Redesigning kitchen layout - help!

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

We've just bought a new house and initially liked the kitchen lots.

However, now we want to renovate it, as we think there might be a better way to use all that space.

The previous owners used the far end of the room, by the patio door window, to put a TV and a working desk - you can see these in the first picture, in white, in the very far corner. That works, but we don't love the idea of a working desk in the kitchen.

I've modelled the rough layout on Planner 5D, so you can see the space a bit clearer than in these photos, and put some photos of the rough floorplan / different views on here too.

We're thinking a breakfast island might work quite well, and to see whether we could fit the dining table over towards the window, too - there's a rough design for that below, too. Lots of pictures below!

Any other ideas or advice for alternative layouts appreciated!

Current layout (kitchen is 5.11m x 4.09m)

The pictures above make the room very big, so here's the actual dimensions of the present layout on Planner 5D. You can see that the dining table is a little cramped where it currently is, and all the spare space by the window. Current layout in Planner 5D:

LAYOUT 2: Would this work and be a better use of the space?

LAYOUT 3: The dining table looks a bit cramped here, but perhaps the breakfast bar could be made a little smaller, and I wonder if we could get away with this:

Also, the patio door actually juts out from the wall a bit, giving some space to those far seats on the dining table.

We could also potentially make the breakfast bar even smaller if needed, but I'm not sure what size would be ideal.

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PRO

The Kitchen Lady UK

6 years ago

Peninsulas so often cut a space up. You have a few options to play with as your room is a lovely size and shape.

The island design should work nicely if you have 2.7 into the window as this gives you the important 1m walkway.
To make a bigger island without interrupting the walkway from the door, have you considered a circular island perhaps?
My personal choice would be to have a large L shaped kitchen with a new, large kitchen table in the middle where everyone can work, play and cook on all at once making it a really sociable space to enjoy. To create a spacious kitchen, you need to leave space and so this would really show off the size of the room whilst providing a huge piece of personality in the centre.

I'd love to bounce some ideas around with you so feel free to get in touch and we can have a no obligation chat. if you do want some more help, I can supply drawings and independent advice to help you source the best kitchen for you and your budget.

Speak soon

Emily x

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Comments (16)

Ellie
6 years ago
Def not 1. It won't fit. If your unit/peninsula are 2m, 2m is not enough clearance for dining table.
HT T thanked Ellie
Ellie
6 years ago
2, I don't think would fit either. If you remove the units from the left wall and have just one single run units on back wall, move island to left a bit, that could work.
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PRO
Erwin George
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi Ting

I think your kitchen looks great and don't need much to make it look better. What about just a changing the door colour and a change in the tiles.

But if you would like to modernised the space, in order to make it work better. what about a layout similar to this one, this layout may lose you overall storage space, but could create a better use of the space, by creating a wall of full height units with an island / worktop to the front.

Regards

Erwin
HT T thanked Erwin George
Ellie
6 years ago
I reckon 6m length is needed for layout as in post above.
Ellie
6 years ago
HT, I didn't see your layout 3 earlier.

Again, I don't brink you have the length at 5.1m to do this....0.6+0.9+1.2=2.7m which only leaves 2.4 for table including pulling in/out chairs. I know you say the window/doors juts out a bit to offer more space for the chairs near the doors.....I have just noticed you have shutter type doors on the doors which will make using the table difficult....assume you are losing them?
HT T thanked Ellie
HT T
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
@Ellie, thanks for your comments! Really appreciate your insights. We haven't decided on the shutters but we know it does make things tricky.

Our problem is with the current layout. The (estate agent!) photos do look roomy, but that's because they've pushed the dining table right up against the wall.

If you move the dining table away from the wall, as you can see in the first floorplan 1, it gets cramped between the peninsula and the chairs.

In the current layout, the space between the peninsula and the wall (for the table) is just 2.1m. I've attached a picture so you can see what I mean.

So while 2.4m isn't ideal for having the table on the far side, it would be more spacious around the table than the current set up. But yes, we know it could be cramped. That's why this feels tricky!

How much room should we ideally allow for the table, in a 4x5m room? Can you see a better layout for a kitchen plus table?

So to make it clear, current layout of the room, showing the space between the peninsula and the wall for the table.
Ellie
6 years ago
What about full run units all down the 5m wall, bring your Island up more to left?
Jonathan
6 years ago
Alternative layout with bench seating in the corner
HT T thanked Jonathan
HT T
Original Author
6 years ago
@Ellie, I've just remeasured to include the extra jutting out space at the window/patio doors, and from the proposed breakfast island to the window, it's actually 2.7m. That gives us a bit more room for the two seats by the windows. We're happy with our slim 85cm table, too. Does that sound more feasible to you? We're happy to get rid of the shutters, too.
rinked
6 years ago
I agree with Covey Kitchens' option 3. Take into account the clearances for a dining table. A peninsula or island can't be moved over when having a large family dinner.
HT T thanked rinked
rinked
6 years ago
Not peninsula, no island, but a sleek long kitchen and plenty of space to move around and for guests. No upper cabinets (or hardly any), lots of drawers.
HT T thanked rinked
HT T
Original Author
6 years ago
@rinq, thanks so much for your suggestion and for the table clearances guidelines! Where did you find that picture? I'd love to read some captions for those pictures for a bit more detail.

I don't know if you saw in an earlier comment of mine, but the jutting out patio doors (which aren't reflected on my floorplans) actually mean that we do get almost exactly 270cm width between those patio doors and the island. This would give the seats by the patio door 20cm more room. Do you think that would be workable?
rinked
6 years ago
I've found the images on google long time ago, didn't save the source, sorry.

My advice would be to place all tall units on the door wall, so they won't block light.

Is it an apartment? As in: is your water+drain location fixed?

To know how much space you have, simply do the math:

511 length - table plus clearance 270 = 241 - 90 peninsula - 60 countertop = 91 cm inbetween countertops when opting for a C-shaped kitchen. That's too tight on both ends; traffic and breakfast bar..

511 - 60 tall units - 100 aisle minimum - 270 table space = 80 cm for a 'sideways layout' (see image), but with a pony wall because of the water. Yet plenty of space to add shallow units on the bottom wall, either tall or low (coffee niche?). And room to place the table sideways and extend. Kitchen won't be great for cooking with more than one person though.
rinked
6 years ago
What's behind the left wall? Because you could make good use of it by creating a large closet from the other side:
sunshineband34
6 years ago
Bizarrely I was just reading up on this very subject and came across this page which includes Rinq’s picture above https://www.earlyoakreproductions.co.uk/news-blog/buying-tips/dining-table-width-advice-5399.php