To have an island or not?
Planning my new kitchen/diner which we will create by knocking through wall between kitchen and dining room.
It is a 6 x 5 m almost rectangular room, see below of a quick sketch up I created - the furniture has only been drawn in as examples.
Along the 5m wall at top of pic we plan around 3.5m sliding doors onto garden (south facing)
Along the right wall is a bay window, depth 40cm (built-in window seat an option?)
On the wall at bottom of screen is stairs going up to bedrooms, with the bottom of the stair starting near the bay window side. With the stair going upwards, there will be understairs storage that could be used for pantry/fridge freezer.
What I want..... a dining table enough to seat 6. We are a family of 4 - 2 children ages 5 and 7. We sit down at the dining table every night for dinner and eat breakfast at the table too.
I am not sure of layout, open to options.
Island - never had one so not sure how well it woudl/could be used or if it would just get in the way?
Thanks!
Comments (10)
9 years ago
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Island perpendicular to units???
Comments (10)There are a few examples of independently designed kitchen/ living /dining /island layouts on our pro page if you want to have a look for some inspiration ... we tend to design the whole area when we work with clients - and offer up a good few suggestions taking all sorts of things into consideration, simply because there are sooooo many connotations to consider. Nb. we don’t sell Kitchens ! We design them with you, so you can then shop around and compare like for like....See MoreThe Benefits of having a kitchen island
Comments (2)There is only one minor issue... space. :-)...See MoreDIY kitchen design advice, esp island & seating combo
Comments (10)Thanks for your comments so far; it’s really helpful to get other points of view. Maths Wife, I’m with you on the pantry idea! In fact, I spent a long time trying to work out if we could put one there by getting decent-width access to the garden via another route. But coming through from the front door involves a narrow hallway and getting through several internal doors, and coming via the utility room would involve losing washing space to add a door, and a sharp right-hand turn. Apart from the fact that we’ll ultimately re-landscape our entire garden, which will all need to come through the house, I also sometimes use a mobility scooter, and although I don’t intend to take it into the house, I’d rather be safe than sorry in terms of access. We’re compensating for the lack of pantry by planning on turning the area outside those doors into a little shaded patio with small table/chairs. So in theory we could have those doors wide open in the summer, and have garden views from both ends of the kitchen. minnie101, I didn’t explain the meals for 30 very well . We set up another table in the playroom in those cases, so about half the people in each room. So in the kitchen I just want to make sure that we can have table fully extended whenever we need it, which seats about 14. For the drinks area, yes we’re debating having bifold doors so there is max countertop space for a small sink, kettle etc. As you say, it makes sense and saves the countertop space elsewhere, just makes for an expensive cupboard The roof lantern size is indeed limited by the fact that’s the only area of the kitchen that isn’t double storey. Other than squaring out a corner, we are keeping to the current footprint, as it’s just about on maximum extension already. That area, in a bizarre design choice by the previous owners, is currently the utility room, which just about blocks any view onto the garden - we need the lights on even in summer, despite that being a south facing view. I’ve spent most of the last 6 years trying to understand WHY someone would choose that layout as part of a fairly substantial extension, even going so far as to move the kitchen, which was south facing, to the other end of the room. I’ve yet to think of a sensible explanation…. We are going for a fairly timeless/modern country look, hence the orangery rather than bifolds, and also want to maximise the light as it’s a long room. Fingers crossed, it will look something like this, although with a lot more planting around it and step-free patio....See MoreCan I have an island?
Comments (14)Hi Sarah, thanks! I used Homebyme - an online designer (free! just Google the name) to put all of this together. There's a feature that allows you to render your 3d plans realistic like in my image. It's a bit fiddly but so worth the time :) you can also walk around your design in first person view. The space I have is 3m out from the structural beam above and 4m wide (+ pitched ceiling with 2 skylights). I allowed 600mm depth for the cupboards along the wall. To be honest, looking at your drawing I'm not sure that a long and narrow kitchen island is the best for your narrow kitchen, otherwise it would really need to be very skinny. I'm no expert though! How about incorporating a dining space like in this picture, with tall units one side of the wall and regular units the other side of the long wall, and with patio doors at the end? This would allow more light and views from the garden. Just an idea....See More- 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
Not the best place for a table then!! Are you completely wed to the large sliding doors? Wonder if something like this could work?
- 9 years ago
Or a banquette seat behind the island but with a rectangular table! Think you'd definitely need the cardboard boxes though to try that one out :)
- 9 years agolast modified: 9 years ago
- 9 years ago
9 years ago
temple274