Suggestions for Kitchen Layout in our new home

9 years ago

Hello,
We've been reading GW for about a year or two while we work on our house plans. We've received some great ideas in the Building a Home forum and incorporated them into our design. Here's some info to help:
We have 3 children - two girls (6 and almost 5) and one boy (almost 2). My wife wants an open feel to the kitchen, a long and narrow pantry, and a dining area adjacent to the kitchen (no formal dining room). She cooks quite a bit and plans on getting a high-end counter depth refrigerator and double range with a hood above the range. Other than grilling, my wife does almost all of the cooking but we all help to clean up. We foresee the kids doing homework in the kitchen area (maybe at island). We like to informally entertain with family and friends. We anticipate family/friends hanging out in the kitchen area and on the covered patio in warmer months (we live in Illinois). At different times, we would probably eat at the island, the dining area table, and on the covered patio. We want a lot of windows in the back of the house to take advantage of a nice view. My wife uses the Keurig every morning and we plan on putting appliances like that on the counter in the pantry. We're unsure on a sink in the island and are also considering a warming drawer. We have two entries from the garage - one through the mudroom for our family and another that enters into the kitchen for family and friends. I've included the plans for the entire first floor and a zoomed in view of the kitchen/dining/pantry/mudroom area.

Please offer any ideas/suggestions/feedback! We're definitely not set on these plans we have drawn and are willing to make changes. Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

debrak2008
9 years ago
8 stools at the island? Seems like a lot for a family of 5. We have an island that we eat casual meals at as well as other activities. Our family is 4 and we have 4 stools but 1 extra we put out when we have guests.

I would suggest planning for 5 stools but have 1 extra if needed.
khoene
Original Author
9 years ago
debra,
Thanks for mentioning the bar stools. I forgot to mention that we are still discussing the width/shape of the island and the number of stools. I have the island drawn at 42", but we are debating anything from 36" to 48". I know I have two stools drawn at the end and we'd need 48" for 2 stools at the end. Thoughts on the island design (both shape and width) and number of stools would be appreciated. I tend to agree that 5 stools (2 on each side of island and 1 on the end) makes the most sense with the ability to add a stool on each side if we have company, but my wife is currently favoring more bar stools. We're also looking for comments on the overall design of the kitchen, pantry, and dining area.
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bluerdgddrs
9 years ago
I would want that beautiful range/hood centered on the wall so it would be your focal point from the great room. If you do that then you would need a prep sink because otherwise the island becomes a barrier. Anyone sitting on left side of island has a view of the toilet in foyer-not appetizing :(. I would turn your dining table otherwise it's going to be tight behind sectional. In open floor plans most people will put a sofa table behind the couch. Your master looks quite large in relation to the rest of the home, maybe that's intentional? Also, no fireplace for the winter in the Midwest? Get the kinks worked out and it should be a lovely family home.
khoene
Original Author
9 years ago
blue,
Agree that we would like the range and hood to be more prominently displayed in the kitchen, but is having an island between the refrigerator and range worth moving the range a few feet? Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Any suggestions for your point about the left side of the island having a view of the powder room toilet? Shutting the door to the powder room :). I tried adding a leg to the island to create an L shaped island (see below), but I don't think I have enough room between the island and the refrigerator now.

Thanks for the comment on the sofa table. We looked on Houzz at sofa tables and agree that a table would look nice there. We can move the sectional a couple feet closer to the TV to make room for the sofa table and ensure there is enough room between the table and sofa table (also have the table at four feet from the west wall so I could move it over a foot).

Didn't realize our master suite was out of proportion to the rest of the house (2300 SF on main floor, 1300 SF on second floor). 21' x 13' for master bedroom a little wide? The sitting area really isn't necessary, but we wanted access to the back yard from the master bedroom. The closet is pretty big but we don't want to have to keep off season clothes, etc in different areas of the house.

We have a fireplace in our current home that we've only used a few times in the 8 years we've been here. We'd rather have windows than a fireplace. Considered a two-way fireplace somewhere but felt it was money we could spend better elsewhere.

Thanks for your suggestions.