Semi-Pro Kitchen Layout Help
I hope to become friends with all of you experts in the coming months (years!?) as I've been haunting your forums for top-notch advice for the last few months and we're just closing on a new home. I am beseeching you for help with layout design of the kitchen. The home was constructed at the height of the real estate boom, and when the market crashed, the previous owner ran out of $. Therefore it's unfinished, and much of what is finished, structure aside, will be demo'ed.
It's a great architectural space- all copper sided with a living roof, a tree spanning from the living room floor to the vaulted ceiling 2.5 stories up, etc. I have a hard time explaining my style- our current home is hypermodern, all black, white and gray (except for my chartreuse kitchen), but this is a question of layout. This new home won't support that stark palette anyway, what with all the wood, so I'm thinking industrial steampunk meets Alice in Wonderland meets the future in terms of finishes.
I spend 8-14 hours a day in the kitchen as a professional recipe developer and food writer. It is by far the most important room in the house to me, and I value a functional kitchen above all. I live with my husband and toddler (no plans for more). We entertain virtually nightly- someone has to eat all that food- on a small, 6-8 person scale, and twice a month we host 20-100+ ppl events. My culinary style is Little House on the Prairie meets Ferran Adria. In other words I make a lot from scratch (we're moving to this 5 acre lot so I can raise sheep, goats and chickens), but I embrace cooking with an immersion circulator, combi oven, and other modernist techniques. I am half science, half intuition and all soul in the kitchen. If none of this makes sense, check the about me section on my website for clarity: http://www.saltyseattle.com/about/ .
I teach cooking classes out of my home, so accessibility (especially in the pasta-making/bread/dough zone) is important. I love the idea of this 8' x 3' vintage baking station: 
but because of the backsplash lip, I'm not sure it makes sense to put it in the kitchen as it can only be accessed on one side and while 8' seems like a lot for a baking station, it's not if 3 people are working at it. I REALLY want to figure out a way to incorporate this baking station, however, as I love the pull-out flour drawers (I now consider them a non-negotiable need).
In looking at the cad drawings for the kitchen (below), nothing is immovable save the thin wall in the middle and the window locations. The whole house is very open floorplan with few closets. There is no existing pantry in the kitchen, but I need A LOT of storage. I also need the following appliances out on the countertops at all times as I don't have the patience, or strength in some cases, to put them away: stand mixer, ice cream maker, meat slicer, immersion circulator (which will likely reside near a bar sink so it can be plopped down in the sink for use), cryovac, food processor, blender, juicer, spice grinder, precision scale.
I kind of want to do two islands with the potential for bar seating near each, with one being the range oven zone and one being the pasta/baking zone, as I think this will facilitate teaching and entertaining. I am leaning toward one main sink (under the kitchen window) and two bar sinks, one for each island. If the kitchen needs to stretch into the rectangular room to the left on the drawing that is toward the bathroom and laundry room, so be it, as I can already tell that is kind of dead space, although it would make the kitchen somewhat difficult to cross from end-to-end if it were that large. Perhaps that is for storage, or as a resting place for that awesome baking table, although it would be far away from the baking station in terms of storing flour there and needing to track it back closer to the core.
I'm not sure what beverage centers and snack centers are, although there will probably be a wine cave under the stairs (just west of the kitchen off the living room). We are thinking of locating the bar (speakeasy) in the round room you see on the cad drawing and having it be accessible via secret door, though this isn't set in stone.
Here's the appliance and needs list:
1. Thermador Range/Oven 48" with combi: http://www.appliancesconnection.com/i202956-thermador-prd48jdsgu.html?ref=rap&mkwid=s5zbf5xvD&pcrid=16770592656&KW=prd48jdsgu
2. Miele built-in deep fryer: http://www.amazon.com/Miele-KM403-CombiSet-Electric-Boiler/dp/tech-data/B000VYZX34
3. Electrolux all fridge and Electrolux all freezer http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Electrolux-Stainless-Steel-Refrigerator-Freezer-Combo-with-Trimkit-/120831926973?pt=Refrigerators&hash=item1c2224e2bd
4. Thermador dishwasher http://www.thermador.com/dishwashers/built-in-dishwashers/dwhd650jfm-
5. A large custom hood (the existing venting for it is near the garage- may be tricky to move that)
6. Some kind of additional wine fridge gadget under counter for chocolate block and various oils storage
7. Built-in rods for hanging pasta sheets (near baking zone)
8. Roll and cutter for polyvinyl plastic wrap
9. Storage for sheeted aluminum foil and parchment
10. Two storage zones for sheet pans (one near baking, one near cooking)
11. Flour storage for six 50# bags of flour at any given time, plus additional smaller bags
12. Garbage/recycling/compost solution (I waffle re built in or external)
13. Cooling racks
14. Pot filler
15. Wine glass storage, pot and pan storage, nesting bowl storage, photo prop storage
16. A whole lotta lighting. Tons.
17. Hidden microwave (it only gets used to melt butter. Pretty rarely)
18. Enough counter space for all those appliances but still plenty of space to work. Perhaps a way to make appliances look halfway decent since they're always on display
19. Room to grow. I fill spaces quickly.
20. A built-in tandoor is a wish-list item, but the outdoor pizza oven may have to do for now. Also a zone for cryo-frying meat post-sous vide is wish-list.
21. One giant induction burner or two smaller ones in addition to the gas range is also wish-list.
The countertops will likely be stainless steel and caesarstone. The cabinets will be reclaimed wood and more stainless. I am not averse to open cabinets. I love the peg board in my existing kitchen. Again, I like a functional, accessible, borderline professional kitchen and have very little interest in aesthetics in a traditional sense.
I am not delicate in any way. Feel free to eviscerate my ideas, suggest new ones, and state things bluntly. I'm here because I want all the advice I can possibly get before presenting my layout to the designers and contractors. I don't want to forget anything. I really appreciate any and all input you are willing to share. If you ever find yourself near Seattle, I'll gladly cook for you! Thank you for taking the time to read this lengthy diatribe. My kitchen (lifeblood!) is in your hands. Plans, both kitchen detail and ground floor context:
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14 years agolast modified: 11 years agoRelated Professionals
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14 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
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