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lizb_kc

Kitchen Floor Plan -- Please HELP! :-)

LizB.KC
9 years ago

Hi all-
We're desperate to switch our kitchen range from electric to gas, but want to make any major kitchen layout changes before we have the gas line put in. Here's a to-scale outline of what we've got right now. The bubbles opposite the sink and dishwasher are counter-height stools (with column-supported top-half-open pass-throughs to the eat in area). I cook every night, and we occasionally entertain larger groups (20-40 people). It's usually just me doing the bulk of the cooking, but occasionally my husband or our 2 kids will help out. I'd love to pick your brains for any ideas or suggestions for better layouts for the space. We don't have the option of taking down or moving any walls, but I'd love to hear if you guys can come up with a better arrangement for the space we've got. A million thanks in advance!!!
Liz

Comments (9)

  • Shelley Graham
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    It doesn't appear that you have a well defined prep space near your sink, while the area under your window is going begging. I wouldn't think there is much eating space opposite the sink, at least as drawn, so perhaps that area is just for chatting. In addition, I don't see where you have dish and flatware storage close to the dishwasher.

    In a perfect world, I would move the sink and the dishwasher under the window and find storage for dishes and flatware in that vicinity. I would also move the pantry to the other side of the fridge, leaving you with a cleanup zone on one side of the sink and a prep zone on the other side.

    Good luck!

  • _sophiewheeler
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Move the fridge where the desk area is and move the cooktop to the center of the wall where the current fridge is located. Keep the current sink as a prep sink, only smaller. Place a cleanup sink under the window with the DW next to the pantry. You now have 3 auxillary prep zones as well as the main prep between the sink and cooktop. And you've separated cleanup and prep, so another functional gain.

  • Jillius
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    1) Do you use the desk?

    2) Have you considered an induction cooktop instead of gas? I gather the performance is very similar, and then you'd not need to put in a gas line.

  • LizB.KC
    Original Author
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks for the quick responses! I knew I could count on you guys!

    To answer Jillius's questions:

    We use the desk only as a place to charge all of our cell phones -- we could easily relocate the cell phone hub elsewhere in the house.

    We haven't really considered induction, mainly because we love some of the things that you can do on a gas cooktop alone -- i.e., heat tortillas or roast peppers over the open flame. I do love the idea of induction otherwise, though, and totally apprecaite the suggestion!

    Do you guys think the island is too much in the way for a functional work triangle if we use the swap suggested by hollysprings? Making that switch was the only alternative layout I could think of on my own, and it would be minimally invasive, so to speak, so my wallet likes it a lot!

    Thanks for the insight, ssg7741! You're totally correct, the area opposite the sink is rarely used, and if it is, it's just for chatting. And I usually end up doing my prep alongside the cooktop on the island -- which is not ideal. It would never even have occured to me that the sink is the culprit, but I think you guys may be on to something!

    Any other thoughts or things I should consider?

    Many thanks!!! :-)

  • lazy_gardens
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I see people having to go through the food prep area to get a cold drink from the refrigerator ... move the desk out and put the refrigerator where the wall ovens are.

    Island it too small for the size of kitchen - I would add prep space there

  • Jillius
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    What about this?

    1) I increased the counter depth where the seating is, so people sitting there could put a plate down in front of them and sit there without getting splashed by the sink.

    2) How important are the wall ovens to you? I gave you two ovens, but they are not wall ovens, and by doing that, you gained an impressive pantry. If you want the wall ovens, just take half the pantry to do it.

    3) You also now have two major prep areas between a sink (either clean-up or prep) and the stove.

    4) It's now possible for someone to wander in the kitchen and get a snack from the fridge or the pantry without entering any major work zones.

    5) The island size is approximate. You should mock it up and make sure you find the walkways around it roomy enough.

  • tracie.erin
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My idea takes out the half-wall but leaves the posts, if you are interested in something like that.

    So, I would do range where fridge is, fridge where pantry is, pantry where ovens/desk are, sink w/ DW under window. Delete the peninsula (where sink and DW currently are), extend island through that space; widen/angle island at top so that posts can be incorporated into island. Add prep sink to island.

    The island will not have room for seating along the right or left sides, but you could not have cabinetry (just have counter + legs) at the top end to allow for a few seats.

  • lisa_a
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Here's my idea for you.

    Blue lines = prep/cooking paths and red lines = clean-up paths; you'll notice that there isn't much overlap in the paths. That's a good thing, IMO.

    My plan echoes tracie.erin's idea of removing the peninsula and elongating the island to incorporate the posts. I envision it as something like this:

    [

    [(https://www.houzz.com/photos/hwc-folly-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~5155586)

    [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Charleston Photographers Matthew Bolt Graphic Design

    I swapped out cook top and DOs for a range and moved the fridge to the same wall as the range with a prep sink and MW drawer in the island. Your current kitchen provides a fairly tight work zone between fridge, sink and cook top; since you are the primary cook, I thought it best to keep that efficient configuration. That said, this lay-out would also work for multiple cooks.

    I moved the clean-up sink to the window with a glass fronted hutch to its right (looking at it from above), something like this:

    [

    [(https://www.houzz.com/photos/fairfield-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1588798)

    [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Fairfield Architects & Building Designers Tara Veith Design, LLC

    Or this:

    [

    [(https://www.houzz.com/photos/shannon-cabinetry-traditional-kitchen-toronto-phvw-vp~71925)

    [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Youngstown General Contractors Shannon Cabinetry

    I changed the desk and double oven area to a beverage center. That will be very handy when you entertain, plus it makes it easier for your kitchen to accommodate groups of 20-40 people. You can use this area for buffet service, too. The bar sink is optional.

    The one downside of this plan is that the pantry goods are outside the primary prep area and the island is a barrier between the pantry goods and the range. But considering how much circling around the island your current kitchen requires to go between pantry, fridge, sink, cook top and ovens, it might be tolerable and if you're a Mise en Place cook, it won't be a big deal at all.

    You don't give us the width of this area so I opted for counter-height, wide pull-out cabs to house pantry goods instead of a tall pull-out pantry cab but you could also do a tall pull-out if this area is wide enough to accommodate that plus at least a 36" wide counter for the beverage center. Or you could opt to ditch the beverage center completely in favor of pantry storage.

    Oops, I forgot to include the island's width. It's 43.5 (25.5" cabs with 1.5" counter overhang & 18" seating overhang).

    Your plan doesn't include where the two doorways - upper left - go. If one of those goes out to a patio, having a way to go from kitchen to the patio without going all the way around would be a plus, especially if you grill a lot.

    Additionally, since you haven't included all dimensions, you'll need to double-check that my plan is feasible. Specifically, if there will be at least a 42" aisle between fridge corner and post and how much counter you'll have between fridge and 48" range and 48" range and lower corner.

  • scootermom
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Re: pantry location in Lisa A's plan...my pantry is inconveniently located in my kitchen, and after many years, I decided to move the most frequently used items to my prep area, where they take up one shelf. So my everyday things: oils, vinegars, cereal, peanut butter, bread, croutons, and baking ingreds all live in the prep zone, where they are used most every day.

    When I need not-everyday-stuff like a can of black beans, the pancake mix, or some taco shells (or extras of my daily-use items), I go to the pantry to get them.

    In this design, that cabinet between the fridge and stove could have a drawer or two for most-oft-used items; or perhaps in the island itself. I'd probably keep baking stuff in the corner between stink and stove (canisters in the corner, other stuff in cabinets above).

    I don't see a ton of storage for pots and pans here, though. Maybe that cab btwn range and fridge is big enough...30" or so?