Kitchen aspect and layout - help please - pictures....

[another20]

I am replacing my kitchen units and flooring. Currently it is as pic1.

I don't like the current position of the internal door in the top RH corner of the kitchen which leads to a loo, utility, bedroom (could be office, TV room, guest/au pair bed for someone else although there are other options for these functions to be elsewhere) and the side access/boot room - so it is a bit of a bottle bottle neck. Although the current units on the back wall (facing the garden) are only storage - so the main kitchen activity - DW, FF, Sink, oven, hob, etc are all within the island and other run of units so not crossing the traffic zone.

I also think that the current layout doesn't make the most of the expansive rural views we have, so I am considering changing the orientation of the kitchen and island so that it looks out over the views more.

So to do this I need to move the door to position in pic 2. My concern is that the spare bedroom (or office) will then have a longish corridor to access and might be too cut off? So I have then thought of a compromise - pic 3 - but I think that this will limit my kitchen units layout.

Also if I do rotate the kitchen layout to make better use of the external views will it be awkward for the table and living to then to be at the side of the kitchen rather than how they are now? Although I thought that if the island was more square in shape you could work and either side depending on if you wanted to look out or talk to family.

Any thoughts......

Thanks Ohfor - yes the shower room is J&J - works well for us currently as have 4 kids - oldest at uni - so mostly empty 5th bed for us at the moment. I imagine that someone else would use one of the rooms as a TV room/office/playroom so could just close over one for the doors to the J&J.

Good point that the longish corridor - might actually be an advantage - sort of an annex / ancillary accommodation.

I prefer the long corridor - nicer to feel cut off from the kitchen if it is a bed.

Thanks Fluffy - I thought it might put people off - so good to hear that....will move the door

Any thoughts on whether I should keep the island as a rectangle facing the dining table and lounge as it is currently - or sitch it or make it more square to face the garden?

shameless bump...

Any thoughts on whether I should keep the island as a rectangle facing back towards the dining table and lounge as it is currently - or switch it and/or make it more square to face the garden?

I think option 3. The corridor is awful - sorry! Dark and dismal. We had friends with a Cornish long house with rooms off a long corridor. They hated the layout.

I have a kitchen about the same size as yours and we have the island facing a glass wall. Your island looks tiny. Mine is 3.2 m long x 1.4 m wide. It has a table built into it. It’s a smaller than your table though because we are a family of 4. That’s what I would do in your kitchen though. You don’t really need a separate table and chairs. Just integrate it into the kitchen island which should be much bigger.

I disagree about having no table and just integrating it into the island. Having a separate table is much nicer, especially if you have guests. Who wants to eat with guests at an island where the food has just been prepared?

I think the long corridor is the best option for keeping the kitchen looking nice and not sliced up with doors. But you’ll need to work hard to make that corridor not awful - making sure it’s wide enough and has a big window to the garden + some interesting artwork etc.

In the kitchen, do you have bar stools with the island? If so, then I wouldn’t change the shape or you’d end up with your back to the garden when sitting on one. If there are no stools, then I’d re-orientate it to look out while prepping stuff. Shape and size of the island would need to all be drawn to scale to get the layout and distances right.

Thanks all for your feedback. My island at the moment is 90cm x 2.5m waterfall edges with stools tucked under. I have hated it from day one as everyone is seated in a line facing the kitchen - so not social and we never sit at it. New island would be smaller softer more social one or two stool perch for a quick coffee/natter - but not to eat at as we have not found it comfortable - we have a long table 3m which is our hub rather than the island that we a lot of time. I can add a skylight and/or door window from utility to garden to get light into the corridor and a good tip to decorate it well so that it doesn’t feel like the service area at the back of a hotel !