planning a kitchen

phoenix

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Hi

Just wondering if it is possible/advisable to site a fridge and freezer beside a tower of ovens?

We are still deciding whether to go for a seperate fridge and freezer or an american style ff.

We are also considering getting rid of our utility room to increase the size of the kitchen and putting our washing machine/dryer behind sliding doors in the kitchen (just like a wardrobe). Has anyone done this?
 
My old kitchen had the american style fridge/freezer beside a single eye-level oven and it all seemed to work fine!

As to including a utility area in your kitchen, I guess whether it would work or not depends on how noisy your washing machinery is and if you spend a lot of time in your kitchen.
 
Personally I would include a utility, ours is only a tiny size but has washing machine, sink and two presses, one for cleaning products and other holds large laundry basket for clothes waiting to be washed. Also having a sink out there is great for putting saucepans etc out to be washed when convenient while allowing the kitchen to be clean. Also behind back door great as little space for boot room. Our hotpress door is also off the utility and also the door for the little washroom/toilet.

Also I wouldnt fancy people entering the back door and straight into the kitchen. Plus consider heat loss especially as TreeTiger said if you spend alot of time in one's kitchen.
 
Utilities are handy if you have the space but don't be put off having the Washing machine/tumble dryer in the same area as the kitchen if it gives you a more open feel than having two rooms. If you are keeping the appliances you have now It may be a good idea to buy the doors used to integrated appliances so you can do this in the future. Not sure what you mean by 'like a wardrobe' however.

With regard to the Oven next to the fridge, its one of those things that they say you shouldn't do but to be fair, there's no problem in it.

...and just as a side note... when you're getting your kitchen planned and designed by suppliers, if any of them mention the working triangle run a mile..... they haven't a clue what they're doing...!!! :D
 
One thing to consider is whether you need counter-space next to the fridge - eg if you come home with mountains of shopping to fill it up or are in the habit of pouring a drink right next to the fridge and then replacing the bottle. Could be quite annoying to have to go to the table each time.
 
Insulation in the oven and the fridge keep them safe. On top of that you have the unit which is 18mm chipboard. So they don't fight each other. Working in the game for 20 years.
 
I got rid of the utility room and placed the washer-dryer beside the dishwasher, under the counter. By doing that, I got some more room for an american style fridge/freezer, a chest freezer (much needed as I live in the middle of nowhere), and about 1 more meter of worktop.
I'm really happy about it all :)

As for the oven / fridge, I can't see any issues with that.
 
Hi all

Thanks for the replies. Being able to place the ovens beside the f/f gives me some options but I think I willl be short on counter space. don't have width for an island unfortunately.

My ultimate dream would be a bank of units on a back wall with an island in front of them with a breakfast area, but where to put the sink and hob.

One end of my room is wider than the other. The kitchen is currently placed in the narrow end. Is it a huge (expensive) job to route water from one end of a room to another?

I know I should go to a kitchen company but i've already had two architects in to give me their ideas and really they didn't come up with anything different.



What do you think of double doors from a sitting room leading into the working part of a kitchen as opposed to the dining area?
 
Being able to place the ovens beside the f/f gives me some options but I think I willl be short on counter space. don't have width for an island unfortunately.

Have you considered a peninsula unit? (That's basically an island that's attached to the wall at one end). I have one (also had no space for an island) and am delighted with it, even though it's pure countertop with not enough depth to be a seating area as well.

I know I should go to a kitchen company but i've already had two architects in to give me their ideas and really they didn't come up with anything different.

If you're talking to multiple architects you probably are thinking of a more expensive kitchen than Ikea, but their kitchen planner is great for playing around with ideas even if you're not using their products (here)
 
I am also in the middle of planning a new kitchen, and have the same issue re: utility room and kitchen. I had considered knocking down a wall to make my litchen and utility all the one.

2 builders told me NOT to get rid of the utility room, basically due to the fact that the outside door would be in my kitchen. They said with Irish winters. the cold and the wind that this would not be advisable.

I have decided to follow their advice, and I do think its always handy to have room that can take wet boots, muck, the rain etc before getting into your main kitchen.
 
What do you think of double doors from a sitting room leading into the working part of a kitchen as opposed to the dining area?

I resolved that with an opening in the sitting room (like a window) as opposed to a double door that took too much space from both the kitchen and the sitting room.

I also built a peninsula as stated by dubgem. You can see what it looks like in this picture:
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h..._103747520940_727120940_3068208_5929243_n.jpg

This is the other side, where the doubledoors should initially have been:
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/silverwakelj/4181_103748070940_727120940_3068215_180594_n.jpg

I hope those help give you some ideas on how to plan it :)
 
2 builders told me NOT to get rid of the utility room, basically due to the fact that the outside door would be in my kitchen. They said with Irish winters. the cold and the wind that this would not be advisable.

I don't think the cold and wind should be much of a factor if you get a decent insulated door.

However I think that it was the 2 builders' own preference is significant - they would be coming into their own house from building sites, and it would be worth it for them to have a place to take of their boots etc before coming into the main part of the house.

My parents moved from a house in Dublin (back door opening straight into kitchen) to a house in the country (back door opening into coat-hanging area) and my mother feels that because of the country setting their shoes etc are much dirtier coming into the house so this arrangement is preferable.

So it might depend on whether your house is in the city or the country (or who would be tramping directly into your house).

BTW, @Silverwake, love your red and white kitchen!
 
ideally you should approach a kitchen company who will design the layout without the wall dividing the 2 rooms.
This way you can see the layout before you demolish the house.
There is no prob with the f/freezer and oven side by side. All appliances are so highly insulated there is minimal heat from them.
I have and sell american f/freezers and personally think they are over rated

Nb. to PETROLHEAD. In relation to kitchen design the working triangle is a very sensible way to think about function in the kitchen. What is your basis for saying otherwise??

.
 
ideally you should approach a kitchen company who will design the layout without the wall dividing the 2 rooms.

.


Good idea.. few years back, we used an IKEA kitchen modelling package and modelled the kitchen a number of times ourselves to try optimise the space available to us.. and worked very well.. so try Ikea website to see if they have the kitchen modelling software still available
 
Nb. to PETROLHEAD. In relation to kitchen design the working triangle is a very sensible way to think about function in the kitchen. What is your basis for saying otherwise??

The 'working triangle' is nothing more than an attempt at creating a neat little sophistic package in which a designer can wrap up their knowledge and present an apparent ability. It works on the basis of the entire room being designed around the oven, fridge and sink but this completely ignores the fact that a kitchen is a working environment. Therefore a holistic approach must be taken.

For example....

Where's the kettle going?
What about the microwave?
Where do you put your shopping bags down when you get home from the supermarket?
Where do you stand when you open a bottle of wine... and where do you keep the wineglasses?
How do you load/unload the dishwasher?
Where do you prep veg etc and how does the lighting fall on this area when there is a body stood there?
Where does you friend/neighbour/family-member stand/sit and chat to you while you cook?
How is the unit layout proportioned both actually and by eye and how do door sizes relate to each other?

..... the list goes on.....!!!!!
 
i would say petrolhead is wrong. Fuction in a kitchen can be broken down by prioritizing different things. The fridge is the most used appliance in the kitchen, Followed by the sink, followd by the oven/hob.
You will generally oen a bottle of wine once a day/ dishwasher even less.
The services for the main appliances are a consideration ie. Extractor type/hole/water/gas/power/waste.
It is not as simple as you make it out to be. No designer ignores the other items you mentioned.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Latest idea is to hang on to the utility room and move the kitchen from the narrow end of the room to the wider end. This means I could have a bank of units along the gable wall of the house but this line would have to incorporate the sink or the hob. Thinking of it being the sink as I don't think I could stand dirty dishes on an island.

Then the thought is to have an island opposite the bank of ovens, fridge/freezer (looks like it will have to be an american as the freestanding fridge and freezer would take up a lot of space.

I was thinking of an island 7 x 5 with the hob on the 5 ft end and seating along the 7 foot side looking out to the garden.

Appliances, miele or siemens? What do you all think?

p
 
I am loving this thread. In the process of designing our kitchen for a new build (hopefully!). Went to a kitchen guy on Saturday with our ideas, and he is going to do our ideas up in 3D, so can't wait to see them now.

Another brilliant free planning tool is http://www.floorplanner.com we've used this a lot in planning what our house would look like/feel like! You can put rooms together and add furniture, kitchen cupboards etc...

We are going to have a uility in ours, my mam got a porch built on a few years ago as people walked straight into the kitchen, and with the mucky shoes and weather etc (house is in country) it was too messy to have back door coming into the kitchen. So we said we'd go with the utility - also good to close the door on the noise of appliances out there? House/kitchen design is such a personal thing though...
 
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