Comments on our new kitchen layout please...

Ben84

madcow2006 wrote: »

Thanks again for the extra comments. Our thoughts thus far are;

• The breakfast bar was proposed that way for a few reasons; to maximise the units & worktop in the hob run of units, to keep a breakfast bar as well as the table as we have found it very useful & sociable over the years, mrs madcow wanted the curved ended base units & I agree it softens thelook, the open end of the breakfast bar that protrudes around the corner into the family room was to do a few things; continue the curved worktop theme, extend the worktop albeit very slightly round into the family room from the kitchen, & at this corner we have power, TV & phone sockets so they will probably be utilised in the new layout.

Having a fridge under the counter below the breakfast bar would make setting breakfast and tidying it away quicker. Of course, the under counter fridge does come with less capacity, so needs weighing up.

madcow2006 wrote: »

• I like the idea of using the rear of the breakfast bar for storage if we don’t use a corner cupboard. Great suggestion.
• I’m also not sure about the microwave wall unit or the look of the fridge breaking up the run of tall units. Maybe we should go for a built in tall larder fridge & lose the freezer to the utility.

Having the freezer out of the main kitchen might be inconvenient. I really like having mine in the kitchen as I'm always in and out of there, particularly in the summer for ice cubes while making drinks.

madcow2006 wrote: »

• How about having a 3rd tall appliance unit between the two ovens & house the microwave, possibly with a warming drawer below.
• I agree with the worktop adjacent to the oven & would like to increase the worktop on that side if possible.
• Our designer originally had a wall unit on both sides of the extractor hood, but I did not show them as I wanted to go for a clean uncluttered look. Now I’m thinking the extractor wall looks a bit stark. How about some wall units up there?

I like the wall cupboards for holding often used and fragile things like glasses, plates and cups safely. As well as giving some space for storing often used items like instant coffee quick to hand above the kettle.

madcow2006 wrote: »

• We were going to go for a 100mm up stand at the rear of the worktop & a splash back behind the hob, so that will help with that wall also.
• The tall units we are thinking of are 2297mm high. So virtually floor to ceiling.
• I think the built in ovens should be moved up into the next section of the housing, they look a bit low slung.
• We think we now like the dresser on the * wall & can see the benefit of more space around the table.
• It is a Franke Ariane under mounted sink that supplier has mentioned. Will this fit the 600 base unit?
• On the dresser, how about having the wall units be wall mounted & not coming all the way down to the granite worktop. Therefore losing the drawers & maximising the worktop area & exposing the lovely granite.
• Regarding the size of the table we are not planning to replace it. It sits six people comfortably & all the chairs tuck in so they hardly protrude when not in use, so maximising passing space.

Any more thoughts on our suggestions above?

Thanks again Madcow

Meepster

Ok, so here are some revised drawings:

Kitchen with units either side of hood


Tall bank changed to include tall fridge (or even fridge freezer) you'll have to excuse the fact that the middle set is another oven and not a microwave and warming drawer, but for some reason it wouldn't work properly in the kitchen range I used


"Dresser" wall with drawers removed


The same view, but this time with the top and bottom trims removed

Meepster

Ben84 wrote: »

Hi Meepster,

I'm still not really convinced that the microwave is easy to get to because it's not the height I'm considering, but more that there's a counter in front of it so that nobody can stand directly in front of it? Short people (children being the most likely example in the average house) and people who find it difficult to lift heavy things will not find this a good place for it.

If this were the case, we wouldn't have wall units in a kitchen!

Ben84 wrote: »

The rest of my suggestions do come with consequences, good and bad perhaps, including a loss of fridge/freezer space, which I'm glad you mentioned because I was very focused on getting things in the best locations as that's what I worry about, so I didn't explore this very well.

Understandable, but you need to realise that sometimes you need to compromise on how it works, over how it looks and vice versa.

Ben84 wrote: »

I think the ovens are more questionable though because we rarely pack them full like fridges and freezers, instead it's largely about the number of shelves. Both ovens in my double oven are about the same size as a typical single oven and have two shelves each. A few cubic litres less may not translate in to much difference in height/depth at all, so within reason, does oven capacity matter all that much?

I have to disagree, it's not about the number of shelves, it is about capacity. Double ovens CAN be useful, if you are restricted on space, but when you have a footprint like this one, two single ovens make much more sense. Seeing that the OP is now getting rid of the microwave from the wall and putting it into a tall housing, how exactly would you get it to look good design wise?

Ben84 wrote: »

Anyway, a lot of these ideas came from being concerned there isn't any space next to the ovens and things like the fridge/freezer are not near the likely food preparation area, which I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on? It just doesn't seem that good having to go backwards and forwards across the room every time you take something out. Often things are taken out for just a moment to check progress, so there could be a lot of extra running around with hot pans. Same for the fridge/freezer, I would trade the space inside for the convenience of having it closer, but I realise others may feel differently and design is somewhat subjective I like the idea of having everything in the right place so that using the kitchen flows nicely much more than I would worry about having specific appliances.

But there is space next to the ovens, to the left hand side, you have plenty of worktop. One thing I consider when planning ANY kitchen is Dynamic Space and zone planning, but sometimes you need to split things up a little. This link will give you more info: http://www.dynamicspace.com/dynamicspace/en/04/01/02/index.html

Leif

Meepster wrote: »

"We were thinking of units without any pelmet or cornice for an uncluttered look, so the 2297mm unit height is the bare unit."
If it's going to be a shaker style door, you should be putting some kind of trim on there, otherwise it just wont look finished.

Personally I prefer it without the trim, neater, as that is what I have, but then again it's not my kitchen.

madcow2006

Wow Meepster those models are great! Love the extractor & tall units wall layouts now. I agree the dresser unit looks better without the wall units floating above & the top & bottom trims finish off the units a treat. The layout now has quite a few sets of drawers so we will probably replace some of them with cupboards. Thanks for all your effort. You've got a great talent & great software that you use to the max.
Cheers Mr & Mrs Madcow

Meepster

madcow2006 wrote: »

Wow Meepster those models are great! Love the extractor & tall units wall layouts now. I agree the dresser unit looks better without the wall units floating above & the top & bottom trims finish off the units a treat. The layout now has quite a few sets of drawers so we will probably replace some of them with cupboards. Thanks for all your effort. You've got a great talent & great software that you use to the max.
Cheers Mr & Mrs Madcow

No worries at all, if you want me to change anything else, just let me know

loracan1

Just a few comments from a personal perspective;

I have a microwave at that height, have no problem lifting stuff out and am not faced with having my worktop cluttered.
My very large freezer is in a utility room, I don't feel I've had to make a compromise by it being there - I'm not constantly going in the freezer. But my (rather small) fridge is in the perfect triangle in the kitchen, I do get what Ben is saying about there being no worktop space in the immediate fridge area...but I do prefer the look.
Think it looks better with the trims.

Karins

I don't know if you have a seperate dining room but if not it's worth considering having an oak dresser or similar in the dining area - my set up is very similar to yours and I was going to have a dresser matching the units but pleased I didn't as when we eat the dining area feels a bit less sterile than the kitchen area - I had spotlights in the kitchen but a dimmable light hung over the dining table so when we eat we can dim the dlight in the dining area and tend to leave just the small cabinet lights on in the kitchen so it's more intimate.

With regard to your wall area we put a TV on a swivel bracket on the wall by the breakfast bar so can swing it round to face into kitchen or dining area and it works very well.
I have a long bank of tall units like yours and I think they look great I went for an integrated fridge/freezer and then have another fridge and freezer in my utility and it doesn't cause any problems.
Anyway best of luck it's an exciting time planning a kitchen and seeing it evolve

Waterlily24

Hi Madcow

I haven't had time to read all the posts so sorry if this has been said already.

Your kitchen looks similar to mine although mine is square and the ting I really don't like about it is that the oven is opposite the hob. If I did the kitchen again I would definitely have the oven and hob on the same wall or one on the adjacent wall. I don't know if anyone agrees but it really annoys me lol.