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Original poster

Kitchen design help please

53 replies

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 14:25

Longtime lurker here hoping someone/anyone could have a look over a couple of kitchen designs I think I've narrowed it down to after many months of switching between a U shape or L shape!
I've done them myself on homebase site but we will be ordereing from diy kitchens not perfect, we will be having a double built under oven and the island will be the ikea Stenstorp. The tambour unit will just be a normal unit 900mm high unit to house the boiler.
The main difference is either a blind corner unit or an L shaped one, but depending on which I chose I will then have tone decide what interior pull out to have or non at all?! Who would have thought there would be so many choices?

Any help or advice much appreciated!

OP posts:

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wowfudge · 19/12/2016 15:18

I think you've posted the same pic twice. How big is room? I've had a magic corner pull out where the door pulls out then is turned to the side for the metal baskets at the back to slide across. Very sturdy and great for heavy cookware.

Bluntness100 · 19/12/2016 15:24

The only thing I can say, and yes only one pic, is it's a big room with very few cupboards in it?

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 16:25

Sorry should be this which would be a pull out larder but not sure I want to lose 300mm worksurface.
It is a large room bluntness but has a lot of doors off it which makes it an awkward shape and is dark because the only window is in the dining area.

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namechangedtoday15 · 19/12/2016 16:38

For me personally, I think the freestanding fridge freezer looks out of place in both options - especially having it black - it just draws the eye to it and sort of overpowers the rest of the kitchen. I would be tempted to have a bank of tall units along the back wall of the kitchen - disguising the boiler and having larder cupboard (not a pull out larder as I think those don't work very well either) and a built in fridge freezer, then base units down the wall.

For me personally, i think corners are a complete waste of space but understand your layout means you don't have much option. I'd rather have a blind corner if I was forced than one with some corner mechanism as I have yet to see / use one that worked effectively over a period of time.

strongandlong · 19/12/2016 16:54

Do you have a plan of the room you could post? How big is it? Where are the windows?

YelloDraw · 19/12/2016 17:53

You have hardly any cubpard space.
What about having cupboard over the sink run?

What is that grey thing in the left corner?

Why the breakfast bad when you have a table so close?

Black FF is a bit intrusive. Go silver maybe?

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 18:39

The back wall is the only one with plumbing so has to have the dishwasher (slimline), washing machine and sink on that wall. The two odd bits in the left hand corner of the dining are are actually an entrance vestibule but it won't let me put that on, it has an internal door angled across. The fridge is relatively new, bought last year before we received an inheritance we are using for the kitchen. We currently have cupboards over the sink but I hate themy, they make me feel trapped when ever I use the sink.

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wowfudge · 19/12/2016 18:59

Unless the breakfast bar has units under it then I'd either lose it or have it as a peninsula without the stools and maybe have cupboards either side of it.

YelloDraw · 19/12/2016 19:58

I would loose the breakfast bar and go for a U shape with base units on 3 sides and high cupboards on the L and R hand runs if you don't like them over the sink.

Can get the WM or DW on the back by sink and should be able to jig the plumping so you can have the other one on the L hand side run.

RaisingSteam · 19/12/2016 20:47

Across the back wall:
Washing machine
Dishwasher - full size
Sink (drainer above DW)
L shaped corner with half depth shelves and double hinged door.
More space and less wall cupboards between corner and hob, this is your prep area, should be 1000-1200mm long. Don't need as much worktop beyond the hob.

Are you wedded to having the island or could there be a freestanding wide pan-drawer unit onto the wall there- could house all your cutlery and crockery as well as kettle etc. What is on the wall near letter D?

It is very like our kitchen except where you have boiler and washing machine we have our fridge freezer.

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 21:06

I'm not wedded to the island but would be nice to have somewhere for the kids to sit when the 'help' baking, watching me cook, etc. At the minute dd sits on the worktop. I'm not sure how much we can move the hob because of the gas, I did consider moving it up more, that's pretty much where jt is at the minute.

OP posts:

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 21:06

I'd put some open shelving on the wall near the D for cups and stuff.

OP posts:

callmeadoctor · 19/12/2016 21:09

The island is completely unnecessary as you have a table. You could then put top and bottom units along that wall, giving you loads more units etc.

Believeitornot · 19/12/2016 21:09

They can sit at the dining table...
The breakfast bar looks odd especially with backs to the room?

I'd make it a U shape and have the fridge on the wall where you currently have the breakfast bar. You could have a tall larder cupboard next to the fridge.

RaisingSteam · 19/12/2016 21:28

To move the gas is the cost of a metre of copper pipe, it's very small given the plumber will be there anyway. Also if you want a double built under oven, how about a slot in cooker/60cm dual fuel mini range as you get bigger and better ovens?

A good sort of larder is a 500 or 600 unit with inner drawers/wire baskets, rather than one huge pullout, DIY kitchens do various versions.

if your DD likes to watch/help you could always buy a Stokke chair or Ikea step stool! (are we talking toddler or teenager here?)

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 19/12/2016 21:48

I did plan this U shape, the problem being we could only fit a 500mm sink cabinet so no 1 and half bowl sink and we're on a tight budget so trying to avoid a lot of plumbing work moving d/w or washer to left wall.

Dd is 3 at the minute and ds 6 and they both argue about who gets to stand next to me on the limited countertop now which is 2m but has everything (microwave, toaster, kettle, breadbin on it.) Honestly the entire room is so badly designed if we had the money and the house was worth it I'd rip it all out and start again but that's not going to happen, and the current kitchen is falling apart.

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user1471549018 · 19/12/2016 22:46

What are the 2 little walls bottom left? which is the door and window bottom right? I know you say budget is tight but the room would work so much better if you could move the table to the left, block up the door (?) on the right wall and extend the units all the way down to the back wall and part way across it in a backward c shape. I'd definitely lose the breakfast bar. I'd then replace the window/door on the back wall with french doors leading to the garden (?) Otherwise you've got a lot of wasted space in the room and you'd be tucked away cooking looking at a wall rather than your kids. You can then start thinking about your triangle etc and I personally would want the kitchen sink facing a window into the garden.

user1471549018 · 19/12/2016 23:02

Just read your posts again, I think I've got front and back the wrong way round but can't edit my post! Can you say where garden is and where all doors and windows are? Could/would you knock out vestibule?

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 19/12/2016 23:13

Where are you windows and doors to the outside? Also where is your extractor fan vented to or can it go up and out of the ceiling?

I agree with pp you need to lose the breakfast bar thing and your fridge freezer looks like an afterthought. Do it need to be plumbed in and are you buying new or wanting to incorporate your old one?

How do you use your kitchen now? You mention the children wanting to be next to you - is that for baking or just all the time you are there? How often is that?

Are you a cooking from scratch or heating things up sort of person? Are you buying new appliances or reusing old ones?

Do you have a photo of the room as it is now?

wowfudge · 19/12/2016 23:38

The u shape is better, but move the cooker down so it's further away from the sink. Add wall units on the opposite wall or a mid height cupboard next to the FF.

Shadowridge · 19/12/2016 23:48

Definitely u shaped. Dont be constrained by miving dishwasher/ washing machine. The cost of extra long/ moving hoses is minimal in the life of a kitchen and getting layout right is so important.

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 20/12/2016 08:14

The house is anot end terrace which was previously two houses, the only window is on the A wall, the doors next to the fridge freezer lead to the living room, we could lose the vestibule but it would dramatically reduce the heat of the room, which isn't much because it's a stone house. I cook from scratch about 75% of the time and know I definitely want two decent work surfaces, at the minute there is only the one and dh and I trip over each other at breakfast time, when we are dishing up etc. As I said when the room was designed it should have been the opposite way around, would have made much more sense. I need to incorporate the f/f and the current washer, we doneed have a d/w now and have a cooker so oven and hob will be new. Extractor is vented along the top of the cupboards to the external walls where the sink is already.

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FritzyMousey · 20/12/2016 09:05

Have to agree with a lot of the other advice, ff really looks better on the D wall or in a back wall of full height units hiding the boiler too. In either place would it be possible to incorporate it more into the scheme with surround units like the attached? (Not a great pic but found it on diykitchens) You could do full height units along D wall to incorporate ff and boiler then you'd still have an L-shaped run of work surface.

Original poster

YorkshireTea86 · 20/12/2016 09:16

This is the kitchen at the minute. As you can see, the units on the right wall stop a long way fromore the doors, the only usable space is on the left side which is why I want to have 2 usable work surfaces in the new kitchen. (Please excuse the clutter!)

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FritzyMousey · 20/12/2016 09:54

Defo agree about not having wall units above the sink, my sink faces a wall and I have a massive canvas up to look at while I'm washing up, almost as good as a window!

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