Hi,

This is my first time posting advice so.....

I'd move the wall oven to where the second sink is and get rid of the second sink. Then I'd move the cooktop to where the wall oven is and move the fridge further down towards the door so you'll have landing space on both sides of the cooktop and next to the fridge.

Hope that helps!
Tracy

So there really isn't room for anything else to the right of the fridge?

The island and the way it blocks the fridge from your prep/cooking area really bothers me. If anyone is seated there (at any of the seats), it'll make it far worse.

A prep sink is a good idea except that you have no actual prep space left between the sink and stove. In order to chop, etc., it looks like you might have to move the food from the sink to the island or the other side of the stove, which would get frustrating, I think.

I think your 3 ft between island and cooktop is fine. That's what I have in a much larger kitchen and it isn't tight.

The island seating is keeping your island from being as wide as it could be and having the sink in it.

Tracy's idea seems it would work IF there is actually room to move the fridge down. If not, maybe put the cooktop where the ovens are and make the wall where the cooktop is now into a wall unit with pantry, ovens, and fridge...With the fridge closest to the sink. It's still a bit blocked by the island (which would also move toward the new stove location), but not as bad.

Okay, here are my initial thoughts...

Center the island. 4' clearances all the way around are more comfortable, and doesn't encourage people walking through to walk in front of your sink. This is important because it leads to #2...

Flip the cooktop over to the oven/fridge wall, put the fridge to the right of where the cooktop is now, then a fabulous pull-out pantry in the middle (IKEA, right?) then your stack of oven and microwave. You will lose your second sink, is it that necessary?

Nicole

Turn your kitchen into a modified U. Keep the window wall with sink, turn the corner and have the cooktop on that wall (where fridge and oven are currently locate). Turn another corner (third leg of U) for a peninsula with seating on the back side. Maybe put a prep sink towards the end of the peninsula. Take the wall where the cooktop currently is shown for your oven and fridge wall. If there's room, put in a base cabinet and a MW cabinet for an upper, giving you a snack zone more or less out of your prep zone. That gives you a nice "cockpit" simple U for most of your cooking and cleaning. Your fridge and oven aren't that close, but with the adjacent peninsula, I think it will work.

Thanks *so* much for the input. I've drawn up another draft with all of your thoughts in mind, and I'd love to hear what you think. And yes, there's really no room to the left of where I had the fridge - in the new drawing, I indicate the interior wall that blocks the space. (It's the entrance to the basement, but I couldn't find a way to draw that with the Ikea software.)

Nicole, I've used your idea, except I substituted drawers and upper cabinets for the pull-out pantry. I don't want you to walk in the back door and be immediately blocked by a high cabinet. Plus, I need somewhere for my stand mixer and toaster oven to live.

I've put a bar table in the drawing. Again, I know it's tight, but I'm going to try to make it work. One thing I have going for me is that everyone's kitchens are tight where I live, and people are used to squeezing past.:)

So, what do you think now?

{{!gwi}}

Better! How about this

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

It might be a bit cramped but as long as you get stools that can go under why not?!

Tracy

I think it is a big improvement. I don't like the bar table where it is as it seems like a safety hazard in the oven area. Why did you ditch the island? I think you would find the island (centered in the room) very convenient for prepping and using the cooktop.

I notice on the left of the DW you have a shallow cab turned sideways. Do you have plans for that cab? I think a narrow cab with drawers facing forward might be better - it is the perfect place for dishtowels, hot pads and plastic wraps. Think of it like this... Your fridge wall is the storage zone (yes, even with the oven there), to the left of the sink is the clean-up zone where you would want to store those towels and food storage things. To the right of the sink (and behind it as well - if you bring in an island) is the prep zone and the range is the hot zone.

Also, in a perfect world I would like to see the cooktop move down a bit to the right in order to give you more space between the sink and cooktop, which is prime food-prep real estate. However, I see that would mean you have to get two smaller cabinets instead of one nice wide one and you might not want to do that. Although, it might not matter. Where do you plan on storing your pots and pans? The wide drawers are great for that. Then again, how about a pot rack over the island that I keep trying to bring back?

Nicole