Kitchen diner - design changes

8 years ago

We are extending our kitchen at back and side and have had plans done. Our original idea for layout was this

Apologies if it's not too clear we only have paper plans that I took a pic of with iPad. I've drawn in kitchen units and 180x120 Island in kitchen with a 250x100 table in the extension. All are to scale. The units with x's are tall units for fridge/freezer and oven housing. The small room in the extension I want to use as a larder/ store room. We are also changing the doors from those shown to have much wider sliding patio doors.

my concerns are that the space in the corner of the extension is rather wasted. We don't need extra seating area and have a study already.

An alternative layout is this which incorporates the extra space into the pantry store room. Makes it very large though. I've also moved door which works better for kitchen area.

a third option is this with door to utility moved round corner and larger island in kitchen.

Would love people's thoughts as we are confused as to which works best and have been going round in circles for weeks!

other consideration is could we reduce how far we go out in the back extension to reduce loss of garden. Side extension makes use of wasted outside space so that's not an issue.

many thanks for any help.

Featured Answer

PRO

OnePlan

8 years ago

When I do a design for people, at the sketch stage I try out a minimum of four full design layouts, A,B,C,D etc
...But on projects where there can be different options to the wall layout that increases ... this sort of design process - one to one (albeit via email ) with a professional and experienced designer, will help you come up with the proper layout that will suit you ... A kitchen is a big investment and one you will need to live with for a long time ! It makes sense to invest some quality time and thought into planning it - but trying to do it on your own can often lead you to just go round and round !
( Nb. Pretty much all my clients, when negotiating prices with possible suppliers of their independent design, get really good deals that more than cover the cost of the design fee they paid to us !!! )

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Comments (12)

Ash McGregor
8 years ago
The first layout seems the most practical for a larder. You might not need an extra seating area, but it's always nice to have one, especially if you have a good view of the garden.
PRO
Lisa McKnight
8 years ago
Would you consider using garage as store and extend kitchen across the room by removing larder and access store from corner. rotate kitchen island and use full width for dining and 2 sets of double doors/bifold doors across entire garden room
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I love the tall units but you need to go straight to the ceiling to prevent dust and dirt settling on the top. I would put a row of small up and over cupboards along the very top as an option. Very handy for unsightly bulky items. I don't like the end open shelves by sink very dated but what you could do is a long double shelf all the way along the island with a wine racking either side for balance vertically. I think shelving each side of the sink would be better. You have a lot of cupboards but no deep drawers which are highly valued these days. Good selling point. I Like your colour suggestions... The little Greene paint company have a lovely grey so does farrow and ball. Where are you sourcing your Quartz and what flooring? Do your ovens have easy open shelf doors ..handy as they retract so don't get in the way as you take food out..Neff offer best ones. If you want a better balance of tall you could always do fridge freezer one side and pull out pantry on the other with racking. Then on sink side don't go all the way along the wall just have it as centred space so you can pull out larder doors. On your island you will need your bin as this'll be prep area? What is the room opposite tall cupboards? Need the island to look good from that side as that is what you will see. Hope of help. I'm embarking on the same thing and have spent hours and hours researching!
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minnie101
8 years ago
Hi. I agree that the corner seems a waste of space but practically it would be a long way to walk to the pantry. Is this your only dining area or is it a breakfast area as the table is quite large? Do you not want to use this more as a family room with a tv and sofa? Is the pantry actually a combined pantry and utility room? What way does this room face? I only ask because if you incorporate that corner into the pantry, it appears you only have that one door as your light source? Can you also have any windows or a door (if used as a utility) on that right hand side? Sorry for the questions but more details are probably needed and how you want to use the space although I admit I think I would employ the services of One Plan!
karenrobbo
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me your helpful advice.

It would be our main dining area. The adjoining room acts as a family room with sofas and TV and is connected to kitchen by glass double doors so seating is not a priority. Although I'd like to fit a small wall TV to watch when I'm cooking!

The garden is south facing and the side larder/store is east facing but as its single storey we are having a roof window for light. We are only metre from boundary on this side so I guess we can't have normal window here. I think we can have a door though which would be a good idea if this was a bigger area.

The room will be more of a storage area than a larder. Somewhere to house spare fridge and freezer, Hoover, ironing board, wine and beer, bulk food, loo rolls purchases, Xmas stuff etc. currently we have a lot of this stuff in garage and spare bedroom. if we went for the option with the larger store room it might be possible to relocate the washing machine and tumble dryer here too but would need to check with drain situation.

thanks again
minnie101
8 years ago
Thanks for all the details. Given the storage requirements I agree you don't need the door opening from the kitchen. Just speaking personally though I would be reluctant to spend all that money on an extension if much of it were to be used for storage ( but as I say that's my personal view!) Have you considered having storage starting in that bottom left hand corner of the dining room and running up to the existing back ŵall and then moving the back doors along? You could look at cabinets to match the kitchen units or something more formal depending on dining table choice. Do you also need the door into the garage from the store room as you may be able to organise the store room better without it? You would still be left with a large dining room but will you want to add sideboard, bookcase, accent chair etc or is it literally a dining table?
karenrobbo
Original Author
8 years ago
Yes I agree about the door to garage I think we will lose that.

One of the reasons for doing the extension is to add value to the house. It is our only 'pension' as we will down size in about 15 years and want to get as much as we can for it then as well as having the benefit of the extension in the meantime. The space to the side if the house where the larder/store is located is just a waste of space at the moment covered with broken concrete slabs so when we decided to extend the kitchen this seemed a good way of tidying up this area and making the house bigger. We were hoping the extra expense would be compensated by increased value.
minnie101
8 years ago
That's a tricky one! There are obviously 2 arguments for this.. Based on (I think!) current trends, I would add a utility and make the dining room a family space so with enough room for the table, seating and a tv. I may be tempted to extend out the back by 4m if it doesn't compromise the garden and is in budget as it makes that space more workable as a family room ( appreciate it is very long though!). Can you also convert a part of the garage out of interest? On the flip side, 15 years is a long time and the house will likely need a new kitchen then and therefore purchasers may be able to reconfigure the space to suit them although utilities would be trickier. I came across this article as I wasn't sure if estate agents took into account the square footage of any storage when valuing houses, as I know ours didn't feature in the floor plan and we're lucky to have quite a lot http://www.countrylife.co.uk/property/guides-advice/phil-spencer-on-valuations-34312 From a surveyors perspective though I believe storage will impact the valuation but whether it equates to the same in price per sqf I doubt it??! It's a shame you don't get any surveyors on houzz really! I think in any case it would be an idea to recruit the services of someone like One Plan or maybe an architect ( karen at One Plan gets excellent reviews though!) to get a space that properly functions and will either appeal to a wider market or can easily be reconfigured to do so. That's my completely non-pro ramblings!
PRO
Lisa McKnight
8 years ago
I agree that if you want to make sure your investment in the space is worth it you need to get a professional to advise you. You will save money in the short and long run. From experience they more than pay for them selves through best value and 'thought-through'design.
Jonathan
8 years ago
Do you need to build outwards? Could you just extend at the side and have a modest pantry?
karenrobbo
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you to everyone. Jonathan thats a very interesting idea I really like it - seems a better use of space and would lose less of garden. Also cost less hopefully. Only problem I can think - would the table block the way when walking through to the garden and other rooms?
Jonathan
8 years ago
I don't think you would be tight for space but you should get a professional to check the sizing.
You do have a smaller store room/ pantry- when you eventually come to sell perhaps you should rent a storage unit then to reclaim that bedroom mentioned earlier.

Kitchen diner - design changes

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