I think it will be just fine.

Terrible? no. Obviously not ideal but you need the septic system! Could you flip the spaces, put the dining area where the kitchen is currently?

I would certainly revise the range area dramatically- the counter to the left of the range is far too small and in this case it's dangerous- I would revise the plan so that would be at least a 15" cabinet even if the window got smaller.

I don't think we would be willing to flip the layout too dramatically. I think it would be too costly and our house just isn't worth that big of an investment beyond what we are already planning.

I agree about the range area. I was trying to keep the windows as wide as possible, but making that counter wider is definitely a must. Thank you for your input!

I think the door is fine in the renderings, but I can't imagine keeping it open where it would be in the way. If your window above the sink opens up, you shouldn't need to leave the door open.

You have another potential problem. How deep is the island? Do you plan to have standard 24" deep cabinets, plus a seating overhang?

@Stillnadine I love the idea of a door with the screen right in it! I'll have to look into it. Thanks!!

@calidesign Yes, it might be in the way if it's open. But it might also might be in the way if it's being opened and closed if people are coming in and out a lot. That's my main concern with the door location is that it will just be a nuisance when it's being used a lot....

@mama goose_gw zn6OH Right now the design has the island being 36" deep and standard depth cabinets. So we would have a 12" overhang. I could definitely look into more narrow cabinets to increase the overhang distance. Or we were thinking about having the seating on the end of the island instead of the whole length. The design also leaves 39" to walk behind the counter and 42" space in between the island and the sink area. The kitchen is narrow so hopefully it will work and not feel too cramped.

Does the door have to swing in? Why not an out swing door?

Is it because you get a lot of snow? I live in a mild climate, so that’s not a problem here at all. I was just thinking an out swinging door might solve your issue. My back porch door swings out.

If you use 24" deep cabinets for the island, you won't really have a 12" seating overhang. You'll need at least 1" counter overhang on the front side (probably more), and a back panel, maybe 1/4 to 3/4" depending on the material and style, so you're possibly down to a 10" overhang. NKBA guidelines recommend a minimum 15" seating overhang, for comfort at counter height, and 44" walkway behind seating. I didn't want you to be unpleasantly surprised when the island is finished. NKBA guidelines, specifically #8 & 9

@ mama goose_gw zn6OH That is all very good to know and I never would have thought of that! Thank you! I know the walkway behind the seats would be very narrow, but we were thinking it would be worth it if we had more cabinet and counter space which we have so little of at the moment. Our dining room is right behind the island seating so we were thinking about opening that doorway a bit so the narrow walkway would be opened up a little more. In reality the kitchen might be too small for this layout, but I can't think a of a decent alternative!

@Leslie Book Yes, we live in upstate NY and get a lot of snow so I had completely ruled out an outswing door. I also wanted to be able to have a screen door, but if we did find a door with the screen and window built-in then maybe we could make the outswing work. I mean, if there is a foot of snow I don't plan on being out on the deck anyway!

What is to the right of the rendering? Another room? A wall? If it’s a wall, you could certainly move your fridge and cabinets to that wall.

If you are set on an island, you could use 15" deep cabinets, with a 15" overhang, or total of ap 32" depth. I have a 36" deep island (19" cabinet, 16" overhang), so I think 32" will be a sufficient work area. I also have narrow work aisles, and, although I would never recommend such narrow aisles in a new build, in a remodel sometimes we make trade-offs. I'd steal another inch from the work aisle, because, with traffic coming from the back door, you don't want them to cut through the work aisle if the aisle behind the seating is too narrow, therefore too much trouble. (I might be in trouble for that recommendation. ;)

Then I'd do something else unorthodox, and center the sink on one side of a 60" window, to give yourself a decent prep space between the range and sink. The red rectangle at the top denotes the current 75" slider/window space. The cabinet on the end might need to be adjusted, since I didn't know that measurement.

The range hood is 36", to help capture grease and steam, since there is no upper cabinet on the right side.

If you have snow, an outswing door may not be available as an emergency egress route when you need it.

If you want more counter space, consider a smaller sink. I went with a sink that is extra deep but sized like a large bar sink. At first, I was worried I had made a mistake but after a year, I know it was the right decision. I have a dishwasher so I don’t really wash many dishes at once. Having more counter space was worth it.

@mama goose_gw zn6OH I love the idea of making the whole island more narrow! I feel like that makes the whole layout work better and I know that would still be plenty of space for food prep and/or eating. Thank you for that photoshop - the range looks much better with the counter bigger on the right!! I also think we might have to ditch the two upper cabinets around the hood to make the range be able to slide over more. I'm not sure about the off-center sink, but it's definitely something to think about as an option.

@stillnadine I'm actually not even sure what size this sink is in the rendering! I will definitely look into it. Right now our sink is so small I feel like I'm doing dished in a camper :) I love the idea of a big sink especially because we cook a lot and have three little kids so we are ALWAYS doing dishes.

@Leslie Book To the right of the kitchen is our living room. It is completely open and I really like it like that. I was considering getting rid of the uppers on the right side which would give us more usable counter space and keep it feeling more open to the living room. I'm not sure how I feel about no upper cabinets though. I know it's trendy right now (and would save money on cabinets) but I like upper cabinets. So I am not sure on this one.

If you have a pantry and drawers for lower cabinets, maybe add some open shelves you won’t miss uppers.

Sinks off-center to window:

Post a very legible drawing with all dimensions. Of the kitchen and adjacent spaces. Dimensions on everything.

I asked the designer to reduce the depth of the cabinets to the right of the fridge from counter depth to 18". This gives us more counter space, but more importantly it gives the door more room to swing open. I still need to adjust the width of the island and window to be smaller.

That looks very nice--I like the glass-front cabinet, too. I notice that the renderings show a full depth refrigerator. Is there a possibility you could recess it into stud space in the wall behind, to gain those extra few inches? One tutorial.

@JAN MOYER Here is our current layout with a small U shaped kitchen and an eat-in kitchen area. It uploaded really small so I am not sure if you can even see the dimensions...

_______

This is the dimensions the designer gave me at this point in the design.

Here is a layout of our whole first floor with the new kitchen plan. You can see our dining room is right next to the kitchen and I would like to widen the entry to that area if possible, but I am not sure if that's possible yet. And yes, our pantry is in the entryway on the complete other side of our house right now!

@mama goose_gw zn6OH We actually already have a counter depth fridge that we will be keeping so it shouldn't stick out too much!

Following

I like your bigger drawers to the right of the range in the new version. God for pots and pans.

I have an off center sink and range an absolutely no regrets! It allowed me to have a large counter space on each side of my sink & range and exactly the size cabinets that I wanted. Everyone kept telling me to center them and I'm so glad I didn't. It functions perfectly and still looks good!

BTW, this is a 30" sink. It is HUGE. I think a 24" single bowl would be plenty big for my big baking pans.

My Kitchen Renovation · More Info

My Kitchen Renovation · More Info

My Kitchen Renovation · More Info

Normally I would steal space from the dining room, but yours is only 10' 10 "

I would be looking to CANTILEVER the entire sink wall out two feet.. Just because the french doors were six feet does not mean you need a window that wide . That can be reduced.

Point is, the kitchen is just too shallow for what you want. Even that, really doesn't get you seating at a narrow island.

You also need to remember one thing:

The loss of the existing french doors to window will dramatically /visually further narrow the space. The ability to currently see GROUND through those doors, expands that shallow space.. You're warned : )

Sometimes, you just have to go further than you want to go, to get what you want.

The reality is, on eleven feet, a kitchen is either a galley or a u shape. Or a peninsula as you now have, I totally understand the want of "more" but clearances matter..

Brenda, I just installed an off center sink as well. It is a 30”single bowl Ruvati work station sink with a cutting board and a rack inserts but there are smaller sizes. I find the inserts provide a good bit of extra work space and convenience. There are other brands and sizes of work station sinks—kohler, Nantucket, etc. My faucet is streamlined so it doesn’t stand out and the sink is undercounter so low profile too.

And I’m installing a retractable screen on the back door—this door doesn’t get a lot of use. Good luck!

And. btw, we have a 37” wide island with a prep sink (ruvati with cutting board cover) with a 12” overhang for seating and it works quite well.