Kitchen Design Help/Sanity Check (Obligatory Diagram Included)

[SorryNotSorry]

So we have realised after 6 months of designing and with our planning application already submitted that we can't fit everything we want (two ovens side by side, 1m larder and integrated larder fridge and larder freezer side by side) into our new kitchen extension.
Decided to compromise on the fridge and freezer and go for a freestanding american fridge freezer.
We came up with a plan which gives us everything we think we want but our kitchen designer said that he would make us sign a waiver before he would order it because it was such a bad design :(
His reasons are that the fridge freezer will be the first thing you see as you walk into the room.
He suggests that we have a larder unit as you walk into the room and the american fridge in between the two ovens.
I am attaching pictures of the design as we imagined it and pictures of an american fridge between two eye level ovens.
Please help us to decide we are agonising over spending a lot of money on what might prove to be a mistake.
Does anybody have a fridge as the first thing you see when you walk into your kitchen/house ( if the kitchen door is open)?
Do you hate it?
What would you do with the space?

[3luckystars]

I’m sorry about adding to the confusion but I would urge you to get a tall larder fridge and tall
Larder freezer instead of the American. It can hold so much more stuff and looks so much better. I think you have tons of storage, do the layout how you like but I would definitely not get the American fridge freezer.

[FartyMcLetFly]

I love your design, a fridge between two ovens is just wrong, why would you put two hot things either side of a cold thing???

I live with a joiner/kitchen fitter and when I just told him about a fridge between two ovens his response was "eh?"

I also think you need worktop space beside a fridge, think in practical terms how often you stand beside your fridge and offload various items needed (butter and cheese and salad items for a sandwich?) and also unloading your shopping!! I have all my fridge stuff in one bag which I put on the worktop beside the fridge to unpack straight into the fridge.

[aliciagardner]

Your design looks really nice. What's wrong with seeing a fridge first anyway?

Lovely colours for the cupboards and island. Are those the actual ones planned? Contrast yet 'fit' together, I like it.

[FartyMcLetFly]

Print out the two plans, take a sharpie and imagine yourself doing an everyday task like unpacking shopping/making a meal.

Put the pen where you'd start off and draw lines from point to point every time you go from the fridge to the cupboard to the job to the fridge etc etc.

The design with the least lines on is the one you should go with.

[jkl0311]

@SorryNotSorry I prefer your design hands down. Have you got anywhere else in the 10m stretch for anymore storage/cabinets? You can never have too much cupboards to put crap in tidy away!

[Thatsnotmybody]

My kitchen designer threatened the same, as he disagreed with my plans (even though he couldn't actually recommend anything else other than dead space!) we went ahead and I love my kitchen, I think designers just throw a wobbly sometimes if you don't agree with their expert opinion

[Mamaohana]

Your design is really nice, the designers one is ridiculous! He should sign a waiver for being a nob.

[Bitchywaitress]

Fridge as you come in is surely a good thing for unloading your shopping?

[oldbirdy]

I would "box" in the fridge space to give storage above it and keep it looking part of the kitchen. Because it's lower that your wall of units it does look a bit out on a limb. But I'd keep it where it is.

Why do you need two ovens?

[oldbirdy]

Obviously matching your other units....

[RandomMess]

I hate the fridge between 2 ovens!!!

[4yearsnosleep]

Now you've all got me paranoid because our American fridge freezer has an oven each side and built in storage over the top.

It's the only place it'll fit and look balanced. I need the ovens in separate cabinets as the underfloor heating manifold in the the bottom of one. Find me a built in fridge freezer that dispenses water & ice and I'd lose the American fridge freezer but they don't exist.

[DrRanjsRightEyebrow]

I prefer your layout but I would box in the fridge with a little cupboard above it to the ceiling.

[namechangedtoday15]

I don't like the ff between the ovens, but I can see what the designer is saying. It will draw your eye in the position you have it.

But, I should say, i don't like American fridge freezers. I think they're big and ugly and actually don't hold as much as you think they should.

I would put an integrated ff in a tall unit, or if you really can't fit it in on the run of cupboards, I'd put tall units where you have the ff in your design. You'd still have a ff where you want it but if it's integrated, it won't dominate the space like an American ff would.

[TefalTester123]

I hate the one with the ff between the oven. The other one gives you more options with which ff you have and allows better access for the non-cook.
I've had an American ff like that before and wouldn't have another one. If you do want one then it'll need water and so that's also easier if it's near the sink.

[jigster01]

I think it looks good as it is ..as someone said you need the FF on the end as it will be a busy run for drinks etc if you have it by the ovens ...we have 2 ovens above each other and a pull out bin and under counter freezer in the island and then another freezer opposite generally where you have your bin ..that would give you space for a full height larder next to your 2 ovens above each other.Our larder fridge is next to the oven but as it's on the end noone is in my way ...There are 6 in out house and really the larder fridge would be plenty big enough for the 2 of you ...

[dotdotdotmustdash]

I'm going to go against the majority and say that the FF on the end of the run looks awkward and will spoil the look of the kitchen, making a large barrier between the kitchen and the dining area.

I would put the FF where the ovens are due to go (designer's plan), put both ovens in under-housing on the island and a base unit with drawers on the end of the sink run.

[3luckystars]

I know what it’s like to try to fit everything into a kitchen and it just can’t. I spent months a months with measuring tapes and diagrams and kept going over and over it.
Then I took a break and wrote down the most most important things for me to have in the kitchen,(it was plenty seating, a nice countertop with good counter space, a tall cabinet, and descent bins.)
Everything else was extra. I had to keep the list in front of me and stop getting distracted with islands and appliance garages!
Otherwise it’s like a child going into a toy shop, it’s completely overwhelming.

Sit down again and list the things that are really really important to you. Take all the extra stuff out of your head and focus on YOUR wishlist.

If you are spending tens of thousands on this kitchen, you need to be sure sure sure and you must know yourself that this is not sitting right with you. You will figure it out and it will be lovely and definitely nicer than what you have now. That helped me a lot to think of it that way.
The very best of luck.

[SorryNotSorry]

Thank you for all the replies! Whilst I am still a bit confused all the tips and ideas have been so helpful.

I tried @FartyMcLetfly 's genius idea of plotting my routes to do simple things, and the fridge between the ovens is probably more efficient if I am cooking alone but I can't get past the idea of people popping in for a drink or a snack whilst I am cooking that would be an absolute nightmare!

I think the fridge between the ovens is definitely out so am now thinking of @mum2015 's idea of a larder fridge and matching freezer where I have the american, the room is not built and I can fit it in if I move the bifolds 10 centimetres. I definitely like the look of an integrated fridge and freezer but feel like I would miss the ice and water functions. Any ideas of a compromise/alternative? Picture of a very early kitchen design with tall fridge and freezer in that spot attached to show an idea and if it would be overwhelming to have a large piece of cabinetry there.

We are currently quite spoilt for cooling space with a fridge freezer plus an undercounter fridge and freezer left by the previous owners, I think we could probably do without a fridge just for our wine and a freezer full of party food, ice and frozen fruit but we are trying to future proof as much as possible. Unfortunately the utility is much too small to put any cooling in there. Damn us for buying a house on a small plot, in a conservation area in the green belt.

We probably also don't need two ovens but we are building an extension for this kitchen and we want it to be the dream kitchen. We currently have one built under oven with no fan which burns everything on the outside and doesn't cook the middle of anything.

@minidoofa and @jigster01 how do you find two full size ovens in a tower? I couldn't see that layout in any showroom and worried that one oven would be too low and one too high.

Glad that the majority of the mumsnet massive agree with me, since we found the kitchen shop on mumsnet that is ironic. I think designers tend of the form over function in my experience and then when you ask for function they can't always deliver. But actually if your cabinets are costing 3 or 4 times the price of DIY kitchens/Ikea maybe you should be turning problems into bespoke solutions.

Anyway this may all be a moot point if we are not granted planning permission tomorrow!

[SorryNotSorry]

@3luckystars

Thanks for your lovely message, we are currently making our list of what is important. The idea that you have to get it right and no one will make the decision for you is quite scary but making a list of non negotiables is definitely the way forward.

[RandomMess]

Sorry I'm strange but I prefer the look of the FF to built in - I guess all the matching units I find OTT - the kitchen is a functional room after all...

We have a kitchen with dining area at the end and having one of our fridges that houses drinks, condiments etc does keep the others out of he kitchen so I think your design is great

[bobkate]

Can I just ask if you are creating those plans yourself and if so what 'tool' are you using. I would love a visual of our new room/kitchen layout as you have done it, with the lighting, doors, etc.
Where are you planning on getting your kitchen units from can I also ask! Thanks

[bobkate]

P.S I really like your last plan.

[3boys3dogshelp]

I much prefer your design.
Either freestanding or integrated ff - both look much better than the fridge between the ovens. I wouldn’t want my kids helping themselves to things out of a fridge next to an oven which was switched on or squeezing past me to get a drink while I was cooking.