Help me plan my kitchen...

[HastingsLikeTheBattle]

On a very tight budget

Kitchen is very similar to the one in the picture, apart from no extra unit between fridge and cooker. Where the cooker is in the picture, I have a small window so mine can’t go there. Alongside my fridge is the radiator which I’ve had to turn off as it was the only place the —stupid— American fridge would fit.

Ideally I would like -

1. The run of units along the small window wall (so cooker wall on pic) to end just after the window so that I can switch the radiator back on and have a breakfast bar above it

1. My cooker point is just to the left of the other window, so it’ll have to stay there but for the sake of my knees I’d prefer a higher built in oven

1. Id love a dishwasher. The only place that can go is to the right of the sink, which then rules out having either a corner unit at that end, or a unit on the adjoining wall (only big enough for one unit - ie not a corner unit then single)

1. The issue I’m having is where to put the fridge! If I keep my existing one then I think I’ll have to take a couple of units out from the utility room and put it in there, but that will impact on the floor space in a very small room. I don’t mind buying a new one, but can’t figure out whether to go for a fridge freezer, or built in separates to allow for more desperately needed worktop space.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?

Forgot the picture!

Isn't thinking about a new kitchen a minefield. You start off all enthusiastic and then can't make your mind up. We are in the same position but this time have more money to spend but then I keep wondering if we should spend the money and have what we would love or pay for a good one but not bespoke.
If I have it the same time as this one which never did get the top cupboards just cheap shelves we will be very old and probably not here although people in this village do live into their 90's! One was 100.

I think I would do that move the fridge. Our bespoke planner said corner units aren't all their cracked up to be and I have a carousel on an L shaped layout but it turns the corner where the dishwasher is in your pic. It houses stuff but it isn't great. He is going to put a slide out system in your corner instead. Utility room...I wish.
I'm going to have to have washing machine where your fridge is then Belfast sink in front of window then slim line dishwasher because we can't fit my full one in. At the moment washing machine is on an angle in the corner, which is bloody awkward. As there are only two people here now I am hoping it will be ok. Then pull out corner unit; double fancy, new style drawer unit;cooker; repeat drawer unit and a double door unit with a semi larder one abouve. Two double wall units with cooker hood between above that run. We have £2:50- £3 shelves there at present which were supposed to be tempory! Had 30 yrs out of them. Just re sanded and stained. I like the idea of the radiator and the breakfast bar. We have an old Rayburn not working just houses pan at the moment next to washing machine so that is my dilemma. They drew all plans up without but now the weather is cold I am thinking I would like another but maybe where the cooker is since twice last week and before Christmas the oven seems to have gone off. More expense though.
My only thought with your fridge in utility would be how far from the triangle of cooker, sink, fridge would it be. Would that be annoying? Could you stand it alone on another wall? Ours is opposite as where yours is we have an outside door next.
Have you had someone come to the house? We've had two. Bespoke and Howdens. Going to pick up the Howdens plan today hopefully. I am thinking bespoke no AGA's/Rayburn same cooker till it packs in( over 12 yrs) or Howdens and new Aga/ Rayburn/ Esse to keep us warm in our dotage!😃
Sorry such long post but nice to talk kitchens to someone else. What colour materials are you going for? It is such a minefield now. I went to the bespoke guy because he made two beautiful kitchens for two sisters I know. Theirs are luscious. One is even on his website. Mine won't be anything like that because it is smaller but he does everything. Cupboards, plumber, electrician, joiner, painter comes and does last coat in situ. Not as much as some you see in magazines. I didn't think we could afford it but if we push the boat out we could. I asked Howdens because I went to someone's house and they had just got it. I was quite impressed.
If anyone knows anything about Howdens I would be interested. Sorry OP hope you don't mind me asking.

I would have an under bench sink and put a freezer in the utility room or garage (if you have one). It will drive you mad to have to go to the utility room for the fridge every time. That would free up some workspace.

Bower it is lovely to talk kitchens, you’re right! Yours sounds amazing, I’m going to research alternatives to corner units. The utility is right next to the sink - if I had enough money I would knock the wall down to make it all one room!

Louey I love the idea of an under counter fridge with freezer in utility, as that means I can get an under counter freezer as well which means I don’t need to remove cabinets, or, oooh - get a chest freezer which means I don’t have to take floor space when the door opens.

Thanks both, excellent ideas so far!

Thanks Miaow moving the sink seems like a good idea. I should have mentioned, I do have a large walk in larder in the kitchen so don’t necessarily need a lot of storage in the actual kitchen, but at the moment I’ve only got a single 600mm run of worktop so I’d love to maximise that.

However, as I’m developing arthritis in my knees, I’m thinking that an oven near to the floor isn’t such a good idea.

Next decision, do I put any wall units in, or go for open shelves

Could you possibly upload a photo or sketch of your room, I'm really struggling to visualise it! Do you only have space for units on 2 walls?

Thanks see you have a few others that like to talk kitchens now.
I took a sledge hammer to mine but i was a lot younger at the time and then the planning guy complained because he should have checked.There was a builder on site we knew it wasn't load bearing.I told him he shouldn't have been 2 1/2 hrs late i didn't have the money to pay builders to stand around drinking coffee.He shut up then! It was a store and larder.I didn't want to take out the larder but there was only a Rayburn and a sink. No room for any thing else.
Open shelves look nice but oh yes the dust.I sometimes have to wash mugs first and I scrub down every six weeks.I am going for cupboards this time but think I might miss my shabby kitchen a bit.
I would go for the eye-level oven I have used my sons and it is great.We just can't incorporate one here so it will be the sore knees for me.
Oh technical NotMe!

Thanks all, I really appreciate your input

Notme I’ve tried to do a sketch on my phone, and have hopefully attached what must be mn’s worst diagrams! The issue is I have 3 full size doors in a very small room - 1 to enter, 1 to the utility and 1 fur the larder cupboard.

Picture A is the basic outline, red = doors, blue = window

Sorry posted too soon. Green = radiator, yellow = sink.

Picture B: this is how the kitchen currently is - Black = fridge, blue = cooker, solid green = worktop 600mm wife, squiggly green = a kitchen trolley to try and add some worktop, red = sink.

Hope all that makes sense!

Could you tweak the larder cupboard at all, eg have it opening off utility? If not, make sure you have great storage design in there, eg tiered shelves, some sort of rotating thing, wire rack on side of door for spices, foil etc or even tins.

Fridge in kitchen, freezer in utility is ideal. Moving fridge out to utility might be ok if you don't drink tea or coffee, or if fridge would be just inside utility door and a couple of steps from the kettle, but you don't want to be going far for milk every time you make a cuppa.

Corner cupboards are such a waste. Dishwasher at the end would be better I think, as storage is not at such a premium. You could also put the sink in a 60cm unit and run the draining board over the dishwasher, which might mean you could move the dishwasher leftwards. It's only the deep bit of the sink that needs to sit in the sink base carcass. But under sink cupboards are good for bins.

Thanks Sky. Can’t move larder as it is the under the stairs cupboard, and the door into the lounge is between larder and utility. I do love the larder but it is such a waste of space! It’s about 5ft by 2.5ft, so I’ve got 4 full length shelves across the back wall, but it’s so narrow that I struggle to reach anything at the far end. The first shelf is waist height, to allow for large item storage on the floor.

I’d already clicked about swapping the sink round, as if the drainer is on the other side (above the dishwasher) then that instantly doubles the worktop run.

So. Would people just recommend a straight line of units along the large window wall? Tall built in oven at far end, hob, 1000mm worktop (drawer unit and fridge under that), then single sink unit, then built in dishwasher? With freezer in utility?

OK and about how long/wide is the room do you know?

Sounds like a plan, not tonnes of worktop but there is no magic solution to that. Could you switch dishwasher and drawers and have the top drawer being one of those extra pullout worktops? I'll try and find an example...

Room is 3.4m long x 2.2m wide. It would be a decent room to work in if it didn’t have so many doors!

last unit on this page not cheap though

Ooh that sounds like a good idea Sky, so I would have extra worktop where I have the trolley now? The other benefit of having a single line of units is that there may be room next to the radiator for a small table and couple of chairs instead of a breakfast bar. We don’t have a separate dining room so currently the dining table is in an awkward place in the lounge, meaning we don’t really use it.

I’m not a huge cooking fan so don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but maybe that will change if I have a half decent kitchen!

I quite like having 2 bits of worktop. One gets cluttered with washing up, keeping the other clear for actual work. Maybe I'm just a lazy cook.

Does sound like you should be able to do more with the larder. Does it have space stuck "round the corner" that's hard to get to? I'm finding it hard to imagine

Think of larder as a small room Sky. It’s full room height, a rectangle with full size door at one end. Door opens outwards into the kitchen, and yeah, alongside the door (so where the door would open into if it opened inwards) is pretty much dead space.

ANd apologies, I’m not at home at the moment so can’t take pictures!

Hmm. I think you should google fitted larder cupboards and pantries, and see if you can adapt the ideas or even retrofit some of the mechanisms. We knocked ours down and put the fridge freezer and a base unit in, but I'm guessing yours is best kept as a cupboard.

Exciting planning new kitchens! Have you decided where you are getting it from? You should give these guys a shout. Amazing design service and really reasonable price too. I am terrible at design so I needed somebody who would sort that for me 😂. www.rosewoodkitchens.co.uk xx

Thanks littlemiss though I fear due to cost it will either be Ikea or one if the diy sheds

Oh I get that! I was going with either Wren or Howdens and these chaps beat them for me 😊