Does this look odd to you? (kitchen) DH thinks so.

[jamaisjedors]

Photo on profile.

Awkward kitchen. We need to free up the door to the basement to get to the washing machine/freezer.

This is our Plan C (from an online kitchen designer who knows her stuff).

DH doesn't like it. Does it look odd to you?

I see you've mentioned the rad....it really is eating space up and kitchens are warm anyway....just remove the bugger!

And if you keep the rad. the heat from it will "do things" to the cupboard over it and it's contents.

Without the rad you could have the fridge there...and a cupboard.

My kitchen is bloody freezing.

Even with a radiator.

No it isn't right. I do kitchens and would be embarrassed to produce that. It doesn't flow at all and looks like a before not an after. Demand better!

Is it Soup? I suppose my dryer is on a lot.

To be fair, it is cavernous and single glazed :) Every winter I curse the previous owners for not putting underfloor heating (or indeed any heating) in the extension part.

I think the radiator is non negotiable with DH like a lot of things and our house is cold so can't disappear. We like sitting by it with a glass of something !

I don't think the look of it is helped by the open shelves which look kind of random - I've nothing against open shelves per se.

Of course you need a radiator in the kitchen - unless you have an aga, which I'm not seeing! Kitchens can warm up at different times of the day, but no one wants to come down in the morning and see their breath in the air.

That layout is dreadful. So many so called kitchen designers really are stupidly full of themselves.

Would it work to have the fridge freezer next to the basement door, and the larder cupboard at the opposite end of where it is now?

I'm no help obviously - but get yourself another designer - or crowd source one from MN!

oh dear, DH will be pleased!!!

I've put the photos up of the rest of it, it really is a v. awkward room with 3 doors, 1 window and a big radiator...

And DH will not compromise on the table (and we do sit in there and have a drink while cooking dinner).

What about the American fridge/freezer, fully appreciate not everyone likes them but the amount of storage in them is amazing. I have 3 drawers of chocolate for example. The designs look like odd pieces put together rather than a planned kitchen.

Instead of the tall cupboard, can you not continue the run of under worktop cupboards around further then just have the fridge next to the basement door? What is the tall cupboard for?

Agree you need a radiator, and a table in the kitchen.

Having looked at the other photos it's really only that end that seems mismatched - although I'm not keen on the mix of open and closed shelves and different colour worktops.

Do you have space in the basement for some pantry shelves, instead of the tall cupboard?

I think the tall cupboard is a pantry.

The fridge sticks out too far to go next to the basement door - we either have to put something shallow there, or nothing at all, otherwise we are no better off than currently.

blacktea DH doesn't think storage is that much of an issue, we do use the basement and there is some storage just inside the basement door.

So the cupboard could go, but would that resolve the issue.

Any input on cupboard colours etc. gladly taken. We are a little lost with that for the moment, don't want modern, are looking at painting ikea ramsjo white doors (blue?)

Also if the fridge is next to the basement door, you'd have to walk round the table to get at it (not clear from the 1st CAD picture because the table is not shown in it).

Yep, I'm with your husband on this, it looks decidedly odd. And frankly impractical.

If your DH wants it to be better he should rethink his objection to removing the radiator. Cast iron is a bugger to move (we had to remove several from our house) but it it can be done with the help of big burly friends and the offer of a beer. Or could it be worth contacting a salvage yard and see if it would be worth it to them to take it away for you? With that out of the way, you have more free wall and can put in a more efficient/smaller radiator where it would suit best.

You have a freezer in the basement, so do you really need a fridge-freezer in the kitchen? Would a fridge-only be sufficient? That would fit under the worktops, making the room look more spacious and freeing up wallspace. If you want somewhere to 'stick things' at eye-level, a noticeboard (maybe on the basement door?) can do the job just as well.

Why are you insisting on a round table in the middle of the room, if it is a small room ? I used to have a kitchen about the size of this I think; I had a drop-leaf rectangular table which could be pushed up against the wall (where the radiator is now?). I could put one leaf up to seat 1 or 2, or pull it into the middle of the floor to seat 4. But the majority of the time it sat neatly to the side, allowing the small space to be used more effectively.

This design does not look to be giving you a full-depth worktop - will half-depth be sufficient? I have a half depth run in my current kitchen, four narrow units long; it holds the toaster, breadboard, jam jar, butter dish, knifeblock and breadbin. Absolutely no space for anything else. Where will your kettle go? Where will you prepare food?

Personally I would go for an under-counter fridge only and have a full-depth worktop over that part of the kitchen. I'd also rethink the radiator and the table.

yes, remove radiator!

and the reason the fridge looks all wrong is that you have three doors in a row, all of different but similar heights.

Interesting, thank you.

Round table: we aren't insisting on it, we have a rectangular one currently but a round one would mean fewer legs so could perhaps sit the children around it too. We just want somewhere to sit for 2 adults or one adult + 2 DS.

Half-depth: I think is a compromise to fit the table in.

Currently we have no work top, so I do all prep etc. on the table. So no idea how much I need/want.

What DH wants to do is put the fridge diagonally in the corner of the room (so to the left of where it is on the pic) with a bit of work top either side.

Like this www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/bah/fridge_in_corner_02.jpg

or: www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base_images/bah/fridge_in_corner_07.jpg (without the hideous cabinets!)

I think that would look odd and result in corners that accumulate dirt/ crumbs.

Will your designer draw up alternative CAD plans for you to consider? It;s hard to imagine alternatives.

Drop-leaf table, low fridge and notice board would look better than mismatched heights and shelves.

When I am doing an awkward kitchen with many doors windows etc I generally lose the radiator and have u/f heating. All appliances integrated and as much worktop as possible. A double oven often works well in a tall cupboard bcasue the storage top and bottom is v useful.Our last kitchen was long and quite big but awkward and I had a table made by a carpenter out of 3 scaffold boards sanded bleached and waxed. It is so useful I kept it! Only 75cm deep but 8ft long and great for utility and dining.The solitary cupboard on the wall above radiator doesn't work. With open shelves I think you need lots of them and quite 'statement' for them to look part of the kitchen and not an afterthought.I love doing kitchens

We're on our third plan from her.

The first flowed well, but was dependant on a corner sink, with no drainage, which is a no-no for us, and also a work-top height table which wouldn't be practical with the DS (5 & 7).

The second was my ideas, but it looked pretty awful, even to me!

This is the third...