Kitchen layout

[HousePlans]

If this was your kitchen and you wanted to have a small table in it, how would you change the layout of the units?

I'm thinking either L shape along left wall and window wall, and then space for a table on back wall...

Or a U-shape kitchen but with the window wall units stopping opposite the fridge (blue) rather than running the whole length of the window wall, and then putting some kind of corner bench/table in that corner.

I won't lose cupboard space because washer (green dot) and dryer (yellow) are currently taking up under counter space and will be moved out to utility cupboard in hall. And the purple line is a radiator under an open worktop.

But I am worried about losing too much worktop. And the U shape would mean not too much loss, but I'm not sure the corner space will be big enough or look ok? It'll leave about 1200mm of space along the window wall and around 1500 between window wall and door.

Currently have a 75cmx75 table in the middle of the kitchen. And it's fine for the two of us. Bane of my life walking round it though. 😄

Any thoughts anyone?

Where do the other doors go to? Is one to a utility and one to another reception room?

They are quite limiting in terms of layout even if you did a peninsula to keep worktop space.

I moved my kitchen into a different room because I had similar dimensions which left too much space in the middle but not enough to do anything useful with it.

Here's the whole downstairs layout. The utility will be created in the 'store' next to the downstairs toilet.

The rooms are all the same size so no joy to be had by changing rooms. The obvious option is to have the table in the actual dining room... But I have my desk and some armchairs in there and much prefer sitting there than in the front end of the room (which has sofa/telly/and DS usually). And I do really like a table in the kitchen.

How much work are you going to do to get what you want, are you having a new kitchen?

The plumbing is on the far wall and so realistically will not move. So the table will probably have to be against the opposite wall - you could pull it out if there's more than two of you. Could the hallway door be changed to open in against the lounge wall, might give a bit more space?

Get on somewhere like IKEA or DIY Kitchens and use their design software?

How do you get in your house? Where is your front door?

Things a good question?

We're on a very steep hill, the front door opens into a hallway and then you go downstairs to the kitchen/living room or upstairs to the bedrooms. 😄

Could you knock the wall down between kitchen and dining room? I would do that and open up the kitchen to have more room for a dining table. Or an island in the middle with stools. You still get your office in the dining room side then.

Maybe... I was going to just change worktop/sink/tiles and get the units spray painted. But by the time I've spent that, I wonder if I might just get a new kitchen for not huge amounts more.

Yes don't want to be changing plumbing, etc, but maybe sink could be moved further along once the washing machine has gone. But you're right, L shape with table on the radiator wall makes most sense. Will lose a third of the worktop space that way though.

Having new internal doors so could get the door into the hallway hung the other way. Thanks for that thought!

Oh and I've been using DIY kitchens planner tool. I absolutely cannot get along with the ikea one though for some reason.

Yes great idea to knock the wall down and I think it would make a lovely space.

That said, I think I must be one of the few people in the world who don't want an open plan kitchen/dining/living space. I don't even like my through lounge and am considering putting a wall up. 😄

How about a U with short arms? - ie, along the whole window wall, down the right-hand side as far as the door and the left-hand side just after the oven? Then the table goes in bottom left corner along the bottom wall. You can also use your table as worktop space too. We do. Our kitchen table has drawers in it where we keep all the cutlery, mats, utensils etc..

I would wall off the lounge and make a big kitchen diner space

I would totally put that wall up and have that as a nice snug lounge. And then open plan at the back.

Hm, that's something I'd not considered. Thanks for that. Will have a play around on the planning tools and see how that could work.

Completely understand your thinking Bruiser and Biscuits. I just don't want to see my kitchen when I'm not cooking or eating. Maybe I'm a bit too messy for open plan. 😅

Simplest solution is to block the door between the kitchen and the diner then have your table there.

As others have said I would open up the kitchen into the diner and reinstate the wall between the sitting room and diner.

Dependant upon how much work and money you want to spend you could totally rearrange the kitchen layout, have an island, table and office area if you open it up. If not keep the kitchen as is, take the wall done, add the table to the space where the wall was and keep your office at the other end.

We used DIY Kitchens for our units, good quality, lots of choice (too much?!) and reasonable prices.
Do you want to dine in your kitchen or is it just for breakfast? Some sort of breakfast bar on an island, doesn't everyone want one? :)
If you've a utility room then how much cupboard and worktop space will you need - once you've decided that it'll be easier to arrange it. We've never enough cupboard/worktop space as ours is a small kitchen and we love gadgets! :)

Surely if you block off between the living room and dining area you won't see the kitchen if you're not cooking or eating?

You could put sliding doors between kitchen and dinner so you can open it up for sociability etc and then close it when you want to ignore the kitchen! I’ve seen that done quite well and it made for a really good flexible space. You could do the same between lounge and diner

Or barn doors or bifold

if you just want to be able to eat breakfast then I’d put in a breakfast bar

I too would close off the lounge to the diner and open up the kitchen to diner, potentially with a pocket slider if you want more flexibility.

Aah, this is why I cropped the floor plan to only show the kitchen in the first picture, because I knew lots of people would suggest opening up the kitchen and dining room. Completely accept that I'm the weird odd one out here for not wanting to do that. I also don't like islands or breakfast bars either!

It's just me and DS, so we eat all meals (that we eat at the table) in the kitchen. If we have friends over, or at Christmas, etc. we pull the table into the dining room and it extends to fit more people. But day to day, I much prefer a table in the kitchen and having two 'living' spaces, rather than a dining space, a living space and a kitchen, if you see what I mean?

Sweetpickle2 - I wouldn't give up the whole space to a kitchen/diner, it would also have my desk in and an armchair or two as I like having a quiet room at the back of the house with the patio doors for working/reading/etc. So I'd either have to lose this or incorporate it into the new kitchen/diner. And then I'd be sat reading with the washing up glaring at me...

Sliding doors worth thinking about, thanks Bruiser. I think I'll need them for the utility space too actually.

Have a Google of kitchen diner dividing doors and there are loads of options

I'm going to do a trial run of this...I'll put the table in front of the door for a few days and see how it feels to not have a door there. Thanks schloss.

Although, will first have to convince DS to dismantle the den that is currently blocking the living room door otherwise we'll not get into the living room at all...