Please Critique My Kitchen Layout
I have been working with a KD!! and I am very happy with the perimeter design and appliance layout. I would like your opinion on an optimal island design. Only my husband and I live here.
I currently have a 30” table in the nook, but wondering if a 36” - 48” for 4 people seating? I have a 48” card table that I pull out when needed. Works just fine for company.
I like having seating on two sides on the island. I have been thinking an 18”seating OH so that the base cabinet is not kicked all the time…but I can also tile that area. If so, would 15-” be adequate? I’ve read standards/guides to not have the seating OH more than ~20-30% of the total slab surface area. I’ll most likely use 3 cm granite. I know will need to do some calculations for reinforcement steel plates/or tubing or corbels…strength, spacing, length, before install.
I really like the photo with drawers on the island end. How may I incorporate that function? I would like to have drawers on both ends. But if there are two 48" base cabinets and then an OH, that is quite large. Maybe 24" base cabinets on sink side and 12-18" cabinets with the drawers on the ends?
What is a maximum island where I can comfortably reach the center to clean.
What is a nice proportional looking island size/ratio to kitchen area? So it doesn’t look like a runway.
On the wall between kitchen and the living room, I added that little counter/table/stand for miscellaneous/pet items…maybe that’s not an ideal feature.
The door by the nook exits to the outside deck and pool. The door next to the fridge is to the dining room, but it is now a game room.
Door to kitchen behind table. This dining room is now a gaem room.
Door on the left opens to the outside...deck and pool.
I really like the end of this island but probably needs to have narrower drawers.
Comments (17)
jck910
11 days agoRelated Discussions
Please critique my kitchen layout.....
Comments (27)Interrupting for the range trim, its gotta have something! Seriously - you need to choose one of them, island, normal or tall. You sound like you should get the island trim (1" tall). If you get the default (4-8" tall trim), it will cover over more of the backsplash than you'd like. For the hutch, remember that black is a pita for showing dust. I gotz the following stuff about the appliance garage - have you thought about how those doors will open? It looks like one will open towards you and without special hinges may actually block you from being able to get into it. It doesn't look like a good place for a mixer because it would need to be pulled out onto the little piece of counter towards one side of the sink - not a lotta room to sit other ingredients nearby. Remember to ask what the clearance height is for the appliance garage and know the height of your mixer. With framed cabinets and large mixers, it might not have enough height. When I used to own a kitchenaid mixer, I felt like I needed a certain amount of overage to be able to pick the darned thing up because it weighed so much. I don't know if I'd be comfortable using a toaster that close to a water source....See Moreplease critique my kitchen layout
Comments (9)Hello everyone, Here is an updated plan. Your thoughts and ideas are really appreciated! A few clarifying details: we are a family of 4 (2 little kids). The refrigerator is 36x36 so its huge and needs to be 'hidden' :) The wall with the sink and dishwasher is a peninsula. I tried to minimize it so there would be space left there to add a granite circular area at the end for an eat-in area. We also have two large pantries in a nearby area so I hope storage space is not going to be an issue. (the design did not show them so I manually squeezed in two boxes just to represent their location - they are 24"D X 30"W). The walkway between the fridge and the pantries is 4 feet - I just ran out of space on the drawing to represent it. Some items I am debating right now are whether I should upgrade to have all my cabinets as drawers or pullouts or whether I should keep some as regular shelves. If I keep them as shelves, will I be able to get to the back - ever? Another upgrade is to switch to all plywood (vs. some "good quality" compressed material). How important is is to have plywood everywhere or just in cabinets that may potentially "touch" water such as sink and around dishwasher and fridge? Another idea I had was to use some of the pantry shelves to store my microwave, toaster, and other small appliances. Do you think its a good idea? How is it from a practical perspective (having to open doors to the pantry to heat anything in the microwave... plus any fire hazard issues?) If possible, I don't want to spend extra and buy a special microwave cabinet and a new microwave but if that's my only other choice... I guess I'll do it. Another question, how practical are 30'' wide pantry cabinets? Too wide? I was hoping to use two wide pantries rather than three skinnier ones since there is a big difference in price. Thank you so much for your feedback!...See MorePlease Critique my kitchen layout
Comments (1)Assuming you currently have a DW, try loading and unloading it from the front - especially the items that would be loaded in the back of the DW. This will not work. Why not put the sink and DW on the peninsula? Seems like an easy fix and would function better....See MorePlease critique my kitchen layout
Comments (19)Are you interested in another layout? If so, I came up with one using your inspiration pantries (2). You may have already tried it an nixed it, but I thought I'd draw it up (I enjoy doing this). I wanted to make a comment about the pantries--ventilation! As you may or may not know, there's a fairly recent thread concerning ventilation of pantries and having venting both high & low. Your inspiration pantries inherently have just what seems to be needed--open at top & bottom! So, in addition to looking unique, it's also a well-ventilated design! First, here's the layout: Changes: * Added 2 pantries on either end of the range wall similar to your inspiration picture * Centered the 36" range and 42" hood in the remaining space--gives you 31" of counterspace & 25" of upper cabinets on each side of the range/hood (For adequate venting, it's strongly recommended that you have a hood at least 6" wider than your range or cooktop.) * Moved the MW oven over to where the pantry was * Moved Refrigerator to where the MW was * Moved the DW to the other side of the sink so the DW & Range don't interfere w/each other when both doors are open...this may not be necessary since the aisle has more than enough space to have them both open at the same time, you just wouldn't be able to stand in front of them if they're both open. In its new position, you also will not be trying to prep while someone else is trying to load the DW and if the DW is running, you won't have to prep in front of it. * Required the move of the wind chiller to the other side...this is the main reason I don't like the move for the DW Comments: With two 36" wide pantries (total 72"), you gain quite a bit of additional storage space that is also very flexible. You could even hang a broom or mop on a side wall. I showed 15" shelves b/c that depth gives you the flexibility to be able to store small appliances, dishes, pots & pans, etc. as well as dry goods. You maintain a good work flow: Refrigerator-to-sink-to-prep (island)-to-range You have plenty of workspace around the range as well as on the island Zones are somewhat separate...the only real overlap is the prep & cleanup b/c you only have one sink. However, I don't think you really have room for a prep sink--it will rob you of necessary counterspace; plus your kitchen is small enough to allow easy access to the sink from anywhere in the kitchen. If you can corral your dirty dishes to the right of the sink, that will leave you the left side for prep. (Dirty dishes will be coming from the table in the Nook so the right side is the natural place for dirty dishes) -- Prep: 38" x 42" of counter space -- Cooking: Two counters 31" x 24" each -- Cleanup: 38" x 42" of counter space Landing space for MW and refrigerator is the island The refrigerator and MW are in a position to make them accessible from both the kitchen and the Great Room without interfering with the kitchen work flow and zones. Putting the MW cabinet b/w the wall and the refrigerator helps the refrigerator not block the Great Room doorway when open I didn't change anything in the Nook It's not that this layout is better, functionally than yours, I was just trying to give you something closer to your inspiration picture/pantries. Just some food for thought!...See Morecourse411
11 days agoIf it's just you and your husband, do you really need seating for six people at the island? Our island is more square-ish and seats 4 people on two sides, and we have cabs/drawers on one end:
theresa21
11 days agoTLV 123
10 days agoThank you all for your time in commenting. It makes sense the redundancy of close table/island seating - we don’t always need the max island size that can fit. So why do peoole think they need the largest island possible? A trend? Just curious.
Now I need to decided table diameter size, 30”, 48”, then that will help determine length of island. I do like my 30" table...though I know we won't use either but a few times a year.
The width can be larger…I would not want greater than 54”, probably closer to 48”.
I’ve been looking for a similar L-shape layout to mine with bay windows for a table and then island.
@course411, I like your square like island shape/function. Do you have a full kitchen floorplan that you could share?
Does anyone have ideas that would definitely not work?
lharpie
10 days agoPaul F.
10 days ago
Andrew Cherniy
10 days ago- PRO
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10 days ago joycedjay
10 days agojoycedjay
10 days agotheresa21
10 days agoThese two elements might need tweaking too. I am guessing that it is a corner pantry and a base cabinet that is open on the right side to a living space?
coray
10 days agoTLV 123
8 days agoTLV 123
5 days ago
theresa21