Crit my kitchen design please

[Panda368]

Please ignore the wall colour.

Going with DIY kitchens for this. Black units, Iroko worktops, black or steel colour dishwasher/cooker/fridgefreezer.

Ideally I would like a built in induction hob with separate cookers but DP isn't keen and wants freestanding.. so if anyone can recommend a great freestanding induction cooker that would help loads.

Anything jumping out that will/wont work. the fridge height - we will be getting a taller one than in the image so it lines up with the 2m tall larder cupboard. So - does this work? should we tile? Should we not?

Flooring - we are currently thinking either concrete tiles or cork.

I wouldn’t put a cooker / hob on the end of a run. Especially next to a door. Accident waiting to happen.

@AuntyFungal thats a fair point. I've put it where it is in the kitchen currently and hand thought about that!

The door opens towards the wall but it would be super easy to walk past and catch pan handles etc as you pass! urgh!

What are the two doors to? Any chance of moving or getting rid of either of them?

I’m not a big fan of the tall unit and fridge where they are - looks very bulky and cuts off the kitchen - but can see alternatives are difficult with the two doors.

I was thinking same about hob. You're supposed to make a triangle between sink, hob and fridge (apparently, that's what I've been told), so I'd put hob on other wall, in the middle of 2 drawer units. I think id prefer the wall cupboards there too, with microwave above. Looks like the microwave is in a corner and would be a bit awkward to get into?

PS love the idea of cork flooring. My grandma had cork tiles in her 1960s house - they did require a bit of resealing now and then but were very comfy to walk on, and warm.

@minipie the door by the cooker is internal - basically from the entrance hall, the other door is semi external and leads to an ally which leads into the garage where we will be having the washing machine/dryer.

attached are pics of kitchen as it currently is and the floor plan.

We are knocking through into the dining room to create more space but it's still a pretty awkward room

if hob was against internal wall how would you route out an extractor fan?

We have cork flooring, it's great. A friend's iroko worktop has been a mistake though, it's marked badly and scratched a lot.

Could the fridge freezer go in the kettle corner, make the end where it is now less crowded. Could you consider under counter FF’s

Could you get rid of the door into the hallway and just have one off the lounge instead?

I would be tempted to open up the back lounge and dining room to have one big space opening out to the garden. Then the smaller room which the current kitchen could be a study/playroom/snug. How do you use all the rooms currently?

@ApolloandDaphne don't think we can afford re-routing all the plumbing to do that!

mentioned to DP about the hob - he thinks we would need to fuck about loads with ceiling to be able to get the extractor to work? Anyone got any experience of this?

I was going to suggest what @ApolloandDaphne did. It might be worth getting it quoted up as that would be the best use of space.

Where does your current extractor go? We've done up a few houses and never had to mess with the ceilings.

[quote Panda368]@ApolloandDaphne don't think we can afford re-routing all the plumbing to do that!

mentioned to DP about the hob - he thinks we would need to fuck about loads with ceiling to be able to get the extractor to work? Anyone got any experience of this?[/quote]
That's fair!

How does it work now with the cooker behind the door? If its okay then just go with that. You could change the door to open against the cooker then a door stop strategically placed would stop it coming too far and possibly knocking pots.

You would just have the extractor circulate (and just remove the smell) rather than extract I believe. You could have a bathroom style extractor fan in the outside wall instead if you wished.

I agree with the others about a cooker at the end of the run.

I would go for cooker (or hob/oven combo) on the right wall opposite the side door and then a corner run from the hall door around to the side door. Keep the sink where you have it now (under the window). To make the tall unit next to the fridge freezer less out of place could you have a built around fridge freezer? Maybe with a rounded edge to the cupboard to make the edge less harsh. Sort of like this piccy

If you're knocking through, I'd look at putting French doors at the garden end of the dining room instead of a window and a door and moving the kitchen door to the alley to the dining room side of the knocked through room to give you more usable kitchen wall space - the cooker could then go on that external wall with the extractor vented directly outside. I'm not sure what you gain knocking the two rooms together if you're not going to extend the kitchen into what is now the dining room to a degree. You lose the wall space between the two rooms for kitchen cabinets.

I would strongly suggest moving the door to the alley. This will add a bit of cost but not too much (not as much as relocating the kitchen would). If you move that door down towards the dining table, then you can have a much longer L shaped run.

I would probably put the hob and sink on the long wall and the fridge on the short wall next to the kitchen door, but up to you.

I would also suggest changing the radiator for a tall slim one near the glass doors - just to give you more usable wall space.

Ha, took so long to hit post on my reply that I didn’t see the previous poster suggesting the same thing about moving the alley door

Cooker next to door is lethal, use an L shaped corner base, then built in cooler and hob, then small 300 unit on the end to prevent pan handles being knocked off. All extractors can be used in recirculating or ducted mode, so just use in recirculating mode with a charcoal filter

Meant to say cooker and hob, not cooler!

Definitely move the cooker.

I also think those big drawers when pulled out like that are a potential trip hazard especially if you have rampaging kids

I think the easy fix is to move the cooker to the straight run, with a good drawer unit each side, and extract using a good quality wall mounted fan on the external wall opposite. It's a relatively narrow room, it will clear effectively.

Yeah, I would agree about perhaps rethinking the cooker positioning unless you're fine with it currently? My extractor fan is against an internal wall and doesn't seem to have any issues although I'm no expert!

Could I ask where/how you got the designs done please? Just starting to think about doing ours and have no idea where to start!

For example:
www.gil-lec.co.uk/vent-axia-140420-va140kht-six-inch-kitchen-extractor-fan-humidistat-timer
Cheaper , quieter and less visually intrusive than a cooker hood.

I would definitely not put the cooker on the drawer run because then whenever you have to drain pasta or veg you will be carrying boiling water across the room which is a thoroughfare. V dangerous.

Is moving the alley door an option OP?