How do you start with a new kitchen layout

[longtompot]

What do you do first to start working out where everything goes, or if a layout will work well? There just seems to be so much to choose from and could be costly if I get it wrong.
Our kitchen is currently a U shape but will become a galley kitchen as we are taking out the window and putting in a doorway to a conservatory.

Start where the services are.
Avoid moving water and drainage unless you have no choice.
Pretty guaranteed to need to move /add electrics.
Working triangle vastly over rated - don't be a slave to it.

Once you have a decent plan, imagine doing your usual day to day stuff in this new layout. Does it work?

Thank you @BruceAndNosh We do need to move the water and drainage and I want to have the cooker on the opposite side of the room as where it is currently the sun shines on the burners and I can't see if they've blown out or not, esp when on low. I think when we get a builder in to look at things they will be able to see what can be done about our weird piping.
I'll have a play around with some layouts and see what I can come up with.

We got about 5 designs - all much of a muchness i.e. units down one side and an Island. And one peninsular plan. Getting those made us realise that basically the 4 had got it right. Then we thought about how we'd stand to use hob, ovens, sink etc.

The fitter also changed a bit around when he was fitting it as it was much easier to tell when it was being fitted.

When we did ours I read about 'the triangle' between the sink, oven and fridge. We found that works. One thing that didn't work for us was putting the drawers below the hob, because no one can get to the cutlery to lay the table while I'm cooking.

@Indecisivelurcher

When we did ours I read about 'the triangle' between the sink, oven and fridge. We found that works. One thing that didn't work for us was putting the drawers below the hob, because no one can get to the cutlery to lay the table while I'm cooking.

Good thing to know but I am steering towards a range so hopefully not an issue.

I disagree about not moving drainage or similar if it can be done and you can afford it. When doing our bathroom and kitchen, I designed the ideal scenario and asked if it was possible (asking DH actually since he does most of the work himself). So, for example, we totally moved the toilet to another wall entirely which added a day's work but it was worth it to not wish I'd done it every time I used the room.

I started with one thing. So where do I want the sink? Under a window. Done. Now, where does it make sense to put the range given needing work surface on both sides, a chopping area, reasonable distance to running water etc and then I built the kitchen around the practical considerations. I also looked at all of my friends' kitchens and those belonging to family and considered what did or didn't work for me and stole a few ideas, ruled out others. I spent a long time thinking about what would go where, how best to store pans for example for the way I cook, whether utensils would go in a drawer or a pot and how that would affect unit choices and on and on.

Also decide if you really need whatever stuff you have in all the cupboards and drawers carried over to the new kitchen.

We got rid of all the wall units bar two in the corners.

Opens up the room, lighter bigger feeling space.
(That might be specific to our layout obviously)

Remember to think about the way your doors open. The difference between a cupboard in the corner where you have to wedge yourself between a wall and the door to look in it and one where it opens against the wall is significant!
If it's a relatively small space, consider where your clash points are. We had a sink and cooker on opposite sides of the corner in our old kitchen and were constantly fighting for the space. I find it better back to back.
Think about work surface and how many plates you regularly put out. You want to be able to fit that number and a baking tray on one section.
If you need a separate microwave where will it go? We got a small wall mounted one and still room for a small cupboard on top. Great not having in on work top.
If it is galley and you know where you want your cooker you already have a good starting point. You will need to weigh up the benefits of tall larder style cupboards over extra worktop.

www.blum.com/gb/en/ideas/dynamic-space/workflow/

This is a good start. Blum make interior fittings so they feature heavily, but the workflows/zones are helpful.

Surely you bring in someone who knows exactly what they are doing . A sales person or one of these independents that seem to be about these days . Too expensive a product to make a mistake on .and you have to live with it for a looooong time. I can't understand these people who try and do it themselves. Crazy. If the house burns down due to you doing something wrong you'd be culpable. Or dead. Why take that risk.

@corblimeygov

Surely you bring in someone who knows exactly what they are doing . A sales person or one of these independents that seem to be about these days . Too expensive a product to make a mistake on .and you have to live with it for a looooong time. I can't understand these people who try and do it themselves. Crazy. If the house burns down due to you doing something wrong you'd be culpable. Or dead. Why take that risk.

Erm, we're not fitting it, but I want to design the layout as we can't afford one of those kitchen designers (and I would probably get carried away with all their suggestions ) It will be fitted hopefully by the fitter who has fitted our neighbours kitchen.

Kitchen suppliers should design it for free - you don't have to buy from them but obviously don't say that up front! See what some professionals come up with as a first step. You can then ask your fitter to copy one you like or edit it as you need to.

I am a kitchen designer and in most cases I start with corners to make sure that space is used as well as it can be. Unless your kitchen is huge the corner spaces are often badly used or just wasted unless properly planned out. Then I look at windows and services, and then I look at how to make the best of what space is left. That makes it all sound very simple but actually I have to use quite a lot of knowledge and experience to do a good job, it's genuinely one of those things where I definitely improve the more I do it and non-professionals often make mistakes they are not aware of until it's too late. Bigger, more extravagant kitchens are usually the easiest and smaller kitchens or those with a lot of restrictions in place take far longer and much more brainpower.

Definitely go to Wren or similar and get them to do an initial plan for free, it’s super helpful. I also had no idea of the sheer range of cabinets/drawers/units that were available.

I spent a lot of time thinking about scenarios and how the space would work. Things like kids making cereal alone (DS would have to have bowls in a bottom cupboard), making a quick cuppa, making a full roast and someone else setting the table

Don’t forget a bin, a crap drawer and somewhere for the hoover/broom

It sounds like you are turning your kitchen into a corridor, with a door to the rest of the house on one end and a door to the conservatory on the other. That can be very tricky to plan well to avoid congestion and doors opening against each other. You will also need to look at the lighting as the conservatory will take away some light.

IKEA have a free kitchen designer on their website, just put in your room dimensions and then you can play around with layouts. You can switch to 3D to get a feel for how it would actually look too.

I also had no idea of the sheer range of cabinets/drawers/units that were available.

This is the other thing. So often I'll put something in a kitchen and people say they had no idea it was even available. The professional advice is available for free. You should take it.

@IM0GEN I don't think it will feel like a corridor as it's quite wide (though not massive) and people will be able to work comfortably on each side and someone will be able to walk through. The conservatory will be our dining room.
We also need to have an area that can be lowered and raised for my dds to be able to prep food and drinks on their own whilst using wheelchairs. It's a surface I want to have a two burner induction hob on.

Thank you @SharpLily sounds like you are really good at your job and enjoy it too. When we are ready to do this, I will see if I can get it designed by a kitchen supplier and go from there.

[quote longtompot]@IM0GEN I don't think it will feel like a corridor as it's quite wide (though not massive) and people will be able to work comfortably on each side and someone will be able to walk through. The conservatory will be our dining room.
We also need to have an area that can be lowered and raised for my dds to be able to prep food and drinks on their own whilst using wheelchairs. It's a surface I want to have a two burner induction hob on.

Thank you @SharpLily sounds like you are really good at your job and enjoy it too. When we are ready to do this, I will see if I can get it designed by a kitchen supplier and go from there.[/quote]
Thank you, I do enjoy it . I would happily offer to help in your case but I'm not in the UK so my specific experience and product knowledge wouldn't necessarily be helpful to you.

Our fitter last year said don't worry about where the plumbing & gas is now, if it isn't a brand new house then chances are it has been redirected already, so best to rip it all out and start again from scratch. Likewise electrics.

Start with immovable features like doors and windows and work from there. Decide on rough position for sink first maybe? I wanted ours directly under the window. Then where the white goods need to be for convenience. It helps to have worktop space either side of the cooker, and on at least one side of the sink, ideally the opposite side to the draining board.

List everything you need: fridge, oven, microwave, sink, dishwasher, etc, as well as how many drawers and cupboards, so you know what you need to fit in. Then start playing on the IKEA designer (you won’t have to buy from IKEA, it’s just a handy tool), trying to fit it all in while thinking about:

Is there enough counter to cook?
Is there counter next to the fridge to help with unpacking the shopping?
Where do dirty pots go before being washed up, and where’s the drying rack?
Where’s the toaster and bread and jam cupboard?
Kettle location or hot water tap?
Enough counter near the oven to put down hot things?
Where’s the bin, recycling and food waste going?
Etc.

Think about what annoys you in your current kitchen that you’ll want to resolve, and what you like about it that you’d want to keep.

[quote longtompot]@IM0GEN I don't think it will feel like a corridor as it's quite wide (though not massive) and people will be able to work comfortably on each side and someone will be able to walk through. The conservatory will be our dining room.
We also need to have an area that can be lowered and raised for my dds to be able to prep food and drinks on their own whilst using wheelchairs. It's a surface I want to have a two burner induction hob on.

Thank you @SharpLily sounds like you are really good at your job and enjoy it too. When we are ready to do this, I will see if I can get it designed by a kitchen supplier and go from there.[/quote]
I’d seriously think about getting some expert input on the planning o make sure it’s as accessible as possible eg Do your kids need to use the fridge, sink and dishwasher as well? A microwave in the wall cupboards saves space but won’t be in reach of a wheelchair user so you might need a build on one in a tall unit?

What about the oven ? You can get doors that slide away underneath which are good for wheelchair users but you would need worktop space right next to it .

I don’t know what age your girls are but my teens use the microwave and oven more than anything else, more than the hob. They also use the toaster and the sandwich toaster a lot

But yours might be cordon bleu chefs - mine are just doing simple meals.

Hot water taps are much safer than kettles for wheelchair users , if you can fit one in.

Yeah I was actually talking about the planning stage not fitting it.
It needs to be done correctly.

You've nothing to lose by thinking through the layout yourself, especially with the wheelchair aspects. Some suppliers have good designers and some will just plonk their most expensive units round the room.

I'd think a lower/table height section of work top would be useful for lots of things. Also have plenty of things in drawers/pull ours, they'll be accessible for everyone then.