Newbie working to finalize design

15 years ago

I apologize in advance for my very crude pictures. I have taken what I had received from the cabinet designer and added my changes as well as tried to plan what I was putting inside each cupboard. The counter space is about 4 times what I currently have so its still a little hard to visualize.

What would you change? I have my main sink on the side that has a great view of the valley, and backyard where the kids will be playing. The island has a raised eating bar so you can't see my mess clear over to the living room as its all open with the dining area beside the kitchen and living room beside that. I will put a prep sink in the island about a foot in over by the fridge side to shorten my work triangle. I am also planning to have a full fridge and a full freezer side by side so the stove will get shifted over (picture 2 shows that more accurately) and will lose a bit of counterspace there but I'm ok with that in exchange for more fridge/freezer room. (I currently have 3 little one's and will live on a farm so won't have access to grocery store all the time).

There's 4.5 feet between the freezer and the island. I will also move the desk on the right hand side over to the other end and I will keep the phone, laptop ect over there. There is a large walk in pantry behind that door and doors to the backyard just beside the counter by

the sink. Having trouble deciding between pot drawers and rollouts, not sure if I'd want them all to be drawers for appearance sake, as well rollouts are cheaper. The only regular cupboards on the bottom would be the ones under the sinks. Thoughts, suggestions, changes??

Would love to hear all opinions :)

This will be the one and only time I get to do this so I need to do it right, however budget constraints definitely apply as we are a one income family for now.

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Comments (3)

worldmom
15 years ago
I'm not one of the most skilled at critiquing people's layouts, but I can offer my few observations, for what they're worth.

One thing I notice is that you're going to have your fridge door opening into your entrance into the kitchen.

Also, if you're planning on using the island as a baking area, I'd really encourage you to rethink the bi-level thing. I think it's one of those things that seems like a good idea in theory, but in practice, it really limits the function of what could be a fantastic amount of workspace. Imagine your littles standing around the island helping you roll out cookie dough. :o) That would be tough to do with the raised portion in the way.

I would also ask yourself if you really need an actual desk in your kitchen - if you can *really* see yourself sitting there and working. A lot of people find they just become clutter magnets, and that laptops are usually on laps. ;o)

Are you really tied to the over-the-range microwave? They can be a great option when space is at a premium, but a lot of people here aren't great fans of them because they just don't vent as well as a standard vent. You have plenty of space to work with for an alternate micro location.

I also wonder about flipping your island 90 degrees and lining it up with the wall on the right. Maybe your fridge and freezer could move to that wall and give you a nice snack area, and because the island would be shifted down, you wouldn't have the dreaded "barrier island."

If you want to leave the fridge and freezer where they are, and the island as is, I'd consider a hutch-like bank of cabinetry on that wall on the right.

Since you're going with an all-fridge and all-freezer, you might consider putting the freezer in your pantry as rhome410 did. That would free up additional space in the kitchen, and your pantry appears to be plenty big. :o)
palimpsest
15 years ago
Have you considered putting the fridge and freezer over on the right wall with setdown/message area/desk combined in between? If you prefer, both doors could be hinged in the same direction since they are not directly paired. Then pantry could go where the fridge is.
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malhgold
15 years ago
I too would make your island 1 level. I agree about moving the frig/freezer to the wall on the right. It is too tight on the range wall. You could also move the microwave to the wall on the right as well. Easily take items out of the frig/freezer and place them in the micro. Then you could get a vent hood instead of using the microwave vent.

Also, I would go all drawers instead of roll outs. It's only 1 movement to pull open the drawers, vs. opening 2 doors and then the roll out.