another piccy

coming into the kitchen,.. integrated fridge blocking view to the left.

a layout in ye olde inches! ;-)

I couldnt get Home Designer Interiors to convert an existing plan from metric.

I'm not a layout expert, but I have a couple of random thoughts.

If you swap the fridge and the narrow pantry, you can have the pantry open along its long side giving you better access (like a shallow wide cabinet).

The nice guys that deliver your new fridge would probably be happy to move your old fridge to the basement for $25. Added bonus: they know how best to move heavy appliances.

I assume your dishwasher is on one side of the sink and the trash is on the other. How are you handling your blind corners?

Overall, I like it. I'd cook there.

I might opt for cabinets instead of so many open shelves-or fewer open shelves. It's a walled in space basically-even seated at the small table alcove the view to the kitchen is not the feature, but rather the access and view out the door to garden will grab the attention focus. So the storage in doored cabinets makes more sense to me as the "dust" issue will be removed and you can "pack" more into traditional cabinets with less concern of arrangement/tidiness/etc, I might even eliminate the vertical cabinet once you had more wall cabinets actually..If "airiness" is the goal you might consider glass doors or white painted doors. I see you are thinking about glass doors to some degree.

I agree with Arlosmom about switching the fridge and pantry. It is really nice to have wide, shallow storage in a pantry. It should also save you money on that cabinet, since you will just need adjustable shelves behind doors, instead of an expensive pullout unit. Make sure the cabinet makers give you plenty of shelves for the pantry, so you can have several shelves closer together for shorter items (to avoid a lot of stacking) and others farther apart for tall items. In my 8' tall pantry cabinet, I have 7 adjustable shelves, plus the fixed bottom, so I have 8 shelves for storage.

I would reverse the swing of the fridge door, so that it opens toward the counter. That will make it easier to load groceries into the fridge from the counter and to move food from the fridge to the counter for meal prep.

I cannot tell the heights of your fridge, pantry or uppers, but if they are less than 8' high, I would make them taller to get more storage. A deep cabinet above the fridge is a great place to store baking sheets, cutting boards, serving platters and bowls, and/or pitchers, depending on the mix of vertical and/or horizontal dividers used. Take a look at the pictures on these threads for ideas:

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0612392429239.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0918152618402.html

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0714583030645.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=gardenweb+kitchen+above+fridge&biw=1280&bih=832&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=cz2zUazLLcOQiQLoiYHADA&ved=0CFoQsAQ

The photo posted by jstehl at the bottom of the Ikea kitchen link shows what I am trying to describe with the pantry facing sideways and a cabinet above the fridge. Jstehl put panels on the side of the pantry to match the cabinet doors. I don't think that is necessary, but it is a nice touch if you are concerned about having a flat pantry cabinet side on the kitchen-facing side, as you mentioned in your other thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea Kitchen

Are you OK with having cabinets in your face when using the sink? I would put wall cabinets along the wall next the fridge, and leave the are above the sink more open.

I add my encouragement to swap the pantry from a "front" opening one to a side opening one on the left (as you look at it) of the fridge. You will save money by avoiding the whole pull-out apparatus, plus gain much more convenient, easy , all visible at once access to your stuff.

It can be one door, or a pair of "french doors". Both have advantages and disadvantages in your set up. On the whole I think I would have a pair, but make sure that the left leaf was upper door in the "stack". Pairs of doors actually overlap slightly at the outside, non-hinge, edge. The top one can be opened w/o disturbing the other, but not the other way around. I'd put the most commonly accessed items behind the left door, so you could have streamlined access to them. This is a very subtle refinement, but you are at that stage here you can add in little tweaks that will add up to an even smoother function.

If you opt for a single door (which would be almost as wide as regular house door, and maybe too wide), of course you would hinge it on the left so it opened up on the kitchen, not wall side. The advantage of a single leaf door is that all your stuff is visible at once.

Also make sure the fridge has reversible door opening so it can open with the handle on the right, allowing convenient access to the counter for plunking. Don't make it so you have to reach around the door to access to put stuff on the counter.

Your kitchen is a great example of getting all the essentials arranged in the best order possible for easy, pleasant cooking. Congratulations!

L.

Fumet, I like your layout a lot, including your charming dining area looking out onto the garden. The open shelves you guys are showing, with generous tiling partway up, look terrific, and of course are so convenient. The view into your kitchen should be very nice.

The suggested changes to the fridge-pantry make good sense to me (including door swing), but the choice between different types of pantry seems strictly a matter of personal preference. You'd have greater volume of storage with plain shelves opening off the side. I have this and love the wonderful accessibility, especially of items on the shelves between about hip to head.

A pullout directly across from the stove counter, however, would be perfectly nice too. When I think of being in the corner to the left of the sink, though, I do like the idea of switching fridge and pull-out if I chose that. A fridge swings to the side, but the pull-out come directly out, closing in that corner.

I'd have to be there to see, of course, and know how much storage I needed, but I'm inclined to think I would widen the open storage over the sink (like Hollysprings's picture), and perhaps run the closed cabinets to its left all around the corner. I've lived with open storage, loved it, but ultimately decided I had too much of a good thing. :)

Would a window or windows on the stove wall be desirable in your case? I have a pair flanking my stove, and they are a real pleasure to look out, as well as good light sources, of course.

Hi,

Thanks for the amazing feedback! And I thought I was nearly there!

arlsomum : I have no idea how I am going to handle blind corners - they make me feel a tiny bit sick when I think of them. I have looked into Magic corners and the peanut shaped thing - not sure about how well these work and how sturdy they are. My current corner is an IKEA "double swing door" that opens to one large cavity. It actually works quite well for me because I keep my bulky, long term storage stuff down there and only go in there once a week. It is also a kind of oubliette for impulse purchases of useless gadgets and food we knew we didn't like when we bought it. I won't be able to do that this time because I have the D/W on the left and the pull-out trash on the right. Hmm.. this needs more thought.

I have done two more layouts, taking on board the advice. I made the cabinets taller and put in a cabinet above the fridge. Loving the vertical tray storage... currently have 10-15 trays stacked in a drawer and hate sifting through them. The shelves above the sink are higher and out of my face now (thanks!) and I really like hollysprings pic of the sink and incorporated that into the plan. The only difference between the 2 plans is the sacrifice of some open shelving to an upper cab. I don't mind it,.. I think. I would like quite a bit of open storage as I have a large collection of copper I would like to have out and they really would fill the open shelves (and more). Having said that, a closed upper would be more flexible storage. I will have to think about that one too.

I also started thinking about wood shelves vs painted white. The wood seemed to work better next to the blue painted upper, for me.

I can't put in windows by the range. The old plan may be slightly misleading as the house is an end of terrace so the other side of that wall is a pavement (sidewalk?). The view from the eating area is not strictly the garden :-( There are a few containers and herbs etc out there and a fence. You follow the path around along the fence to the garden out the back. Also, I cant modify the exterior appearance of the house at all because I am in a conservation area. Bah! :-( The lack of light has been my primary reason to make it feel as light as spacious as possible. Hence the open shelving, glass, lack of uppers, white.

I have been thinking about this pull out pantry vs side pantry. Wife prefers the look of pull-out pantry but I am the cook and I think it's more of a PITA than the shallow side pantry. I would be in and out of that pantry during cooking a lot, all of my food is stored in glass jars and I think a big slide out pantry would rattle around and get on my nerves. I already have a pull-out IKEA cupboard that decides to slide out all by itself in the middle of the night and throw its contents onto the floor - so maybe I am unfairly biased.

I like that the side pantry can also be for keys, notes, lists, etc. 2 doors make more sense from a traffic POV, but one door may be easier. hmm.. more thinking and measuring needed. I need to get more into liriodendron-style details for that one!

I have rambled on enough. Thanks again for the great links, photos, advice!!

second version with upper next to fridge

second version again

I think that having closed storage all along the fridge wall and rounding the corner as well as in the corner between the stove and sink anchors the room better than having the two floating masses in the middle of the open shelves. Have the open shelving over the sink area, and next to the stove area. That will keep it open feeling. Having the corners closed keeps the flow better, and will work much better for engineering purposes for the open shelving as it has something to anchor into.

"Invisible" open shelving is also not as strong as shelves with brackets. Unless you open the wall and drill holes in the studs for steel inserts. Then it becomes difficult to get the wall cladding material in place around those steel inserts. When you have cabinet "anchor" pieces at the ends of the open shelves, you can screw the shelves into them from the side, as well as putting a cleat on the wall to help hold them. They can hold a lot more weight that way, and it's easier to install.

We anchored the shelves in this pic from the sides, as well as providing a rear cleat. They could actually hold a whole stack of dishes or a cast iron collection if they needed to.

as an exercise to fine tune the storage aspect I would take the contents of what you have now and find the new destinations. Including food stuffs, as in canned goods/baking ingredients/oils/boxes of cereal/etc....and all the pans/mixing bowls/serving pieces/larger and smaller pots/everyday ware/utensils/glassware/ etc. Trash and recycling as well.

You're getting plenty of good advice on the cooking area. I just want to suggest a banquette in the eating area. The breakfast nook in my kitchen is roughly the same size as yours, minus the outside door, and it's definitely a bit tight for the four of us (two grown daughters, DH, and me). Having the two corner side benches attached to the wall will save a bit of space. But then, you've had your table there already, so you probably know what works best, lol.

Good thinkers here. I saw this post as i was heading out of town without time to respond...
Switch the pantry and fridge, change the fridge handle to open onto a counter surface towards the work triangle...an open pantry more as an entry 'furniture' piece. That may need to be custom but so worth it to anchor the transition to kitchen and table area. Should go to the ceiling to feel permanent as well as your fridge surround and any cabinet choices...(slide-out pantries might seem a good use of space but do get 'clanky').
It is a very functional layout for a traditional cook without many gadgets and storage needs. If the open shelving is a budget necessity, you could have a plan 'b' down the line for more upper cabinets if you find the open shelving is a bit overpowering. (open shelving overloaded actually weighs down a room rather than lightening up when up and running. )
Also consider a bit more room counter to cabinet/shelf. Your white backsplash will help, but a 20-22" clearance will really open up the work surface. (my sink wall has 24" clearance with white backsplash and it really opens up that area around the sink.)
Just an observation off the cuff, but i would like a shallow set of upper cabinets to the right of the stove. At a much lower height as a butler pantry of sorts. Where prepared platters are set, a salad is waiting for table w/ dressing....wine and glasses, place settings ready and waiting...
Someone or a guest could easily pop in and help serve and not get in your way. Later for dessert/coffee/tea. Or to set someone up that wants to help out but keeps them out of your way. Just a thought. I work from scratch and make all my spice mixes, sauces and dressings and would need that upper cabinet and counter for my mixing lab. I like using original containers for easy visual finding rather than transferring into little tiny tidy tins in a drawer. My bulk spices i do use ball jars...

I really like your plan as i have a small very functional kitchen. I just hope you are clean and tidy with all those open shelves but it can work! : )