open plan kitchen with no storage
My kitchen is very impractical with hardly any storage. It is a u-shaped kitchen in an open plan space with 5m vaulted cathedral ceilings with exposed red cedar beams. One of the u-arms is against a wall, (the only wall), another is under a long window that takes up pretty much the entire space, and the other is a peninsula bench jutting into the open plan space. The open the of the kitchen is effectively a hallway.
My problem is that there is no storage. The fridge and the oven are almost butting up against each other and there are no overhead cupboards.
This was fine when my partner and I lived there in our late 20s but we are soon moving back with two very small children and my mother! It will be a busy kitchen.
I think the only option is to put the stove in the peninsula bench (I was thinking of a hanging pot rack above it) and turn that one wall into a tall pantry cupboard.
I’d appreciate your thoughts!
I don’t have many photos as I’m not there right now, but this is one photo looking away from the current stove and out across the peninsula.
Comments (17)
Kate
11 months agoRelated Discussions
I need layout advice for small open plan kitchen/dining/living
Comments (3)Hello Dee, I would 'mirror image' your plan and have the kitchen against the original part of the house (to the left of your step down) and still with the island. You could then have sliding doors facing both decks, and hopefully a beautiful outlook to your garden, also a lovely vista when you walk down the steps... your living dining furniture will have the feel of more room against windows, rather than boxed in by walls....See MoreKitchen design - open plan to lounge?
Comments (31)I would suggest keeping the brick fire place with a clean up to keep the character. Agree paint the ceiling panels white however keep the beams as the are (if in good condition) to keep the character of the home. Paint the remaining walls white or light grey. The 1/2 brick white wall and timber paneling on the right side does need to come out to help you create the open plan space you are craving. The kitchen area - I'm not sure of size judging by the photo - I would suggest storage/cabinets the full length of the back wall to the windows where the dinning table is and cabinets/draws under the window also. Giving you plenty of storage for the home. I would suggest an island bench with a lower section to use as a dinning table. All your storage is in one place and allowing you to remove the storage you have across the bottom window in the lounge room. giving you more space and more light in the room. Or paint them white also. If you can remove the window coverings and replace with lighter roller blinds that disappear in the white walls or even white block out curtains. Good luck with the project from the Team at North....See MoreDesign Dilema medium size open plan kitchen, U shaped or Island bench
Comments (9)thank you for the suggestions & the photo helpful I get down to a ushaped kitchen with a 2.2m island & sink maybe across the U and a servery bifold window - does this close out the room and make it look crowded ceilings are 3.1m OR the island butted close to sliding doors which looks like an island when sliding doors are opened like the photo Also does the window splash back add very much in a small kitchen with no outlook from this window, that is the splashback window spilts the attention focus and doesnte seem to add much to the overall perspective. Is a more traditional title a better option & shift all of the focus to the large sliding door opening & garden....See MoreHelp with open plan Kitchen/Dining/Living space c
Comments (12)not a professional just obsessed with building and renovating..bagging the fireplace wall would make it easy to fill in the old master bedroom doorway with bricks to make a seamless match for the whole wall and brighten the whole new room and a simple roof extension on legs at right angles to the house with a gable roof, simple steel framed construction with Colorbond and lazerlite roofing and raked ceilings would make an ideal alfresco but you would probably need a skylight in the new kitchen to keep indoors from being too dark (and/or check out Solar Skylights that are excellent for adding extra light without holes in the roof) ...the alfresco could have basic concrete slab extended out from the existing verandah, screen walls, outdoor fireplace and outdoor barbq kitchen and sink..we've done something similar in a previous reno using a custom sized steel carport supplied by a local garage maker and then adding screen walls with lazerlite, lattice and plastic cafe blinds subject to views and direction of the weather ... you should also consider bug screening using horticultural shade cloth as you may find rural living a bit more fly blown than the suburbs and the screened room makes a safe play area for small kids and for pets left home alone btw don't forget to check the measurements of all the rooms as there are some discrepancies that need to be corrected in the plans and would be happy to redraw with correct measurements...See More
dreamer
11 months agoWhat a wonderful room. My suggestion would be to install open shelving in front of the windows. Put crockery and glassware on those shelves, put other items in the drawers. You could also install a shallow pantry on the dining room wall. Only 200mm to 300mm deep. You will be surprised as to how useful that will be for food items and appliances.
dreamer
11 months agoKate
11 months agoIf you could move the door next to the fridge up into dining you could put pantry there. Alternatively put pantry along the wall separating dining and consider swapping peninsula to that side of kitchen
stephiehoneybee
11 months agoThanks for the great simple suggestions @dreamer. And aha! Now I see why a more complete floor plan is useful. Here is an extended floor plan, where I’ve put as much as possible with the space allowed on my page. I hope all the necessary info is here.
It isn’t possible to move the hallway door to come in though the dining room without totally remodeling the bathroom.
stephiehoneybee
11 months agooklouise
11 months agowith only 90cm of busy walking space between the wall and the end of the peninsula it would be possible to add storage for cans, bottles, glasses and small packets etc inside the wall by removing the wall lining and adding shelves to create a shallow pantry but the island would allow for more comfortable access for three adults and the kids and add freestanding tall cabinets in the dining room for extra storage
PROCompass Kitchens
11 months ago
siriuskey
11 months agoLove your house, it looks Architect designed with a mid Century vibe.
My suggestion includes possible narrow timber wall cabinets/open shelves to match your timber windows, base cabinets could be something else that you like.
The back of the cabinets would also be timber when viewing from out door. The short wall between kitchen and dining with fridge and pantry facing into kitchen with storage cabinets on the dining room side. You could have benchtop cabinets at the end or continue the tall units. The cooktop has a pantry next to it which would be 300deep to match with the wall units this would be good for foods. because of the 5m ceiling height the Range hood ducting could travel to the window wall via the cabinet or other. The short wall units would reflect a Mid Century look
stephiehoneybee
10 months agosiriuskey
10 months agolast modified: 10 months ago
I don't see a problem if you would like a cooktop in a Peninsula, as Malcom has suggested it would be good to have a local Prof visit the house to see first hand the situation and give their opinion,dreamer
10 months agosiriuskey
10 months agolast modified: 10 months agoI should have added as long as the peninsula is deeper and adding a short back splash and a 300 sit up space behind that. The local Pro will be able to show how this will work or not
siriuskey
10 months agooklouise
10 months agoconsider blocking access through the kitchen temporarily with a chair or small cabinet and see how it feels to walk through the dining room to the rest of the house and that could allow better use of the whole kitchen space and make room for generous island with cooktop ...
but by the time you make so many changes it may be worthwhile to investigate alternate locations for the kitchen...can you share a whole house plan?
oklouise