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Kitchen design help!

5 years ago

I’m looking to redesign my kitchen. Thinking of blocking the current single door to outside and maybe knocking into lounge/dinner. Should I do this or stick with the separate kitchen? Have no idea what layout would work... help please!

Comments (3)

A S
5 years ago
Hi,

I personally much prefer a kitchen diner as it creates a more open and sociable space. If this was my home, I would consider opening up the kitchen to the dining / living space and reinstating a wall to create an open kitchen diner and a more private lounge. I would separate the two spaces using pocket doors or double doors; this gives you the option of opening the living space when you have guests/hosting parties but also a private zone which can be closed off.
A S
5 years ago
In terms of kitchen layout, I wonder if you have enough space for a g-shaped kitchen (although do refer to the pro's to see of there's sufficient space: sink under the window, cooker central to back wall, fridge/freezer and possibly a slim larder unit on the opposite the sink with a g-shaped breakfast for some additional worktop space or bar stools (though not necessary as the dining table is close).

Alternatively, an L-shaped kitchen as is now, with a bank of tall larder units housing, fridge freezer, oven, etc across the dining room wall. However this wouldnt provide you with the ideal 'triangular' layout.
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Some brief responses to your various questions: 1. Need a cover panel here but IKEA cover panels have a max height of 240cm – we need 260cm so there will be a join ideally in line with the wall cabinets – any alternative solution to this? If you were able to identify the matching board, it might be possible to buy a larger panel through a different route - many are up to 3m long if bought from a panel distributor or the manufacturer. But that will be less likely with Ikea, assuming they are making their own. 2. 400mm height wall units – proposing to have these opening vertically – good/bad idea? Hmmm, I'm in two minds here. I don't like side opening for short but wide doors, but your top boxes will be a nightmare to use if they are top hinged because of height. You could consider pinning the top box doors to the ones below & side mounting, such that they all open together. 3. Corner is currently inaccessible with the drawers – trying to maximise drawer space over cupboard space – is this a good idea? No, a bad idea - a lot of waster space. Go for a corner with pull out Le Mans. Will be similar price to the drawers, but you get to use the corner totally. Could reconfigure with 600mm drawers but thought a 400mm cupboard to access space in the corner would be unusable. Basically, is having more drawer space a better idea? As above, use wireworks - they were designed for a reason! 4. Extractor – gone for an integrated as wanted to have no break in wall units – good or bad idea? Good idea - we do plenty of these! Consider also telescopic options and be SURE to check installation dimensions to be sure the extractor you pick will fit the wall unit - not all do! 5. Proposed a small shelf to the rear of the worktop which would be tiled as we are reducing the amount of worktop compared to the current, and wanted to maximise useable space for small items that would usually clutter up the worktop e.g condiments, kitchen roll, etc. Any thoughts on this? Anyone ever seen this, and if so, what depth/height would you suggest, and did it work/look good in reality? Yes, I've seen this done and it can be useful & effective. BUT we would normally step all the base units off the wall by that full amount, in which case you need to ensure the design of wall units takes this into account where you return around corners! 6. Kitchen is 4.8m wide, and due the cabinet widths of IKEA, will always have about 150mm to fill along the width. Do you think where we have shown the filler panel is the most suitable location, or would it be better behind the oven (bearing in mind the wall units need something to attach to if we were to have the filler panel here)? Personally I hate to see any wasted space in a kitchen. If you have at least 150mm width, I'd consider doing a full height wine rack or cookbook shelves instead. A competent fitter will fashion something for the price of an extra fitter panel or two and an hour or two's time. 7. Worktop depth – as far as we’re aware, Minerva (with the integrated sink) only comes as 650mm deep. However, IKEA cover panels are max 600mm deep (needed for fridge and oven units), meaning our fitter would have to shave 50mm off the worktop. Is it doable for a good fitter? I very rarely do this, but I must urge caution against using Minerva. It is one product we used for a number of jobs a few years back, but now we wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. We've seen multiple problems with batch colour matching, stains, heat, and crackling of sink bases with hot taps. The company was not good at supporting putting issues right, and we came to the conclusion that we were not comfortable offering it to our clients. 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We have been going back and forward between green/grey (BODARP) or white, but is one too dark, and the other too stark? If white is too stark, a Limestone or Taupe might suit you. - Microwave – integrated or not? Could replace the double oven with a single oven and combi microwave oven. Single plus combi is a popular option - have a good look at the Samsung options which are jam packed with additional cooking features like Air Sous Vide, Air Fry and steam. Alternatively if you only use a microwave infrequently for relatively modest amounts (a plate, say) & reheating, consider a wall unit mounted one. - Considering going for push open for all wall units – what are thoughts on this? Anything with a push mechanism will need periodic adjustment and some mechanisms are better than others. German handleless wall units are better designed with a "finger space" rail so need no tip-on mechanism - Base units/appliances – would we be better with handles or grooves? Personal choice! If going handleless, you really can't beat true German kitchens or the Omega "flat" rail system. - Lighting – would warm or cool lighting work best in a north facing kitchen? Neither - pick "natural" (in between) at about 4000 Kelvin. And finally, interesting to hear people’s thoughts in general please? The design is a little lacking in symmetry for me and is quite "fussy", but given the limited unit options from Ikea, I kind of see why it is as it is. Be aware that IKEA use their own slightly strange "grid" system, so all sizes are pretty unique to them and them alone. Their carcasses are very basic, and I see more than the average number of customers looking to change IKEA kitchens a lot sooner than most other brands. If budgets are tight, you can get a good looking kitchen for not a lot - but with some careful design from an independent studio whose suppliers have more extensive ranges, you will probably get a much better looking kitchen that lasts longer for not a huge amount more. We could probably design a tidier layout that used far fewer overall units, but which delivered more usable space - to give an example, using German units, you could do extra-high wall units as single units, so no top boxes or triple-stacked units required! Hope that all gives you a little food for thought. I would certainly do your homework and look at reviews for Minerva - only 1.9 stars on Trustpilot. Feel free to ask anything else and I'm sure we'll be happy to give our thoughts! Caldicot Kitchens
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Neil Cutting
Original Author
5 years ago
I like the G style. As it’s only 3m, would this be enough room?

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