Kitchen layout advice, please
I’d appreciate advice on kitchen layout – the current drawings are placeholder – anything (except the footprint of the house) can still change, including windows, doors, plumbing. Scale is ¼” = 1 foot. One square on the drawing = 1’x1’.
We’re doing a complete remodel of a 1960s ranch, built on a slab. We’ve gutted the interior and are planning an open plan living space with a galley kitchen. There will be a loft above the kitchen (8.5 foot ceiling in kitchen). The dining room table will be in the space between the kitchen and the front door. We'll probably put a breakfast table and comfortable chairs in the southeast corner (top left of drawing). The back door (from kitchen) leads to a little courtyard and then the carport -- this is where we'll usually come in with groceries. Back door swing is wrong in these drawings; it will swing toward the counter top to allow access to the mudroom.
We’re a couple with college-aged kids. We love to cook for ourselves and friends. Mostly informal entertaining, but I do like to get my great-grandmother’s crystal out occasionally. Our goal is a well-organized kitchen that is fun to be in and minimalist in appearance (I like empty counter tops). My primary goal with this remodel is to be able to cook and talk to people who are on the sofa in the living room or at the dining room table.
We’re both tall – countertop will be 38” high, 28” deep. Island is currently 12’ x 40”. Planning for a 36” Bluestar induction cooktop, 24” Wolf convection steam oven, Fisher and Paykel 36” refrigerator, wall oven, and dishwasher. Don’t necessarily want to stack wall oven and steam oven. I’m planning to put the cooktop in front of the window (so that we can vent to outside), sink on the island. Yes to a baking center and hot beverage/breakfast center (with room for electric kettle and instant pot, ideally). I like open shelving and have a combination of upper cabinets and open shelves in my current kitchen. I'm a big fan of mason jars to store dry goods -- we buy very little processed food and don't need storage for boxes of cereal, etc.
The pantry placement feels a little awkward to me -- we are limited because of the stairs to the loft/second floor. Ideally there would be access to the pantry directly from the kitchen, but then we loose the built-in kitchen space.
Thank you!
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2 years agolast modified: 2 years ago- 2 years ago
@sena01 Thanks for these really thoughtful suggestions. I love the pantry photo and agree it is worth giving up the built-ins. I also really like the Charles McCall 1927 image, which has led me to rearrange the layout to put a range, sink, dishwasher along the external wall.
I'm still unsure about wall vs. window behind the range. In my current kitchen I have a BlueStar 30" gas range with Zephyr hood a painted wall behind the range. I've not had trouble keeping that wall clean, and would love the extra light of a window. I wouldn't put a gas range in front of a window, but an induction range (or cooktop) is attractive to me. What am I missing?
- 2 years ago
@HU-918119203 Yes, I agree that I'm not thrilled about entering in to the dining room. The idea is to create a sense of entry with the bench and bookcases to the left of the front door, but you're right that you're still looking straight into the kitchen. The thing is that now that the space has been gutted we really love how open it feels and are reluctant to add any more walls than necessary.
The original plan was to put the dining room in the southeast corner of the house. But I'd like to leave that space open for a small table and comfortable chairs and the view (through patio doors) into the back yard. We are kind of stuck with the living room location because there is a substantial fireplace on the south wall, towards the front of the house. We could move the front door (on the west wall) closer to the south wall and put the dining room to the left of the front door (that's where it is now).
I've also been feeling uneasy about the loft. The architect has pushed it hard from the beginning of the process (six months ago!). He says it will be an amazing space -- lots of light, connected to the main living space but with some privacy. Right now the stairs to the upstairs bedroom land in the loft, so if we get rid of the loft we'd need to redesign the staircase. In the cardboard model of the house the loft looks better -- in the computer drawings it seems to really dominate the space, which is concerning. Would it help if the loft were narrower? Right now it is the size of the kitchen -- 12'x10'. I wanted it to extend over the island to create a sense of enclosure and define the kitchen area. But potentially it could be only 8' deep, for example. I think that would still allow space for the stairway as it is.
2 years ago
sena01