Kitchen / Diner design advice

Ballymoney

Sorry, me again. I’ve played around with the design Doozergirl suggested on page 1 and I actually think it’s the best yet. I need to finalise what goes where in terms of the wall of cabinets but this design feels the most open and free. The washing machine and dishwasher will both be integrated and hidden behind a cabinet door.

Bifolds and a new pitched/vaulted roof with velux windows will be going in at the dining end to boost the light levels.

I’m still of the opinion the pantry is worth it in terms of cost/space/benefit but not 100% like I was a few days ago.

Thanks again for everyone’s opinions. I’ve changed my mind about 1042 times and, due to the points made in this thread, I think my design is far more functional than it was in my OP.

Ballymoney

Sorry to regurgitate an old thread I started a while back but I’ve been tinkering away at the kitchen design again and settled on what I hope will be the final version. 

I’ve tried to take on board all the great advice given in the thread. Sadly I couldn’t make the pantry work though. 

Can anyone see any glaring errors or potential issues? Or elements that they would hate if it were their own kitchen?

There will be 2500 wide bifolds and a roof lantern at the dining end so cooking at the peninsula will look out to the garden.

Doozergirl

Looks good. 

The breakfast bar - You don't need 600mm overhang on the bar, 300mm is good.  You can get 300mm deep cupboard units in there all across on the seating side, flanked either side by deeper units if you like. It would give you equal amount of storage as you put in, but increases seating space if you lose one of the 500mm units. 

I'd be really tempted to move the washing machine over to that side too, replacing the wine cooler so the drainage is close to the exterior wall.  It doesn't interfere with the cooking process and you can get a bit more storage on the cooking side, either replacing it with a corner unit or deep pan drawers which are always good for utilising most of a unit.  

The wine cooler can replace a deeper storage unit on the corner where it's better viewed. That's really what they're there for. 

Ballymoney

Thanks Doozer, I’ll have a play around with moving the washing machine. And good point re. 300 deep cupboards under the breakfast bar!

I’m still not sure about how usable the worktop surface in the bottom right corner will be. In my head that’s where the kettle/toaster will be. The 800 American FF may have to be swapped out for a 600 FF to increase that 200 base to a 400 base to increase the worktop by 200.

Another version I was playing with was not having the worktop at the end housing the sink. It was just the bank of units against the back wall and the peninsula housing both the sink and hob. This removes the wasted corner base storage but obviously loses the 1200 of worktop. Similar to the design below but with a larger peninsula ...

Doozergirl

I see what you mean.    Loses awkward corners, but perhaps limits your worktop and the sink would have to sit quite tight against the wall. 

Use all the space you can with the fridge up to the doorway.  If it gets you a 300 or 400mm unit at the bottom, you'll feel the benefit of it.  400mm would be better for symmetry of the two wall units, 600mm would be absolutely perfect.  The whole thing would line up beautifully, just like that pic.  

Ballymoney

I’ve just re-measured that back wall and 2850 is the very max. I think the American FF will be sacrificed to increase the worktop in that bottom corner. 

I’ve added in the extra storage cabinets under the breakfast bar. Looks much better!

Now it’s just a case of deciding where best to place the washing machine/wine fridge. I think we may revert back to having the breakfast bar chairs closer to the wall / further away from the hob but it’s good to see another option.

Thanks all for your contributions, especially Doozer. Very much appreciated.

Final version...

FreeBear

Ballymoney said I’ve added in the extra storage cabinets under the breakfast bar.

Used to have a couple of 300mm units in my old kitchen. The drawer was never wide enough for anything more than a few bits of junk, and the cupboard space was next to useless - Had slim line units, so I would hate to see what a full depth unit would be like... Get rid of it and use the space for a 600mm wide wine cooler. Depending on model, you'll be able to store up to 50 bottles compared to the 11-20 capacity of a 300mm cooler. Trust me, it won't take long to collect 40+ bottles

Doozergirl

FreeBear said:

Ballymoney said I’ve added in the extra storage cabinets under the breakfast bar.

Used to have a couple of 300mm units in my old kitchen. The drawer was never wide enough for anything more than a few bits of junk, and the cupboard space was next to useless - Had slim line units, so I would hate to see what a full depth unit would be like... Get rid of it and use the space for a 600mm wide wine cooler. Depending on model, you'll be able to store up to 50 bottles compared to the 11-20 capacity of a 300mm cooler. Trust me, it won't take long to collect 40+ bottles

I agree.  The drawers will be tiny by the time the runners have been accommodated - and really expensive. 

 

Either a bigger wine cooler or go for 2x 800mm shallow units with 400mm doors at the bar to save money.  

Our 600mm wine cooler is supposed hold 44 bottles but I have no idea how it's supposed to hold them. I should try harder, perhaps 😂

Ballymoney

We may well make that 300 full depth drawer unit a 300 shallow unit but brought forward so the front is level with the wine fridge. We’d then use it as a bookshelf for cookbooks.

Kinda like this...

Doozergirl

Are you having a black kitchen or is it just coincidence that your inspo pics are black? 🙂