Hi,

I could certainly help you put together a design which is more of what you are looking for.

A much smaller space but this is a concept design I recently put together for a family in Milton Keynes (all of the work was done remotely due to COVID).

www.myclaybrickhome.com/post/kitchen-concept-design

I also completed a large reno at My Claybrick Home last year and you can see some of my kitchen photos here. www.houzz.co.uk/hznb/projects/kitchen-and-dining-space-pj-vj~6337964

If you would like a concept design putting together the cost is £150.

Feel free to drop me a reply or an email to vicky@myclaybrickhome.com to book a free no obligation consultation.

Good luck with the extension

Rgds

Vicky

Hi Vicky,

Thank you so much for your message!

The large renovation you completed looks so good. I love that you have extended the kitchen cupboards all the way to the ceiling.

I’ll show my husband this and the Milton Keynes design. He’ll be excited to see them.

Katie

I definitely agree that your doodles are much better than the kitchen designers. Agree with the comment above about the sink being located on the back wall too.
What you see a lot these days on Instagram is rather than fitting an actual extractor (you could get a pop up one if you wanted which would still allow you to have pendants) many people are fitting just a normal extractor to an exterior wall, which then passes building regs. It depends how much you use it I suppose!
That’s what I’m planning, anyway.
Also think about location of pull out bins, you don’t want a freestanding bin ruining your swanky new kitchen! I’m having two, one set by the sink for food scraps and recycling once it’s been washed, and another by the cooker for food scraps to go in the compost bin.
I also think the bar stools are better placed where you have them so that guests have a view out to the garden. Working at a laptop on a bar stool with your back to a sunny window - not ideal! Agree that you also ought to try and disguise the nib.

It may be possible to get rid of your 900mm nib almost completely. We are having a goalpost frame buried into the wall and it should only stick out by 100mm or so. Something to ask your structural engineer about.

Also, how many doors do you need? Could you rationalise these, e.g. block up the door between the kitchen and utility. This would give you more practical wall space in the kitchen.
The window between the utility and sitting area could be turned into a door instead.

Thank you for your ideas and comments!
I think you’re right, Kat. If I want clean lines I’d have to rethink where the sink should be. We will be using a dishwasher so there will be minimal use of the sink and probably not so worried that my back’s turned away. I’m glad you’ve found the down draft to be effective as that’s what we would like, too, by having a hob on the island. Thank you so much for the heads up on the stools and suggestion! It’ll definitely be something that will annoy me if I can’t fit at least four comfy stools.
Oo Catherine, are you having your kitchen/an extension done, too? Do you have any pictures? I absolutely agree with you on the bins! Thank you! I just want everything in actual place and no tripping over the bins or sticking out in walk ways!
Hi Husby, thank you for your comment. I have thought about moving the doorway but nearer to the kitchen door. Only because I didn’t want the downstairs toilet to be further away to access as it is already going into the garage. Also we’re trying to keep the back/sitting area from other distractions or used as a thoroughfare and will have a better space to place furniture/sofa.
Omg yes! You’re so right about the nib so it’s going to be shortened to around 400-500mm. We have spoken to our structural engineer and they suggested we have to dig up the foundation in that corner to make it more sturdy by pouring in concrete, for over £2k! I’m a true believer in that why should we disturb the area whilst there’s no actual problem with the foundations! It’s a lot of money whereas now we can encase it with the rest of the kitchen cupboards. Are you having your kitchen done as well? Hopefully you’re not seeing costs creeping up to fix various areas like we are.
Kat, I’m so excited to have a nosey of your home on Instagram.

Thank you very much again for all your comments and ideas. Very much appreciated 🕺🏼. If you think of anything else, let me know.

Yes our costs seem to keep rising too. If it was me I would swap the sitting area with the kitchen, and have the sink under the window overlooking the garden. This would be fairly similar to what we are having done. In our case it was the kitchen that we did not want to become a thoroughfare; we have a 2nd living room if we want to shut ourselves away.

I would want to make the roof light as big as possible too.

At the moment you will have a big beam bisecting the kitchen, not necessarily a problem but aesthetically may look like your kitchen is straddling 2 rooms; ceiling height may make a difference. .

Whatever layout you choose, it's really cool to play around with placement of kitchen units etc in free software such as Dreamplan.

Husby! Isn’t it just? It’s one thing after another! I’m going to look at Dreamplan as well. Thank you. I used to use Sketchup but that’s a lot of years ago now, I’ve resulted to a bit of sketching on a notepad or doodle on the pad.

O it would be a lovely idea if I wasn’t 5ft 2! :D Many kitchens and years being behind the sink and not able to reach the blinds or the window have made me a bit too much against that design.
We have a separate lounge at the front of the house so socially for us the kitchen is the place to be without feeling like a thoroughfare.
Oh for the lighting our architect suggested a flat window pane(or lantern), 2000 x 1000 over the dining area as the kitchen may be a bit dark with the added extension. Unfortunately ceiling height is kept standard as we had to think about where the upstairs windows sit for the roof of the extension.
Thank you again! Feel free to post some before and after pictures. Happy building/renovating/designing :)

Kat, your kitchen is beautiful!!! I’m not clued up on Instagram yet but I liked a couple of your kitchen posts! The video is an amazing way to show us around it! Thank you. I am getting more excited now, especially with being at home a lot of the time now so our hob on stilts must go! ☺️

Hi Katie, this is so exciting for you and this will be an incredible open plan kitchen/diner/sitting area!

The layout you have proposed is definitely a lot better. I would certainly consider taking the sink off the island, especially if you have got the hob on there as well and you are likely to use a dishwasher more than what you will be washing up. On the drawing below I have proposed the sink to go on the back wall near to where you enter the room and then position the tall units parallel to the island along the side wall. You could maybe put the fridge/freezer on the end and at least this way there is easy access to it if you are wanting to get to the fridge from the sitting area or dining table. The housing you are wanting to have around the fridge freezer could then be planned to be positioned where you have got the bit of wall which comes in. So you would have a tall storage unit which is fitted around the wall if this makes sense? I would then put your ovens in tall housings next to this so they are at eye level and this way they will sit directly behind the hob if you position the hob in the middle of the island.

The area to the left hand side as you enter the room could be where you position a breakfast cupboard or some form of dresser/storage unit?

Obviously my sketch is not to scale but if you do wish for me to produce a scaled 2D layout of the entire space then I would be more than happy to do so. I can also produce 3D images for you to give you a better idea as to what works and what doesn't work for the whole space. My background is kitchen design so I can certainly help to put a functional and efficient layout together for you to suit your way of living and your requirements.

Hannah x

Hi Katelp8 - your idea of having the hob and a sink in the island is very sociable -but not if you have the seating behind the hob- this can be a pretty dangerous place to sit. So my advice would be not to have seating anywhere near the hob. Lots of scope with an area of this size - if you want to design this yourself that’s obviously fine - as long as you get the design safety checked by a credible professional before you order anything ! Stay safe :-)

Hi Hannah, thank you so much for the layout drawing! It’s pretty much what I envisioned but better when you see it properly. Especially the storage cupboard to the left (I’ve always wanted one) and the wall of units for storage around the oven and fridge areas- are there too many storage units? Definitely can see it working though. I’d probably prefer the fridge to be more central of the house (for the front lounge or as you come into the house and you’re thirsty, need a cold drink quick scenario), so go into the kitchen and there’s the fridge for drinks, etc. where the sink is. But I might show this layout to my other half..I’m just worried it’s too far away, having the fridge more or less at the back of the house.
I’d still want extra worktop area for kettle (although we will be having the boiling water from the tap) so where you placed the sink would be an ideal place if I didn’t want the fridge there. Would it look weird or impractical to have the extra worktop space along the scribbled hob bit from the corner to the ovens? That may look weird being high and low aesthetically and not being symmetrical?
Perhaps we leave the sink and the extra worktop space at the back wall, then have the fridge placed on the scribbled hob, oven where you placed the fridge/freezer? Is this very impractical to have the fridge in the middle of it all?? Do you think this will be in the way??
I’ve just had a look at your designs, the bathroom is very similar to how I designed mine (plus stole part of the wall from the room next to it! Extra costs again, Husby). Your style is beautiful. I’ll check with my other half first but I really appreciate your advice.🙌🏼

Also thanks for the heads up, OnePlan. I am hoping for an island this big, the space between the hob and the people sat around the island will be wide enough to avoid burning them. :) Always safety first though so thank you!

Stay safe, too, everyone. Not long now for end of lockdown 2.0! 🌈

Hi Katelp8, maybe consider going for a Bora hob & extractor on the Island. take a look www.bora.com & if you are going for induction either the Pure or X pure. They are very easy to clean, quiet, doesn’t take up a lot of space in your kitchen unit , looks great & are very efficient.

Hi Katie, you could switch the location of the tall units or even just the fridge/freezer to the wall next to the door where you walk in. If you do move all the tall units here then this will give a neat run of units. I have attached a photo below on how to address a corner where the tall units meet the base units with a really practical storage solution. You can then put the sink where the hob is currently showing on the original plan. You mentioned about putting the fridge freezer and other tall units here, but I personally feel this would look odd as it would break up the base units and like you say would be very up and down.

If you are having a boiling water tap (which I would 100% recommend ) then there is no need for a kettle as this will take up unnecessary space on the worktop and then your toaster and microwave you can hide in the breakfast cupboard or even integrate the microwave as shown in the image below.

So pleased you have taken the time to look at some of my designs and thank you for your lovely comments :) If you do wish to go through this in more detail then please do get in touch as I would love to help. Hannah x