Help! Can't decide kitchen layout

[Ankleweights]

Hi mumsnetters,
I'm stuck between deciding between 3 kitchen layouts. Which would you prefer?
Husband and I both cook, or wash and prep at the same time. Lot of times the kids are playing as well.
Does anyone have a peninsula and wished they had an island instead so everyone could get round? Or does anyone have an island and wished they didn't?
All thoughts welcome.
Thanks

What is opposite your peninsula/island (the opposite side to the orange rectangle)?

@OliviaFlaversham
There are worktops and fridge and some larder units on long side. Next to the door there are ovens and more worktops.

I’m not sure about the seating area in the middle and the dining area beyond…

That green chair is going to be perpetually in the way.

Was going to say exactly that! Surely you want the dining area closest to the kitchen area for ease of serving and clearing up?

What are the dimensions of the room, I can't make out the numbers.

I'd agree that having the dining area away from the kitchen area seems a bit daft. And that green chair would drive me bonkers.

Edited for typo.

@MidnightPatrol, @Reallybadidea and @EdithStourton we prefer to eat away from the kitchen itself but you're probably right about the green chair but those things can be moved around once the kitchen goes in.

@MidnightPatrol width is 5.3m and depth in 8.6m

I would go with peninsula/sink on wall, but make the worktop fill depth under the window so you have a great well lit preparation space. This means one person can work there and another on the end of the peninsula.

I would zone up a bit differently so you have a defined drinks making area, the kettle/,hot tap doesn't want to be in the prep area but off to one side ideally near fridge/sink. I'd also make you peninsula slightly shorter so there's more space to walk around it.

Are the ovens really on the far (left) side? It almost looks too big and spread out. You could do better with a more compact focused working kitchen area and just storage on the other side of the room.

Does the long utility room need to be that size? I'd make it smaller and be able to put the kitchen further up and then look at where the dining table goes.

My kitchen is almost identical to yours in terms of shape! Where your window is, we have a door leading to the utility and have 2 windows down the right side of the pic. We debated getting an island, but went for a peninsular- and don't regret it. More storage space!
Our sink is under a window and I like looking out when washing my hands, filling a kettle, doing washing etc.
Get as many drawers as you can!
Ensure that when the dishwasher door and cupboards are open- they don't bang into the ones on the opposite side, and that someone can still walk past if they are open.

Definitely peninsula with sink under the window.

Practically a sink under the window allows you to open for ventilation when washing up or running hot water etc.

Peninsula is better than an island for space utilisation and no dead space.

Good luck OP!

So are the ovens on the other side of the peninsula from the sink, hob etc? That will be very inefficient. If you’re wedded to that, then go for the island to save you walking round each time.

Otherwise, I much prefer a peninsula - better use of space, more storage & works better as a breakfast bar.

I wouldn’t split your ovens and you main prep area with the island/peninsula. You will be walking around it a lot which could be not great with kids underfoot as well. It also means anyone sitting at the island/peninsula will be getting in the way.

Have that area for long term storage (baking supplies, the Christmas plates etc…) and all your everyday cooking in the main kitchen.

Saying that my preference would be the peninsula with the area behind used for the dining table and the space slightly away from the food prep area for the sofa/ kids playing. You aren’t going to be away away from the kitchen with the table where it is (you will see cooking stuff and smell foods) but it is a cleaner separation and better use of space.

I've got a gas oven under the hob. It looks like a hob but will be a built in range.

Next to the door I'll have an electric oven and a freestanding freezer which will (not shown in the pics because i forgot) but it'll be next to pink sofa and encased in kitchen end panels. That area will just be used for meal prep where things go in the oven, cool on the counter and portioned up and straight into freezer. We do that every week for the kids.

@NotMeNoNo, @JC03745 i like your suggestions actually and will incorporate them somehow and I'm glad you don't have regrets about your peninsula because it does give more counter and workspace.

@GU24Mum we need a large utility as I'll have clothes airers out. I don't use tumble dryer to fully dry so a small one doesn't work for us.

@JamesWebbSpaceTelescope it's mainly because that extra oven is used once a week for kids meal prep so it won't impede our normal cooking. I tried the dining table there but i found it will be a case where we end up pushing table against wall because ideally want plenty of space to pull chairs out comfortably. I also wanted 1.3m between the two side counters as we're both always end up in the same space.

I'm still a bit torn between island or peninsula but leaning more towards peninsula. It's not a wide kitchen like they show on interior design websites so i guess with peninsula i don't need to factor in walk space. I do appreciate the suggestions about the oven on the door side of wall and practicality, so will give it some thought. Kitchens are expensive and to get it wrong would drive us bonkers.

So on the same wall as the pink sofa are ovens and worktops? That's not really workable if you have kids running in and out of the patio doors. I'd want to contain all kitchen to one area I think.

A few suggestions to consider, OP:
If you would turn your peninsula or better yet, island, 45 degrees, your room proportions would look and feel better. As they are, they seem long and narrow. Also I wouldn't like to see people's bottom halves/ kitchen floor space from sitting area. Better to separate living/ kitchen areas with island or peninsula. Sink under window is the most pleasant position however you will have your back to the room which isn't so pleasant.

Yes agree with this. If you turned the peninsula 45 degrees so it is horizontal across the room, this would create a much more wider feeling of space.

@Whataretalkingabout we did initially try that but because you need a minimum of a meter around walk spaces it ended up looking cluttered. We then tried the attached but island looks in an odd place.

I’m struggling with the point of a gas oven and then a separate electric oven just for longer term meal prep? Firstly - why a gas oven? They aren’t most people’s main choice then secondly why do you need a second oven at all? A second oven is a big expense.

Secondly why are people turning the island 45degree to a diagonal? 90degrees would be horizontal. I would worry this could interrupt the flow to the back garden

I like the large utility, I also don’t have a tumble dryer and somewhere dedicated to dry in wet weather is on my wish list. I would get this rather than the second oven,

I'd go for the island, and then make it symmetrical. With the hob and the sink lined up. I think that would look really nice from the open plan room. We have a large double width island and I love it. It's easy to walk around, the kitchen feels open, people congregate around it. I had a peninsular in my last place and much prefer the island.

Re: the utility, look at the wall hung airers. They look so much nicer, and the ones we got have 11m of hanging space on each. I've managed to relegate my airer

How big would the island be? I have an island and love being able to circulate around when someone else is there, it means the circulating space doesn't need to be 1.3m, 1m is plenty.

I've also found that 1m is as deep as I would want an island, 1.2m is too deep for me.

@A1b2c3d4e5f6g7 i like that idea too and had a thought after your comment actually that i could add to the kitchen if i didn't like the island but to take away would be a costly mistake. It's nice to know you had both and have something that works better for you.

@CatherinedeBourgh it's 1.1m wide and 2.4m long. Though the range which will be built in is 1.1m including clearance covers.

@JamesWebbSpaceTelescope the range cooker comes with gas oven. I prefer to cook with gas. The electric one i can leave on and it'll turn itself off so I'm not tied to clock watching. Prepped frozen food tends to get soggy, so electric oven helps prevent that. It's what we have now tbh so we're re using that and our range, extractor and fridge freezer. Only new appliance will be the standalone freezer.

I like a sink under the window, because I spend so much time there. The hob you want to keep out the way of thoroughfares. Which are party walls here? I personally like the idea of islands that you can move. And given space, I think it offers more flexible walkabouts. I don't really see any point of sitting at the island. But maybe that works for some?

I would not have the hob on the island or peninsula.

Have I understood the diagrams correctly, you are basically having a W shaped kitchen, with workspace on all 4 sticks of the W?

Have these been done by a kitchen designer, or just by you? I think I'd talk to someone who has designed lots of kitchens, as, while I agree the 4th picture you posted isn't right either, the first 3 make no sense.

I wouldn't like the sink or cooker on the island/peninsula, but I know I'm on the minority here.

Look againat the range cookers - we have a gas top and electric ovens.

Three seems
To be a lot of dead space on the left hand wall and sitting area