DIY kitchen design advice, esp island & seating combo
This is my 1st post on houzz, although I refer to it a lot but I’m after some advice on our planned kitchen extension. We are knocking our long thin kitchen and long thin garage together to make a better sized space (~6m x 7m). There is not much wall space because we are adding orangery-style doors, windows, roof lantern at one end, and there are 3 internal doors, plus a pair of external doors at the other end - we want to keep these, as we have no side access to our garden.
We’ve received completely uninspiring layouts from the kitchen designers we’ve spoken to so far, so are now trying ourselves. The attached Mark Wilkinson kitchen has the kind of brasserie look I’m after, with the antiqued mirror and nice symmetry. I’ve attached my attempt at adapting this look for our kitchen.
My husband loves cooking and we like to entertain - a couple of times a year it’s about 30 people for a sit-down meal (normally a much smaller number), or we host a kids’ party, or evening drinks, so we want our kitchen to be flexible. In this plan the left of the kitchen has non-movable units, but we could push things on the other side around as needed.
I’m fairly happy with the actual unit layout, but welcome any input. I’m aware that we have a working ‘line’ rather than triangle, but this is still much better than our current (inherited) kitchen, and my husband is a spectacularly messy cook, so a sink or hob on the island unit would be a definite no, even if the seating wasn’t right next to it!
- Food storage: fridge freezer and food cupboards at one end of the unit run, furthest from the heat/light.
- Prep: long island unit counter, prep stuff in drawers underneath
- Cook: range oven and microwave in the middle, away from any cross-traffic; plenty of counter space either side of oven with cookware drawers underneath
- Clean: sink, cleaning materials and dishwasher at far end, next to crockery and serveware cupboards. Bin may go in that end of the island unit, or may stay freestanding.
- Entertain: bar area with soft and alcoholic drinks, cups and glasses on opposite side of the kitchen, solving my husband’s pet peeve of people intruding on his cooking zone while making themselves drinks.
I am less sure about these things:
- Island format: the kitchen designers we spoke to all automatically included an island/stools and separate dining table in their designs, although I think it’s a bit tight. I’d wanted a banquette seat anyway, so combining things to have one really spacious central area seems sensible to me. Also, although they look good, we’ve barely ever used the stools at our current island unit in 6 years, but am I missing something, as EVERY kitchen seems to have them?
- Island dimensions: I currently have the island at 60cm x 270cm. I kept it this narrow so the right-hand edge of it aligns along the ceiling joist that will be visible from knocking the rooms together, and also so it doesn’t block visual or actual access to the French doors. The length is to provide additional storage and serving space, also to suit room proportions and table (140cm when not extended, 200cm half extended, 250cm fully extended). On its own, this would look too long and skinny, but I think it would get balanced out by the banquette, table and chairs? I’ve not seen any similar photos though. Also unsure how long to make the actual banquette.
- Roof lantern: I don’t feel I’m making best use of the roof lantern (although none of the kitchen designers did either…). It’s too narrow to have the table lengthways underneath it, and that would also block the doors and view of the garden. So other than some comfy seating on one side, there’s just a big space in front of it. I know this is also a common problem with bi-folds. Is there any trick I’m missing here? There will be low level plants all the way around the outside of the kitchen, except where the actual doors are, so maybe it won’t look too bare?
Thanks in advance!
Comments (10)
Sam Potter
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Kitchen design tips?
Comments (39)Hello Becki, So here is a shot of said board over the sink. It's not perfect as I didn't plan it to start with.... Ideally it would need a lip at the back so it doesn't dip. There are various ways of mounting the sink.. so depending on how you do this affects how you can situate a board over the top.. Front is fine as it slides and sits on the front of the sink.. I usually sit the board next to the hob as I put pans and things on it which is useful... With any other offcuts.. I made these into chopping boards.. cut to size rounded off the edges with sander. I stack them all 1 in front of each other.. Really useful way of using anything that might be going to waste... It doesn't have a sheen as it is not treated... I don't oil my chopping boards but wash and dry quickly.. Vegge oil could be wiped over with a cloth if you want to... : ))...See MoreWhat are you glad you put in your kitchen, and what can you do without
Comments (123)Thank you for everyone's comments, had no idea this thread would prove so popular when I started it. We are plastering this week and we have finally bought most things for the kitchen. I did find some real 'finds' though if anyone is looking. Not sure where you are based, but regarding electrical goods we researched all our own and narrowed down our list, and once we had that we looked online for the best prices for each appliance. Instead of buying from lots of different places we took it to Bentalls, who not only matched, but also cost us less, and beat some online prices with a good 'deal' price they also then will hold on to them until you need them, but if anything goes wrong you have 'bentalls' rather than several online dealers to return items to. RDO Appliances also do this if there is one near you, but i'd advise you to research prices first. Another thing we found was inserts for the kitchens. Through our kitchen supplier these were expensive, bin inserts, pull out drawers, pull out larders, even the pop up sockets, sourced seperately through ebay and online we managed to save quite a lot of money by doing this, so our fitter will still have the right things on the day, but we are not getting the inserts from the supplier. What else..... erm kitchen worktop, unbelievably the exact same worktop, same material, same cut outs etc.. same sizes differed between suppliers by 3k! so do shop around for your quartz and granite....See MoreColour scheme advice for open plan area
Comments (26)Hi, this is going to be a great space! I really like your theme of brown/mustard/khaki, it's going to be so warm and contemporary. What about painting the wall with the two windows in your living space a rich ochre/mustard and repeating it on the opposite wall. There isn't a great expanse here as you have the walkway to the kitchen but it will reflect beautifully. With those big glass doors and roof light you can afford to go darker. The current mustard wall in the dining area, you could go for a fun, bold wallpaper with complimentary colours. It'll all tie in effectively but you'll have defined areas. Keep the remaining walls as they are and add accessories to bring the whole extension together. Take a look at these wallpapers for inspiration https://www.wallpaperdirect.com/products/harlequin/kienze/151176, https://www.wallpaperdirect.com/products/harlequin/doyenne/136853 Good luck and enjoy it, this is the fun bit!...See MoreDilemma over keepingEntrance to Garden view or an extra bedroom !!
Comments (19)My two cents, for what it's worth: I like your original plan. I presume you spent time thinking about how the layout would work for you in a practical sense. So to throw that out for a trend on tv seems like madness. I don't know many people who can see their back garden from their front door, or who can unload shopping straight from front door to kitchen, and honestly it's not an issue. Far more sensible to keep the extra bedroom and utility, especially in terms of resale value. I did think, looking at the plan, that it would be nice to have swap diner and living, so table is more easily accessed from kitchen, but I can see why you would want to have the living area near to the garden. So in that case, maybe swap kitchen and living? It would instantly make the living space feel more cosy as its around the corner....See More
Maths Wife
2 years ago
Kit Kat London
2 years agoThanks 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.
PROOnePlan
2 years ago
rinked
2 years agolast modified: 2 years agoI rather like the design! And that inspirational photo!
Here's some small tweaks:
Bar with sink and dishwasher, because unloading glasses from the other one would require a trolley. Upper cabinets with glass doors of course.Island 65cm deep (because 60cm + paneling on the back) and just slightly longer, added a trash cabinet near the 'main' dishwasher.
Buy a combination oven, because baking a few croissants in a range that large requires a lot of elec/gas.
Love the banquette idea too, have one built with a lid on for easier access, paint it the same color as the island cabinets. Do keep island left and right the same width.
Don't hang lamps over the banquette, people look awful with a lamp straight above heir heads.
And a messy cook with mirrored splashback? Brave! ;)
I do think the roof light is a bit large.
caro7342
2 years ago
PROBrandler London
2 years ago- PRO
OnePlan
2 years ago Maths Wife
2 years ago
minnie101