Browse Forums Kitchen Corner 1 Jul 27, 2009 2:43 pm Hi...I tried to post this earlier but it got lost somewhere so hope it doesn't post twice I have really enjoyed reading about and seeing pics of all your kitchens...and getting a little green too..lol. We are hoping to re-do our kitchen sometime in the next 12 months, hopefully, and I'm trying to get some ideas together. I have a couple of questions:- 1. We have a U shaped kitchen and I am wondering, for those who have a U shaped kitchen, what is the measurement between the benchtops on the 2 leg sections of the U - the actual benchtops, not the kickplate. Or, if you've got an island bench or galley style kitchen, the distance between the island and the bench opposite. Ours is about 1500mm and we are wondering if we can afford to steal a little bit of space from the kitchen to make our tiny dining area a little larger. We are wondering if reducing the distance back to almost 1200 will be a bit small. We saw a friends galley style kitchen which seemed to be about 1200 between the 2 benches, and it looked ok. Just wondered what others have found. 2. I also want to have as many pot type drawers as our small kitchen will fit, but there's so many different combinations - 1 small at the top with 2 larger ones at the bottom, 3 equal size drawers, 3 unequal, 2 large etc. I'm wondering what combination others have, and what they've found they like or dislike about what they've got. Many thanks Re: kitchen width and drawers 2Jul 27, 2009 3:03 pm In the kitchen Ive got at the moment Ive got two large pot drawers -They arent very practical! Theyre far too deep and the only way I can use the space is to stack things, which sort of defeats the purpose of having drawers. In the house Im building Ive got three medium sized ones and then one skinny one under the oven and one deep one under the microwave shelf. I think three will be perfect, but how deep to have them will depend upon how you'll be using them. Some people put their glass or coffee cups in them, so you wouldnt want them too deep. Or if youre using them for cookbooks etc you'll need them deeper. Hope this makes sense Building 'The Kingston' (with 'Boston' elevation) through Blueprint Homes in Hocking, Perth **PCI complete 06.02.10** My Thread - https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=17607 Re: kitchen width and drawers 3Jul 27, 2009 4:39 pm Hi Miss-ticky2, Our new kitchen will have 2 banks of 3 pot drawers, plus an extra 1 underneath the oven tower. At the moment, the 2 banks of 3 drawers are all the same size, which is NOT what I signed off on, and not what I wanted (personal opinion only!). They are to be replaced. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ I actually have in my drawings the top drawer as 180mm and the bottom 2 at 270mm. In both skinnier drawers I plan on putting mugs and possibly smaller plates and cooking utensils in the other side. For the other 4 larger drawers will go the rest of the crockery and possibly either plastic ware, trays and/or cooking bowls and pots and pans in the other side. If I was to keep them as they are with all 3 drawers the same size, then the top ones would be too deep to put the mugs and utensils in and that would be a waste of space. It means the bottom 2 are slightly deeper so I can stack trays, plates, pots and pans. We kept our crockery in a cupboard in our old house, and it was an absolute pain to bend down and reach in for the plates. At least with drawers it is much easier to get them out of. The more drawers, the better, I say! The drawer under the wall oven tower will be 395mm deep, so should be fine for trays and cake tins. The other smaller 4 drawers are perfect for cutlery, wraps and foils, T-towels etc. You'll need to think about what you are going to put where and decide from there! The left side of our stove top will be the crockery as it's closer to the dishwasher for unpacking, and the cooking stuff will go on the right side. I'll have 11 drawers in the kitchen, and actually wished I had added another 3...oh well! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: kitchen width and drawers 4Jul 27, 2009 6:24 pm You can get away with as little as 1000mm between counters but it would begin to get a bit tight in a u shape layout. Anywhere between 1000mm and 1500mm is acceptable ergonomically, but it also depends on things like how many people normally work in the kitchen and how many people do you normally cook for - 1200 is o.k. One trick to help you get an idea about potential size changes is to lay out your proposed floor plan (benchtop footprint) with masking tape and see how you feel about it. Cheers, Earl Re: kitchen width and drawers 5Jul 27, 2009 7:02 pm Mum's kitchen is a 1200mm wide galley and it is definitely a one-person kitchen! Also, you have to close the dishwasher door to get past or to open cupboards opposite while someone is loading/unloading. For our family - since we don't ever use the dining table - I would take more room in the kitchen any day - but it depends on how you use the space. There's another thread on here where people have stated that they hate having others in their kitchen while they're cooking - if that's you too, a narrow kitchen would be ideal! Thanks for the tips about pot drawers. I didn't realise you could get them with 3 drawers - they sound ideal for what I want in my new kitchen! Kylie Re: kitchen width and drawers 6Jul 27, 2009 8:28 pm we had a set of deep (2) pot drawers in the last house. they were a very new thing at the time. They were too deep and as said earlier you end up stacking things too much. This time we've got 3 drawers instead of the 2. this is a much better arrangement for large pots and tins etc. I just wish I had a 2nd set. Re: kitchen width and drawers 7Jul 28, 2009 2:49 pm Thanks everyone for your comments. Not having had pot drawers before, it's certainly given me some good points to consider when the time comes. And I think I've definitely decided not to reduce my workspace between benches to 1200. We can reduce it by 100mm to give a deeper cupboard than we have now on the breakfast bar section and still have a benchtop the same width as now. The benchtop won't overhang the other side of the breakfast bar as much but that doesn't matter as there's really no room for stools there anyway. At the moment those cupboards are only about 450mm deep. That won't affect things too much and we will just put up with the small dining area (which will end up being 100mm wider ). As KB-46 commented, we don't use our dining table much either so it will be nice to keep the space in the kitchen where I do spend more time Stormy, I love the look of your kitchen, and I see what you mean about the drawers Thanks everyone Re: kitchen width and drawers 8Aug 02, 2009 11:55 pm Stormy and others How wide are you pot draws. Mine are 710mm, whats the go with the width. I want to put plates in them, not pots. I just dont want to be bending down all the time to a plate out of the cupboard. Thanks KW........... “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: kitchen width and drawers 9Aug 03, 2009 1:47 pm Hi KW, My 2 banks of 3 pot drawers (in the photo above) are 892mm wide. I'm all for putting all the crockery in drawers...so much easier!! Henley - Wilshire Mk 3 ... I love my house!! Site start: 4th Feb 09 Handover: 10th Sep 09 Blog: http://stormygirlscastle.blogspot.com/ Build Thread: viewtopic.php?t=7166 Re: kitchen width and drawers 10Aug 03, 2009 2:15 pm i have about 8 pot draws going in one side of my kitchen i think from memory i never got asked what size so i guess they will be equl size. then have walk in pantry then another pantry for plates cups nd stuff on the other side over heads both sides above fridge and cooktop then the island has standard 5 small draws 4 cupboards (2 under the sink) plus dishwasher i cant wait to get in and put way ll the new kitchen stuff i'm collecting Re: kitchen width and drawers 11Aug 03, 2009 6:18 pm Stromy I personally think thats a good size. The 710mm was not what I signed on for either (funny that). Most are 800mm to 900mm, but no rule about size. Will try to get it changed but its only 90mm. This is the thing with project builds, you dont have a great in put in the small details, and I love detail. A kitchen must function and most cabinets are made to fit the space regardless of door & draw size. Any way your cabinets look pretty cool. Cheers KW........... “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: kitchen width and drawers 12Aug 03, 2009 6:24 pm One other thing people. Will you put the same size handles on your pot draws as the others cupboards. As I have only 1 set of 3 pot draws I think it will look a bit odd if I have wider handles on them and smaller on the rest. KW............ “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Thanks again for this information. If you do hear anything different, would be great to know 4 8182 Any structural alteration to your home requires building permit. Before you get it you will have to supply plans with structural assessment, you will also be removing… 2 4084 I recently went through a similar renovation and move scenario when updating our family home. We also swapped some rooms around and tackled a major… 2 9755 |