Should I keep this layout or knock down the wall?
We’re planning our kitchen renovation at the moment and are debating between keeping roughly to the same layout we have now, or knocking down the wall and opening kitchen to the dining room. The pictures aren’t 100% accurate, but the best I could manage on the app I have.
Right now the stove top is right at the end of the kitchen, if we knocked down the wall it will be on the island. There will be a double wall oven and microwave next to the fridge in both plans. Sink is under the window (looks into neighbours house, so good for light but not the view.
The open plan layout gives us a shallow pantry where the current peninsula is. We would make it line up with the rest of the kitchen cabinets so it will look part of it. The island though encroaches on the living room, but much smaller and I think we lose too much storage/cabinets.
There are a lot of doors and windows plus the fireplace which all limit our layout options. What do you think?
Comments (16)
K s
3 years agooklouise
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Should I keep or replace this old kitchen?
Comments (26)Neryl, like you I'm trying to decide should I replace my kitchen (total redesign) renovate (new bench, stove etc) or larger renovation (bench, doors, stove, etc). My dilemma with the Renos are there is always a little bit more to do; the stove won't fit into the existing space or the new sink is now in metric and won't fit and of course what about the taps??? As with your kitchen I have a breakfast bar that I'm thinking of removing (swinging back 90 deg to the wall running down from the sink, but what do I do then will the floor. The whole area would have to be done. As soon as you start one job there are four or five that will follow. So do I want to spend big dollars on a new kitchen, really I think that is the question. I would say to you don't pending anything at all until you have really thought through exactly what you want and what you can spend, don't through money away on a patch up that you will find in the long term unsatisfactory. About the design though, if you are renovating your house, what is behind that wall the stove is on and what space is there in front of the breakfast bar, where you stood to take the photo? Perhaps you could take a wall out and like me open up your space.. If you can put in a skylight for both light and aesthetics. But the only thing I would say though about the previous comments is unless you want to spend hours cleaning don't go for shelves and open displays unless you cook outside. I have a 'Chinese' kitchen and it tends to be very greasy but friends who have regular cooking and open shelves say they have to not just wipe the shelves over but clean all the display item really very often. I'm sorry all for having so much to say, I've never contributed before to something like this but I do really enjoy reading all the posts. Cheryl...See MoreAsbestos filled rear extension-knock down or remove?
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Comments (45)Louise, sorry but u are messing with a good design - have a read of the design notes at yourhome.gov.au. The design is a 7star design including reverse brick veneer (fancy term for bricks on the inside..thermal storage), the roof line is changed - have a look at the high up windows which provide light and warmth, the bedrooms are now at the back of the building (cold and darker). the whole design is now changed, airflow is affected as is the wonderful views that the building would have from each room (except the media room - and who cares with that anyway?) Also I am proposing a double garage/carport with a nice breezeway to connect the house. Also the study is now gone! As I suggested above, the trees on the east may have to make way for the home, but in the long run they can be restablished, and the garden modified to suit the contours of the land, and the look of the new building....See MoreShould we knock down the wall in our lounge room?
Comments (24)Hi Mad S - I like many of the ideas above! There will be in fact many things you could do to introduce a more open plan feel to the kitchen/living/dining, and so I would invest in some architectural or interior design advice to provide a masterplan for you so you can stage improvements as you can afford them. For example, it's always ideal to know where north is when making changes, and changes to open up the kitchen and introduce an island bench will vastly improve the feel of the open space, however you may want to add a walk-in pantry given you have the floor space available (only if you want one though). The gas fire would be in the wrong spot when opening up the space, however there is no reason to throw it away - you could move it to a centrally along the same line, or even along the main external living wall. I would keep that small portion of wall parallel to the front door (or extend it slightly/ replace with screen or joinery) to provide the discreet screening you need for a front door, and I would also move the rumpus door down this end so that you have a closed corner to the 'dining' space - so people don't have to walk through all the time and freeing up your options for furniture arrangements. You could even at a later stage aim to upgrade the doors along the living room external wall to the outdoor entertaining area for better indoor-outdoor connection, especially if this was north and you move the fireplace to be in front of full-height glazing. Good Luck!...See MoreEllen N
3 years agoEllen N
3 years agoHope these help. The overall floor plan and my mock up with the wall measurements and how we currently have furniture placed.
oklouise
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agothe wall may be load bearing and need a supporting post but something like this might suit and depending on the view out the kitchen window you could consider a back splash height window with space for extra wall cabinets
Ellen N
3 years agooklouise
3 years ago
siriuskey
3 years agoEllen N
3 years agosiriuskey
3 years agoThe following has a corner "L" pantry next to the cooktop with 2800 x 900 island with the fridge opposite that, plus a long narrow cabinet next to the fridge in the breakfast nook round table
Kate
3 years ago
Lisa Imbruglia
3 years agoI like the last idea Siriuskey. My last ditched was like that and it was fantastic. So much storage. It became the centre of the home as the dining was on the other side of the bench. A big open area. Lots of light.
Lisa Imbruglia
3 years ago
PROBrindley Architects
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHi Ellen
We had exactly the same problem with our renovation. An old kitchen was behind a wall. The wall was not structural so it could either be removed entirely for an island bench or as we did, cut down to 1.2m high which provided both a servery shelf plus a visual block to the messy kitchen from the dining area.
The existing wall allowed us to include electrics for existing light switches, powerpoint and ceiling fans on the end. We left the sink where it was to save on plumbing but got rid of the cooktop bench at the end which always results in unusable corners. The whole kitchen cabinetry and appliances are from IKEA.
To keep the look completely open we put the fridge against the wall opposite and included a new IKEA shelf unit with drawers and baskets for our pantry - miles of extra storage.
siriuskey