Would you check out my kitchen layout please?

Gentleness

I'm a newbie poster but a long-time reader and user of many tips I've read on here and I'm hoping that some of you will help me out. We're at foundation stage with a new extension to our kitchen to add in a dining area for family meals. Our son is only 9mo at the moment but we hope to have more kids God willing and need something kid-friendly and VERY VERY easy to keep straight (and so logical that even my beloved can remember where things go). I'm not big on housework...

It'll be an Ikea kitchen fitted by a local man we're impressed with and I have spent WAY too long on all the planning already. Please tell me what you think.

Argh - won't let me post links first time so I'll have to see if I can put the images on a reply - otherwise any suggestions?

Ken68

Something here Gentle.

http://www.doityourselfkitchencabinets.com/Laying%20Out%20Kitchen%20Cabinets.htm

Also have heard about the Kitchen Triangle, a way of laying out worktops etc.

Gentleness

Thanks Ken - I've done so much research that my head is totally overloaded... What I need is an experienced eye to look at these plans and only say "fine dear" if it really is fine! Wish I could just post those images...

PasturesNew

Are they hosted online and you just need to link? Just put spaces in the link. e.g. www . google . com

We'll know what you mean and can take the spaces out.

Gentleness

Good thinking! Ok here goes, anyone kind enough to check this out for me, remove spaces in these links and when I'm allowed to post images I'll edit them in...


Below is the floorplan - the entrance from the hallway is the door on the right. The area to the left is the dining area with space for bookcases of cookbooks and toys and stereo and chargers and general whatever. The double doors will open into the garden.
i951. photobucket. com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/floorplan.jpg


Next the window wall. The wall cupboard nearest the side wall will house the boiler so probs won't be quite like that. The microwave will be below the boiler probably. The other wall cupboards (which won't be glass as they look on here) and that worktop area is for drink making so that can go on without my cooking being disturbed! I'll do my chopping & food prep in the area to the left of the hob and all the crockery and pans will be stored on that side of the room.
i951. photobucket. com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/windowwall.jpg


And this is the other wall, with built-in double oven. I need space to store stuff like Christmas decorations & rarely used things and also hate cleaning the tops of cupboards - hence the excessive no of wall units! The worktop in the middle will be my oven/baking area. Food will be stored on that side of the room. My beloved huge whiteboard, mailsorting and calendar area will be above the thin sliding door cupboards on the right, at the kitchen entrance.
i951. photobucket. com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/cookerwall.jpg


So experts - what have I missed? Or what could be better?
I know I have to put the toaster & breadbin somewhere and can't decide where.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/floorplan.jpg

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/windowwall.jpg

http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad358/sarah-epieikes/cookerwall.jpg

Gentleness

Thanks for that! I wonder what the postcount has to be to graduate to link-posting status?

Doozergirl

Have you thought about sitting down with a kitchen designer? It is of course incredibly important that your kitchen serves all the purposes that you need it to, and you're evidently thinking very hard about that, but you want it to look great as well. At the moment it's very unblanced in terms of the wall units that you have - some in one place, none in others and an entirely overpowering half wall of them!

Also, in terms of cost, larger units on the whole are proportionately much cheaper than using many small units - so if you use less but larger units you will save money. If you need a lot of storage then I'd consider using more larder units rather than many wall units to fill the same space (you won't get as much in to wall units either, as they not nearly as deep) Even tall wall units will cost less than short ones. Is your kitchen definitely tall enough to carry off double rows of wall units?

If you put draws underneath the sink they may not open! The waste beneath the sink may stop even the second draw from opening.

Gentleness

Thanks Doozergirl. We did try inhouse kitchen designers in Magnet, B&Q and Wickes, and discussed the plan with an Ikea bloke, but no-one has really added much to the mix design-wise...

I did want more larder storage units, but they'd be at the expense of worktop space on the cooker wall and I don't think I can lose that, even if it moves elsewhere. One of the reasons we are going with Ikea is that they have deeper units - only an extra 7cm on the wall units but it'll make a bit of difference. I've done an OCD chart working out exactly where everything would go and whether it fits and it is looking ok, except for the wretched toaster and breadbin!

Do you think that window wall will look bad with cupboards in the corner? I was hoping they'd not enroach too much and that just seems the best place to have a drink-making zone. But I'd rather have had no wall cupboards on that side at all.

Any ideas?

flea72

first impression too many drawers and too many doors

it looks very messy, and cluttered

if you want drawers rather than cupboards, i would go for deep ones, rather than narrow ones. think about what you can put in narrow drawers, cutlery and tea towels thats about it

you need deep ones that can hold crockery, pans, boxes, etc.

also your drawer/cupboard runs arent symetrical. you tend to find having a balance of cupboard fronts gives a more pleasing appearance

also the positions of the sink and hob dont give you a good long run of worktop

i would also be inclined to make the cooker wall a whole bank of units with the cooker centralised, rather than having that small alcove of worktop, in amongst all the cupboards

hth F

flea72

id also get rid of the wall units on the window side - not balanced and gives the wall a fussy look

F