Kitchen advice (design)

[Shaz]sigh[]

Evening. After moving in to our place around 18 months ago, we're finally getting round to the kitchen.

Our house had the standard 1930s kitchen but there's been a single story extension built across the whole back of the house which has caused it to be more like a disjointed L.

I've knocked together a design using the Ikea planner that I'm quite happy with (although we're not necessarily buying from there!) but I'm hoping for more pairs of eyes and experience to point out any obvious flaws without any sales bias going in to.

Originally, I was trying to keep units off the walls but I don't think I have the room so I've included a couple. The only other design considerations I have is that I must have a belfast sink (I don't want it due to water issues but the other half does), we want as much as possible off the worktop and I wanted a decent run of worktop for food prep.

For info, the units are laid out as follows:

9 - Double oven + storage (600mm)
10 - 50/50 fridge freezer (600mm)
13 - microwave/storage/shelving for hifi (600mm)
1 - corner unit with rotating carousel (1200mm)
2 - hob/pan drawer + knife drawer (800mm)
3 - standard cupboard (600mm)
4 - cutlery/drawer pack (600mm)
11+12 - standard cupboards (600mm)
5 - cupboard, maybe recycling something (600mm)
6 - sink (600mm)
7 - dishwasher (600mm)
8 - drawer/cupboard (600mm)

Ignore the flooring too, I just had to put something in to please the planner!

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

I wanted a nice composite one but alas...

Washing machine/dryer in the garage which is out of the door in the pic!

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

I would fill the part between D and B wall unless there's a reason there isn't anything there. I would put hob in there. More floor space to move about. As well as hob/sink/fridge(not that the fridge is in the right place) close together in the classic kitchen triangle.

Also don't lave a silly gap, extend the worktop and get them to block it up somehow. Maybe cut a door down or something. It'll just end up as a dirt magnet otherwise and be annoying.

I would also get a minimum of one full height pantry cupboard.

Aah, sorry, the wall between the D and B part doesn't exist and is actually more of the extension (goes to the dining area which then goes off to the second lounge). I shouldn't have included it! Edited the pic now.

I did want a full height pantry cupboard but didn't know where to fit it - I read something about a designer who said that they could forgo wall cupboards if they finished a run of base units with a pantry cupboard. If I had a longer run of worktop I could maybe remove 11/12 and swap out 4 with a cupboard then move the cutlery to 8? However I'd have nowhere to chop anything!

The other option was to swap out 8 with a pantry cupboard but that then might encroach in to the dining area with it's height... decisions

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

No go on the hob, I'd love to look out on the garden whilst cooking but one of the primary house buying criteria was having a window overlooking garden that a sink could be fit under (don't ask )

Hmm, there's a possibility I could get a freezer in the garage, swap the fridge/freezer unit for a pantry unit then put in an undercupboard fridge somewhere, possibly 4...

My parents have a couple of pantry units and they are amazing for storage.

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

Scratch that terrible idea.

You really need to go through your kitchen and work out a place for all your items/ingrediants. Just not enough cuboard space IMO.
But then with two windows you have limited space. Have you thought about blocking one up, and possibly making the other larger.

Swapping out 8 for full size would add a lot of storage space. But then you have limited worktop. Add your toaster and other equipment into the sketch. It's surprising how much space all that adds upto.

Also think about plug sockets.

There's only the one window, the other window (not above the sink) is actually a pair of 600mm wall units but the planner seems to shift the colour the higher you get up the wall)

I did a plan of where things might live and I think I'll be good (the corner carousel really helps), it's just my pan set that takes up a chunk of space and having to have plates/glasses at a non floor level is a pain.

You've definitely made me ponder how to fit in a pantry unit though.... think I'll have a rejig tomorrow.

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

Been having a look at DIY kitchens who seem to do their own carcasses with Second Nature doors. They do a 900mm corner unit so going to see if I can adjust the design slightly. They also do a tall unit with double oven/microwave options so I can shift the microwave to above the oven and put a door on that cab.

I am tinkering with the idea of converting to a vaulted ceiling with velux windows in the extension (runs from the back door, past the sink and onwards) which will provide more light which might allow me to place another pantry unit to the right of the window without it feeling cramped....

Did some calcs and the actual kitchen is quite cheap, the appliances and flooring are the killer

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

which planning tool are you using for this or is this image direct from the planner?

we're in the process of designing our new kitchen/diner which i've drafted but there are no decent planning tools to design it

This was just the Ikea one, Magnet do something similar but I find the Ikea one can be abused to use other size carcasses a lot easier.

 

[Shaz]sigh[]

For anyone interested, I'm just embarking on this project and will be ripping my kitchen out next weekend (might even do some pics which I always forget to do).

Design is pretty final after umming and arring (I think).

Cabinets will be coming from DIY-Kitchens and will have painted wooden shaker doors with the units matching, a quartz top with upstands and draining cutouts and appliances will be Neff although relooking at AEG as a last minute possibility as they are doing a 5 year warranty promo. As a side note (for Jez if he reads this), I went to the DIY-Kitchens showroom and it was v good, the quality of the units and doors was much better than I'd have expected (and far better than the sheds).

A couple of changes from the previous design but this is pretty much what I ended up with (give or take a swap of drawerline units for highline units). The main sticking points were removing the built in microwave in to a doored cabinet to save on the ridiculous built in microwave costs (£750) and also adding a tall unit for storage so I could keep cabinets from the walls as the room is limited for light and I wanted to keep it fairly open.