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Kitchen Layout—Island footprint?

2 years ago

Hello! We are in the final stages of design for our kitchen remodel. Our kitchen in total size is 194x277 (so 16ish by 23ish). In the layout here, the 42in fridge is at the top, the cooktop and ovens on the left (with the ovens on the bottom of the wall run) with the sink in the island. Our island will be 132inches long x50in wide to include room for seating (15inch overhang on the long side and 12 inch overhang on the short side). Clearance around the island seems to meet the kitchen and bath standards (47 from counter to counter on both sides, 48 in front of fridge, and 55+ to walls).

I know the 132 limits us in terms of counter options to basically Cambria or Daltile unless we want a seam. But beyond that, any concerns with this layout? Will the island look too big in the space? We have 3 kids so we wanted everyone to comfortable fit in the space for years to come. So hard to picture what it will look like in real life!

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Comments (12)

PRO
Dezign Studio Inc
2 years ago
Do you have the elevations of the other two walls, as doors and windows locations are not clear, just to get a complete picture
M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Yes! Well one of them—there is one wall with no cabinetry (the one on the bottom of the birdseye view. There is a large window on that wall. There are two large openings/doors into the room on either side of the refrigerator as well.
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You're welcome! So glad I could help you. You can make the island shorter to gain more aisle space but doing so compromises your goals of providing 4 seats at the island and gaining much needed counter space. The island really is the *only* spot in your kitchen with a nice stretch of uninterrupted counter so I would encourage you to keep as much of that as possible. This will come in handy at holiday times and when your large family is over just as much as having roomy aisles will. At 8' long, I estimate that you should still have 5' to 5.25' between the end of the island and the opening to the FR, which is still quite generous. (I had to guess at how much farther the refrigerator wall extends beyond the end of the counter, hence the estimated range.) If you shrink the island to 7', rounded or rectangular, I believe you can still seat 4 at the island and keep the cabinet next to the prep sink, which would act as a buffer between prep space and seating. You'd lose a foot of cabinetry on the side facing the clean-up sink, obviously, but you'd still keep a decent stretch of counter. That would increase the aisle to 6' to 6.25' or almost the same as drawn in the architect's plan. If you shrink the island to 6' long, you lose even more cabinetry, in particular, you'd lose the cabinet next to the prep sink in order to seat 4 at the island. The end facing the FR could seat 2 but you can't put another chair right at the corner on the side facing the DR. The stool would need to come in at least a foot (more would be better) so that the people seated at the corner have sufficient leg room and enough room for plates, glasses, etc. You'd also shrink your prep space down quite a bit. You might not be into cooking now but your kids might be, if not now, then in the future (my oldest loves to cook for his friends.) Your aisle between FR and island would grow to 7' or a bit more. So I ask, do you really need aisles that generous on a regular basis? Is it worth giving up some of your other wishes? For reference, 60" is the recommended width for a hallway to allow 2 wheelchairs to pass side by side or to allow 2 people to walk comfortably side by side. As for shape, I think the rounded shape is pleasing plus it helps guide traffic smoothly through the space. With an 8' island, it's also necessary, IMO, to keep from creating a pinch point between pantry cab and island counter. I estimate that distance between the rounded corner and the pantry cab to be 4'. If you square the corner, that space shrinks to 3'6" or less. You could increase the space between island and pantry cab by starting the curve sooner than I did in the drawing. You have the knee room to do so. Your home has a nice flow from space to space and IMO, the island doesn't jut into pathways, making people go out of their way to get from point A to point B. It does block flow from cooking and clean-up zones to and from the DR but the only way not to do that is to give up the island completely. I think I forgot to tell you how much aisle you'd have between island and DR wall. I estimate that to be 64" - about the same as between island and FR entry - if you are going with a 1.5" counter overhang on on your cabinets. This is more than either the architect or the KD allowed in their plans for this aisle.
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Thank you so much Buehl! We have not purchased the plan yet so we aren't locked into anything but we are using the one we like to try to get some of the more important rooms figured out before we meet with an architect. I want to have an idea of what I want FIRST before we go so I can stick to the vision I have as much as possible. I am starting with the kitchen first but didn't know I could play around with things like windows and who knows how to scale the floor plan they show is. First time building - quite overwhelming. We close on land next week. First off thanks for all of the tips on island seating space and the pesky CD fridge details. I have seen that within the counter depth classification the depth dimensions seem to vary quite a bit. We don't have anything in mind for appliances yet at this point but with budget will be mainstream (KA maybe). Our current peninsula we had done in a curve and I really like it for visual interest plus it adds leg room depth in the middle and we couldn't really go that deep on the end. Only have 2 stools now so even 4 would be plenty. Would you ever suggest having the stools on the short end and part on the long end? Thank you for laying out the island too (trash, sink placement, etc) - that's exactly what I need and I love it! Love the window bump out! I don't think I'd want to go deeper than 27", I will need the pantry space. So would you have any uppers on the window wall or just leave it open since the pantry will be tall on the one side and there are uppers on the long wall? Pantry-so it would be built out to the 27" to be seemless with the cabinets but the shelves inside will only be 15" deep right? I think 15" depth would be plenty deep. Warming drawers - worth it? I was thinking of doing the MW/Wall Oven/Warming drawer layout to avoid having 2 ovens since most of the time I only need one. Again thank you so much for your time and your knowledge! Lisa
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You could have told us that you posted in the lighting forum when you complained that you hadn't received lighting feedback about your plan. You have received some advice but you haven't acknowledged any of the tips provided, as far as I can tell. If you had let us known that you had posted in the lighting forum, we wouldn't have persisted in suggesting you try there. I'm sorry that forum has yielded no results. I think your next best bet is to seek advice from lighting professionals at a store. The reps at my local lighting store have been incredibly helpful to me. Your contractor and electrician should also be able to provide guidance about lighting placement as well as what you'll need to do to comply with local code.
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If I have this right, if you remove the wall a part of the kitchen will be wider than it is now. You're thinking of destroying the wall on the right side of the picture where your daughter is standing. You're also going to destroy the wall (?closet ?basement stairs?) she's leaning on on the left? Ok, well. A run of cabinets plus counter top is about 26" deep, an aisle between then cabinets and island is about 42" to 48", a fat island top is 51"; a skinny top is 39". Chairs or stools must be in minimum 34" aisle, but if you want to walk behind the chairs, think more of 44" or greater. So, you need between (26 + 42 + 39 + 34) 11.75 feet to 14.1 feet. In your proposed plan, the dbl wall ovens, the ref and the full height pantry would need to be on the sink wall. - maybe one of them could occupy the space where the ref is today but oriented in a different direction. Can you fit a pantry and ovens on the sink wall? Is it worth it? Dunno. I can imagine you isolated in the kitchen today. If you did something smaller like opened a doorway to the living room where the ref is and relocated the ref, would that help enough? Conversely, is it ok to have the living room tv become your new best friend?
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M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Here is the wall that’s opposite the cooking wall:
Carrie B
2 years ago
A floorplan layout of the entire floor, with measurements and indication of adjoining rooms and windows would be super helpful. Your above layout is hard to read.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Each seat needs 24" elbow space, so you could have two seats on the short end, which would be a better for conversation. I'd make that overhang 15", too, but I think you can get by with ap 120" for the length, m/l centered on the window behind the island. I would flip both cabinet runs 1) to put the oven in the position to open into the deeper aisle, and 2) to put the DW and dish storage outside the prep path. I know this centers the sink on the range--and some would argue that a sink should never be centered on a range--but we prep to one side of a sink, and if you move the island back an inch (to 48") your aisle will be wide enough for two people. The hood is 6" wider than the cooktop, to provide a wider capture area for grease and steam.

If you need a tall cabinet, put a shallow, side-loading pantry to the left of the fridge. It will be less expensive than the narrow, pull-out pantry, and everything will be more easily accessed.

I made the cabinet on the end of the island (under the overhang) a pull-out, so it's more easily accessed, and put a MW drawer beside it, facing the fridge; anyone using the MW won't need to stand in the work aisle. I also gave you a single-bowl sink. :)

Pic on left, shallow pantry:

NKBA guidelines

New to Kitchens? Read me first.

Discussions--all drawer bases

Discussions--dishes in drawers

ETA, after seeing the wide window with space below for base cabinets I'm wondering why the sink run isn't on that wall, with the cooktop to the left, or why there aren't base cabinets in the plan you posted?
M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Here is the entire floor plan for the first floor. The dining room will become the kitchen, the existing kitchen will become a mudroom/butler’s pantry, and the sunroom a dining room.
M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Mama goose, thanks! A lot of things I hadn’t thought about—I was thinking the dishwasher placement as pure left or right preference! I also like the shallow pantry idea. Thanks for your time!
cubby14
2 years ago
I’m not going to comment on anything but one of your questions about will the island look too big. Our island is 65x126 we love it. You room is big so the large island should look big but not bad. We do have a seam in the middle of our granite so keep that in mind.
mama goose_gw zn6OH
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
A butler's pantry is between a kitchen and dining room, for convenience of serving. The place for a butler's pantry would be the small area above the entry (or is that where the table will go?). How far off the floor are those windows?
M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Cubby, thanks for that insight! You have a beautiful kitchen—love all the natural light that you have.
M. R.
Original Author
2 years ago
Mama goose, I guess then mine would just be a pantry! We plan to store dry goods in there, as well as put our little used appliances. The dishes etc will go into the kitchen cabinets. The small room above the entry is somewhat of a focal point when you enter the house.
PRO
Dezign Studio Inc
2 years ago
The fridge looks lost, can move it on the right side of window opposite cooktop wall and add base cabinets on the left of fridge below windows

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