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runnergirl79_gw

Kitchen Design

runnergirl79
9 years ago

Hi all,

My husband and I are embarking on a home building adventure. We are finalizing our floor plans, and at the suggestion of the folks on the home building forum, we wanted to post our kitchen plan and get some feedback. Here's the layout of our kitchen. There are a couple changes we've made that are not reflected in the drawing:

1) The island will be increased in size and become 8.5 feet wide

2) The DW will be moved to the other side of the sink so as not to interfere with the cooktop.

3) The butler's pantry will be combined with the pantry. We are stealing some of the pantry space to create a hall closet on the other side.

4) We do not plan on having a desk in the kitchen.

Here are my specific questions:

- We plan to have a double wall oven. Where would you suggest placement? I was thinking of putting it next to the pantry, and across the refrigerator.

- Folks have commented that the refrigerator should be closer to the breakfast area. I kind of like its current location. Placing it in the current desk seems like it would be cramped next to the doorway.

Thanks in advance for any help!


- Folks have suggested the

Comments (15)

  • runnergirl79
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    and here's the entire first floor layout. The breakfast room wall has been pushed out and the breakfast room (which will function as breakfast and dining) will be about 13x13.

  • ControlfreakECS
    9 years ago

    I agree that the fridge would be best where the desk is currently shown. It seems like your aisles may be a bit tight. You should shift the island over toward the family room so that you have 48 inches counter top to counter top between sink and cooktop. Then I would place the ovens where you currently have the fridge placed, or at the opposite end of the cooktop wall to balance the fridge.

  • jennifer132
    9 years ago

    I cannot read the details on your updated plan. And I have a couple of questions.

    Can you tell us more about your household: Kids? Ages? Multi-generational household? Anything specific about cooking/living style that may be considered: canning, baking, day-to-day and entertaining styles, aging in place etc.

    Will you have seating at the island?

    What is that front room on the right?

    A 13x13 breakfast room seems tight for the only dining space in a house this size. How big is your dining table? Will you ever have to accommodate bigger parties?

    Mw? Were you interested in a wall oven/mw stack? Drawer mw? Mw in pantry?

    Would you consider an under counter beverage frig?

    Is it a cooktop or range? Have you considered ventilation?

    The more information you give the better the experts on here can help you.

  • blfenton
    9 years ago

    What do you envision as the purpose of the desk? If it's just as a drop zone for keys etc, can some room be carved out of the mud room for that? If it's an actual work station where you have it is where the fridge really needs to be. I would put the desk beside where the fridge is now and put your ovens where the fridge currently is. How big of a fridge is planned?

    Most desks tend to get messy and ugly and if you leave it where it is you will always be seeing it from your breakfast/dining area, from your family room and you will be walking by it all the time.

    You have enlarged the island, can you tell us where, within that, you plan on putting the sink and DW? I'm wondering where you plan on doing most of your prep work - on the island, to the right of the range or to the left. How long is the stove wall?

  • Buehl
    9 years ago

    Runnergirl79 has stated there will be no desk - a wise decision in my opinion! (See Blfenton's comments).

    Runnergirl79, I suggest you read the following Kitchen FAQs. They talk about what other information would be helpful for us as well as give you some functionality information that may help you understand why some things have been (or will be) mentioned.

    I'll be back later (our DW died and we need to get a new one today).

    FAQ: How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include?
    FAQ: Kitchen work zones, what are they?
    FAQ: Aisle widths, walkways, seating overhangs, work and landing space, and others
    FAQ: How do I plan for storage? Types of Storage? What to Store Where?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchens FAQ Page

  • blfenton
    9 years ago

    Whoops - sorry. I read that, I knew that, but....and it is a wise decision!

  • runnergirl79
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hi everyone,

    Thanks for your suggestions so far. In response;

    controlfreakecs - Thanks for the layout and spacing suggestions. We will definitely make sure there are 48 inches between counters since we would like the ability to have two working in the kitchen at the same time. My concern about putting the fridge where the desk is currently located is that it will feel cramped next to the entryway. Thoughts?

    jennifer132 - We are a family of four (my husband, myself and our two daughters). We don't have family in the local area, so it is primarily just the 4 of us in the home. I like to cook, but don't do much in the way of baking/canning. We entertain family/friend every couple of months.

    With the increased island size (8.5 feet wide), we will have 4 chairs at the island. I see that as our primary family eating space.

    Front room on right is the guest room, so that's why the butler's pantry is going away and we are eliminating that walkthrough.

    I think 13x13 should be adequate for the dining space. If we do entertain, we envision using the bar seating, dining table, and a table on the screened in porch. That should accommodate all guests. Again, we don't entertain that often, so squeezing folks in shouldn't be that big of an issue.

    Microwave has not been decided yet. Would love suggestions.

    We have a cooktop with hood over it. We plan to have a double wall oven. I have read a lot of mediocre reviews about the double convection ovens (plus, they are very pricey), so I'm not thinking that route.

    Since our family isn't large, and we aren't huge wine drinkers, I don't think we need an under counter beverage fridge.

    Thanks for all suggestions and comments!

  • jennifer132
    9 years ago

    Bumping for help from people more expert than me.

    In general, having the frig closer to the point of use, including the table, is recommended. That's why folks have suggested moving it to the "desk location." Keep in mind that there are ways to make the frig feel less bulky: build it in with cabinetry, recess it into the wall a bit, and you could make the cabinet/counter deeper along that wall so the frig does not stick out further than the entire cabinet run.

    Keep in mind you do not want to have a narrow aisle. With a cooktop you don't worry about the dw door and a range door conflicting. But, you want to be able to use the cooktop and have access to the sink and frig without being trapped by the dw....

    Mw and oven placement depends on how you and your family use these appliances and where the frig lands.....

    Hopefully we can start a discussion and get you more help.

  • ControlfreakECS
    9 years ago

    I don't think it will feel tight, because you are completely open on the other side. It may depend on the furniture you plan for the dining nook. As previously said, it also depends on how you build the fridge in, and exactly what fridge you decide upon.

    Since you aren't big bakers, I assume you don't need a double oven. So, if that were me, I'd get a microwave as part of the oven stack. We have a range instead of a cooktop and wall oven, so we went with a microwave drawer, and love it.

    A little OT, but is your guest room not going to have a closet?

  • runnergirl79
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks, jennifer132 and controlfreakecs for your input.

    Yes, I may rethink the double oven. I had wanted one because I would like to be able cook items that require different temperatures - for example, meatloaf and roasted vegetables.

    I goofed...the front right room is an office. The guest room is the front left room.

  • jennifer132
    9 years ago

    Even if you get double ovens there's discussion about getting two singles vs a true double wall stack. You could install one oven under your cooktop. You could then have a wall oven and mw stack. Just stuff to think about. ....

    Do you usually go from frig/freezer to mw? Do you go from cooktop to oven?

    Since you truly have a blank slate think about how you cook and entertain now, and how those patterns will grow and change. (Even having a bunch of kids over with a few parents in tow is entertaining in my book!)

    Fwiw, and OT, closet by front door? Closet in office to tuck compute/av stuff? Door (pocket door) from office through pantry into the kitchen? Yes, it's an Office but could be dining room for resale. Or let the office worker sneak snacks!

  • Buehl
    9 years ago

    I worked this up last night...but was too tired to post! Sorry!

    Here's an idea (includes an alternate oven stack that I see others have suggested as well!)


    Zone map...


    Alternate Oven Stack - since you appear to be planning a range, do you really need a third oven? Won't a single wall oven be enough? If so, you can have an oven stack that includes a place for your MW in an alcove with a pullout tray/shelf beneath the alcove for MW landing space.

  • Buehl
    9 years ago

    I see now that you plan a cooktop, not a range (the design says range). So, double ovens make more sense now...

    I would clarify it with your KD - be sure they know you want a cooktop, not a range.

    This post was edited by buehl on Tue, May 27, 14 at 20:28

  • ILoveRed
    9 years ago

    Wow Buehl...that looks great.

    Loving the color coded zones.

  • runnergirl79
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Buehl - this looks awesome and seems to be an incredibly functional layout! Thanks so much for taking the time to pull this together.