Help me with my new butlers pantry design

crat2024

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

We are building a new home and the space for the Butlers Pantry is 2500mm wide by 3600mm long. My dilema is where to put the fridge which is 900 wide and has double doors and acts as over flow from the kitchen and use it a bit the freezer especially. We want to put a rangehood and dishwasher in the pantry also. I have come up with 3 possible options.

photo 1, only leaves a walkway of 800mm between the fridge and the narrow shelving for food storage, which is 300mm on the opposite side and I am concerned it might be to narrow.
It leaves a walkway aisle in the kitchen side between the island bench and the kitchen fridge of about 1050mm as the fridge doors are approx 140mm deep.

photo 2 changes the walkway to 850mm but switches where the ovens and fridge are located in the kitchen and changes our laundry walkway/aisle to 1050mm instead of 1100mm. The walkway between the island bench and the ovens in the kitchen would be 1200mm and between the fridge and the island would be 1350mm. Between the rest of the cabinets and the island on the fridge side would be 1500mm. This is because the doors on the fridge are approx 140mm deep. The other concern with this option is where to put the kitchen fridge. do i match the island and back bench and move the fridge down towards the pantry door, which could be bothersome for people going in and out of the pantry, or leave it where it is. Also the stone benchtop I am looking at only comes in a 3000mm length and the bench would end up being 3120mm, I am trying to avoid having joins so would you put a fill wall in or a slim cupboard next to the fridge. The cupboard can be wider than 120mm , i just really dont want to join the stone. and I am not sure what iI would use it for.

Photo 3 decreases our narrow shelving to only 800mm long and i am concerned that might not be enough for food storage, but it increases the walkway/aisle between the fridge and opposite bench to 1150mm. And i still have the same width on the kitchen side of 1050mm between the fridge and the island taking the width of the fridge doors into account.

Any opinions and feedback would be greatly appreciated as i am so confused which would be the better layout.

Featured Answer

oklouise

8 years ago

please post the bigger plan showing the dimensions of the kitchen and placement of the laundry and is the range in the pantry to use appliances or a fixed cooktop and what is the purpose of the triangular cupboard?

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Comments (17)

crat2024
Original Author
8 years ago
These pictures shows the Laundry, kitchen and butlers dimensions plus an overview of what surrounds these rooms. The triangle cupboard is a broom cupboard and doesnt have to be there we just didnt know what else to do with the space.
The Laundry, I was allowing for a 700mm deep bench for the washing machine and dryer to sit flush with the cabinets if possible.
The island bench can move slightly but I was trying to make it as big as possible keeping in mind the maximum length for the stone we are looking at is 3000mm. The bench will be 1400mm wide.
thankyou for your help
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siriuskey
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
You mention 1400 wide island, do you mean deep, how are the cabinets going to be configured in the Island cheers
crat2024
Original Author
8 years ago
Sorry, yes I mean deep. The Island will be 3000mm x 1400mm and there will be drawers on the Kitchen side and push to open doors, so no handles on the meals side. Therefore it will be double sided. thankyou
oklouise
8 years ago
the original position of the occasional access freezer is fine with the 800 distance to the occasional use food storage shelves although 200 deep shelves would be more than adequate for most packaged foods (measure the cans, bottles and packages you expect to store and even the largest package of cereal will fit on a 200mm shelf) and the triangular space seems a wasted opportunity for more space in the kitchen with brooms in the spare corner in the pantry (or fill the space with deeper shelves for extra deep food storage) and consider two options for the kitchen
this options allows those seated at the island to look out the window and more generous space for the living area
siriuskey
8 years ago
Another layout for you to consider is to get rid of that terrible angled corner by squaring off the pantry/kitchen and running a computer/desk or extra storage along the angled wall, with the small corner angle being concealed.

You could also have another entrance into the pantry for access to the drinks fridge and to clear the table straight into the cleanup area and not onto the Island.

The Island to have each of the end cabinets on the dining side facing out from the side of the Island to give normal access , these could both be drawers

Family fridge along back wall with Food prep on the Island with sink and fridge and cook forming the "Triangle"
crat2024
Original Author
8 years ago
thankyou for all your suggestions. I have thought about the ideas you have put forward and would like your opinion on the following option I have been working on as well, Im not sure if this or the original options were better.

I have thought about deleting the triangle broom and incorpoating it into the pantry and creating two entrances.

I was thinking if I put the ovens on the pantry wall and then trying to integrate the entrance doors with the kitchen cabinetry it could look quite good.

I have moved the fridge to the wall that adjoins the linen / mud, however as the fridge is deeper than the 600mm kitchen bench allowance I have to steal 60mm space from somewhere either from the laundry or the garage.

I am not sure about the kitchen fridge location and whether I should switch it to the other end. I realise it would be in the walkway to the pantry but now that there are 2 entrances would it matter.

The reason for moving it would be to balance the island with the bench behind. I dont know if this is silly or not or if Im just over thinking it.

The computer nook was a great idea thankyou and probably would have considered that, however we already have one in another location in the house, but you weren't to know that.

thankyou again for your help and suggestions.
siriuskey
8 years ago
The computer nook and second entrance was for 1) kids doing home work using their computers so that you can keep an eye on things. 2) access to fridge for drinks for dinner parties and drinks & snacks for the kids. I think that the top right corner has re introduced that bad narrow angle
crat2024
Original Author
8 years ago
thankyou I will take that into consideration and rethink a second computer nook
siriuskey
8 years ago
A very rough idea that I was going to suggest was to move the kitchen bench back so you have a straight run of cabinets into the pantry and not having the current step back. This would give you move space in the kitchen Family room. If you don't need the desk you could add extra storage in that space perhaps linen even. I think the second fridge is better next the other opening, but up to you.
PRO
Daniel Lindahl Architecture
8 years ago
Acute angles in any room are never a good idea - hard to clean, and a waste of space. Better to angle the walls to meet the outside wall square on (red wall on my plan). I like siriuskey's idea of a study nook, whether it be for kids or parents. My plan creates space for a desk, and also provides more space for additional shelves in the butler's pantry.
susan9718
8 years ago
I think the broom cupboard idea is fine. Is there one plan here where there are two openings to the pantry and no space on either side of a double cook top. I don't like the idea of a cook top with no space beside it. I hate the idea of having manky brooms in the pantry though that is probably where ours will end up.
samie35
8 years ago
Also think about where you will keep and plug -in floor sweepers, hand held and push - ours currently live in the 'pantry' but won't in the next house! Easy access to fridge is a must when lots of people are about so leave room around it.
User
8 years ago
Where
siriuskey
8 years ago
susan9718, can't see any suggested floor plans without spaces beside cook tops, that wouldn't work
PRO
Paul Di Stefano Design
8 years ago
Personally I love angles & splays, BUT they have to have purpose and be functional. Without seeing more surrounding context hard to comment but i can't help wondering why this all being so squeezed in one area, but then almost wasted/under-utilised space in-between the island and the table - it's like the pantry's boxing/internalising the kitchen which is not ideal.....either way I'd make sure that it flows and is functional and not awkward anywhere
crat2024
Original Author
8 years ago
Thankyou all for your comments, to help understand why the angles are there I have an overview picture to help visualise the whole design.

It will be on a rural block and we didnt like the straight homestead design houses. We wanted something a bit different and this design ticks our boxes.