Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
holiver1230

KITCHEN FLOW HELP

holiver1230
last month

I’m having a helluva time figuring out a lay out for my new kitchen. I had a plan but now that the walls are in, my island plan won’t work. This is what I have for measurements. Toward the right of the plan is the living room and going to the left is the entry area.

Comments (54)

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Actually, the kitchen is a “flow through” kitchen as it is between the entry on the left and the living room to the right.

  • la_la Girl
    last month

    ^ this is important, maybe label surrounding areas so there is more information?


    I will say I think it's hard to crowdsource a kitchen design from scratch - I think helpful input is easier when there is a design to react to/improve

  • Boxerpal
    last month

    You may want to look at Galley kitchens there are some that are wide enough for a small narrow island if and island is essential.








    CLASSIC GALLEY · More Info




    Sleek Kitchen · More Info



    East End Kitchen · More Info




    Bethesda, MD Contemporary Galley Kitchen · More Info




    this below is MUCH wider than yours space but it might help with the concept.

    Whole House Design · More Info


  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Here’s a plan I came up with but I don’t like it. I just need some ideas to get me going!

  • Boxerpal
    last month

    what don't you like about it? Your space is going to limit you on options but Galley Kitchens as I showed above can be quite lovely.


    Are there windows?

    Which wall is exterior?

    Which wall is load bearing? I removed a wall and opened my kitchen to a family room to create an island and open feeling.

    Have you talked with a designer? GC or Architect?

    Is this a small DIY project?


    The galley kitchen can be extraordinary with amazing features.




  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    In the area I’m looking at, there are no windows, as yet. Where the sink is is the exterior wall. This is a new build. On the right side of the print, it goes to a large living room that faces the lake. My builder is my GC and NO, it is not a small DIY project.

  • dan1888
    last month

    I'd like to see the complete floorplan with the living room and everything else on that floor.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    This is rough

  • ffpalms
    last month

    I’d begin by placing the sink on the window wall. The kitchen sink is the workhorse of any house. I wouldn’t crowd it with upper cabinets. It should be a very pleasant place to be. Another suggestion is to plan on a refrigerator/freezer pair. Life is so much easier when you can properly organize all your perishables.



  • dan1888
    last month

    That new addition space is great. A galley can become more functionally like an island if you deepen the counters to 30 inches. The added work zone space is very valuable. All wide drawer base cabinets. Single bowl sink. Induction range. You'll have a lot of usable counter space. The bumpout segment opposite the exterior wall would be a location for frig freezer units. You could put a 36" Bosch induction range 40" from the bumpout. 40" to a 24" sinkbase and sink. Then dw. On the exterior wall, a length of 12" deep pantry cabinets. An 8' by 36-40" island is in the middle. I'd use cardboard appliance boxes for a on location full-size mockup to get all the dimensions worked out.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    So, dan1888, are you saying to start with the interior wall, (where it’s 13’6 or will actually be 13’4” with drywall) and put the fridge there, then 40” for a walkway, induction range, another 40” walkway. With sink and Dw, and then 12” deep pantry cabinets on the outer wall?
    Love the idea but just not sure if this is the way you meant it or not.

  • marylut
    last month

    I don’t understand your drawings, but starting from scratch would you direct traffic around the kitchen like this, and place the kitchen work area along this wall?

  • marylut
    last month

    Put drier on exterior wall to vent it outside. Put cooktop on exterior wall to vent it outside. Create a traffic path on kitchen perimeter, not through kitchen work zone.

  • ShadyWillowFarm
    last month

    Who designed this house? The floorplan is so odd with the entry at the left end, necessitating a long walk along the entire length of the house to get to the living space. What you are calling “flow through” space is just wasted space.

  • PRO
  • dan1888
    last month

    What I'm suggesting is to start with the interior wall where it's 11'4" with SZ frig/freezer units or a 36" frig(your budget and future value analysis) in the 8' wide segment with counter to the left away from the open living room addition. The range is next on the 14' x 13'4" segment and the sink is next. DW at the end closest to the addition. Lofts and large NY apartments show this design language. One important technical consideration is soundproofing between the kitchen wall and the bedroom. Double thickness drywall with acoustic caulk plus interior sound insulation is a recommendation as a start. More effort is better. I'd probably use a single door.

    https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-make-the-most-of-a-single-wall-kitchen-stsetivw-vs~61409624 You have 22' of wall space to work with. More than any of these examples.

  • herbflavor
    last month

    use the 22 feet on the interior wall...keep the jog and place fridge in that forward position the jog creates for you. Loft aesthetic for a one wall kitchen since this is the situation you have at hand. leave the window side free...more or expanded window or leave for possibilities in the future.

    perhaps that window wall will get a project in the future...a wrap w entry/exit connecting to the lake front end of the structure......things are possible.....

    LaCantina Doors · More Info

    a ONE WALL kitchen on the interior wall...think about budget and some aesthetic and I think you'd like the outcome considering you have a bit of restriction ..

    Loft Apartment Notting Hill · More Info

    Tiny House · More Info


    K I T C H E N · More Info


    Structure Lofts · More Info


  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Thanks, dan1888. Was unclear on your thoughts. shady willow farm, the house is on the lake and runs the long way on the property. The flow through space will be the kitchen, not wasted space.

  • Denise Marchand
    last month

    following

  • Andrea C
    last month
    last modified: last month

    Is there a reason that the kitchen cannot be located in the new addition? There is certainly an awkwardness in regards to traffic flowing through the kitchen, so I would definitely suggest a plan where passers by do not interupt the workspaces. Can you provide a bit more background as to family size and whether you need so many cabinets? Also, where is your family going to be eating meals?


  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    The addition will be the living room facing the lake. We are a family of 3 and my husband and I cook everyday. It’s a major remodel and we ran into some structural issues as the builder dug deeper. This is the space as of now

  • herbflavor
    last month
    last modified: last month

    take the wall [interior wall] and start inserting appliances you have picked out or think will work.....we dont know that yet....you will have to decide at some point. this is a starting exercise and maybe nailing down choices and figuring out positions will get the ball rolling....an 18 inch dishwasher....a narrower fridge..standard range ...what kind of hood? ...what about microwave????


    Summit FFBF246SS 24"W 11.3 Cu. Ft. Capacity Energy Star Certified - Stainless · More Info



    long wall w all task functions


    Roberta Avenue · More Info


  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Here’s a couple plans we came up with.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    And 4 more

  • herbflavor
    last month
    last modified: last month

    in the first cluster titled "a couple plans we came up with" I'd pick number 3 .not certain about a desk but personally I would leave the exterior wall as free as possible. Why? We have a lake hoiuse...I can tell you from experience over the years..money keeps creeping into the area......like unimaginable amounts of it...entire sides of houses get ripped off..extensions and 3 story vertical additions..all the rest of it. [ not us] like you would never imagine. If you were to sell people like to plan upgrades and changes to a lake property.... you are doing PHASE ONE ...in some time there will be a phase two on the structure.........it never stops because Lake property is limited in availability. Number your top picks..maybe 3- 4 so people have a sense of what you think.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    And 4 more

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    I know what you mean about the houses going in. In the past 5 years, at least 6 homes have gone up in our neighborhood in the $1M dollar range. Our area is an old tourist area from the early days of the 1900’s. Our house sits on a high spot on the lakeshore and the view is awesome! I imagine, one day, someone will put on a second story. We had plans drawn up 6 years ago to almost double the size of the house, then Covid. Long story short, we should have just torn it down and started over.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    4 plans, numbered

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Another 4

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Last one

  • ffpalms
    last month

    As you imagine moving around in each plan as you do each chore, many pro and cons will start to occur to you. I’d list them all until one of the plans begins to emerge as the winner. I’m finding #3 very interesting. It solves the problem of reaching/climbing across a countertop to operate/clean a window. One pro is that it leaves a lot of nice traffic space all around the central work area, but the con is that there are a lot of steps to move from the cooktop to the sink.

  • dan1888
    last month
    last modified: last month

    A single wall layout is shown in a video here. YouTube Tokyo Portfolio

    Inside a $13 Million Ultra Luxury Condo in Tokyo You'll have to search.

  • rebasheba
    last month

    I like the plan with the desk! but not the desk... put the beverage fridge, maybe fridge/freezer drawers for ice, and drinks glasses where the desk is, this will keep beverage-seekers and snack-grabber out of the working part of the kitchen.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Rabasheba, is that 1, 2 or 4?

  • Andrea C
    last month

    One critical issue that the kitchen design needs to address is the flow. Draw an arrow indicating the traffic movement of people as they enter the house and travel to the new great room. You do not want this traffic to intercept with the work triangle and especially do not want them passing by someone at the stove. Is there a specific reason the kitchen is the pass through room?

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    The new great room is facing the lake. The entry to the house is the opposite end. The house is 30 x 84.

  • Hannah
    last month
    last modified: last month

    I think I would do something like this -- have a walkway/hall towards the bottom and an L-shaped kitchen with an island. You could do a wider island with two seats at the end (facing the stove/fridge) to preserve the walkway. I think you could squeeze in a 42" walkway, 36" fridge, and 30" stove along the pantry wall.


  • Hannah
    last month

    Alternatively, you could do a penninsula instead of an island (might fit better). Maybe flank the stove with windows. This way, you would be facing the lake view when standing at the sink prepping.


  • Hannah
    last month

    I quite like Andrea C's suggestion -- is there a reason that wouldn't work? I would do the stove, sink, dishwasher on the the long wall.

  • Hannah
    last month

    One more idea...I like Andrea C's suggestion (it would mean no corner cupboard!), but I think I would create a large space for your pantry and laundry room (~8x10, maybe utilizing a pocket door) ( 8' would be: 5' for washer and dryer side by side, 3' for a cabinet or laundry sink & then 8' of pantry shelving along opposite wall) (10' would be: 3' for washer and dryer, 5' of floor space and 2' for pantry shelving or cupboards). On the other side, I would add an additional closet (it would be a really large closet (~8'). I know some people might bulk at a shared laundry and pantry space, but I've seen it work really well and the items would be on opposite sides of the room. Then you would have a 42' hallway (if you added windows along that wall -- depending on feasibility and view) the hall might seem more open.




  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Thank you! The wall that’s marked 22 6 1/2’ is an exterior wall. The opposite wall, marked 14’9” is an interior wall that backs up to the master bedroom.

  • rebasheba
    last month

    sorry I meant 4! In general I think keeping the traffic path to the exterior wall is the move.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    The two closets are already framed in, as is the area for the washer/dryer. I have 5x4 window going in the 22’6 1/2 wall, centered. I get the idea of a throughway along that wall but am torn with wasting the wall space for some kind of storage

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    I’m leaning mostly towards these 3

  • btydrvn
    last month

    IMO..U Shaped pantry shelving is the most accessible…also narrow shelving on the top with a slightly deeper counter ..offers deeper storage on the bottom for bulkier items…and a roomier feeling inside…lastly pocket or barn door openings make more sense as they will not crowd the walkway..and can be left conveniently open while cooking..

  • ffpalms
    last month

    I really like #11. The location of the fridge, the entry to the pantry on the long side, and no elevated counter on the island is appealing to me.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Thank you for all the advice! I’m getting there❤️

  • J B
    last month

    Is it possible to put a beverage fridge and some cabinetry along the wall that slants into the new living room area? It would be like an extension of the kitchen, but would function more as a home bar (or coffee bar) setup. When guests are over, drinks are in the fridge, snacks are set out, and nobody has to walk through the kitchen area because it's accessible from the living room.

  • holiver1230
    Original Author
    last month

    Actually, that slanted wall is where the entrance to the master bedroom is.