Kitchen Design Help

last year

last modified: last year

Hi All

i had a kitchen design done (see below) and was wondering if this is the best layout for the kitchen. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Comment

Related Discussions
5m by 3.5m Kitchen design help
Q
Comments (29)
Hi Ben, I like the 2nd last design, the one without the cupboard opposite the boiler. Having a wall unit there breaks the sight line and makes it feel cluttered. I would use the shelves for glasses and cups. I have wood worktops from worktop express. Great quality, just a little wear 3 years on. We opted for an oil finish and need to do the 1st re-oil soon. We have a dishwasher so minimal dishes done but the sink is siliconed under it's rim. Water doesn't seem to be an issue yet.
...See More
DIY kitchens design help
Q
Comments (16)
Thats one of the downsides when buying from DIY Kitchens, if you don't know what you're doing its an expensive mistake to make and some 'home' designs can be unsafe and don't comply with latest building regs. Also having a quality hi def cad design can really help you visualize how your kitchen will look, I find designs evolve over time and with feedback from the customer. Why not support and buy from a reputable local independant kitchen supplier, you'll get a design that will work and fits, they'll take their own measurements and double check them, all the parts supplied that you need as they'll sort the component listing, more choice of doors, styles, door sizes, cabinet sizes, accessories, good advice and better customer service. Most independants will visit you and get a feel for what you need and how your kitchen has to work to create your design. Bespoke kitchens don't have to be overly expensive either and technically every kitchen is bespoke as its been designed and built for you and its not likely to fit any where else.
...See More
Kitchen design help
Q
Comments (3)
Personally I think the biggest improvement to this design would be blocking up one of the windows…. This would mean you could have all of your tall units together and then a large uninterrupted run of preparation space. Separately I think the breakfast bar is unnecessary as it’s in an area that you will never use- you are going to do everything around the sink and hob
...See More
North-facing Kitchen Design Help
Q
Comments (4)
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. There are better alternatives out there, and a good fabricator and keenly priced quartz will get close in price. While you can remove 50mm from the worktop, the product will get through blades rapidly, and it is harder to work with than laminates. We really would recommend proper fabricators for such products. 8. Currently proposing this as open as only 200mm – would a 200mm pull-out cabinet be practical given the position in the corner? No reason why not. A good German kitchen would probably offer you an 800x800 L shaped carousel unit as one way to handle this "tight" corner. Or if you can stretch to a 300w unit, I would. - What colour of units would anyone recommend for a north facing kitchen, with a dark grey stone floor, and would you recommend matt or gloss? Possibly a steel or Spitfire blue or light green. I'd consider woodgrains too. Gloss or matt is a very personal choice, though certain colours can look better in one or the other. 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
...See More

Kitchen Design Help

Comment

Related Discussions

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US