room....See Morebedroom size of 8 feet 9 inches width by 13 ft length is desirable?
Comments (19)I have a first floor guest room that is not quite 9x12. It holds two twin beds, with a dressing table between them, under a window, that doubles as night stands with lights for the beds. There is also a tall chest on one wall, and a very small victorian rocker at the foot of one of the beds (must be moved in order to open one of the two closets in this room. It's just fine as a guest room, but would be very small if two children were sharing it. It would work fine for one child with only 1 twin bed. There are two window in this room, One could put a double bed in with one side against the wall, but it would be tight. Yes, these things are very relative in regard to location of the house. When I watch Escape to the Country on YouTube, I'm always astounded when the potential buyers look at a room that barely holds a double bed, with the ceiling sloping on both sides, and immediately declare that it is a "nice sized room"! We're spoilt in the US and expect most rooms to hold a queen or king size bed with plenty of room on both sides for tables, and no ducking for ceiling slopes!...See MoreHU-788251878
2 years agoHU-788251878
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Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago 
PROMark Bischak, Architect
2 years agoHU-788251878
2 years agoYes I agree, I am not a fan of either. I think I will look for another designer. Annoying because we have already paid half. They are a company so I could ask for another designer possibly. We actually have an architect working on our 2nd floor which is significantly more complicated who has been fantastic, I will probably ask him first. These aren’t the drawings the designer gave us, we haven’t gotten their official drawing yet but D1 is what they showed us when we met and I wasn’t excited about it, so I recreated it with an app to see if it was as awkward as it seemed. I did not include some of the filler panels and whatnot, I was just trying to visualize the space with the sink and appliances where they suggested. I showed it to our contractor who said D1 was terrible and he suggested D2 which I then drew up and I think it is also not great.
I attached a photo of what our kitchen and formal dining room looked like before (10x10) just too small. I didn’t add all the cabinets back but it had a peninsula (U shaped). We knocked out two walls to open the space up.
What about having the main sink under the other window and a smaller prep sink in the island? I hate clutter on the island but I think a smaller prep sink could work so the work triangle is smoother and someone can do dishes without interrupting the work flow of the cook.
Ying Wang
2 years agoHU-788251878
2 years agolatifolia
2 years ago
weedyacres
2 years agoI was trepidatious about putting a prep sink in my island for the same reasons: I like one expansive prep space. But it's one of my favorite things about our new kitchen. It's very efficient for prepping, and easy to wipe off the counter right into the sink.
cpartist