Kitchen Design Options
 Several months ago we settled on a basic kitchen design. Since the carport permits pushed out the start time out, and I was sent a few inspirational photos, I took another crack at some design options. Here are the 3 design options we’re looking at:
1. Original
 
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2. Stove on the Side Wall
 
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3. Fridge on the Side Wall
 
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Now here is the important question:
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October 20th, 2008 at 6:04 am
I like the stove on the side wall the best… it creates a nice work triangle. It also creates lots of space for two or three different people to work in the kitchen at once. Our current house is laid out like your number one… I would change it if I could. We are always bumping into each other and getting in each other’s ways.
October 20th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I like the fridge on the side wall…
1) because if you put the stove on the side wall it would be pain to get things like boiling pots of water from the stove to the sink, whereas when it is on the side wall you have that extra counter space between the stove and the sink to help you out a little, and while you are prepping things and throwing them into the pots you have the sink and counterspace to go along with the stove
2) while you are cooking people can get in and out of the fridge without getting in the way of the chef.
October 20th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Jennifer,
In the quest for efficiency we always felt the need to to bring things closer together in the kitchen. But you’re right about what this means for human traffic in the space. And so spreading work spaces a bit farther apart may actually help the overall space.
Kristy,
Good point about carrying things to stove. Placed on the wall all by itself means always taking things to it, be it pots of water, wooden spoons, or a dash of hot sauce from the fridge.
October 22nd, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I like your use of SketchUp 3D. Recently we wanted a wall of cabinets for our family room. We went to a cabinets warehouse and got a quote of $7500 which is a bit more than we wanted to pay. So on our next trip out to Ikea we saw some Besta series cabinets that might be a good fit for us.
I came home that night trying to use SketchUp to visualize the project. Instead of creating the cabinets from scratch I did a search on the SketchUp 3D warehouse and found the entire Besta brand. Dragged and dropped the cabinets into the project and in no time at all I was looking at the virtual finished project. I love this product…. and the best part is that it’s FREE.
October 22nd, 2008 at 9:59 pm
My vote’s for fridge on side wall. The original has you opening the fridge by your table. The stove on side wall has a hot stove near your seating, which may be less comfortable especially in the summer. Fridge on sidewall has no disadvantages that I can see.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
They all seem to have different advantages and disadvantages, and I’m learning how important it is to compare the disadvantages of each design — it is perhaps more important than comparing the advantages.
October 24th, 2008 at 11:30 am
I like the original design because it has more open space. We had a countertop jutting into our kitchen like the one in versions 2 and 3 and we found it was an unholy pain. Why add seating if you already have it two steps away? Duplication is wasted in a small space in my experience. You can move the fridge door hinge so that it opens onto the kitchen side in the original, to improve flow. I think the original work triangle is the cook’s space, while the side wall buffet and seating area is the mingle/mill space.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:37 am
You have some very slick ideas for your kitchen. That has been one of the recurring themes in my own life–looking for a way to make our bathrooms and our kitchen look really glorious, even though those rooms are much too small. One of the glories of the Internet, though, is there is absolutely no dearth of ideas. I have been looking for ones that seem to me to make sense and posting my results. Right now I have no idea of what I will ultimately do, but I keep hoping I will come up with something really slick.
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:27 pm
you need easy access to counter space and the stove, particularly if deep frying or making foods that need prep like cutlets etc or even chapathis
December 5th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
…mmmmm… chapathis….
Good point. The stove on a wall by itsself with small flanking counter tops looks good in a magazine photo, but it seems to have some functional drawbacks.
So then the question becomes how to balance function with aesthetics. We do look at the room a lot more than we use it — but is that enough to companesate for the potential fuctional drawbacks? Not sure yet.
February 12th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Little late to the game, but thought I would put in my two-cents worth…
Fridge on the side wall.
1) Cooking is more than the stove and sink. You always need a lot more prep space than you expect. Plus, add a toaster, coffee maker, knife block, etc. and you quickly run out of counter space, so might as well plan as much around the sink and the stove.
2) Also, based on the plans, there doesn’t seem to be a place for general clutter that invariably happens in a kitchen. Rather than waste foo-prep area, you can leverage the counter space next to the fridge on the sidewall.
November 13th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I originally voted on the first option, then I looked at them again and I like the fridge on the side wall. This way, when you take things out of the fridge, you have a counter to put them on. Also, I like the mini bar with the stool. I think that would space things in your kitchen better. Good luck!
January 27th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
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