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formerlymotherof3sons

Kitchen Layout - Need GW Feedback

14 years ago

Hello Kitchen fans,

Let me begin by saying (writing) that any help will be greatly appreciated. We are building a home and I have confidence in every room except the kitchen. The kitchen designer and I have been back and forth for months and I just do not "feel" the kitchen. It may be that I am too close (aka tired) and am unable to say "Yes! This is my kitchen."

Some history about "us". DH and I are empty nesters. Our family is large and the kids come home at least once a month with the little ones. Our sons and their wives enjoy cooking. Our hope is the kitchen will be a family affair. As far as DH and I, we both love to cook and enjoy working in the kitchen together. Weekday evening meals are simple as we both are in the workforce. Weekends are our "fun" time to experiment with new recipes or my marathon baking sessions. DH is the meat and veggie chef, while I am the baker - breads, pastries, sweets, etc.

The kitchen is U-shaped with a 74x54 island. The work aisles are 43" all the way around. Wall 1 is the cooking center, Wall 2 cleanup and Wall 3 baking.

Please forgive the pictures that do not show all the doors.

The kitchen feels "cramped" on the cooking wall and moving around the corner to the sink area. Note that the cabinets on the left of the sink flow around the corner, whereas on the right they go into the wall. DH asked if I considered open shelving. This make me nervous! Love the look, but I don't know that I am that neat. I originally considered bringing the cabinets on the L and R far end of the sink wall to the countertop.

The cabinets are cherry base/wall and a warm green on the island with a walnut top. The upper doors are 42" shaker with a 6" trim board and large crown that go to the 9' ceiling.

Wall 1 - 36" built-in frig, 36" rangetop

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Wall - 2 Sink

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Wall - 3 Baking Center

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Comments (20)

  • 14 years ago

    Actually looks to me that it works nicely. I'd shrink the island down a tad though to provide a little more space in the aisles and reaching around to clean. Are you planning any seating at the island because that would be likely too tight,

  • 14 years ago

    Could we see an overhead (i.e., plan view)?

  • 14 years ago

    I think this is one of the best 1st shots at a floor plan I've seen. I'm bumping this up for the OP to get more exposure to designers.

  • 14 years ago

    I can't tell anything without a plan view. I can better see the relationships of the elements to each other, and envision the workpaths from the layout. It seems like you have a lot of room, so I hate to have you feel like anything is crowded, but a drawing to scale will shed some light.

    I was also 'allergic' to open shelves, but now regret I didn't include space for some fun. It also depends on what you plan to store. If it's food and supplies, I probably need it closed, because I just am not one who can keep that stuff visually attractive. If it's dishes and glassware or serveware, it's less difficult to keep that kind of stuff neat, and it might be nice to be able to enjoy pretty or colorful dishes.

  • 14 years ago

    Below is an overhead view and the island.

    @aloha2009 - Thank you for your kind words. I have been working on this forever and gleaned so much information from GW.

    Rhome410 - When I bought my double ovens, I thought of you and how much you bake. Sometime I would love to have a conversation about your bread and pizza dough recipes!

    AngieDIY - I, too, am a DIY person. Let me know what you think with the overhead.

    I look forward to responses!

    Overhead View
    {{!gwi}}

    Island View 1
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    Island View 2
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    Island View 3
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  • 14 years ago

    It's a good plan. I wonder how you plan on using the MW? IF DH is the main cook and you the baker; I'm assuming that he uses it more then you?...perhaps not. Depending on the primary use, I might flip the drawer stack and MW so the MW is closer to the cook. The only time I use a MW in baking is if I forget to take out the butter and want to soften it quick. Maybe melt chocolate too. So maybe you use it equally?

  • 14 years ago

    Now that I see your island placement, I understand why you went with your measurements. It may be cumbersome to clean but looks like it would be worth it.

    If you've been reading here, I would expect that you know the positives of getting drawers instead of regular cabinets. Don't know if this is within your budget though.

    Besides that ,the only other comment I can make is that we need to see you here more chiming in your design opinions. Excellent job!

  • 14 years ago

    Remodelfla - I prefer to have the MW closer to the cooking area, too. The cab to the right of the MW is a vanity cab (18" deep). This allowed me to keep the prep sink close to the frig/rangetop. Next to the prep sink is a trash pullout. I am delighted to have another by the main sink! As far as the MW, DH is not a fan of the MW; I am the primary user for defrosting and melting. We will have a H/C tap so no more tea cups in the MW.

    Aloha2009 - Thank you again! I am more "lurker/limited poster" on GW. Partially because of time and the other part - I love to read all the posts from those that are so talented. We plan to switch all roll outs to drawer bases. Great catch!

  • 14 years ago

    Beautiful kitchen floor plan. You have done your homework.
    ~boxer

  • 14 years ago

    Gotcha motherof3. It's a very well thought out plan. NOw the fun begins!! Looking forward to seeing progress pics along the way.

  • 14 years ago

    If you do many dishes where you sear something and finish it off in the oven, (I do) you will find this layout awkward. Swapping the fridge and the range will help with that. Then the MW can go next to the fridge in the leg of the U for the snacker. The small appliances can go along that counter and if snackers need access to water, the main sink is close enough for that. The prep sink can go right at the corner, and if you get a round one and place the faucet right at the back corner where it can be accessed from both sides, you can have prep areas along both sides of the island. If you put a mixer lift where the MW was in the island and lower that section of counter a bit all the way to the sink, you now have a nice dedicated baking area and the island isn't such a visual mass. The island is large enough to raise the seating level to bar height if you'd like to break it up further and add more visual interest. A tri level island done well is just as useful as a single level island.

  • 14 years ago

    I am not the top of the line kitchen designer on here, but I think your prep sink placement divides your prep area too much (I envision your prep area on the island to one side of the sink). It looks like it divides your prep area unnecessarily.

    Taking Live-Wire's suggestion of moving it to the corner solves this problem.

  • 14 years ago

    I agree. Move the prep sink to the corner. And I do like the suggestion of creating more levels out of the island, but I prefer the original location of the ovens and fridge. I think that perhaps having a range, with a single oven in the baking area instead of a double one would help with the cooktop to oven dishes. The lowered area could be for kneading dough (marble) and the rest of the island would be stunning in another material like wood.

    Also, perhaps a kidney shaped island could give you the frontage where you need it, but be less massive and add the interest of a non square shape.

  • 14 years ago

    LiveWireOak - You bring up some excellent points. We do sear meats and finish them in the oven. The refrigerator is set because it is left-hinged (great buy that I could not pass). One of the issues we addressed specifically is moving the double ovens away from the rangetop and refrigerator. This was more for me when baking and staying out of DH's way. I am considering a set of refrigerator drawers by the double ovens to keep cold items for baking.

    Your point about the prep sink is right on target. I considered a round prep sink as its sole purpose is for prep and not cleanup. I think the MW can be relocated. It will take some maneuvering.

    I planned the baking center to be under the window next to the double ovens. This could be lowered for pastry rolling. About that appliance lift. Do you have one? They are heavy!

    I completely agree the island is visually unappealing! It literally woke me up at 3:00 this morning. The massive size is overwhelming and I think it will be hard to clean in the center. My evening will be searching for multi-level island photos.

    Boxerpups - Thank you! I always admire your ability to find exactly what GW posters need! Any suggestions for me?

    Kirkhall and Green Designs - Thank you for the replies. I think we are all in agreement the prep sink needs to move AND the island needs a new look!

  • 14 years ago

    It's a pretty great plan, but....

    How about moving the range to where the clean up sink is, with large windows flanking it. Move the clean up sink to under the smaller window.

    Is your range on an exterior wall? If so you can swap the range and clean up sink. you would also need to swap the fridge and ovens but this my work better as the current range wall is longer.

  • 14 years ago

    Thanks pps7. I tried to talk DH into moving the rangetop to the window area. He's not buying it because he does not want the view obscured. As far as the frig, it has to stay because it is left-hinged. We walked into a showroom in Chicago and got a great deal on a built-in model.

  • 14 years ago

    Regarding, "The massive size is overwhelming and I think it will be hard to clean in the center. My evening will be searching for multi-level island photos."

    I think the island is fine and I would STRONGLY urge you not to make the island multi-level. You have seating on one side of the island. If you make the island multi-level, reading a newspaper or magazine while eating will be awkward. Also, a multi-level island will make the kitchen feel smaller because it will break the horizontal flow. Plus, you will loose prep space. I think making the island multi-level would be a huge mistake that you would live to regret.

    I agree that the cabinets to the right of the sink that end in the wall are a little awkward. But on the other hand if you do anything else on that wall, you will loose the symmetry with the other side of the kitchen. There always trade-offs and I think you should leave those cabinets as is. Open shelving would not balance the cabinets on the other side. You can use the far right cabinet to store things that you rarely use.

    On the one side of the island where you have the two smaller drawers, I think it would look better if the top level was one larger drawer to match the drawers underneath. But then I have an obsession with the drawer and cabinet doors heights matching across cabinets. However, I realize that is not always possible.

    And, yes, your double ovens would ideally be closer to your cook-top, but they are fine where they are, I think. If I had to make a choice between having the ovens or the refrigerator next to the cook-top, I would definitely chose the refrigerator. You do not want your refrigerator to be far from the cook-top.

    Your kitchen is going to be terrific. You should not be losing sleep. You will work all the little things out quickly. Just don't make the island multi-level. That would really close in your kitchen visually. Also, if you have friends over and they want to help in the kitchen, having the island one level will let people stand on all sides.

  • 14 years ago

    Miamirob - Ohhh, you are another symmetry person. Confession - me too!!! I am obsessed with how cabinets and drawers line up. Will look at the 2 drawers. Your comment about friends helping in the kitchen really hits home. We celebrated NYE with 6 other couples in a newly built kitchen with a multi-level island and it was confining. Thank you for commenting!

    I think a radius on the eating area may be more visually appealing.

  • 14 years ago

    Your kitchen is very similar to my new kitchen, just a bit bigger. Would you mind telling me the overall size of the room? thanks!

  • 14 years ago

    Hello SpringOz. The kitchen is approximately 17'8" x 12'. Congratulations on your new kitchen!

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