Kitchen design - what's the best piece of advice you had?

[BrightGoldenHazeintheMeadow]

We went to Howdens today and this is the design they have come up with. We're extending and currently have a galley kitchen so I've been looking forward to a lot more space which we will have. However, by the time you put in appliances - especially things like the American style fridge - quite a lot of space is taken up. Any thoughts on this design? Thanks.

Thanks very much to everyone for taking the time to share your thoughts and amended plans - even when you don't agree with what we have in mind I can see what you are saying wrt having a small kitchen in a largish space. The problem is that I've set my heart on having a breakfast bar which I would like to use as a work surface but I'd also like us to be able to eat around it in comfort - that's why we've made it wide and with an overhang. My husband has also suggested putting a hob in but I just don't think it's wide enough to accommodate a hob and eat around.

We have rethought the fridge - sadly I don't think we have enough room for an American style fridge. We're now thinking of a tall fridge and maybe an under the counter freezer.

Neighbours have opted for the more open plan approach some of you are suggesting but I don't think we're tidy enough for that. We need a bit of separation between the kitchen bit with the hob etc and the utility part of the kitchen where we can hide things. We have been pondering putting a door between the utility and the kitchen and which is better, having more space without the door or as some have said maybe it's better to sacrifice some space and have a door.

It's not that wide in front of the patio doors so I didn't think we were losing a lot of space by having that empty. We could also put some sort of cabinet on the wall beside the doors.

We currently having a small bathroom and separate loo. This will be converted into a bigger bathroom. We're wondering if we might have enough room to put the washing machine upstairs but it's probably going to be too tight.

Did you particularly want short top cabinets? If you have cabinets that aren't to the ceiling it collects horrible greasy dust and looks quite dated.

Thanks Pragmatic - good point. We are planning cabinets to the ceiling - not sure why these haven't been included.

We've got an oversized section of worktop that we use as a breakfast bar, only when people are sat there with the stools out, you're in the way for people using the door and have to keep moving. I was really pissed off when we'd had the kitchen installed and this wasn't something we'd realised would happen.

If we ever find another house to move to, I'd never have seating near a walkway/door area.

Thanks spinning. We currently only ever open one patio door so we thought (hoped) that there would enough space.

Why have they left a vertical gap beside the washer? That looks awful, they should be putting something in there or blocking it off. Also make sure your corner cupboards have pull-out storage racks and haven’t just been blocked off. Check the manual for the oven and hob to make sure they fit on top of each other. Not a fan of big fridges myself, I think built in looks tidier.

This looks like the planning permission plans. Do you already have planning permission granted.

If you do I would wait until the work is underway and see how the space develops and feels. Where the light is etc.

I would personally go for floor to ceiling larder style units where possible.

Drawers instead of cupboards and if you can I would make the island freestanding as it gives you more space to sit round it.

I would also use the downstairs wc to accommodate the utility space as otherwise you have food smells in your clothes and can accommodate everything you need nearer to the upstairs as you will be carting washing round the whole house. In my dream house I will have a laundry chute so all washing gets chuted to where it needs to be.

If you have a wall where the utility space is currently you could put floor to ceiling units there.

Do you need the wall cupboards as removing them will give you an illusion of space.

If you won’t consider putting the kitchen in the old dining room, and won’t compromise on an island/peninsula, then I don’t think there’s much else you can do with the layout - other than sort out the utility.

If you want it semi open plan, I would put the washing machine in a cupboard in the downstairs wc - probably using the redundant corner of the utility space. I would also keep the utility area cabinets at the same depth as the kitchen cabinets, as the staggered depths look really clunky. You could bring base units forwards, and then have wall cupboards behind from worktop to ceiling - so you get full depth worktop with bonus cupboards at the back. Fridge and freezer could go at the end of the utility space.

What’s going in the utility?
Why is the washing machine not in there?
If you do keep your WM in the kitchen integrate it, it just looks much better.
If you can’t fit a full American style FF, what about something like this, not quite so big, but similar
ao.com/product/hb15fpaa-haier-fridge-freezer-stainless-steel-66910-28.aspx

Sorry op but I'm with the others.

There's a lot of wasted space and lost potential. I'm not normally a fan of islands but you could really benefit from one and still achieve your seating/working area desires.

Open plan utility is a no-no.

Think carefully as it has to work for you but don't end up with a poor space that devalues the house.

If you bin off the utility wall, you could centre the dining table more in the room and have a space that feels much bigger.

I don’t see the appeal of working or eating at a peninsula, when you having a proper table just feet away that would be far more comfortable.

I think your dining table needs to be near the garden. Darker living area means cooler in summer and cosy in winter. What about this layout where you do through the downstairs toilet to a small utility? Don't know if you have side access but could possible add a side door from there to take clothes in and out to the garden.

Thanks again for all your feedback.

The best advice was swapping out my American FF for separate integrated fridge and and freezer. Designer produced 4 separate plans, 2 with American FF, 2 with integrated fridge and separate freezer. Both designs with the big FF looked clunky

Thanks Bruce Which fridge did you get?

best advice I got was to think about how people will move through the space. don't think about how many appliances you can cram in.

your original design has lots of dead space and narrow corridors. definitely close off your utility to keep the noise & mess hidden.

and I don't get the point of a breakfast bar. we got rid of ours and have a 1/2 wall with a splashback so that the kitchen (and mess) is part hidden from the living room but you can still talk over it.

Thanks parietal