Please review tall cabinet kitchen designs

[LittleMissEngineer]

Have been given the following two options? Thoughts about how to improve them? The left hand cupboards will be a sort of butlers pantry....

[LittleMissEngineer]

Husband’s one kitchen requirement is “I want an American style fridge freezer”: I know it would be a LOT cleaner with built in fridge and freezer....

[LittleMissEngineer]

The first gives a bigger pantry, BUT the doors would have to hinge in the middle and fold back (I think) and couldn’t be “hidden”? It also feels “unbalanced” (door widths).

I can’t explain it, but I don’t really like the “mass” of the fridge freezer directly next to the two single ovens.... I am wondering if the second design and to put the pull out larder in between the fridge and ovens? Would that work better? Don’t really like pull out ladders though.... Any alternatives?

Any other alternatives?

[goodymoody]

I hate integrated appliances - absolutely hate them. I would got for exposed fridge freezer and the first option. The pantry doors wouldn't open properly.

[minipie]

Does the f/f have to be black? Ours is stainless steel and it’s much less dominant to the eye. Especially as our kitchen is grey.

I would definitely change the lower cabinets to drawers (apart from the carousel one). So much easier and more useful than cabinets, you can use every inch of space.

I prefer the look of the non bifolding larder (option 2) - could you get hide and slide doors on the upper cabinets to help make sure the doors don’t get in the way?

Remember both bifold doors and hide and slide doors will mean you can’t have spice racks on the back of the larder doors.

[LittleMissEngineer]

First design, the idea is

[caroline8585]

Instead of an american fridge freezer why dont you tempt him with side by side integrated tall larder fridge and freezer, my hubby was the same. Although it is cheaper to get an american F&F you get a lot more storage with the larder types.

[NotMeNoNo]

I think a wardrobe-style pantry is fine - is that 1.2m wide? Have the upper shelves narrower so things don't get lost at the back (wall cabinet width). With straight doors you can put spice and jar racks on the back too. We had one before and the doors didn't get in the way - just opened them to get out what was needed and closed them again.
I would also have pull out wire baskets in your under oven cabinets. It's hard to reach the back of a full depth shelf at ceiling height as well - are you tall or will you have steps?

[LittleMissEngineer]

Draw if the American fridge freezer is the ice maker and chilled water.... hard to get with a side by side....

No, fridge freezer wouldn’t be black - would go stainless steel (black is just what the designer used).

Also looking at light grey units, with with a blue or anthracite island.

Option two: the party is 1.2m wide. The doors could be slide and hide (and that is what I would like - which you couldn’t do with option 1, since it is wider). Don’t particularly want a spice rack.

Not tall, would need steps.

Very good point about less deep shelves in the pantry. Yes, like drawers and would (budget allowing, go for them further along too.

Would like hidden wine rack in cabin wet above fridge freezer.

[LittleMissEngineer]

Overall looking at something like this (although without high level units on the opposite wall - just base units).

But agree about the option 2 tall cabinets (with hide and slide doors). Not sure whether to move the pull out larder or keep where it is in option 2...

[lightlypoached]

We've got a fisher and paykel ff and it's lovely. It doesn't look weird or lumpy but we had it fitted so,that the front of it is flush with the other cupboards so it doesn't stick out. It's very lovely. Do look at fridge surrounds though as they can make the ff look more integrated.

I would go for a gap between the ff and the ovens though as a I agree it looks a bit odd. Your wall kitchen design is almost identical to ours. I have to say it's absolutely lovely to to have the food all in one place. It's so easy to work in.

[LittleMissEngineer]

I definitely like the look of the F&P fridge freezer. Which on did you go for?

Would you consider sharing a photo of your’s please?

[ivykaty44]

so you get something out of the oven and its really hot - then you have to walk...how many steps. I would want oven next to work surface so any dishes can be lifted straight out onto the worktop counter

Having a fridge next to an oven is not idea as one is trying to stay cold then other is for heating

[WhereDoesThisToiletGo]

American FF usually stick out further than standard units.
Shouldn't be a problem with standard hinges on cupboards next to them.
However I have a double pantry like yours with lower pull out internal drawers. They need room to be able to pull out, so a good designer would specify 170 degree hinges rather than the standard 110 degree.
But your adjoining FF sticking out would impede wide opening hinges.
Similarly, your bifold doors in plan1 might impede the internal drawers unless the drawers are made narrower rather than being full width.
A poster on Extension thread had trouble with her larder as the doors when open stopped the drawers pulling out and the designer hadn't allowed for that.

My recent kitchen upgrade started with me insisting that I wanted an American FF but ended up having an integrated Fridge and sperate freezer as the design just worked so much better.
It's sometimes easier to put the American FF free at the end of a run rather than trying to get it to fit between the units

[Fairineouf]

@ivykaty44

so you get something out of the oven and its really hot - then you have to walk...how many steps. I would want oven next to work surface so any dishes can be lifted straight out onto the worktop counter

Having a fridge next to an oven is not idea as one is trying to stay cold then other is for heating

Agree totally with this.

And what's with a hob in the middle of an island opposite a seating area. Pan boils over; hot fat spitting everywhere.

Terrible design IMO. Sorry.

[WhereDoesThisToiletGo]

I know you are not keen on spice racks but the advantage of door storage is that it means that your actually shelf storage is shallower so less chance of losing things at the back

[SwedishEdith]

I was anti integrated appliances but saw 2 x fridge freezers side by side with hinges on far left and right. Much cheaper than a single larder fridge and larder freezer.

[lightlypoached]

@LittleMissEngineer this is a pic. We went for the 800 wide one. It's huge inside !

[lightlypoached]

The cupboards at the end by the wall are the larder ones. With very heavy duty drawers inside. Lots of space - in fact all of our food fits in there.

We allowed 1.2 metres between the wall of cupboards and the pensinsula with the Hob and sink in it. It's a perfect distance. Wide enough for 2 people to work in the kitchen and open the dishwasher and still walk past but not too far that you have to juggle with hot things from the oven over a huge expanse as one PP pointed out.

It's the easiest to work in kitchen I've very had. I love it.

[LittleMissEngineer]

@lightlypoached thank you - looks really really good: really clean and stylish.

With the ovens, not at all far to the counter on the right or the island behind.

We don’t tend to fry a lot at all. - would stay well away if DH was frying eggs. How would you suggest differently? We had alternative design of setting at the left hand end of the island (wooden table section), but didn’t look nearly as nice. Or would you just hit have the hob on the island.

Point taken about hinges / doors / drawers. Yes, when looking at the bi-fold options - it just wouldn’t work with full width drawers. How about “Slide and hide doors”? Wouldn’t they disappear into the party unit itself (so not swing out)? Or does it all depend on how the fridge freezer doors hinge out?

Assume no integrated freezers around that can be plumbed to make ice....

[FlouncingBabooshka]

OP, I agree with you regarding not having the FF and ovens next to each other. When we had a new kitchen in our last house we had this. It was only when the kitchen fitter had installed the ovens and moved the FF into position that we realised how wrong it can look. It was just a huge bank of metal! We made some very hasty adjustments. Luckily we were having a large pantry at the other end and we were able to steal 200mm from that. We ended up with a short pull out (actually very useful for oils etc) with a wine rack above. It looked vastly better than the ovens and FF butting up against each other.

[ivykaty44]

With the ovens, not at all far to the counter on the right or the island behind.

turn around to the island behind and the hob is right where you'd want to place the hot dish.

You might be fine walking with a hot dish with roast etc in it, bt for many taking a roasting dish out of the oven and having to walk to put the dish down, then turn back to shut the oven door is just not good planning. I would baste a dish a few times and it would be painful planning to be walking 5 to 6 steps to find somewhere to place down the dish and then baste and then repeat in reverse

Id move the oven to the far right nearest the window, at least then you'd have a surface nearby.

think about where you will be able to lay out dishes for serving etc, you'll strain vegetables from hob to sink, do you have enough room?

will you have an extractor over the island for the hob?

[motherofawhirlwind]

Could you have the two ovens one on top of the other, with a cupboard between? Like in LightlyPoached pic. I wouldn't want an oven right next to the fridge

[LittleMissEngineer]

Had the single ovens stacked before and just not keen on the look. Side by side at eye level is much better.

On the second option, there is a narrow pull out larder: that could be moved in between the oven and fridge freezer.

Would like to keep a “double” cupboard by the window, but might be the option to move both ovens right again.

Straining pans would be at the sink (not dissimilar from our current hob / sink distance). Plating would be back on the island. Sitting at the island would be for Very casual dining. Expect most eating would happen at the large table (which would be bottom left).

[LittleMissEngineer]

This is an old old kitchen we had (different house). No keen on stacked single ovens.

This had a narrow pull out larder between the ovens and the fridge freezer. Don’t remember any conflict between the FF doors and that type of larder. So with a pantry, it would definitely depend on how the doors worked...

[LittleMissEngineer]

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