Kitchen layout - choose between option A or B

2 years ago

I am looking into renovating my kitchen in the simplest way possible without having to remove too many walls. We live in a 1978 split entry/bi level with a small kitchen and dining area. My main priority is adjusting the kitchen layout so we have space to have friends and family over for meals. I have identified two layouts that meet my priorities: space for dining, 36 inches of prep between sink and range, 48inches of space for walkways. I would love feedback between these two options.

Option A has the advantage of lots of prep area to the right of the sink. It also keeps my sink, dishwasher, and range in the same spots as I currently have them, cutting down on the need for a plumber or electrician. The disadvantages of Option A are the fridge is far from the dining area, so kids needing their drinks will traverse the kitchen (not a big deal) and the corner cabinet I decided to block off (I will probably cut a hole in the other side to have a small cabinet access in the hallway for shoes or something).

Option B has the advantage of the fridge being very close to the dining area. Option B has the disadvantage of a corner sink, which is not my favorite. Obviously the counters will be filled in, I just didn't have that ability in the program I used. I have had nearly this exact same layout before in a different house and it worked just fine for us.

Other notes: There is a small peninsula that says "Fixed" - it's a movable prep area we have already built and I have no interest in changing that area. The living room, entry stairs, and hallway are all cut off in the pictures because those areas are not changing, but I included part of it to give context to the rest of the house. I'll be using Ikea Sektion cabinets which I have used for projects before.

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Comments (4)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago
If you have used Ikea why a dead corner and for suue never an angled sink IMO a much better plan would have been a u shaped kitchen and a proper corner useable cabinet. Post all the floor meaurements and BTW you need 60" for any walkway with seating .
wdccruise
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
You could use a corner cabinet with swing-out trays to avoid dead cabinet space while simultaneously reducing the width of the cabinet to the left of the range and increasing the width of the cabinet to its right. (IKEA Planner)
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amberlik
Original Author
2 years ago
@Patricia Colwell Consulting Thank you for the input! I have looked extensively into corner cabinet options, including a very helpful and detailed thread on Houzz that breaks down options by usable square inches. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2472094/corner-cabinet-space-calculations-and-analysis There are a lot of tradeoffs and no perfect options, especially in a small space like mine. Having a large drawer stack on one side of the corner will be very useful and not involve a super costly custom option like diagonal corner drawers or the magic corner by hafele. This is the same reason why I don't prefer a U-shaped kitchen. This space was previously a U shape and my husband and I always seem to be bumping into each other and the two corner lazy susans we have are not great for storage - they can hold a lot but things often fall off the sides.

Regarding needing 60in for seating, I believe that is best practice for universal design and wheelchair users. I am not able to accommodate that spacing, but there is 48in between the table and the closest cabinet, which leaves space for a chair and someone to edge past a seated diner. We will not often have all the seats full, and if things are a little tight that will have to be okay. We have a small house and I would love for our hospitality and friendships to be bigger than our space.

@wdccruise Thank you for commenting! I appreciate you making layout to show me. That is a good option, but I am prioritizing a large prep space between the sink and oven since that is where I do most of the cooking. A larger space to the right of the oven won't be as useful to me, though I do like that it would have more of a buffer between the walkway/dining area and the oven. I sadly do not prefer this style of corner cabinet either - with very limited storage I think drawers in the space left of the oven will work better.
dani_m08
2 years ago
I would follow Patricia's advice above - add all dimensions to your drawing of your space (including windows + doorways). Also, I would add the spaces surrounding your kitchen/dining space (and the dimensions) in order to see if any part of the kitchen can be shifted in order to gain a little more room. You'd be surprised by the creative solutions that pros (and knowledgeable non-pros) will be able to create once they have all of the info needed.