Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
avatar133

Layout Question (with pics!)

AvatarWalt
9 years ago

I've been perusing this site for awhile now, ramping up as we get closer to actually doing something, and am continually amazed by the knowledge and generosity of time and ideas here. I've learned a ton, but I sure used up a lot of hours over the Labor Day weekend!

I'm attaching a possible layout for our kitchen remodel in a small 1905-ish Craftsman bungalow, occupied by two adults (and a small dog). After bumping out a few feet of the back wall (the DW and sink footprint is currently outside), we'll have a room roughly 11'4" x 19, with a peninsula between the kitchen and DR.

My greatest concern at the moment is that having the sink at the back will be crazy inconvenient. I hate to take up the island with a sink though, and we like the idea of an island rather than a galley, though the latter would allow a sink under the windows on the long wall. I saw a kitchen on Houzz recently with roughly the same layout and it looked workable, but I'm curious about more real-world thoughts.

And we need to work around our new-to-us O'Keefe & Merritt stove, currently the object of much love. :)

Thanks!

Comments (9)

  • annkh_nd
    9 years ago

    Go with a galley. Your proposed sink location is something you might learn to live with if you bought the house that way, but I sure wouldn't plan it that way. Where would you put your dishes? No matter how beautiful your range is, do you want to sit at the island and look at with, with a huge window at your back? Do you need island seating, with a dining room so close?

    Is the purpose of the bump-out to improve the access to outside? A bench under the windows would be convenient and pretty.

    With a galley, I'd put in 30"-deep base cabinets on both sides, to provide more storage, and close up the distance between counter runs. It also allows a standard-depth fridge to appear counter-depth. I'd put the sink and range on the same wall, fridge on the opposite side, so you aren't hauling pots of water across the wide aisle.

  • rmtdoug
    9 years ago

    I agree with Annkh. You also would have easier venting if the stove is on the outside wall, and yes on wide counters. Your kitchen is perfect for those.

    I live in a 1917 house and we tried layouts with opening up the kitchen and having an island and it just did not work. The space lost all its charm, so there will be no island and I know it will be just fine.

  • breezygirl
    9 years ago

    I agree with galley. The sink location is far from ideal. Deep counters would be wonderful for you! I wish I had them.

    Am I reading right that the aisle behind island is 36"? That's not nearly enough space for stools there. All the foot traffic will be pushed to travel between island and range. Bad idea. Another reason to go with a galley.

  • AvatarWalt
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the thoughts, and for confirming I'm not nuts to be concerned about sink placement and crowdedness. It brings to mind the threads about architects vs. kitchen designers too, as the architect couldn't readily answer questions about where the garbage pullout, broom closet and dishes would go.

    Annkh, we don't really need island seating, but a couple of stools would be nice for conversing with the cook, though not critical. Maybe under the peninsula. The bump-out is indeed for better access to a deck, garden, etc. and we were visualizing as frameless a door as possible and fold away window over the sink.

    Breezygirl, it's actually 36' from the edge of the island to the corner of the cabinets, so there's 12" more space along the window where there's no cabinet, offset somewhat by the curved edge of the island.

    I wonder how it would look to keep the peninsula, have deep counters with sink along the window wall, and then a small prep sink where the DW is listed on the drawing, maybe in an 18" deep counter.

    I don't think I'd object to a narrow center table either, as in the link:

    Here is a link that might be useful: [Center table[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/hwang-dewitt-traditional-kitchen-phvw-vp~10306192)

  • robert_sett
    9 years ago

    Think of the "work triangle" - refrigerator, sink, cooktop/range. Your triangle, as it stands, is stretched out all the way across the room - the sink and the fridge are at opposite ends.

    Also, try to place the range on an outside wall. This way, when you install a range hood over it, the duct will be a short 90-degree turn into the wall, and an immediate outside exit.

    As it stands now, you would still have to have a 90-degree turn (running the duct up the wall and across the room to the outside), but in addition to that, another ~20 feet of ducting.

    Every turn and every linear foot of ducting reduces the airflow of the range hood - try to keep it as short & straight as possible.

  • pricklypearcactus
    9 years ago

    What about keeping the cleanup sink and dishwasher as is in the layout drawing. But add a prep sink in the island. This would allow the island to be a functional prep space across from the range. Alternatively you could put a prep sink in the counter on one side of the range.

  • AvatarWalt
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    That's a good idea prickly. I didn't want to take up the island with a sink, but I then realized that it's about 7' long, so a prep sink might work well. The triangle is indeed stretched, but we'd like to have a slide-away window at the back (NanaWall window?), and having grilling and deck dishes go straight into the sink/dishwasher, as well as dealing with garden produce, etc. at the back has a definite allure. I think we'll have the designer do up a galley plan too though, and then we can compare and contrast. And obsess.

  • kcorn
    9 years ago

    We had a 21' x 11'2" space to work with with a dining room on one end and the family room on the other end (after opening up walls). Ultimately, after many, many, many iterations of the layout, I ended up with a modified galley that includes two peninsulas. I really wanted the island, but ultimately worried about traffic in all the wrong areas and issues with enough space for island seating that I realized would drive me nuts.

    Here is a pic of our layout. We just passed final inspection yesterday, but I don't have pictures yet to post. I modified a lot of our upper cabinets to be 16" deep and the rest are 13". I also have some base cabinets at 27" deep. There is more storage with this layout than any of the versions where I was trying to fit an island. Plus, I still have the benefit of having seating at the peninsulas which is working out great.

  • practigal
    9 years ago

    They say the minimum for having an island is 12', but even that is really tight. Your concern about inadequate prep (and not much space by the sink), no place for trash or broom are well taken. I really wanted an island/eat in kitchen but the space is just not wide enough. The long skinny island in the photo, while beautiful, will become something to walk around, ALL of the time. When I analyzed it I realized that the best layout would be accepting a galley, installing deep (30") cabinets, having a long stretch of counter with both sink and stove with a nice landing area on each side of them and the trash and dishwasher on each of the sink with the dishwasher on the side close to the cabinets that hold the dishes, my need for extra prep area was occasional and so I am opting for a pull out like the one in the link.
    Architects don't live in what they build and don't have time to cook anyway. The worst design advice I ever received was from a kitchen designer. Ikea design help was practical. The best I've seen this has been on this site.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pull out counter