Liftable kitchen worktop

[Dingdongthewitchisbread]

We’ve just bought a house which needs a complete renovation. We intend to extend in a couple of years as our situation doesn’t permit at present. I’m the meantime we need to replace the kitchen to make it liveable.

In trying to design the new kitchen so it works both now and once the extension has been built we ideally need to put work surface in front of the back door, but still need to use the door for now.

So has anyone ever seen or have any ideas how to make this work? I think my husband literally wants to put a section of the worktop on hinges. Can anyone think of any issues with doing this?

I think a lift up section is quite common in pubs and shops where they want to close off a section from the public but yet still allow staff access.
The main issue is safely having the counter raised without it getting in the way or dropping down unexpectedly.
The other alternative is having a section that lifts away completely and just rests on side supports when needed on place.

I saw a kitchen makeover show (in America, can’t remember it exactly sorry) where they had a tiny kitchen with barely any work space, and they had a slot-in section of worktop they could fit across a doorway gap when they needed the space, but put away most of the time.

I think a hinge would be the bane of your life to be honest. It’d be in the way when you need to access the door, and probably in the way when lifted up as well! You couldn’t keep anything on that section, or people couldn’t access the door on the occasions you were actually working there. Might even be a fire escape risk.

I think personally I would look at every other possible option first. Moveable free-standing furniture? I’d also be really wary of putting too much time/effort/£££ into a kitchen now that you actually may want to rethink completely once you’ve had the building work done. Either live with the current kitchen as best as possible or use freestanding things I could sell on/re-utilise elsewhere later.

My mother has a hinged piece between her stove and a corner cupboard, allowing access for full cleaning occasionally. Underneath that worktop lives a trolley unit with vegetable baskets. The top of the unit provides valuable extra workspace when it is rolled out.

Maybe have a look at campervan conversion YouTube’s as there are many that have things like this and you can then upscale to fit your kitchen. Or just go for a v v cheap worktop and replant with the extension

Butcher block unit on wheels? You’d have a little bit of storage space underneath as a bonus.

@MooseBeTimeForSummer

Butcher block unit on wheels? You’d have a little bit of storage space underneath as a bonus.

You could even buy a butcher block then add matching worktop to the top to exactly fill the gap

It’ll cost more and probably not work for you in future. Live with what you can and replace what you can’t cheaply (people sell second hand kitchens so start there). It’s easy to move and reuse appliances so buy what you want of those, and you can always reuse the cabinets and tops you buy now for a laundry/utility area.

So basically just factor on making it liveable now and do your kitchen once the extension is done. It will always feel like a compromise if you try and make the kitchen you do now work once you’ve extended

I wouldn’t risk it. Kitchen worktop is incredibly heavy. If you hinge a section and it comes down on fingers it will do a lot of damage.

Wow, I have a tiny kitchen. 😢With 2 doors leading in the space is really eaten into. I can so see that a hinged foldable element would be great. Even if only used for serving up on!
A quick Google showed that something like this could have worked for me. www.independent4life.co.uk/hailo-rapid-pull-out-table-for-600mm-width-cabinets-stainless-steel-effect.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwlN32BRCCARIsADZ-J4utYXli4Ey0rEnICUvkiRmbC5Tf12dN8WtqNe2J6dQPjsqEqr0VUesaAm6MEALw_wcB

A kitchen won't survive building work in the same room. Make do now, Freecycle for an old kitchen, just fit a new, cheap worktop (100 from b&q)

Will the extension include a utility?
If so I would plan your now kitchen to become your utility. That for us would have been far easier, still saves some cash in the end, and you can still end up with the kitchen you want without compromise. Although saying that we have basically camped in a room with a table plug in hob and dodgy sink for a year while we wait for the extension to finish. So close now..

I may be pissing on your chips here, but wouldn’t putting a counter in front of a door be a fire risk? Even if it can be lifted it would lessen the time you had to exit from that door quickly if there was smoke In the kitchen.

We had this when I was growing up, teeny kitchen and a bit of work top on a hinge going over the back door. Worked fine I think.