Kitchen diner layout - any possibilities I haven’t considered?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Good morning!
We are having our bungalow floorplan reconfigured and creating a kitchen diner by shunting our bathroom to the left. This means I can finally have some doors from the kitchen to the garden and I won’t be isolated anymore. What I want to make sure of is we have the best possible use of space in the kitchen and that it is super efficient to use; I’m very much an everything in its place person. I want to be able to have people sat at the table chatting while I cook but without anyone in the working space, especially my 4 and 1 year olds.
We’ve created a much longed for pantry/larder by stealing a corner of the bathroom (pantry door is currently door to (stupidly large!) dining room which will become bathroom and master bedroom. This should help me get a bit of extra worktop space as I don’t need tall cupboards. I have attached architects drawing (ignore his kitchen layout as there is no fridge freezer on it) and also my little mock up ( scale is 1 square = 200 mm) - I haven't added wall storage yet as it's the base unit placement I need to get right first. Things we can’t change are American Fridge Freezer and my husband would like to keep current dining table.
I’ve tried many ideas but have I missed anything?
Thanks in advance
Kim

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Comments (7)

Daisy England
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Where are your washer and dryer being sited? Are they going in the bathroom?

I would have said there’s not enough storage space but if you’re having a pantry you will store loads in it. Very useful. Great idea.

This is probably personal preference but I wouldn’t go with the curved end units. They store next to nothing, cost a fortune and we’ve found people steering away from curves and going for straight.

The straight corner base with the 400 door will mean scrambling on your knees to get into the corner. I tend to aim for a 900L in a corner so both doors open for full access but this would mean amending the sizes of the units each side of it.
Kim thanked Daisy England
Kim
Original Author
2 years ago
Hello!

Thank you for taking the time to comment :) Sorry, I completely forgot to mention that the washer and drier are going in the utility which is to the right hand side of the kitchen (created from a bit of the old kitchen as utilities are currently in hideous conservatory that's going and has added benefit of meaning the shower room comes off the utility not kitchen as it does at the moment).

I completely agree with you on the curved end units. Hubby was keen so I put them on but already decided no just didn't remove. I did wonder that about the corner unit. I was going for symmetry but function is way more important to me so I'll go bigger and then I can put a le mans in as I loved the one I had in our old house. I already have the problem you mention in current kitchen so appreciate you picking up on that.
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I’m confused about the layout. It looks like the entrance is directly into the kitchen area. Perhaps it would be useful to create a hall with storage. This then also means there is no access to the garden- would French doors from the lounge be useful? You say there are table in both rooms and the space is crowded. Presumably the plan is to reduce to one table- would you actually have to take down a wall to make that change? It seems like your parents are short of living space. Of course an extension would help but perhaps there are other possibilities such as converting the smaller bedroom into a full downstairs bathroom with laundry facilities. The cloakroom could be a new entrance in order to free up space in the kitchen area and create more space for dining. Since you are likely going to do some work to the house consider if there are things you could do now to future proof it. This means a walk in shower and a comfort height toilet, a raised washer and dryer, an eye level oven, door handles rather than knobs, innovative pull outs to make access to wardrobes and kitchen cabinets easier. If they don’t already use it consider smartening up the larger of the two downstairs bedrooms so it’s inviting rather than an inevitability. You might also consider outside lighting for security, relaying uneven patios to remove trip hazards, an electric garage door etc. And if your only concern about an open plan arrangement is cooking smells consider a really great extractor such as a Bora cooktop extractor.
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Hi, If i may I would like to ask about the extension first: Why are you not building over the boundary with your neighbour. This would allow you to build the extension in line with the existing party wall. As you are building within 3M of the neighbours property you still need a party wall agreement. Judging by the single roof light can I assume the roof is pitched from existing rear wall to new rear extension wall. If the side wall moved over then it would help to make the shape of the room more uniformed. The return nib could also be removed with the inclusion of a post of approx size 90mm x 90mm. Will the extension roof be vaulted or will the existing ceiling run through into the extension? Will the new support beams be inserted into the ceiling void or will they sit down under the ceiling? It looks to me as though the brushes steel cooker hood does not suit either of the kitchen styles. The separation of the hood also breaks up the flow of the wall units which I find a bit distracting. The island seating seems to be facing the wrong direction especially as you have removed the posts now. If I was designing the kitchen I would want the space to work for me. Currently there seems to be a lot of circulation space which could be better managed with a smarter kitchen layout. I would look at the island and write down what I want it to bring to the kitchen. Is is a focal point, where will my guests be looking from the stools, will I be cooking or prepping food on the island, how does the kitchen triangle rule work with this layout. It may be worth considering removing all of the kitchen units on the wall adjacent to the lounge and moving the island up by 600mm. Then I would looking at the position of the kitchen units on the other wall and consider only having only wall and floor units to stylise the design. The american fridge would need to be found a space. Not much help but something to chew on.
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That's great if you can be flexible with the windows. I personally prefer option 2 but would swap the island and the dining area. A bigger utility would always be my choice. If possible, going for an integrated fridge/freezer would give you more space. I've 'guestimated' where the pillar is... could be in the totally wrong place! I am thinking tall units with double oven/fridge/freeze (built-in) on the entry wall with the pocket door. Or go for combined fridge/freezer and use one tall unit as a mini pantry cupboard which could hide away microwave & kettle. (Light Blue) Sink under the first window (can make it smaller) and then hob could also back wall if you don't want it on the island. Block up the second window potentially. Then can have more tall units by the dining table or low level with open shelves for the dining area. (Dark Purple). If you have tall units there, you can add a cupboard and have kettle etc underneath where the window used to be. Funnily enough, this is what we've planned for our kitchen. Another option, (although I know not everyone likes this style, is run the table off the island). I personally really like this design.
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Daisy England
2 years ago
If you can fit a 900L in the corner and do away with the le mans it will provide so much more interior space. Here is one with both doors open -
Kim thanked Daisy England
Wumi
2 years ago
I don't think you have the space for that large a dining table. Can you sacrifice the 4th bedroom?

If you need the 4th bedroom I would think an additional bathroom/en-suite would be needed.
Kim thanked Wumi
Kim
Original Author
2 years ago
Hi Wumi,

Thanks for your thoughts. I have my concerns about the table and would rather have a smaller table that can be extended as we don't entertain often but I have to persuade my husband. However, if the layout I have for the kitchen units is actually the only one possible then he can realise it's a bit big once it's done, as he's really not keen on replacing it even though it was bought for a different house in a dedicated dining room. I'm working on it ;)

Daisy - ahhh, I see what you mean. I was being a bit daft. That's a great idea. Will see what I can do.
Kim
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Wumi - sorry forgot the rest of my answer. This rejig has been a year in the design. Originally we were extending and reconfiguring but way too expensive ao extension binned and working with what we have. The 4th bedroom isn't a fourth bedroom at all that's how architect labelled it. It is intended to be a playroom/den. We have toyed with opening it to the kitchen but plan is to do what we have and then if we find it's not big enough to open up to that room, although it is a supporting wall. However, I'd rather be able to shut the door on the mess but we'll see. Also I really want the view through the bungalow and to let the light in by being able to see through to the kitchen.
Kim
Original Author
2 years ago
Here is the link to my original post in Oct 2019 if you're interested

https://www.houzz.co.uk/discussions/5806805/ideas-for-reconfiguring-bungalow-floorplan

Kitchen diner layout - any possibilities I haven’t considered?

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Kitchen diner layout - any possibilities I haven’t considered?

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