What do you think of this kitchen design?

Jaynne

CKdesigner wrote: »

You're not going to be standing there continuously for half an hour are you? Surely you put the pan on, through the initial ingredient in then go back to it now and again for a stir.

This is exactly what we're doing, I'm thinking not really of friends pop over for dinner but if they or family are staying then you can't have everything ready in advance for all meals. Similarly when just my wife and I are cooking it's often just one or the other of us cooking at a time and it would be great for the other person to be able to have the other person sit at the breakfast bar as it can sometimes to be hard to hear the other person if you have some music on in the background and a few gas burners going while cooking.

We actually had a designer suggest and show us a render of just what you've suggested and we really didn't like it. Essentially it's the layout we're trying to get away from.

mavala25

Looking at the photograph you have provided, as it is now, your kitchen/diner layout is exactly the same as ours.
We are hoping to actually move the kitchen to the other side of the room (so have a cooker and units against the wall you cant see in the pic) and have a kitchen island where the table is in your picture. The dinning table will be moved into the space where the kitchen currently is making a nice dinning area nook. We're going to wood panel the walls in this area.
Have you thought about something like this, or is it too much up-heaval as such.? I have no idea what it would cost yet to move all the utilities to the other side of the rooms, but we'll find out...

In fact, does anyone know what it would cost. Its wooden floorboards in our kitchen as flooring that would need pulling up to resite all the services..

Jaynne

It's a good idea but I assumed it would be a huge pain to move the drainage as the drain is the other side of the wall in the corner by the window. I didn't think that there would be enough of a slope down for the sink drain since it would be quite far as it would be placed somewhere in the middle of the long wall.

EDIT: I assumed the upheaval might well put it beyond our budget as we'd prefer to spend cash on getting things like granite worktops

mavala25

fair point Jayne, I may balk at the idea when I see the cost of getting the utilities moved over to the other side!

Jaynne

So I've tried to play around with some of the ideas and renders very kindly provided here. Mainly I've reduced the size of the peninsula as CKdesigner points out the fridge is imposing and a big part of that is the bar poking right out into it. I've resisted curving the bar all the way round to make sure there is still a good cupboard facing into the kitchen but put another cupboard facing into the dining area so there isn't any hidden corner space that using a corner unit in the peninsula would create.

yellowcrocus

Hi, I don't often come on this board so I hope you don't mind me giving my tuppence worth!

If it was me, I would keep the peninsula as it was- we have an island in our kitchen and it's the most used piece of worktop we have. I do find the fridge freezer overpowers the space, a built under unit would give you much more worktop space and room for more wall cupboards if you like.

evokit

What size drawers you get in?
with the L shape corner units either side with 450 doors you can get a 500 drawer, would need this if you went for a magic corner (more storage sace and stronger than le mans)
with 2 x 400 doors theres space for a 600 drawer - for the Le mans

Jaynne

@yellowcrocus
Thanks for your feedback, the whole point of putting the design here was to see what other people thought of it. The reason for the large fridge though is that we want a large fridge Having thought long and hard about it even though it looks so much better we didn't think we could live with the size of integrated F/FF especially if our family or 2 increases in size in a few years.

@evokit
I'm not 100% following you there.
The design shown has the Le Mans (1000mm) with 400mm doors and a 600mm drawer in between which we intended to have 3 draws in (cutlery plus pans/crockery in the bottom two). To reduce the size a Le Mans according to the Benchmarx magazine I have here I would have to reduce that to a 800mm unit which would allow space for the other le mans to be swapped for a magic corner (which do look good).
Alternatively we can put in two magic corners with a 500mm drawer in between but I would need to check we can fit our pans and things into a drawer that size.

evokit

Hi Jaynne
almost followed me. the internal size of the unit doesnt really matter.
Its the doors - for instance with the 400 corner doors you need to make an allowance for a corner post each end regardless of the size of door.
Magic corners only fit in units with 450 doors.
you wouldnt get many pans in a 500 drawer really, imo.
I have a 1200 and would love another set
What worktop are you looking at?

Jaynne

@evokit
Annoyingly when the previously people knocked the two rooms together they could have easily made another 100mm of space available which would of let me have those magic corners.
What we could do though is use a carousel in the corner by the cooker which would free up 100mm extra allowing a magic corner with 500mm doors which is available.

We're planning on a dark granite worktop, gloss white or cream units and sanding back to the original wooden floor in the dining area and probably tilling the kitchen area as I imagine there won't be any original floorboards where there would of originally been the wall between the rooms. Thankfully that point runs along where we want the peninsula giving a natural divider.