Please help me redesign our Kitchen?!?

[leeloo1]

Hi all,

I'm fed up of carrying meals/bibs/cleaning cloths down a corridor to get to the dining room (and back) 3 times per day and have been thinking surely there must be a way to fit a table/eating space in our kitchen if it was redesigned, but have no idea how to achieve this, or where to start... :(

I've just measured and the kitchen is 4m 30 x 2m 94, but:

after 90cm on 1 side there is a (huge ugly) chimney breast, which is 1m 48 long (the cooker is in the 'space' in the middle of it).

there is an (unusable) alcove at the far end which is another 1m long and 85cm wide (this has worktop extending into it, which takes up the full width of the alcove and the (very old) boiler is underneath it...

There are freestanding fridge, freezer, washing machine and dishwasher under the worktops, but otherwise the kitchen is all worktops, with 4 double floor and 4 wall units/cupboards, plus the undersink cupboard,(these are all full, but maybe we've just expanded to fill the space we have and could make do with less?)...

There are doors in the middle of the short wall at each end.

So, problems with the room aside... table ideas....

breakfast bar? - I saw a picture of something in a magazine where they'd extended the worktop so they could eat at it, but it still had the cupboards underneath, so it seems to be quite easy to achieve and wouldn't need much changing (but I think it'd be too high to use highchairs with and as a childminder I need 1-3 highchairs p.d.)

removing cupboards - if I took out some cupboards there might be room for a table... but would there be?!? I'd have to remove the 'long run' of 3 double units, as the other side is the WM, DW, sink etc, which can't be moved. :(

Argh, driving myself mad with this... Oh and I forgot there's no radiator in the kitchen, so its cold in winter, so this'd have to be factored in.

Sorry this is too convoluted an essay to warrant any answers... :( :( :( well done if you managed to read it though...

Maybe I should just ask if anyone knows of any professional (cheap) kitchen designers! :)

I think you need to post a plan!

What's your budget - would you consider a conservatory type thing at the side of your kitchen?

Or could you get some kind of foldaway temporary table and chairs for during the day? I'm sure I've seen ikea do a flap down type table against a wall.

I think you can do a lower breakfast bar if you need it - though would prob have to be on the end of a run - or lose the cupboard you attach the worksurface onto. iykwim.

Some kitchens have different levels of worksurface/appliances for interest.

Thanks for replies - I thought I'd have scared everyone away with rambling OP.

theyoungvisiter - fab plan - how do I do that?

TracyK - budget = well, as little as possible really, but probably could stretch to a few thousand if it'd really improve my life!

We don't have any wall space for flap-down table (although a good plan!), but if I did lose some units then that might work out...
If I did have a lower worktop/breakfast bar then would I need to replace all the units/worktops? Was hoping it'd be a quick fix! :(

Why not go to somewhere like magnet who will do you a layout for free I think. You don't have to buy their kitchens (although if you're on a budget you could do a lot worse - I installed one 25 years aGo and as far as I know it's still working fine...although a touch dated) and it would at least give you a starting point. As a rule you need to allow 50cm around a table to be able to fit people seated in, so it doesn't sound like there's room for your table. Breakfast bar sounds a better idea. If you do go for a high street kitchen, get a good joiner to fit it as the finish will be better. Just a thought...can you knock through to the next room?