[mcazzy]

My first post ever but have been visiting this great site for months. Any comments/ideas welcome as I haven't shown anyone the plan yet [ apart from husband ] so am in need of feedback .
We have just got the go ahead for a new extension at the back of our Victorian house which will include a shower/ toilet room opening off the left of the kitchen [shown as a wall in the plan ].
The kitchen units are therefore all to the right of the room and there will be patio doors opening onto the garden.
The extension roof will slope out for 5m length giving a height of 3.6m at the black tall unit end [comprising 2 built in fridge/freezers and 2 tall pantry units ] and sloping down to a height of 2.2 metres at the sink end.
Because of the sloping ceiling I have got a double row of wall units in my plan to the right of the cooker [which will be a black rangemaster with a black chimney hood above ] Will this height difference of about 4 inches matter where the wall units meet the tall black units ?
I have got 9 children which is why I want as much storage as possible as I buy a lot in bulk. I also want a lot of countertop space for ser
ving meals out etc.I have tried to make a breakfast bar {as far as the planner would allow ] of about 3metre x 1 metre length. I used the nexus brown/black units underneath this bar.
Countertops are going to have to be laminate [cost reasons ] probably aluminium effect grey colour and the floor dark grey/slate coloured tiles. Dont want it to be too clinical so any suggestions for a backsplash tile colour that i could match accessories to ? [including a sofa in a seating area that would be to the left of the patio doors ]
Would you recommend white plinth or the stainless steel ? and do the black units look ok where I have left them freestanding ?
I wanted to include some glassfronted wallunits but not sure if the handles should be knobs or match the others.
Would appreciate honest opinions of how the units appear as I wanted to use lots of drawers in the base units but they dont really match up with the wall units. Does this matter ?
As you can see from this rambling post I am unsure about everything so please help.
thankyou from the UK

[NBeth]

Welcome! I take it the black pantries are partially placeholders for the fridges?

Plan looks good, although it's a pretty big worktriangle! A couple of comments: I would not put glass next to the stove and I'd skip the appliance garage. Just fill right to the corner with cabs and put decorative stuff in the corner, in glass. Can't see what you've got on the inside of the peninsula but you might consider fewer bigger units: can always subdivide. Looks like the outer corner at the peninsula is empty: don't forget you can put a cab facing the "dining" side and use that space for storage too.

To bring some warmth I'd consider golds, oranges, and even reds. You can bring these in with paint as well as tile...

[DesignDiva]

I agree with everything Beth said above, and I wanted to add that the microwave might be a bit difficult to use against the deeper tall cabinets, especially if you have smaller children. A drawer microwave might be a better option for your family, if you have one available on your side of the pond, or at least a countertop one.

Also, have you considered having two dishwashers? It's fairly popular here in the US and with your large family it would certainly be a useful addition.

The breakfast bar need only extend over the cabinetry by about 12-15 inches. If you have room, add a row of shallow base cabinets on the back side of the bar underneath. That will give you lots of good storage.

Another option that is very useful especially with multiple people cooking in the kitchen is to have a prep sink...you could have one on your peninsula where cabinet #3 or 4 is located, and would be convenient to a second dishwasher also located on the peninsula. They are usually smaller than a main sink and are useful for rinsing veggies, scraping dishes, getting water etc. when the main sink is being used for other things.

If you've got that wall situated correctly on your plan, you definitely have room for a row of tall shallow cabinets and possibly tall deep cabinets. That would be an excellent storage area for lots of bulk goods.

[mcazzy]

Thanks for the quick replies and ideas to think about.
I think on reflection you are right about losing the appliance garage and putting glass fronts there.
I am not sure if I would have enough room for the shallow base cabinets under the peninsula without increasing the width of it by about 12 inches as I only have 14 inches overhang at the moment. I probably Havent done it accurately with the planner sorry. I see it looks like a much bigger overhang so I will check that as thats a great idea Thanks.
Does it seem that the walkways will have sufficient space then ? as I was a bit unsure about blocking the patio doors a bit even though they will open outwards.
Thankyou for any other comments anyone has . Its much appreciated.

[DesignDiva]

Kitchen aisles should be a minimum of 36 inches. There are some apartment size kitchens where it's as little as 30" but that is far from ideal. With multiple cooks or people walking through, 42 inches is adequate, 48 even better.

On the planner, I went by the depth of the base cabinets being 24". That makes the space behind the peninsula look to be at least 36" deep. Perhaps your plan is a little off or the door placement isn't correct, but if it is accurate then you've got plenty of room for a row of 12" base cabinets and a 12-15" overhang with room to spare.

[mcazzy]

Just getting a bit confused changing from metric to inches.Yes my base units are 24 inches and if I added the shallow base units to the back of them they are 37cm in depth in England which i think is 14and a half inches. This would mean my peninsula would need to be 53 inches or 1metre35 wide. unfortunately the custom made personlig countertops in my ikea catalogue are a maximum of 1metre22 wide. How would I get around that or would it need joins ? If so how would they look for the aluminium effect grey laminate.? Thanks again for your help.

[Zenoforum]

I tried something.

Not peninsula bu island.

Both are just quick sketches, and suffer from long walks between functions.

the Rubrik Gris cabinet has no door and works as the Microwave cabinet.

One version I didn't try is with a big wood table in the middle of a U shaped kitchen.

Good Luck

Zé

[DesignDiva]

YOu only need a 12-15" overhang so with the deep base and the shallow base you would have a countertop of about 48-51 inches (1m22cm - 1m30cm) Any solid surface countertop can be made this size without a seam, for laminate you'd need to go custom or join two in the center. You could use the 39" (1m?) high wall cabinets and have the overhang be at bar top height, that would separate the two sections and give you a way to get electric serving on the small riser.

[mcazzy]

Wow thanks again for the quick replies and all the work you have put in Designdiva and Zenoforum. Lots more for me to think about !!