Please help with kitchen setup!

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

We are building our first home and know nothing about designing a workable kitchen. I do know I have stayed at a house with an island with sink and dishwasher in it and lived it. Here is what we hope for 5 people to eat at island so we can keep the dining room more formal. We can’t decide if we do one wall of upper and lowers and a bigger island with sink and DW or do an L shaped with sink and DW under window and smaller island. I think the little 3ft kick out is what’s giving me problems and I have no idea what amount of cabinets for either I would get. So overwhelming! Any ideas? Here is a rough sketch and copy of the original plan but we are moving the kitchen to the dining room location.

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Mark Bischak, Architect

7 years ago

Is the option of starting over with the whole house? Problems with your kitchen may be solved by changing other spaces. Kitchens rarely exist in a vacuum.

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Comments (6)

salex
7 years ago
To maximize "workability" and space efficiency, make sure that if you stick with this layout you put the DW to the left of the sink (NOT between the sink and stove). Also, the angled peninsula is probably not the most efficient use of space in terms of storage. I'd suggest considering either a straight peninsula or a 90-degree bend.
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herbflavor
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
move the door to screen porch to the right. Then wrap the 11 foot and 12 ft 8 in wall with cabinets and basics. extend a peninsula off the long , 12-8 wall. then the dining room up front is properly downsized and focus on seating around the peninsula. Or use the two walls for cabinets-maybe 11 feet on each …..and island can be located between dining room and kitchen....and in good relationship w great room as well. Trick is to move that single door to porch to the right.....and use that back window wall for a full run of cabinets. I think kitchen in the back...island OR peninsula and somewhat recessed/set back dining room in the front is a good mix. You can certainly have the dining zone set up to use/ or not /on a day to day basis..and when you want formality it is out of traffic flow. You have to determine on the two kitchen walls how much storage, size of appliances, 2nd sink, …..stuff like that ….then on to peninsula/island decision. I don't think this is a walled pantry type setup so alternatively, think about vertical Pantry Cabinets in the mix, and storage drawers, and roll out pantry base cabs/etc....you may need to get yourself up to date on that part. You have to determine how much cabinetry and for what kinds of storage you need. It's hard and involved...you have to think and do all this from the get go. Do they send you to a kitchen planner/designer?....if it's just you and general contractor...you must be ruthless.
cpartist
7 years ago
Agree with Mark if you can start over.
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Anglophilia
7 years ago
You DR is so small as to be virtually unusable unless you have a VERY narrow table. Forget the tray ceiling - dated. You don't have room for an island in that kitchen.
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Debbi Washburn
7 years ago
I think an island is possible if you think of it like a peninsula.. Maybe you can do something like this ( its pretty crude )

I do have a question though... do you do a lot of outdoor entertaining or casual grilling? How easy is it to go from the kitchen to where you might grill outside?

Just a thought!