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Design Dilemma
abi_morren

How to design this kitchen?

abby m
6 years ago
We are building our own house, and I have to design the layout of my kitchen!
attached is a plan as per the architect has drawn.
I am stuck as to know how to design it for the best!
can anyone help?
I need sink, 2 ovens, 2 dishwashers, hob, integrated fridge....
we did have one design by wren, which we like but I'm not 100% taken by it!
I am not keen on having the sink or the hob in the island. ..I think it looks messy as this is the first thing you see walking into the kitchen.
any other info needed please ask!

Thanks Houzzers!!
Featured Answer
  • Jonathan
    6 years ago
    I don’t understand why you have a walk around into the utility room- surely it would be better to have more counter space each side of the hob and to be able to close the door on the laundry and the noise of the washing machine.

    I agree with earlier comment that professional design would make a huge difference and in my humble opinion this layout doesn’t make enough of the proportions of the room.

    There are many many ways to layout this room so here are a few extra options to consider.

    Comments (21)

    • PRO
      Visuals by design
      6 years ago

      Hi Abby, If you wanted someone onboard to work out a design and visual with you before buying, please have a look at my page and send me an email :) Chris

      abby m thanked Visuals by design
    • Daisy England
      6 years ago
      Is there a reason why you need 2 dishwashers?

      Not commenting on a plan as such but just to say I have a hob in my island. Planned in there from the start and love it as it looks on to a dining area and a wall with a wall mounted tv making it very sociable. It's an induction hob, so easy to clean and not clumpy in design like gas ones tend to be. I always stack away saucepans anyway so there is nothing left on the hob so it never looks messy. It's just a piece of black glass in the worktop.

      On the other hand a sink in a hob might tend to have pots stored in it.

      Do looks at alternative suppliers to Wren. They don't have the best reviews. Many small businesses are no more expensive but offer a more hands on approach.
      abby m thanked Daisy England

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      6 years ago
      http://www.diy-kitchens.com highly recommend at a very reasonable price! Also on the dishwashers...2 is a must if you do entertaining / have a family! 2 have been put into our new kitchen:-)
      abby m thanked Chloe Edwards
    • PRO
      Clover Kitchens
      6 years ago

      Hi Abby

      I would recommend working with an independent kitchen designer like Chris from Visuals by design, to work out exactly what is the best design and layout for you. Chris has no affiliation with any particular retailer or brand of kitchens, he is a long time served kitchen designer who would work with you and give you best advice.

      Once you have the design worked out then you can send the file to 2 or 3 (or more if you like) kitchen retailers that do the sort of kitchens you like, who can then price up the design for you. As a retailer of kitchens we like this process as it saves us a lot of time and often we look favourably on the price of the kitchen to the customer as a lot of the work is already done before we first see the customer.

      It looks like a very nice project you are doing and given the opportunity we at Clover Kitchens would appreciate being able to price the kitchen for you.


      abby m thanked Clover Kitchens
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      Thanks for all the responses... appreciated.
      firstly - we need 2 dishwashers as we do A LOT of entertaining and have 2 1/2 kids!
      secondly - wren - we went to them as we saw a kitchen we loved ....and I haven't seen any I liked before or after that! we went to get the kitchen designed rather than committing to buying from them!
      thirdly - my husband can hopefully buy the kitchen through the trade so we are trying to find the best layout for the kitchen rather than decide where to buy from!

      I am needing to decide on the layout of the kitchen especially where the sink goes as they need to know for drainage!
      as you came in thru the main kitchen doors I wanted a tall bank of cupboards with ovens and fridge in...then drop down to base units only as in the corner we have a corner window! I think this window is what is causing me grief!
      then in between the 2 doorways to the utility I wondered about the hob going there....and the wall opposite you as you walk in...tall pantry style cupboards!!
      don't know if any of this makes sense!
      I could upload the wren designs to show what we were thinking!
      thanks!
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      here are the wren visuals that we had done....I wondered about moving the sink to the corner ....as not keen at all on having it in the island! would this look strange?
      I could have 1 dishwasher here and the other in the utility....
      thoughts?
    • PRO
      OnePlan
      6 years ago
      There are so many options for a room of this proportions -which is why it really is a good idea to organise a pro to help you - buying a kitchen is a large investment that you will be living with for a long time. We work with our clients to produce a design with them ( via email /phone/FaceTime etc) - and then they go off with their design to shop around and compare like for like . It’s fair to the studios and a great way to strike up a deal !
      abby m thanked OnePlan
    • yvonne1958
      6 years ago

      Hi Amy, I’ve just finished a kitchen extension, it’s 9.3m x 4.5m so, a big space. It took 3 years to get planning permission so I had a long time to work out what went where! I’m no professional and I struggled, even with all that time. I would seriously recommend that you hire an interior designer to talk through all options. Try OnePlan

      abby m thanked yvonne1958
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      thanks for the ideas Jonathan.
      think you missed that we have a corner window in the top left hand corner if you look at the plan....so we can't have any wall cabinets going up to the window....so that's why we had a row of tall cabinets and then just floor cabinets up to window...
    • Jonathan
      6 years ago
      I had noticed the corner window but assumed this was an early plan and these kind of things often get deleted due to budget priorities or because when you start to review elevations and 3D images you often find that they sit uncomfortably with the rest of the house.

      In my opinion this corner window is out of step with the bifolds, will loose symmetry to the gable where the kitchen is and is too small to have a benefit for views.

      If there is a benefit for its positioning that is not obvious it might be better to replace this with floor to ceiling windows and at least it will then tie in with the bifolds. Of course this is something that you could explore with a designer. If the money hasn’t already been spent on the window You could allocate this to professional design for the kitchen.
      abby m thanked Jonathan
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      :) thanks ....yes it is still in the plan ATM...is actually ties is with the upstairs windows ...and the plan from outside! so that's why it's there!
    • PRO
      BetterSpace: The Floor Plan Experts
      6 years ago

      Hi Abby, I would suggest rotating the island unit 90 degrees in order for the seating to be just off the walkway. You now have a more contained kitchen space allowing for a more user friendly layout. With the utility room in place you have a space for dirty dishes so you only need a prep sink in the kitchen area to rinse vegetables etc. If you house this in the long counter space against the wall between the kitchen and the room next door together with the fridge you can use this counter for all your prep and storage purposes. You then have the option of a theatrical hob / oven in the island allowing for an entertainers kitchen or if you want to move the hob out of the way into the side counters you can use the island as a breakfast table / serving area for dinner parties.


      I would however like to see the balance of the plan in order to see the flow of the house before giving my final and more extensive answer so please do get in touch and we can work on designing your perfect kitchen space.


      If you need any further advice you can visit us on BetterSpace.co - we're always here to help.

      abby m thanked BetterSpace: The Floor Plan Experts
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago

      Thanks - there are some excellent ideas here which we hadnt even considered! so thankyou all....please keep them coming.

      yes - we are debating whether to get a interior designer to help us plan this kitchen, as we need to get it right and fast as drains are due to go in soon!!

      Jonathan - we love the corner window idea...so this is something we may consider! :)

      i will up load a floor plan of the house for you to see betterspace.

      thanks everyone for your time - appreciated!

    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      here is ground floor plan...
    • PRO
      Clover Kitchens
      6 years ago
      Hi Abbey, it's not an interior designer you need for the kitchen. It's a kitchen designer.

      Whatever it costs you will be worth every penny, because any mistakes in the design will cost you a small fortune to put right later down the process.
    • abby m
      Original Author
      6 years ago
      yes sorry..looking at kitchen designer!
    • abby m
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      small update on the kitchen...finally got some worktops fitted yesterday. the breakfast bar bit is still temporary. still few bits to finish!

    • C D
      3 years ago

      Hi Abby,
      Lovely results.
      I am keen to know how you tackle the problem in the end. Did you use a kitchen designer?
      It seems that your last post was one 2018. Did it actually take almost 2 years to get finished? What were the reasons? Any advices to share as I am to embark on similar project?
      Thanks

    • Ellie
      3 years ago

      I wondered the same. Almost 3 years ago? However poster said they were building a house.

      I didn't build my house, but it could have been 4 years from my initial post on here til final kitchen actually completed. I knew I was going to renovate when I bought the house so had started planning way early! It took over a year from when our planning application went in!

    • abby m
      Original Author
      3 years ago

      hello, yes we did use a kitchen designer to come up with a plan but did tweak it a bit.
      haha yes this is a new build project that we have done ourselves and has taken a long time and still not done! so not just the kitchen we had to focus on but the whole house!!
      thanks

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