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Design Dilemma Kitchens Living Rooms

Open plan kitchen/living room layout advice

4 years ago

Hello - looking for some layout advice, please (and thanks in advance!).

We have a beautiful 2 bed ground floor flat in a Victorian corner plot. The place was carved up into flats in the late 70's and as part of our renovations we are proposing to open back up the old drawing room into an open-plan kitchen/living room. Our architect has proposed a layout (below) and I'm keen to get some feedback and recommendations to see if this is the right way to go. Key things to consider and take into account:

The place has high ceilings, which make the room feel nice and large.
The square bay window (top left of plan) looks out onto a nice quiet garden.
A fireplace, which we are re-exposing (shown middle of the right hand wall but not labelled).
Waste is located below the image, so sink/DW ideally need to sit on that wall (or thereabouts).

We're keen to maintain a feeling of space and not have it end up feeling like we're just jammed a sofa into the kitchen (or kitchen into the living room).

Many thanks,

Featured Answer

Jonathan

4 years ago

I’m with the above comment in that there are lots of questions about what makes this appropriate to you.
For instance- is this the only living space?- if so I think you need to reduce the kitchen footprint- if there is another living room then the kitchen is fine but I would want a bigger dining table with some comfortable seating in the bay.
Also is there the possibility of garden access?

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Comments (11)

PRO
Brandler London
4 years ago
I am going to assume that you do not have children and do not entertain that often, or certainly not with more than 4-6 persons.

On this basis I would question the following:-

1. Why do you have so many wall and base units for what appears to be a couple?

2. Do you really need a separate freezer and fridge; why not a combined one?

3. Where do you store your cleaning materials and ironing board?

I would consider the following options:-

a. Remove the two "drawer" base units, shown close to the entry door, from the design completely

b. Move the sink unit closer to the cooker

c. Put a tall fridge freezer in a tall unit close to the entrance door to close off the Kitchen

d. Put a drawer base unit to the right of the cooker.

e. Have a pan drawer unit underneath the hob

f. I am curious as to how the corner tall unit will be accessed - it is not unusual for this to be on the sink side of the unit above the worktop with access to the lower part through the adjacent base unit, however this is not a common feature for a standard retail kitchen and is generally bespoke. Alternatively you could use a corner unit with a front opening door/doors, which I believe you can find in some standard ranges of kitchens.

This will make the kitchen a little smaller but more importantly it frees up space to make the area look more open and not crammed as, in my opinion, it currently does.

I hope that this helps and best of luck with your project.
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PRO
User
4 years ago
Agree with the above, especially Jonathan's point about ..........is this the only living room. I would definitely spin the sofa or you'll be looking at the kitchen sink . Reducing the kitchen area too will also aid the living area.
rinked
4 years ago
Don't let the current plumbing get in the way of a good kitchen layout (for a smaller household). I agree the kitchen is way too long, compared to the room and possible furniture layout.
PRO
User
4 years ago
it would be interesting to see the spaces as they are now currently laid out. I would imagine that because you're taking the wall down, although it opens up the space, it may mar the kitchen layout. Can you post a current plan with the actual dimensions.
PRO
OnePlan
4 years ago
What you might find is that if you take this info to a kitchen designer that the layout provided will be completely different to what your architect has (surprisingly) come up with.

Personally as a designer, I’d have a completely different take on this room area - but then I Design Kitchens and space concepts for a living - (but ask me to design a building with roof angles and all that that entails etc and I’d be out of my depth a little ! )

So it’s just a case of choosing someone who specialises in this particular area really - we are independent so we don’t sell products that would include a profit - so we charge for our services and work with you over a week to thrash it out - but then you can shop around easily by dropping in a copy of the plans and asking for their best price and haggle for discounts that are often far greater than our design fee.

Alternatively you can book loads of studios to each send over their sales people to each come over and measure and each then design a scheme and each then try to win the sale by inviting you to go through their ideas in their studio. Although this is ‘free’ it’s maybe a tad more time consuming, repetitive and you don’t usually have much input.

If you click on my name or icon you can read some comments from past clients who’ve tried this way !
Danny Jay
4 years ago
The kitchen layout in the plan enclosed will cause you many problems and it just won't work or flow well. Most of the units and appliances are in the wrong place and I would think really hard before committing to this layout. Please have a look at my bio to see how I may be able to help you get this right.
Danny Jay
4 years ago
Can the door to the kitchen be moved?
rinked
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Find out what it would cost/take to move plumbing and find a good kitchen planner, that listens to your wants and needs. I'm a dutch kitchen planner(+seller) and I never ever feel the need to sell a kitchen within a week. A concept has to grow. It has to be realistic, pretty, functional, technically correct, etc etc. The copy paste 60cm blocks your architect did is no great kitchen design (like the tall cabinet in the corner.. really?). Neither are undermount fridges.

I've played with your layout, though I have no idea what your style/wishes are. Compact would be the answer. Preferably the kitchen should look like a piece of furniture, but still be practical.

And I'm not keen on corner sofa's, because they are pompous and not versatile at all. But then again, they are nice for lazy movie nights.

Here's an idea with an island, without a corner sofa, but a 3-seater and a small armchair: (imagine the dining on the far left)
rinked
4 years ago
And one that covers your original plumbing, but compact. Either with or without extra drawers and counterspace. Two tall cabinets on the 'livingroom' side, for a more 'furniture feel' on that side. Less is more.
rinked
4 years ago
Just came across this photo on the main Houzz page. Only look at the kitchen part on the left wall ;)
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