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doc5md

Kitchen Design Help Please... second try....

doc5md
9 years ago

Hi everyone. I posted a couple weeks ago about the kitchen design in a whole house I'm working on.
After taking in the comments, I've made some adjustments and I thought I'd see what the group thinks of the current plan. I find it to be MUCH better now.
I put the prep sink in the island along with trash. I moved the cooktop to the east wall and the large sink to the north wall. This allowed the more windows on the north wall (previously I had them split up and now I have three grouped together with an arched window above them. I also made the island countertop arc more to try and get further from a straight line of seating.
Feel free to comment on any aspect of the plan you see problems with.
I do have the following few questions:
1) Swap the fridge and the wall ovens? I can recess the fridge on either wall.
2) I had though a small refreshment area would be handy on that south wall towards the family room but with fridge on that wall, maybe all tall cabs are fine?
3) Do I need to do something different with the ovens and the fridge aisle way? I worry coming out of the pantry (the opening on the south wall) will feel odd going through there. Current it is 4 feet from the corner of fridge to corner of ovens.
Thanks everyone!!!
Quinn

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous Thread:

Comments (13)

  • bmorepanic
    9 years ago

    These aren't problems, more just things you might think about...

    Where's the coffee? Simple question but always good for thought. Simple, everyday things like getting a cup of coffee or having breakfast cereal I think should be easy without going to and fro too much. Think a bit now about how things are used together - cereal, bowls, spoons, milk, coffee is cups, beans or grounds, water and whatever you favor for a maker. Making a sandwich is also almost right there in that aisle. So, the difference of having junior chefs not constantly running back and forth is about where dishes are stored more than anything.

    The two types of refrigeration are pretty close together. Would it make more sense to yield the large ref to everyday use for snacks, etc. and move the undercounter ref, possibly using drawers instead, up near the sink in the island and re-label it the cooks ref? Easy reach for eggs, butter, milk, produce, etc would keep you from running to and fro too much.

    Are the tall ovens going to bother you in the location shown? It would bother me to have a tall object blocking my view of the dining area and the back hall. I'm also not sure about having an open oven door exactly there (thinking kids and helpers). If I was dashing in from outside and surprised by open oven door.

    Reminding that hood covers cause minor issues with cabinet doors as will the extra deep upper at the corner. The "normal" solution is to have the hinge side of the away from the deeper cabinets. I wonder if that would be weird for you - to have every cab on that wall open the wrong way.

    This is partly personal prefs, but I'd kill off the corner thing and just dead-end that cabinet run on the range wall into the corner. I know you're trying to maintain room symmetry, but that's not what it will look like. As drawn, it has the potential to be a visual jumble and create storage spaces that are too small or too deep to use.

    You might post where you are with the entire floor plan for this level. It might lead to other solutions. It looks like there is a butlers or simple pantry with a walkway to a more formal (or maybe just more defined) dining area? You could think about turning that into a scullery and dish storage area (gets the dishes near the "snack wall"). Then the window wall could turn into a baking zone. Or put the cooking area on the window wall with a different window pattern and use the current cooking wall for storage, re-orienting the island.

    It's always hard to choose what to do.

  • doc5md
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks bmorepanic for commenting.
    I will work on some of those thoughts you had. I added a link to the thread on the whole plan. I hope that helps everyone to understand it all better.
    Bring on the comments! :) :)
    Thanks again,
    Quinn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Link to full plan thread.

  • doc5md
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    What does anyone think of this island layout below. The island is a bit odd looking like this, but it does two things. 1) allows eaters to see TV in the Family room. 2) allows eaters to see one another for better conversation.
    Thoughts? improvements?
    Thanks,
    Quinn

  • lisa_a
    9 years ago

    I much prefer Jillius' 2nd example of seating but honestly, I'm not a huge fan of sitting and eating at the counter as a regular habit.

    Why not consider just abutting a table against the island like this:

    [Industrial Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/industrial-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2113) by Chicago Architects & Building Designers Besch Design, Ltd.

    This would give you the flexibility to pull the table away from the island and turn it to seat 6 when needed. I would do a 60" long table so that the people seated closest to the island don't feel crowded up against it. Your island arrangement looks crowded to me.

    Here's another table against an island:

    [Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Vancouver Design-Build Firms VictorEric

  • christina222_gw
    9 years ago

    It seems as though you have a number of narrow lowers (I hope those are all drawers!) where you could combine some and have wider ones, which will give you better storage and a cleaner look.

  • amykath
    9 years ago

    Love the idea and looks of the second photo Jill posted. How lovely and cozy!!!

  • tomBeck
    9 years ago

    yeah you should go with jill's poste, I love it:D

  • sjhockeyfan325
    9 years ago

    I personally prefer the first one lisa posted. But I like all 4 better than the layout in the OP's last post. :-)

  • lavender_lass
    9 years ago

    Here's one of my favorites...
    {{gwi:1422638}}From Kitchen tables and vintage kitchens

  • doc5md
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    And see... This is why I come to this forum... Awesome posts everyone!! DW is gonna love those pictures!!!
    Thanks a bunch!
    Quinn

  • Jillius
    9 years ago

    Lavender, I wanted to post that picture too, but I couldn't find it on my Pinterest page in order to link it (I miiiiiight have too much stuff pinned on my kitchen page). Love it!

    This post was edited by Jillius on Tue, Oct 7, 14 at 22:35

  • romy718
    9 years ago

    Doc-are your base cabinets drawers? DW will also love as many drawers as possible.