Kitchen Layout

O

Once Bitten

Guest
Anyone have Do's and Don'ts re: Kitchen layout. I know there are plenty of theories out there in terms of triangles etc. but from your own experience, what would you absolutely not do (or definitely do again) if designing a new kitchen.

e.g. Separating the location of the hob from the location of the oven - do you rue the day you moved them apart?

Lighting - are you sorry you did not take the offer of the recessed lighting in the pelmet or under the eye-level units?

Islands - are you sorry you made it too small, or too big

I'm used to having my micro on the counter, and all designs I have seen have the micro built in. I find the workspace at the door of my micro very useful in my current layout and fear I will be cursing the built-in option as less work friendly. Any experience of this?

Press or drawer? Many modern designs seem to go for the deep drawer systems and pull out larders instead of the standard presses. Anyone sorry they used too much of this fancy stuff or sorry they didn't ease the backache and go for pull-out everything?

Anyone have the handle of the fully integrated DW come off in their hand and wish they went for semi-integrated?

Wiring and plumbing the island just in case you decide to use them in future ... would you bother?
 
Looks like you have given this a lot of thought!!

Counterspace, make sure you have loads of it.
Definitely go for lighting at eye level units
Get a gas hob, electric takes too long to heat up
If you are tall, get presses right up to the ceiling
 
Hi Once Bitten,

From our experience, just put in a new kitchen earlier this year, I would answer the following:

Hob / Cooker : Get an eye level double oven - don't know how we lived without it - easy to see into and lift stuff in and out. We put the hob on the counter next to cooker - very handy for putting hot stuff from oven on.

Units : New kitchen has deep drawers for plates etc - much easier to access than standard cupboards. Larder unit - we have fancy one that pulls out and you can access shelves from both sides - once again very handy and much better than pilling stuff onto ordinary shelved larder where your basil and 5 spice powder can never be found because there are fourteen tins of beans in front of them

Lighting : Get as much as you can - if it's too bright you can always turn some of them off, but if you don't have them you can never turn them on !!

efm
 
I don't know your layout but try imaging two people working in the kitchen and see if they have to cross each others paths. One thing tha always bugs me is a pathway through the preparation zone. If there is another door out of the Kitchen space, try and put all the essential units on one side of the path or use the island to divert the traffic out of the Kitchen space. I would put the dishwasher beside the sink and the press for delf on the othe side of it. One thing that works well for us in a limited size kitchen is a second fridge in the utility room. We have a integrated one in the kitchen that holds the fresh food. This gives you additional counter space. If your planning a family the low level microwaves are a star attraction for toddlers, lots of lights, dials and "bing" sounds just like their toys.

Nogser
 
If there is another door out of the Kitchen space, try and put all the essential units on one side of the path
Click to expand...
I never thought about that before, but now you mention it, our kitchen is like that (units on one side) and it is a big plus. Myabe it goes without saying, but equally, the island should not be in the way of either your working triangle or the path from cooker to table.
 
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