Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
aa62579

Please critique plan and DW location

aa62579
13 years ago

Kitchen size is approximately 10 1/2' x 16'.

Appliances: 2 refrigerators (30" size), range (30"), dishwasher (24"), main sink (36" cabinet), prep sink (24" cabinet)

Island: Estimated size is 9' x 4' (not including counter overhang). Distance between island and main counters is 3 1/2' - 4' Island will be used more for prep and as a buffet than for seating, but she does have two barstools (rectangular), that she would like to stick under the overhang. If 1' is not enough, can probably make the island wider, can make it smaller and lose the 1 foot cabinets in the back, or make the 24" boxes smaller. All boxes are being built by contractor, so they do not have to be standard depths.

The only place I saw a possible appliance door collision is if you had the trash pullout in the island ALL the way out and opened the fridge door greater than 90 degrees. If the fridge is recessed any (there is a pantry behind them that we can rob room from) and if the pullout is never pulled all the way out, I don't think they will ever touch.

Top opening goes to eating area. Bottom opening goes to a hallway/closet/great room.

There will be a window on the sink wall, but it can be shifted left or right.

Microwave will probably set on the counter or go into a open shelf in the island (27" cabinet).

I did a mockup in Excel so that the dimensions could be seen. Each square is 3". Plan now is that most of the daily dishes will be in the cabinets near the corner. Routine is scrape/rinse/DW, so I would like to keep those close to each other to still allow that.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Comments (7)

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    Just a few things to think about.

    Because of the multiple ifs around the ref/trash door contention, plan on it happening. You could trade the sink and pullout positions - its a little less likely to happen because both users would likely be in the same space. I'd go for moving it to the bottom (as drawn) to take the place of some of those under-counter cabinets. Let it open into the side aisle instead of the ref aisle.

    The refs... I don't know about that positioning or even those sizes. For one thing, it becomes a huge side by side with more places to hunt for stuff and increased probability that both doors would always be opened. It'll be kinda hard to keep working on the bottom part of the island or use the prep sink while someone is using the refs. It's kinda connected to the trash thing.

    Since I don't know exactly what you're choosing or why, I'd just think about it before committing. If part is supposed to be for beverages, would it make more sense to have a 36" or 42" ref and an under-counter beverage ref up near the dishes so little devils didn't constantly interrupt prep with demands for chocolate milk or margaritas?

    12" overhang = eat fast cause you're slightly uncomfortable; 15" overhang = smooze or relaxed meal. As buehl is noted for saying - it won't save any real space because the actual people and stools will take up the same amount of room anyway.

    BUT do factor in that 36" of cabinet depths normally take at least 37.5" of counter by the time you get done with the normal overhang on the working aisle side. Using a 48" wide counter, that works out to only 10.5" of seating overhang. The island top needs to end up being 49.5" to 54.5" wide depending on your choice of seating depth. The 54ish" depth may cause issues with your desired countertop material.

  • formerlyflorantha
    13 years ago

    Really evaluate your throw-away stuff. Are there two double trash units? In them is one bin for bottles and cans, one for other trash? You only need one bottle/can bin in a family kitchen, unless you are an alcoholic, a family of pop drinkers, or a big user of canned human and dog food. Off-loading a single recycling bin to the garage occasionally instead of stockpiling it for a week could solve your problem. Make the island pull-out a more modest sized single bin sitting sideways. Put it under the sink if necessary. By the way, is this a big family? Will there be people back to back at refrig and sink who might collide?

  • aa62579
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thank you for your comments.

    If we take out the 12" cabinets on the back of the island, we can make it an 18" overhang, with a total island width of 3'6", allowing 6 inches for doors/drawer/overhang to still come under 48" to for an easier countertop.

    This also pretty much eliminates the pullout and fridge collision - even more so if they inset the fridge some. I moved it to the very end so that you can have it open, stand at the 27" cabinet and have the sink on one side and trash on the other. It is how she sets up her prep area now with her trash can that she just moves around, so this will probably be more to her liking than right next to the sink.

    They need the fridge space and already have those sizes of refrigerators (she's been in her house now since '78 - kitchen is in the original mobile home part, so the smaller fridges are what she has always purchases to fit in the built in space. She uses 3 fridges now and has them organized well. Nothing devoted specifically to beverages. Just my parents and they do not drink.

    Oh, any 95% of the time, it will only be one user in the kitchen.

    Let's see if this is any better...
    {{!gwi}}

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

  • aa62579
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    "Really evaluate your throw-away stuff. Are there two double trash units? In them is one bin for bottles and cans, one for other trash? You only need one bottle/can bin in a family kitchen, unless you are an alcoholic, a family of pop drinkers, or a big user of canned human and dog food. Off-loading a single recycling bin to the garage occasionally instead of stockpiling it for a week could solve your problem. Make the island pull-out a more modest sized single bin sitting sideways. Put it under the sink if necessary. By the way, is this a big family? Will there be people back to back at refrig and sink who might collide?"

    We would like a trash can in the prep area and in the clean up area. Unfortunately, there is no recyling in our ara. Not even trash pickup unless you go private. Instead my father takes the bags with him to work to the dumpster there (he owns the company, so nothing illegal).

    I'm picturing more of a larger can turned sideways than two smaller cans. I have two at home that are narrow rectangles, but long and a decent height. (I actually had to cut the tops off a bit to get them the right height. They may not have been sold as trash cans either.)

  • rhome410
    13 years ago

    Recycling is done differently in different areas. What we can add to our recycle bin is more than what my mother, who lives 2 counties away, can add to her recycle bin...So different sizes may be needed or wanted by different people. Many people here have a trash at the cleanup and at the prep...And I never heard it related to alcoholism before! It's more dependent on one's priorities and willingness to give up the cabinet space. I was fortunate to be able to locate ours between and use one for both. It might be possible here, if there was a pullout on the range end of the island that was also reachable from the clean up sink...but not necessary to cut to one unless AA wants to.

    I, personally, wouldn't worry about the trash/fridge conflict, as it seems unlikely or extremely rare...and pretty easily avoidable. I find that having a trash pullout by the prep area is extremely useful...So nice to sweep things right off the island into it.

    Bmore mentioned the fridge sizes...Do you have them chosen? We put in 32" all-fridges and an all-freezer, but left enough room and trimmed around them so that if we ever needed to replace them with the more standard 36" size, it wouldn't mean ripping out cabinetry and redoing a whole wall. Something to think about, perhaps.

  • bmorepanic
    13 years ago

    Trash is one thing that becomes multi-user as long as there is even one other person in the house. In our case, we have a tiny can in the bathroom but the kitchen trash is the only can on the first floor. It's the receptacle for all manner of trash and recyclables.

    I am firmly in the camp of a trash per cabinet run with sink in it. One thing I regret about the new kitchen is cutting the trash at the cleanup sink.

  • Buehl
    13 years ago

    About recycling...In 2008 or 2009, our county went to mixed recycling and just about everything you can think of! It's reduced our trash from two or three trash cans at the road a week to one large can! Our recyclables have gone from one medium-sized can every two weeks to one medium & one large (county-supplied) can every week! We recycle more than we throw out now!