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mary614

Kitchen layout ideas

mary614
11 years ago

We have a small galley kitchen with a bit of a dilemma. The kitchen is only 7'6" (90 inches) wide, door is on one end. I keep getting the fridge and stove across from one another will this be a problem?? or will it be okay. The KD from lowes recommended going with a fridge with French doors to help as opposed to top freezer model we currently have. Sorry for the pict, new computer doesn't work with design program :-(
Thank you for any ideas you may have.
mary

Comments (17)

  • a2gemini
    11 years ago

    I would definitely recommend a french door with the freezer on the bottom - much more efficient and your food will keep so much longer that you will make up the difference in price quickly - plus a counter depth will give you a bit more space.

    I had a galley kitchen for years - initially everything worked until the landlord replaced the appliances and then I couldn't open the DW and the fridge at the same time.

    I am not an expert - I am sure others will have better ideas.

    How about putting the fridge at the top end(bathroom end) and close in the cabinet around it. I would like the fridge closer to the sink area for prepping and also for taking things into the other room
    Then put the stove where the fridge is currently - code may require you to have an 18 inch landing on either side.

    Or maybe making a U out of the bottom area - with just a lower cabinet under the window.

  • tracie.erin
    11 years ago

    This is a major problem. Your aisles in this kitchen are 39" counter to counter, but ranges stick out past the countertop an inch or two and a standard depth fridge sticks out 10.5" past the countertop - all of a sudden you have a I will tell you that I had a similar problem. I had the fridge in front of the sink in a kitchen pretty much this wide. You could not be at the sink if someone needed to get into the fridge. We ended up demolishing the kitchen and the hallway next to it, then swapped that area with the dining room in order to get a workable kitchen. We did it DIY, but it was still a lot of money - and don't even get me started on the time factor. All the appliances are in and working, but I don't have new cabinetry yet - we've cobbled the new kitchen together with the old cabinetry. But it's heaven compared to that terribly laid out galley :)

    I say all this not to recommend that you totally move the kitchen like I did, but I would definitely get rid of this conflict of the fridge and range opening into each other.

    Generally the most valuable prep space is near a water source, but you have basically no counter space around the sink as is. I would therefore put the stove in the middle of that 74" counter run on the left wall - hopefully the ceiling joists run left to right so you can run the range hood ducting through the ceiling to the exterior. If not, I would have a soffit built to get it over there. You can make this look like a design element by cladding it in wood then adding others like it to mimic wood beams.

    I would then leave everything else alone - except maybe widening that window over the sink and bringing it down to the counter. I was going to recommend moving the sink down on that wall, but then you'll be butt to butt with the range.

    I hope this helps. Good luck!

  • fouramblues
    11 years ago

    I'm a HUGE fan of natural light, but I'd hate to let it get in the way of a workable kitchen layout. Any chance you could move that window? The refrige would do nicely there, so that people will stay out of your cooking zone. Then sink on same wall with prep space between, and finally range on opposite wall, offset so that it doesn't interfere with cleanup. That does put the range on an interior wall, possibly problematic for ventilation. Anyway, just a thought from a layout non-guru.

  • fouramblues
    11 years ago

    P.S. My mix-up idea would require that you truncate your cabs a bit so that you can squeeze by the refrige to get into the kitchen!

  • felixnot
    11 years ago

    Try cabinet depth fridge and move it adjacent to the door way. If the window doesn't need to be where you're showing it, you may want to consider the refrigerator in the far corner and put the oven on the opposite wall

  • socalsister
    11 years ago

    Can the fridge be recessed since the stairs are behind it? Some stoves have a double oven (GE) so that the doors don't open so far into the space (still very tight!). Can plumbing be moved easily? Moving the fridge to the door end makes sense to keep people out of the prep area, but only if the sink isn't right there, too! Otherwise, not ideal, but if you center the fridge on the side where it is currently, and move the stove down toward the window wall, you will at least be able to work without doors hitting across the aisle. I'm sure the gurus will chime in with expert advice!

  • texasgal47
    11 years ago

    Mary, how many are in your family? Do you have space for an extra fridge or freezer in a basement, garage, or laundry to supplement a smaller fridge in the kitchen? In my humble opinion, the genius of galley kitchen design and layout goes to GW member Brooklyngalley. If you google -- gardenweb forum + Brooklyn Galley Kitchen Finished -- to retrieve her kitchen, you will observe strategies she used to maximize her storage and make a small space look as large as possible. Her kitchen is only 6.75' W x 8.75' L x 8' H. A 30" stove has 12" W cabinets to the right. These cabs are next to an end window like yours. Across the aisle is a pull out pantry and a Liebherr refrigerator. You might go to AJMadison's website and research 24" wide, very tall fridges similar to the Liebherr as a consideration. As already mentioned, a CD fridge is also an option but the other would provide more aisle space with the fridge door open. If you can't afford a counter depth fridge, try craigslist or scratch & dent. I was able to find a 2 yr. old Kitchenaid CD on craigslist for only $1100. The other suggestions listed are excellent also. Good luck. I'm excited for you and looking forward to eventually seeing your new space.

  • mary614
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you for some ideas, the laundry is currently in that kitchen, so we will be moving that to the basement.

    If we were to put the fridge up against the bathroom wall would you be able to open all the drawers? Our current fridge the door has to be all the way open to open the bottom produce drawers.

    There is the possibility to move the kitchen to the dining room I will post a layout of that once I remeasure it and draw it. We really struggled to find a layout that works too many doors lol.
    It is my husband, self and two little ones. If we planned on staying here we would just gut it and totally change layout, but we would like to move in about 5 years.
    Mary

  • debrak_2008
    11 years ago

    Are you sure the refrigerator doors have to be open all the way? Our french door has to be open just straight out to pull out the drawer. I will try to post a photo later of what I mean.

  • jansin62
    11 years ago

    Below is a link to our almost finished layout. For various reasons, I wanted to keep our galley. It's pretty similar to yours, except our stove is moved closer to the end, and our fridge is moved further from the end -> so that you don't get the bum-touch when they are both being accessed. I'm the only cook in my kitchen, so basically, we thought that the area towards the door in ours (the back) would be my area, and the front would be more accessible for kids and snacks. Anyhow, hope it gives you some ideas, and a visual for how it could look.

    What it is lacking is a landing space for the fridge, but we couldn't fit everything, and we are using a 36" french door fridge, so with the french doors, it didn't seem as very important.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Jansin62's almost done layout

  • mary614
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    here is the dining room. we enjoy sitting down to dinner around the table often with additional family visiting for meals. So I need room for a table and chairs, I just have not been able to come up with a workable kitchen and space for table in the dining room. I welcome any and all ideas, we have been trying to figure this out for 5 years and we keep coming back to the original kitchen.
    Thank you Mary

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    If the window can be moved, definitely check the specs on your fridge. You may be able to get by with a narrow pull out broom or pantry cabinet there just 9-12 inches wide. The nice thing about the fridge there is it is accessible without going in to the work space, which is tight, and it allows more flexibility with the rest of the layout since the aisle is freed up a bit.

  • mary614
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Tried to follow some of your recommendations and put together this layout. when the first was done with the kd he kept refering to zones and how important the zones were and to keep an open feel which is why he put all the tall stuff down on the end. I am not sure that I have zones down but I think this new layout will be easier to work in with little people helping. Let me know what you think. Can the dishwasher and fridge be right next to each other?

    Thank you, Mary

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    I'm certainly no expert, but I've absorbed a lot over the last year and working through my own layout. I think that looks like it would be much easier to work in. My best guess is you will have to plan a spacer/support between the fridge and DW to support the counter material. Not sure how wide, but at least the width of a side panel. Shouldn't be a big deal. I'm sure someone will have a more specific answer for that.

    Many do prefer the pantry and fridge near each other for ease of gathering ingredients. But yours are only 8? Feet apart and flank your prep area. Many also prefer a water source on the range counter run. Yours is just a pivot away across the aisle. Those of us with small kitchens need to make trade offs. My "triangle" is a straight line, the least favored configuration. But it's only 10 feet from range to fridge, so not really a big deal. I also have given up symetry around the range for more prep space, and still only get 27 inches. And I had to give up my trash pull out for dish drawers.

    Try an often commended exercise. Tape it out on the floor in another room, use boxes for cabinets if you can. Run through some meals and see how it feels. Pay attention to what feels awkward. See where you end up prepping. Where do you look for trash cans? Etc...

    Everything will start to fall into place. Once you figure out what features you like/need the tradeoffs will be clearer and easier to make.

  • alvmusick
    11 years ago

    Mary -

    As texasgal mentioned (thanks for the feedback texas!) we have a galley and decided to keep the galley layout (instead of busting down walls) because we felt it was the most efficient use of space (and still do) and decided to splurge elsewhere. All of the above recommendations have been spot-on in terms of deciding on your budget for appliances and make some decisions. Once you decide on appliances, the rest of the layout will be easier to determine. We went with a true 24 inch counter-depth fridge (Leibherr - which also doesn't need side clearance as it has a zero clearance door) and a true 24 inch/25 inch with door counter-depth range (Bertazzoni) and it makes all the difference in the world to have everything streamlined and a clear aisle to dance around the galley as you work in the kitchen. If you're not going high-end (sub-zero, bluestar, etc.) other brands to consider:

    Fridge: Fagor, Summit, Blomberg, GE Cafe
    Range: Summit, Avanti, Fisher & Paykel, Blomberg

    AJ Madison, as mentioned above, is a great source and we purchased all of our appliances through a sales rep at AJ and received a great deal. Search using "24 inch depth" and review the specifications.

    Once you have appliance decisions and specs, the layout should become easier. I agree with williamsen above that because of the size of your galley even if you can't have your "perfect" layout, everything will be so close at hand that you will (hopefully) find working in the galley efficient and enjoyable.

  • herbflavor
    11 years ago

    the heat from the dishwasher will make the refrigerator work harder. Is that what you mean by"can I put the dishwasher next to the refrigerator?" Refrigerators are energy hogs anyway.It depends on how important energy savings are to you.

  • williamsem
    11 years ago

    Omg, if you haven't seen brooklyngalley's kitchen, definitely check it out. It remains one of my absolute favorite transformations ever. If you're looking for an expert in small galley transformations, you've found one!

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