Please help me plan my kitchen!

13 years ago

Hello, everyone! I've been lurking here awhile, and my husband and I are now (finally!) in the very beginning phases of designing our house.

The kitchen is, of course, the room I'm most concerned about! Before we meet with our designer, can you maybe offer some suggestions about what might work for your family? Some details:

* I LOVE to cook and bake. My husband, not so much, but several of my friends and my mom do, and I'd like to have a kitchen that could accommodate at least one other person working in it. I also would like it to be a spot where people can come hang out comfortably when we entertain.

* We have three kids under 6.

* I want lots of pantry space.

I'm thinking a U-shape with a large island, possibly with seating on one side of it.

Any ideas? Suggestions? :D

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Comments (4)

tracie.erin
13 years ago
I think you should think about how much seating you want, whether it would be island/peninsula (36") or table (30") height seating, if you want a lowered baking counter (usually 30" high) for rolling out dough, and finally how highly you prioritize each over the other.

I'll give you some examples of possible layouts to get you going..
Rhome's kitchen has an U+island layout, baking counter, 1 island seat (she changed it from the posted layout) only but 4 table seats. The table seats are obviously a bit farther from the action than the one island seat but that's OK for her needs.

This is one of MY old potential layouts:

This is an L+island, which is nice because the seating is not in the way of any of the kitchen action. If I had done this layout, I could have put the lowered baking counter in the top right corner. If I had been building new instead of a remodel, I could have made the overall kitchen larger to allow for more island seating. I do have a dining table (not pictured) to the "bottom" of the image. (Note that there are some major problems with this layout, like adequate seating and landing space, which is ultimately why it was scrapped. However, I did end up with something similar. Always post your layout here for tweaks!)

Finally, whether you do island seating or not, you can always add a table in or in an area open to the kitchen. Since you are building new, perhaps you would like to think about incorporating the hearth room idea. Basically, put some upholstered seating by a fireplace (or maybe windows) at the other end of the kitchen like this:
. Here is the link to the full kitchen. It's a modified U+island by the way, but I don't recommend this layout.. It would be fine if the island had a prep sink, but as is the island is a barrier between the sink and range.
rocklandrd
13 years ago
Full disclosure, I work for Viola Park but our site has a great tool that suggests layouts based on wall/appliance location and preference. It might give you some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Viola Park Layout Tool
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rocklandrd
13 years ago
Full disclosure, I work for Viola Park but our site has a great tool that suggests layouts based on wall/appliance location and preference. It might give you some ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Viola Park Layout Tool
sanveann
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the ideas, Tracie! A lot to digest!

Rockandrd, that is an awesome tool -- thanks for sharing!