Help with kitchen layout

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

We will soon be removing a wall to renovate our kitchen/dining room in hopes of getting a larger, more functional kitchen.

Below are the measurements that we will be left with.

-The slight curved walls are the front of the house.

-Behind wall E is a staircase going upstairs, and the door shown goes to the basement stairs.

-Behind wall D is a small half bath

-The small protruding wall (G) contains vents and really don’t want to mess with that

What we definitely need:

- Door on Wall A leading to patio

-Room for a dining table that fits 6 (or at least could extend to fit 6)

-pantry storage

What we want:

-upper cabinets to ceiling

-window on wall A to increase natural light. We could put a window on wall B if it made a better kitchen, but most houses in our neighborhood have no windows on the sides (weird, I know)

-functional kitchen with plenty of counter space and inviting space to entertain

-i love center islands with seating, but not sure if we have enough room to make that work. I could settle with a peninsula island or a narrow center island/cart that a few stools could slide under

For dining table:

-again, needs to ideally have capability of seating 6

- we were thinking of either keeping it in front of wall H or moving it to the corner between walls A/D with a built in corner bench

I’ve seen you all work some magic and come with really creative ideas, so hoping we have some potential to make this a functional space!

Featured Answer

sheloveslayouts

3 years ago

You did a nice job with your drawing. The only dimension I missed was from wall A to the basement door. I estimated it to be 110"

I'm sorry that you don't have enough space for an island. Not even close. If you were to force some kind of counter seating I think you'd be compromising too much in the rest of the space.

The temptation will be strong to just shove the dining area aside and add a banquet - please resist. If you want to seat six people reasonably your dining area needs to be a minimum 12 feet from front to back. Protect the 12 feet - too-small dining rooms are no good. The white rectangle represents a six person table; 42" x 72".

In this drawing I started with the idea to tuck the fridge aside on the bathroom wall. Does the opening to the bathroom a hall to the living room? To make sure there is room for basement stair door swing you're only left with space for a narrow pull out pantry. However, it allows the rest of the kitchen to be opened up in a U shape with a nice amount of counters and your door and window to the backyard. Again, no overhang for seating is on the peninsula; an overhang would add 15.5" to the counter depth and you'd need increase the clear floor space to the dining table another 2 feet to about 60" from counter edge to table edge.

Here are some drawings. I didn't get into fine details. Just thought I'd throw out a basic concept and hope it sparks other ideas for you...

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Comments (7)

sheloveslayouts
3 years ago
Are you wanting fixtures besides a basic 36” fridge, 36” sink cabinet, 30” range, and microwave?
Buehl
3 years ago
Where's the front door?

Where's the family entrance?

An actual sketch of the floor is more useful than a "verbal" explanation. It's true that "a picture is worth a thousand words", especially in this case!
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emersona
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
@sheloveslayouts thank you so much for this! I definitely am concerned that long term I may regret not leaving enough space for a proper dining table. Right now it’s just 2 adults and a toddler in our house, so it’s easy to forget planning for the long term and think only of our wants now.

We finally got some sketches back from a cabinet store we met with. After we brainstormed ourselves this was the design we previously came up with, so the designer stuck to what we asked for.

Other than the lack of dining table, my other concern is:

-Is only having 3 ft between island and wall behind it awkward? (our plan is to not have stools on center island, just on peninsula island)

My husband is less concerned about the dining table and thinks that having an extendable table we can squeeze in when needed.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! I keep going back and forth!
sheloveslayouts
3 years ago
If this is the only dining area in your home, you might check with a realtor. Comfortable space for a dining table and chairs is important in a family home. You dont want to devalue your house with this project.

A 42” round table is probably the smallest a young family would want to go. A 42” round needs at least a 9’ 6” area, technically more since you‘ll have traffic walking around the table and chairs to go outside.

Your sink has no counter top or backsplash behind it. This poses a hazzard when water overspray lands on your floor. Also, who wants a wall five feet ahead while working when you can place your work space next to the window?

In my own small kitchen I compromised and placed my sink across the aisle from the range. What a pain! And messy.. drip, drip drip, drip drip. We’re planning to reconfigure our ikea cabs so there is continuous counter between them.

Did they show you 3D renderings of their plan? It doesnt look intentional or aesthetically pleasing. The front window bay is a lovey architectural feature destroyed by a peninsula.
emersona
Original Author
3 years ago
@sheloveslayouts @User i really appreciate your honest feedback! After thinking about things more I think you are both right

@sheloveslayouts i think your layout could work really great, it will still allow us to take the wall out between the 2 rooms, have a couple stools on peninsula island, and still have a formal dining room
sheloveslayouts
3 years ago
Keep in mind that adding seating to the peninsula I drew will take up an additional ~39" of clear floor space (front to back). Counter seating compromises cabinet/counter space or adequate dining space.