This is the new layout we have come up with. It essentially turns it into a galley kitchen with a roughly 5 ft center aisle and allows 2 people to be working in the kitchen at the same time without bumping into one another.

I like your choices overall - the shape really makes sense.

Couple of things:

I wouldn't go with open shelves. They really are dust catchers, and you have a small kitchen where storage is at a premium. Consider upper cabinets instead.

Consider drawers for the lowers... everywhere. Especially that 62" run.

How wide is the fridge? Check the specs on the fridge to make sure that the doors open with the pantry space on along the wall. (If you have a french door fridge, the swing might take less or more than the 12", depending on model.) You want to be able to pull things out.

Is there a box around the fridge? If so, hopefully you can tuck a cabinet above the fridge. Consider a counter depth fridge.

When you say "pull out pantry" do you mean you open a door, and pull out each drawer? Or do you mean the whole bottom part of the unit pulls out? If the latter, stand against your current fridge and try to image fishing stuff out of the pantry while standing in front of the fridge - you might find it incredibly awkward. I'd opt for a door and pull out drawers for the base of that. I think folks usually put fixed shelves on the upper portion.

I think for the space you have, that plan is really good. I had a very similar kitchen, and it worked well. I wouldn't love having 5 feet between my range and sink. What about pulling your cabinets out a few inches from the wall, and putting deeper countertops on?

@mcarroll16 Thanks for the feedback! Why would you not like 5 feet between the range and sink? We plan on installing a pot filler above the range. 5 feet is on the generous side; I think in actuality it's closer to roughly 50 inches. The tiles on the floor are 12x12 if that helps you visualize better.

I wouldn't like 5 feet, because I wouldn't want to carry a pasta pot back to the sink that far to drain it. 50" would be good though. My MIL has a gigantic kitchen, but only 48" between sink and range. And 3-4 people work in the space very comfortably.

That's good to know! I'll have to measure exactly what the dimensions would be for the distance and post that. I do most of the cooking but sometimes my husband will be in there helping or doing dishes. Our littles like to come in and help on occasion too and we just dont want it to feel too crowded despite the fact that it is a small space. If it functions well I think it will *feel* bigger.

@rebunky Thanks for your reply! I can see where you're going with that. Unforunately getting a counter-depth fridge isn't an option for us. We recently purchased a full size kitchenaid SxS. The thought was to put it in the corner so as not to obstruct the entrance. It's currently on the sink wall next the sliding glass door and it feels so intrusive. Do you think it matters if the dishwasher is on the same side as the prep space? Its roughly a 5 ft run of countertop to the right of the sink.

@missb_remodeling Thanks so much for your reply. Yes, we are all about drawer lowers! We've had open shelves for several months now and so far I like them. I think we will see when the time comes to actually move forward with this remodel.

As for all the upper cabinets, they will go all the way to the ceiling. Yes there will be a box around the fridge with a cabinet above it. As for counter depth, that's not an option as we have recently purchased a full size kitchenaid SxS.

Regarding the pantry, theres only about a 12 inch gap between the fridge and back wall of the kitchen so we were thinking something along these lines. You make a good point about standing in front of the fridge to retrieve items. If we don't do a pullout, my concern would be the back wall getting in the way of the doors. They would be exactly 90 degrees fully open. Thoughts?

@mcarroll16 I went back and measured and its 54 inches to be exact, from counter across to counter.

54" should be great. I like rebunky's layout best. But if you keep the fridge in the corner, I would keep the dishwasher in the corner as well. Having the dishwasher open into the prep space, and especially behind the range, will not make good workflow.

You would probably need a filler along the wall to provide enough space for the door to open enough to pull out a drawer.

i only have 15” for a pantry between my fridge and wall. i have a 3” spacer along the wall. I briefly toyed with the pantry unit that pulled out but it wouldve been silly in terms of access. i literally would have had to stand in front of my fridge to access things. And i have a counter depth fridge so the fridge is only slightly proud of the pantry. with a full depth fridge your fridge will jut out even more, making that pull out access even smaller.

rebunky’s design provides a great solution to that issue. You could still have the pull out because it wouldnt be crammed against a wall.

What if we put the fridge in the corner then the pantry next to it? Just flip them then have the counter, range, counter? I do like the idea of taking stuff straight out of the fridge to put on the prep counter but I'm concerned about the fridge feeling too obstructive since we wont be switching to a counterdepth fridge. Also, with the kitchen being so small to begin with it's not that far from the prep counter to the fridge if it's in the corner. Thoughts?

I'm also wondering if anyone has any ideas on how to layout the dining room. The sliding glass door is on the same wall as the sink and currently we have a bench running along the wall on the right. (Also, how do you decorate around a sliding glass door?)

Our table is 3x5 and we need to be able to seat 6 people at it. I've tried centering it in the dining space before but it feels like it's in the way going in the kitchen and out ththe back sliding door which is the only access to our back porch/yard. Directly behind me is the living room. To the right, just past the chalkboard out of the frame is our mudroom entrance. If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them!

The big issue with putting your fridge in the corner is clearance for opening the fridge door. You would need a filler between the fridge and the wall. Otherwise you won't be able to open the wall-side door wide enough to pull out the drawers. If you go with rebunky's layout, you get a fridge that opens, without spending any inches on filler space.

For your dining table, do you have room to pull everything away from the wall just enough that the table is completely "inside" the door? Not centered, just where the right edge of the table lines up with the right edge of the glass. I think that would make the seating area look more open and inviting. I think it would also look less obvious that the table is off center.

The fridge is bad if buried in the kitchen. For a standard depth fridge, it’s best where it is because one rarely looks at it from the side.
I might have some suggestions but it depends on the layout of the rest of the floor. Can you post a sketch of the while floor?

What is behind the wall with shelving? Can it be removed for an open concept? We had similar layout. We nock down this wall and made peninsula.

Some option

Ocean Views Condo | Small Luxury Kitchen · More Info

This is a layout of the rest of the main living area. The front door is in the living room and the the mudroom entrance is on the wall shared by the living and dining. I have also linked an old thread from our old account back when we were considering taking out that wall.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5845425/to-remove-a-wall-or-not-remove-a-wall-a-kitchen-remodel-dilemma

@Celery. Visualization, Rendering images We dont really have the option of knocking out the wall, as the hallway is right there (a narrow one at that) and we would lose a lot of kitchen storage. Plus there would be a direct sightline from the front door, straight into the kitchen. Our goals are to make the kitchen feel bigger than it is, maximize storage, maintain a full size fridge and make it functional for 2 people to work in at the same time.

These are some of my Insp pics for the galley kitchen layout!

@rebunky Putting the fridge at the entrance of the kitchen feels very cramped. It already does not *feel* great where it is so if we flipped it I actually think it would make it worse because we would have to walk farther into the dining room before turning to walk into the kitchen. The dining room is small as well. I posted our main living space layout above. Here are some photos for reference. Please excuse the dirty dishes.

I don't think there's any arrangement that won't feel cramped if you stick with a full-depth fridge. On reflection, the kitchen that I had with your original proposed layout had an older top-freezer fridge. Not exactly counter depth, but not as deep or wide as the modern "full size" fridges. It also worked well at the time because my kids were very young--not helping themselves to any fridge contents. The same layout now might drive me crazy. Fridges at the exterior let a helpers fetch or put away food while another person preps or cleans. Or lets the foraging teenagers grab a snack w/o interrupting the cook.

Is there any garage space where you could put a full-depth fridge? You could put the current fridge in the kitchen for now, with plans to move it to the garage and install counter depth in the kitchen in a few years. If you need a full-size fridge now, imagine what fridge space you will need when all your kids are 5 years older.

@mcarroll16 We do not have a garage or any alternate space for a fridge. Our home is a 3/2 under 1500 sqft. Having the fridge at the entrance just feels overbearing. It wouldn't be the worst thing if it stayed where it was, but ideally I was trying to move it to the back corner, tucked out of the way. In its existing position it blocks so much natural light coming in from the sliding door, so when you're standing at the sink you feel very closed off. Trying our best to make the most of what we have. :) Here are some additional photos for perspective.

Been there, have all the sympathy. I would strongly recommend rebunky's layout. Yes, it will look a little heavy. But you have a 54" aisle, which is pretty generous. (My similar kitchen had 36".) 2 cooks can get in the kitchen. And importantly, non-cooks can get to the fridge and the dish storage without bothering the cook.

Technically something like this is also an option, but it seems awkward and I cant put my finger on exactly why? 🤔

As for the @rebunky layout, that places the fridge and corresponsing cabinets sticking out 3 ft into the kitchen so it would essentially "wall off" the kitchen to an extent since it would be floor to ceiling. Here is a very subpar visual of what that would look like...😂

I think a galley kitchen is very efficient. Door opening of that refrigerator (open wide enough to remove shelves and drawers, for example) is critical but the issues of constant access by children/teens if you put it in the corner can be allayed by putting a cooler with cold drinks & snacks out on the patio in warm months. I would definitely move the refrigerator to a place where it doesn’t “loom.” And, I also vote for all lower cabinets to have drawers…best thing I ever did!
You could also have a bench with storage built along the wall in your dining room—for seating and for storage of items used less frequently. Finally, I will vote no on open shelves—things get dusty (and worse with steam and grease) and it’s too easy to look cluttered. Even shallow depth upper cabinets with doors would be better than open shelves and you can always put glass doors on them. Your new kitchen is going to be great!

Thanks @wynterwynd! You make a great point. We do have a mini fridge on the patio out the sliding glass door. My thought too is people passing behind me while cooking is virtually a non-issue since A. I don't like the kids underfoot while I'm cooking and B. with a 54 inch wide aisle they can pass behind me unaffected.

As for the open shelves, I love them where they are now, but I don't see them unless I'm in the kitchen, but when we remodel you would see them from the living space on the wall the fridge currently is now. So now I'm contemplating all upper cabinets to the ceiling and a 12 inch open shelf below, as illustrated in these pictures:

I think it would give us the best of both worlds; a bit of open shelving for ease of access and some decor items, with mostly concealed upper storage.

I like your idea of a bench with storage. We've been contemplating a built-in banquette on that wall for some time. My other struggle is how to decorate around a sliding glass door. There aren't many options but I love this inspo photo.

Completely agree with everyone on all lower drawers. That's a must!

I guess I am in the minority since I like your fridge and DW in the corner. The reason is so the DW isn't in your prep space, your prep space is directly across from the stove, and you have the bulkiest object in the corner allowing for the rest of the space to feel more open. Also, having the DW on the other side of the sink from the dish storage is just fine. I have all of these elements in my kitchen and like it very much.

I might even stick with the open shelving of closed cabinetry over your prep space simply because it's annoying to prep with cabinets in your face. Maybe give it a shot and go back for cabinets later if you don't like it?

I do like someone's suggestion of increasing the counter depth, at least for your prep space. We had this in our tiny kitchen when I was growing up and it made a huge difference. It's easily done by constructing a 2x4" or 2x6" frame against the wall, installing the cabinetry against that, and running the counters over everything. It will however increase your countertop cost, since you won't be able to use in-stock laminate, and it also increases the square footage of countertop you will need if you go with solid surface/granite/custom laminate.

I might consider increasing the pantry width the 15" instead of 12". Then you can reduce one of the counter spaces next to the stove to compensate - make sure you do it on your non-dominant-hand side.

With regards to decorating around the slider, what do you mean? I think the natural light/view serves as the decoration. I do use curtains on my back door french doors and find them pretty and easy to use, if you are looking for light control or privacy.

If you’re using the things on the open shelf every day, then it’s not so bad as they are constantly being cleaned. I have a couple of cats, so shelves anywhere are a no-no (just stepping stones to even higher places!). The only problem I foresee with a storage bench (need not be built in, necessarily) is whether the storage part would get kicked up some. If you are putting upper cabinets to the ceiling, be sure you can reach what’s in them or include a step stool hidden in a toe kick. I’m really tall and I can’t reach anything on the top shelves of my cabinets without a stepladder. Pull downs are another option but pricy and may be tricky to install…plus the mechanism takes up space.
Sometimes arranging things with less space is actually easier because you don’t have so many options. You’re doing a great job, I’m jealous!

@tracie_erin Thanks for your input! Would you be willing to share an image of your kitchen space? I've seen plenty of kitchens with the fridge and dishwasher in the corner and I have a little bit of flex room between those appliances and the wall. I've got roughly 6 inches to the left of the DW and 12 to 18 inches to the right of the fridge depending on how much counter I'd like on either side of the range.

I'm debating on a combination of open shelving and cabinets over the prep space (see above) with the lowest shelf being open for ease of grabbing cups, plates and mixing bowls and then beginning the cabinets above that. I agree that it feels less obtrusive/in your face while you're working.

There's been some great points brought up about a pull out pantry, so I'm leaning towards sticking with either a full height cabinet, or a lower cabinet with countertop and upper cabinet. We could use that bit of countertop for appliance storage such as the coffeepot and toaster, but it would be "hidden" to the right of the fridge.

To be completely honest, it never occurred to me to have two different size countertops flanking the range as I tend to be a symmetry nut, but it may be worth it to have a bit more space to the right of the fridge.

As for the slider, I've never been a big fan of them but switching it out isn't an option. Since it is our ONLY way to access the back patio and yard, we have the table pushed towards the right to make the "walkway" more open. We have been mulling over the idea to build a banquette on the right wall of the dining space which would eliminate the curtain option and once we remodel the kitchen will encroach closer to the slider frame. So should we just leave it bare as in the photo above or figure out some sort of window treatment that would make sense for the space?

@wynterwynd Thanks so much. I really appreciate the encouragement! This layout has been several years in the making. I'm not tall but there is always a step stool near our kitchen for ease of access. Heck, I've even been tempted to put in a mini rolling ladder a la Beauty and the Beast. I'm only 5'4" so I have to climb onto the counters even now with the cabinets being lower because of the stupid soffit or use a step stool.

Taking the cabinets to the ceiling would serve more for long term storage IE serving platters, Christmas tins, cookies cutter, egg cartons and other vegetable storage containers. We have chickens and a garden so we save all of our cartons from the grocery store.

That makes sense about the open shelves. We don't have any indoor pets. We do utilize those open shelves a lot but I could see getting annoyed in the future once we alter the layout where the open shelves would be visible from the living room. Hence, why I'm contemplating just a singular lower shelf below the cabinets so I can get the benefits of both as posted in the photos above.

I agree about smaller spaces, while at times I wish we had more space, I really enjoy smaller homes and maximizing their function. Our previous home was 950 sqft and we even seriously contemplated RV or tiny house living for a while. It forces one to be more creative in how to use the space, and major bonus, it's less sqft to clean! We spend a lot of time outside anyways so the size of our house doesn't matter too terribly much to us. We practically have a second living space off the back of the house as our screened in patio is over 350 sq ft, so we have a dining table and sectional out there. I'll take a smaller home that's more functional and efficient than a spacious one poorly laid out any day of the week.

The counter on the other side of the refrigerator is too narrow. It should be a pantry.

This is currently what I've got in my head, not exact but close.

Or I could do a regular pantry cabinet to the right of the fridge.

I am enjoying this thread as we also are doing complete remodel of a very small kitchen. Abundant F D, I do like your design with the fridge in the back corner. it truly would be so nice if it were counter depth. Years ago in our first home, also very small, 1100 sf or so, we had a fridge without a freezer in the kitchen and then had a small chest freezer in our laundry/mud room. Worked our great! Just a thought. For this kitchen remodel we are going small for fridge - 30” wide counter depth, but we do have a fridge in our garage and we are now empty nesters.. It looks like you are making things work and your ideas are lovely!

@stark52 We have this fridge and a chest freezer out on the patio. Our refrigeration/freezer needs are heavy as we have a garden, meat chickens, and a growing family. Thank you for your comments and the encouragement! I really enjoy design and making the most of small spaces. :)

Sorry I have been super busy the last few days, so I am just getting back to this thread.

Like I said, I did like your original plan. I was just a bit concerned it might be annoying to have people always crossing through your work zone to get to the fridge. By flipping your plan, I then had to move the DW so it wasn’t across the isle from the range. It did break a kitchen rule of thumb putting it under the main prep counter. Sometimes in smaller kitchens you make more compromises. I figured in that case if a helper wanted to unload/load the dw at the same time as someone was prepping/cooking, you still had the left side of the sink and/or next to the range.

I am right with you on moving the fridge to the other side. In fact, that was the first thing I noticed in you current kitchen was the big fridge blocking light and breaking up that wall. I totally understand your point of a full depth pantry and fridge on the end where I put them will make the entry not as open. I hoped a counter depth would be ok, but now I know that is not an option for you. Plus even with CD, it does still have the blocking effect.

So out of your latest plans, I still like the pantry on the end over the small counter with an upper. I looked up your kitchenaid side by side fridge specs, and if I am looking at the correct model, the fridge side door needs 14 5/8” to fully open. Do you need it to be fully open to remove the crisper bins or shelves? Your kitchen designer should figure all this out for you. I think you need a 3” spacer between the wall and the 12” pantry for it’s door to fully open anyways, so that gives you the 15” for the fridge.

I love your idea of the upper cabinets with the little shelf underneath. I wanted to do that same look in my kitchen. You could maybe do a rain glass or other obscured glass doors on the uppers to the right of the window so it keeps the most light, airy, open feel. You could do clear, but it is kind of nice not to have to worry as much about having things perfectly organized inside.

I wish I had a better idea for more space for the dining table. I believe you said the mudroom is out that side door. Does it go behind the wall where you have the table? Could you bump back into that wall about 15” to add a space for built in bench with head room? Sort of like a window seat or where it is cantilevered so you would still be able to have storage underneath the seat part on the mudroom side? I am sorry if I am not explaining that right. My husband of almost 30 years is a GC and you would think I would know a little about building by now! 🤪

@rebunky Thanks for all the feedback! This thread has been super helpful to assist me in fine tuning our kitchen plans. I dont think people passing through will end up being too much of an issue since the aisle is quite wide and we usually keep the kids out while cooking. Oftentimes my husband will be washing dishes (we dont currently have a dishwasher) while I'm cooking so this gives us both space to work comfortably.

A pantry of sorts, even a small one would be helpful in the kitchen because right now all our food is in the mudroom with the exception of a few basics likes snacks, bread, cereal and any related items for food prep (s&p, seasoning, oil, vinegar, etc.) Based on altering the countertops flanking the stove I was able to create a bit more room to the right of fridge to accommodate this. I dont have a kitchen designer, I am the kitchen designer 😂, but I do plan on reviewing my plans with an Ikea kitchen planner when we got to finalize details. This is mostly a DIY project with the exception of the counter installation.

With the shelf below, I could see that being a lot more functional and gettingthe best of both. As you said, the glass will help it continue to feel more open and I totally agree about having texture or frosting or something to camouflage what's inside. Then I can have all my everyday dishware and a few decorative items on the shelf not cluttering my valuable counter space.

As for the dining room, it's one of those "make it work" situations. It sits on what used to be an exterior brick wall where the carport was which was converted to a mudroom and bonus room. Our dining room gets heavy foot traffic as its our only access to the patio/back yard which is why is pushed against the side. Were thinking a built in banquette on the right wall will help make it look more intentional? 🤔

I think changing the floor in there when we redo the kitchen will help dramatically. I hate tile, but I'm wondering if I'll regret putting wood (most likely engineered hardwood) in the kitchen. I love a seamless look as I think it helps small spaces look more open, but I keep flip flopping about the kitchen floor. Loving all this discussion!

Of course a KD is always recommended, but since your galley kitchen is pretty straight forward, the ikea planner person might be fine to make sure you don’t forget anything. It is easy to overlook the simple stuff.

A couple quick things that came to my mind besides the pantry tall filler. One is, don’t forget to order the glass uppers with the painted interiors. Also since the dw against the wall needs plywood or something to support the countertop above, you’ll need to order a small filler strip to cover the front part of that. I am sure you probably planned some crown molding on the uppers too, but your program just didn’t show it. I am not sure what they have to ikea hack the cute under shelf. I am sure you have thought through all this stuff, since I saw from your previous thread you have been working this design a couple years! It’ll be great!

I was a little worried doing real wood in my kitchen too. I never had it before, so I worried about splashes and spills warping them if I missed cleaning it up immediately. But is not an issue at all! Don’t give it a second thought if you want to do the engineered wood throughout. I think keeping your flooring consistent is a key factor to keeping a small space flow and look bigger, like you said.

My recessed banquette bench idea is probably not an option on that right wall, but fwiw, here is a reading nook I found as kind of an example of what I was trying to descibe. Not that deep though. I just thought it would give you a little more walking space to and from the backyard.

I guess more like this, but imagine wall instead of the cabinetry and of course the table pushed up to the bench.

Please share your kitchen progress and the final reveal!

Hello all! It's been about a year and no kitchen progress as of yet. That being said, we've had a new consideration for this kitchen layout to potentially make it feel more open. We're considering putting a cased opening where that weird little wall is to the right of the "island" counter. In the future we would flip the fridge to the island wall and frame it in with a nice floor to ceiling pantry. This would give us approximately a 4 to 5ft run to the right of the sink allowing room for a dishwasher. This was not an option we seriously considered before and I'd love to know your thoughts. Floorplan forthcoming. I've included a few pictures to illustrate the fridge idea.

Hi, welcome back!

So do you mean you would keep the sink and stove where they are now and then add an opening from the hall and move the fridge to the opposite wall like this?

I like that ^

@rebunky This is amazing! Thank you. I couldn't locate my graph paper to redraw it. 🤪 Phase one would be cutting out the opening and making it a cased opening. Eventually I'd likely add a pocket door since that opens into the hallway leading to all the bedrooms. An option for noise reduction would be nice.

Phase 2 would be flip flopping the island counter and the fridge as you illustrated. Though it creates a bit bit of a flow and adds and access point making it feel less cramped. I'm concerned the fridge being in the middle may be problematic?