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petesmom_gw

Kitchen Layout Help Please

petesmom
11 years ago

I spend a lot of time looking at floor plans for a future build. I like this plan more than I have liked any other, but something isn't sitting right about the kitchen.

I don't like it at all. I think it would be nice to have the counter area by the nook be a bar with stools...I try and try moving things around and then realize that it still doesn't work.

We are pretty basic people. Average amount of cooking and baking. The only really large meals would be for holidays. I dont need anything special in there. Please help me!!

Comments (6)

  • Shades_of_idaho
    11 years ago

    I can barely see your floor plan. What I can see is a very small counter to the right of the sink. Just the dishwasher width. I might consider extending that counter all the way to the right wall.

    Maybe put your fridge there but to me it might feel too much in my face.The only thing I really do not like is thew oven all the way across the room.Otherwise the work area looks pretty good.

    Our kitchen dinning room is 22' by 12'6".

    I know you did not ask but will comment my experience with the garden tubs. They are a real pain to deal with. I had them leave that tub out here in our master bath. We have a regular tub in guest bath.

  • lavender_lass
    11 years ago

    I think the stairs are too far back (since the living room is set back) and that makes the nook, seem small. To me, it makes the kitchen look boxy and too big, without any real relationship to the nook...and also cut off, from the dining room.

    What do you like about the plan? Are you a formal person, who likes separate living room, dining room, kitchen, nook? If not, you might want to incorporate a different style of kitchen, into the plan. What type of kitchen are you drawn to, normally?

    For me, I don't mind separate rooms or more of an open plan...but I do like a place to sit in the kitchen. Either a peninsula, island, table, somewhere to sit down and visit with the cook.

    Another problem (just my opinion) is that the nook has a built in hutch and a door to the outside...but only 13' wide. This doesn't leave much room for a table and no space for stools...not that you would want them that close to the cooktop. But, even if you rearrange the space...stools and a table will still not fit well, in the nook area.

  • petesmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I like a lot about this plan. The retreat area off of the master bedroom is tremendously important. I would change the doors so that there is no entrance to the retreat except by the master bedroom. Opposite of now with a pocket door between them. This area will be a nursery at first and then a private study. I like the kitchen, nook and dining proximity. I like the kitchen and pantry near the garage. Once I reverse the plan I can watch the sunset from my bed. Yes please!

    We aren't too formal, but I am the kind of person that feels like everything has a place and a room where it should live. I would have taken out the built in hutch regardless, because things that belong in a hutch live in a dining room.

    Granted the dining room would not get that much use, but is very much needed when family is over(and will be used for wrapping gifts). In fact, I need six seats in the dining room, 4 in the nook and 3-4 seats at a bar. I would like to widen the walk way between the kitchen and dining room as well.

    It did not occur to me that the stairs are too far in, but as soon as it was pointed it out it seems so obvious. These are my thoughts...Move the stairs forward a couple/few feet, remove the hutch, swing door and window from the nook. Replace the door and window with a sliding glass door or french that open out. I can then widen the kitchen, no?

    I wold prefer an island in the kitchen. I think this would help as a gathering area for food prep. I am also not completely sold on the separate oven and cooktop. I think I would much prefer them being a single unit. I don't think I would move the sink away from the window, the window should be centered in the room so I feel like I have to configure the rest of the kitchen around the darned sink and window!

    It seems like my mind goes into a loop with this kitchen. Hopefully widening it will help the layout.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link to actual flooplan

  • rosie
    11 years ago

    Moving the stairs forward to trade some of that wow-the-world entry for the kitchen sounds like a very good idea.

    I'd also look at the space behind the car storage. You'll have a beautiful flight of stairs in the middle of the house, easy reach to everything. Do you want to invest money now and space permanently in a second flight? Commit to keeping two flights swept or vacuumed? Intriguing as I find stairs, my first thing would be to lose that second flight.

    I'd also provide HVAC and a wall to the currently unfinished space that's currently allocated to garage to develop its function to a higher level. That back corner would make a good-sized room and IMO is far too expensive to construct and far too desirable for other functions to use to store the snow shovel, which can always join the leaf baskets in a shed outside.

    In any case, I'd add that entire stretch across the back of the garage to the kitchen for consideration of how to make it all best work for us. Note how minimal and badly designed that laundry area, with 3 doors (but none to the outside!), is. That and the kitchen both show every sign of being "designed" by someone who has never done his own housekeeping--or wasted a moment's extra thought on anyone else's.

  • petesmom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Oh yeah I plan on losing that 2nd flight of stairs. Its a waste of space and money as far as I am concerned. I haven't completely figured out that area. I knew that I didn't want the stairs, I do want the storage area, although it could be smaller. (DH is an electrician and always has things that need moved in and out of his work vehicle. I figured that would be a perfect place for those items)I would like to make the laundry room larger as well. I suppose I can rearrange and create more space for the kitchen and the laundry room.

    I will try with my limited software to figure out new kitchen dimensions so that this kitchen layout can get figured out.

  • lavender_lass
    11 years ago

    First, the non-kitchen response...if you plan to change the doors to the master suite, what about moving the fireplace to the wall against the living room (in the master retreat) and add a fireplace in the living room, on the same wall?

    As for behind the garage, I agree...that could be much better utilized. Maybe a larger laundry room combined with a mudroom?

    Now...the kitchen, I like the sink under the window, but I've seen some very nice kitchens, where the range was between windows and the sink was on the peninsula or island. The challenge with an island (for this kitchen) is it's not big enough...unless you get rid of all the cabinets, on the wall to the dining room.

    It's usually 2' for cabinets under the window, at least 3'6" for aisles (allowing for countertop overhangs, etc.) and 42" for island depth (for cabinet and overhang for stools) and then a wider aisle for seating (4' to 5') and then another 2' for the back cabinets. You can shave off a few inches here and there, but I don't think you can take off enough to fit into a 12'6" space.

    You could bump the kitchen and nook back a few feet (into the backyard space) and that would give you room for an island and you wouldn't have to move the stairs forward...and still have enough space in the breakfast nook. If you make the back (dining room) wall of the kitchen mainly storage or baking space...then you could have the powder room access off that area and still have the main kitchen traffic, on the other side of the island.

    Maybe somthing like this...and it's really tough to draw this small, in Paint :) {{!gwi}}From Cottage house plans

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