Kitchen refresh walkway width?

9 years ago

Thank you to all who posted on my previous thread and got my mind headed in a good direction!

Here is my next question. Do you think it would be too tight to move the kitchen to the stove wall. The current cabinet to the left of the stove is 23 in deep. When I measure the distance from the wall to the front of the fridge door the depth is 28 inches (fridge is a counter depth style). Essentially it would stick out to the position of the front of the oven knobs right now. Thus it would stick out a little farther than the cabinets, but when I measure the door opening it looks like it will clear the counter on the other side. By my calculation with the fridge in place the width of the walkway at it's tightest point would be 33.5 in. Do you think this would work, or too narrow and overwhelming to have the fridge here?

If this can work, my current refresh plan would be:

-Swap fridge and cabinet above to the stove side.

-Oven would go where fridge was and a new hood vented to the outside would be installed (this is an exterior wall)

-Replace counters with IKEA laminate to allow for subway tile backsplash. Thinking of the concrete effect below or the faux wood (need to see in person though)

-Replace all handles with a style similar to below

-New paint

-If finances allow a new window over the sink and possibly a light here.

Anything else I'm missing?

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Comments (5)

practigal
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Could you fully open the fridge doors? Check the fridge installation manual. My walkway space is such that we have to remove the fridge doors to move the fridge in and out of the space, a real pain. But it can be fully opened and the drawers pulled out when in place.
Anna S thanked practigal
mama goose_gw zn6OH
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Too narrow, and if the 33.5" does not account for the fridge handles, even worse. What room is behind the range? Can the fridge be recessed with a new header? You said you're working on a remodel in other rooms, so if you can recess the fridge at the same time, then it would work better. BUT, most interior doors are only 32", so if the fridge and cabinet corner barely overlap (as it appears in the pics) then it would be no worse than passing through a doorway, and you would have shoulder space on the cabinet side, past the upper. And it would be much better to have the range out of the walkway, in a more protected spot. ETA, and vented--vented is so much better than recirculating.

Will you have landing space on the left of the range, if it's moved to the current fridge location? Can't tell for sure from the pic, but I see something beside the fridge.

Nice choice of laminate!
Anna S thanked mama goose_gw zn6OH
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Anna S
Original Author
9 years ago
@mama-goose The fridge and cabinet corner do barely overlap, so great point on the average door width. The doors would have space to open too.
sheloveslayouts
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
This sounds like a good plan to me. I'd rather have a narrow walkway and get the range to a safer location. If you city has an active craigslist or the like, you might check there for handles/hardware. New handles can really add up.
Anna S thanked sheloveslayouts
PRO
Rachiele Custom Sinks
2 years ago
Great comments below. As a former kitchen designer, I recently made a 60 second video that illustrates what to consider when planning walkway spaces. You can see it here.