Kitchen layout too many doors
Redesigning the Kitchen Layout... Again! But This Time I May Have A Winner?!? — The Gold Hive
/ AshleyIf you know me IRL, or if you’ve been here awhile, you may have noticed I’m really indecisive and over think things WAY too much. I’ve been designing my kitchen for nearly FOUR YEARS now. I made minor upgrades to my current kitchen because I thought we’d only live with it for a mere 6 months. Well, here we are 4 years later and I’m still designing the future space. BUT! I think I may have come up with the best layout that makes the fewest compromises and sticks to a more reasonable budget!
Stick with me, it’s kinda a long post but I tried to be super informative and concise. When you make it to the end, there’s a survey to vote for your favorite layout.
To back up, I shared a blog post all about my very first design. I took you on a video walkthrough of the whole house and shared some 3D renderings of what I had in mind. It’s a helpful introduction to our space and our goals for the future remodeled kitchen and the addition of a bathroom. Below is our current floor plan for context, but be sure to check out that first redesign blog post if you haven’t already, because it gives you context to what I’m toying with.
After I shared my goals and my idea for a new layout, I got a bunch of really great and super creative feedback that I shared in this blog post.
All of these ideas got my wheels turning! Click through to see them each up close and get more insight from my perspective on each one.
But pump the brakes!
Remember how I told you a couple weeks back that our home was historically designated? It’s exciting for our neighborhood, it will save us oodles of money on our property taxes, and it’s just plain cool street cred.
BUT, the kicker is that it has limitations on our remodeling plans - meaning many of the proposed ideas will not fly with the City. I was always under the impression that the Historic Board only cared about the front of our house as seen from the street, but they are now pushing back on my plans for the back of the house. To be clear, they aren’t dictating what I do on the interior, but they can dictate what I do to the exterior in terms of door and window openings - which in turn dictates the interior. So those super creative plans that involve shuffling windows and adding doors are total no goes.
The City nixed any plans to add windows in the kitchen, or move the window in the bedroom, but they are open to a little bit of shuffling in the backyard. Emphasis on “a little bit” of shuffling. It’s kinda hard to describe, so here’s a colorful depiction of what we’re working with.
This definitely put a damper on some of my plans, and certainly throws off many of the suggested layouts, too.
Sorry, folks - your ideas were great, just not doable. I had our electrical panel (that thing you see on the right behind the pink rectangle) moved to the other side of the house so I could put a door over there. But nope, the City won’t let me use that area for a doorway. I planned on making a big window in the bathroom, but it now needs to be half the width as planned because I need to keep that door highlighted in green. UGH. It’s frustrating, but at least I’m allowed to make a few changes, so I’m grateful for that. But, this all sent me back to the drawing board in terms of the kitchen redesign.
In summary and to revisit, there are a few key elements of our redesign:
We want to add a bathroom. Adding it off the master and by the back of the house to get natural light is ideal.
We need to then put the closet somewhere else. I’m happy to compromise here because we don’t have much in the way of clothes anyway.
Access to the master is through another bedroom, which isn’t great for guests nor for resale (because it means it isn’t an actual bedroom). We previously had access through the kitchen but I closed it off. Options for accessing the master are to 1) make the den smaller by adding a hallway to the master, 2) cut a hole in the dining room to create a hallway, or 3) add access back through the kitchen.
The two kitchen windows on the north side of the house have to stay and we can’t add any more, so we will have some off-centered windows and the sink will forever have a view of our neighbors trash cans. Oh well, it’s actually a good spot for chatting with people in the dining and living rooms.
Our kitchen goals are a more functional layout, more counter space in useful areas, and seating. We don’t want an open-concept plan, and we don’t need anything fancy like a wine fridge or espresso machine.
We want more sunshine and backyard access so removing the wall currently dividing the kitchen space and adding lots of glass to the back is ideal.
All this to say, I had a layout I was really excited about for the past six months (emphasis on had because I just devised a new plan the other day). And here it is.
Redesign Option A
*note the finishes and colors are not representative of what I have planned. Lighting and accessories and colors are all subject to change!
I had been preeeeetttttty excited about this plan. It gets us basically everything we want!
The indoor/outdoor bar would be the showstopper of the kitchen. It’s perfect for outdoor dining in San Diego, and it’s pretty unique looking. For more photos of this style, check out my Pinterest board full of examples. The kitchen would be galley style, but it’d be nice and wide at 11’ and it’d be 18’ long so It wouldn’t feel cramped at all. We’d have plenty of storage in the uppers by the range and in the pantry by the dining room, but it would feel light and airy on the sink wall with either open shelving, or no shelving at all.
The master would use the existing closet door but it would instead be the entrance to a nicely sized 5’x10’ ensuite bathroom. We’d then steal some of the kitchen space and a part of the den to create a 5’x7’ walk-in closet for way more clothing storage than we’d ever need.
The biggest compromise would be that we would have to make the den/guest/kid room smaller just for the sake of a hallway. I realize a lot of people hate this, but many of the other options are much more hated. It doesn’t bother us much because we’re in a small house and small rooms aren’t as jarring in our home as they would be in a 5,000 square foot abode. Plus, having two doors opposite each other in that room basically makes a hallway since we can’t put furniture there, so it isn’t that big of a deal for us. (But just you keep reading, I’ll solve this issue soon.)
You’ll notice that the doors and windows in these plans don’t reflect the regulations the City gave me since I came up with the plan before the Historic Board dropped their news.
So, I adjusted things slightly.
Since the back door couldn’t butt up against the edge of the house, I had to scooch the door over 16” which made the bar shorter - down to 4’ 8” exactly, which is juuuust enough to fit two bar stools comfortably. But because I didn’t want to make the bar any smaller, I didn’t want to move the door over any further. Thus, I was left with 16” of nothingness and couldn’t continue the base cabinets because they need 26”ish. So, I plopped in a vintage hutch!
Making the bar and window smaller is a bummer, but I got excited about adding a piece of vintage furniture to the space. While my plan is to infuse traditional elements into a brand new design, it still runs the risk of feeling too new. So, some old world charm felt like the perfect way to make lemonade out of lemons.
I’ve been planning on elements for this kitchen layout for a few months now and I’m still waiting to hear back from the City about my plans for these windows/doors.
But since they had me waiting, it made me think more about the plan and I started questioning it more.
The cons of the bar seating: The indoor/outdoor bar seating is cool and all, but it does have some flaws. The main one is that it will be costly. The window will be custom made with fancy gas struts and the bar will be a fancy cantilevered countertop balancing on the wall that would probably need ugly supports. Second, it makes the corner of the kitchen function a little bit weird because the chef can’t really work there while people are seated, so the storage needs to be intentionally unimportant. It’s not a big problem, so I made the base cabinet an open shelf so a door wouldn’t have to compete with human legs, and the uppers would store off-season items. Third, while it does provide seating in the kitchen, it isn’t the ideal seating. If I want to sit in the kitchen and talk to Ross while he cooks, I have to spin the bar stool around leaving me to sit without a surface in front of me to hold my snacks.
The beauty of islands is that people can chat face to face while both people are prepping meals - or with one prepping and the other one (me) gnawing on cheese. Fourth, I’m a weirdo that hates wind, so the likelihood that I’ll frequently open the window and sit outside is embarrassingly low. Also, is the back of the room starting to look cluttered and confusing to you or just me?
All this to say, I went back to the drawing board and combined a few other designs and came up with yet another one.
Redesign Option B
Alrighty. So, here’s where I’m at now! This is my current layout I’m planning on moving forward with (but feel free to give me feedback in the comments of this post).
First, a big change is that instead of an indoor/outdoor bar, it’s french doors that take up the whole back wall for ultimate sunshine (and ease of install and cheaper than the bar idea).
The fridge and a 24”D 36”W pantry has moved to the sink wall where it nicely fills in the space that can’t have windows (because of historic’s rules), so it evens the wall out that would otherwise be lopsided with with windows over the sink but not near the corner.
It fits right into the spot where the existing utility room wall is, so it mimics that wall and maintains the same symmetry of negative space on either side of the windows. Make sense?
That’s me right there. Don’t I look good? So statuesque.
The major change is using a vintage baker’s table as a peninsula! I’ve sized it to be 3’ x 5’ which is the size of your average 4-6 person dining table but I’d heighten the legs to make it counter height (roughly 36”). What I like about this seating option is that the people at the table can face the chef, and the chef can also prep on the table across from them to chat - two things we can’t do with the option A plan. Plus, it gives us an extra 10” of depth than the countertops, so there’s plenty of room for food prep. We can also fit a third stool under there so it could be a breakfast table, too!
I imagine the vintage peninsula table would look like this, this, this, or this.
But if I can’t find the right vintage table, I might get a new table with contrasting materials to stand out from the cabinets. If I go new, I’d consider this one which is super customizable, or this one, or this one.
It may look like the table is jutting out into the middle of the room, which, well, it is. But we still have 4’ of space between the sink/cabinets and the table, which is plenty of comfortable walking room.
Part of what I love also about the table is that it doesn’t need to be fixed to the wall or cabinets, so I can swap it out one day. Maybe this space will be a good spot for a pen for foster dogs, or a space for a tiny child art table, or pegs for hanging aprons, or maybe one day I’ll want a hutch instead, or whatever! I like having a little freedom to change my mind down the road.
If you recall, my very first design had a peninsula but it backed up against a wall so it wasted 4’ of space just to allow someone to walk to the far bar stool.
But this time, I fixed that! I’ve created a “hallway” with a pantry on the right and the peninsula on the left to head into the closet “hallway” of the master bedroom. Now the empty space serves three important purposes - chair clearance, pantry door space, and a hallway for bedroom access. Win.
*note I removed the door to show the opening here, but it would be a pocket door that could be closed for more privacy. See previous image for door.
There’s currently 4’ 5” of space between the peninsula edge and the pantry cabinets. Lots of room for walkin’ even if you swing your arms out oddly wide. Seen through the pocket door are the master bedroom closets on both sides, and it dead ends into a wall for master bedroom privacy. No views into the master unless you walk in.
From the bedroom, there’s no sight of the kitchen, just the doors to the closet. The closets would have slender doors like Kim and Scott’s so everything would be concealed.
If you’re paying super close attention to the differences between Option A and Option B, you’ll see that I removed a row of closets to create hallway access but we aren’t actually losing any storage without it because all it did was create two corners that would have been unusable anyway. The other beauty of this plan is that there’s now natural light flowing into the closet instead of being a cave in the middle of the house.
How pretty is this view to enjoy in my way to my morning coffee? As a reminder, this would be a pocket door, so we could close it for privacy - but I feel like it will be open most of the time.
Also with this plan, we have the benefit of not needing to make the den much smaller!! I’ll have to add this little 4’ x 4’ bump out into the room to accommodate the turn from the closet into the master, but I’m okay with it. After all, it’s better than taking the whole length of the room to make a hallway (like option A and many other plans).
Some will ask, “why bother keeping the door from the den to the master?” My answer is basically “why not?” I really like the view from our office all the way down the hall and out the master bedroom door, so I’d be sad to lose that and the natural light that flows through. It also wouldn’t really do much of anything for the master to not have a door, but it would be a big weird box in the den if a door wasn’t there to give it purpose. I also like the circular flow of our house so keeping a door there would be a plus. Lastly, having easy access to a future baby’s room sounds pretty convenient to me.
And here’s that view from the backyard. The white door would be a dummy door (that I’d paint to match the rest), but its okay-ish. Right? Riiiight??
If you’ve made it this far, I assume you’re into the nitty gritty, so here’s a floor plan with rough dimensions. This isn’t the most perfect representation of dimensions because the software I use has some limitations so I have to fudge things like my chunky door casing.
So don’t hold me to the inches but this is still pretty darn close to what I’m working with.
I’m really leaning toward option B (clearly) but I’d love your feedback. Since this is the first time I’ve shown you option A, maybe some of you prefer that? Do tell.
Tell me your thoughts!
The survey is closed. Why? Because I made a decision! Click below to find out what I chose.
A Cure For the "Dysfunctional" Kitchen Layout
Make Your Kitchen Feel Bigger & Function Better: Interior Renovation & Reconfiguration
This happens a lot in metropolitan Washington, DC. We encounter older homes with floor plans that the owners describe as "chopped up" or having "too many rooms and doors". The center hall colonial is legend for what is sometimes called the "dysfunctional layout".
In fact, the original colonial design made use of multiple rooms and many doors in order to regulate temperature and air flow. The "nuevo" colonials that came to populate DC neighborhoods like Cleveland Park and AU Park in the 1940's and 1950's mimicked traditional layout, but the introduction of modern heating and cooling systems made this floor plan functionally obsolete.
Current home remodeling agendas center around opening space, letting in light, and improving room-to-room flow. This is particularly true with our interior renovation projects when kitchens and family rooms are involved.
Here are a couple of solutions our kitchen designers developed for clients in Cleveland Park and American University Park, DC.
In both houses, reconfiguring and combining underperforming rooms, the kitchen designers created light filled, open, and functional spaces.
This kitchen remodeling plan shows two interior walls removed to combine three rooms in this Cleveland Park DC residence. The result is one large kitchen layout with three clearly defined use areas: dining, food prep and storage. The kitchen designer merged two smaller rooms (a tea room and a butler's pantry) adjacent to the main kitchen.
The tea room area became a modern banquette, and the butler's pantry was absorbed into the kitchen's work space. Two doorways between the kitchen dining room and main hall were merged to create a wider entry into the kitchen.
The interior renovation plan succeeded in opening up the room and defining function areas (seating, storage, food preparation).
The American University Park kitchen reconfiguration project shown below had to solve a similar problem. The separate kitchen and breakfast room were both too small for the family enjoy.
This interior renovation floor plan shows that two small rooms combined can make a much better kitchen.
The kitchen designers developed a solution here that was rather daring. As the before/after kitchen remodeling plans show, the designers combined the kitchen and breakfast room, blocked the center hall, and relocated a coat closet, allowing the clients to get a full run of cabinets and a large stove. The layout also blocked off a rear window to add storage cabinetry. They compensated for the lost natural light by doubling the size of a window on the right hand side of the former breakfast room.
What happens in an interior renovation and reconfiguration project is often quite subtle, but effective.
Don't underestimate the power of small adjustments to make big changes.
Learn about how to approach a kitchen design and remodeling project by downloading The Definitive Guide to Kitchen Design & Remodeling Success.
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Our house... planning a kitchen... Ask for advice and ideas!!! — Repair ideas
Hello everyone! I keep track of all new posts, read comments, but rarely leave my own. When I posted my finished bathroom, there were a lot of comments and advice that were no longer feasible, well, not about ...
Hello everyone! I keep track of all new posts, read comments, but rarely leave my own. When I posted my finished bathroom, there were a lot of comments and advice that were no longer feasible, well, I won’t tear off the mirror from the wall, or I won’t change the faucet...
And now this is the situation: a kitchen from scratch. There are ideas and desires, but there are a lot of doubts .
... I'm waiting for advice, feedback and comments !!!
I would like the kitchen to be combined with the whole house, whether we have some style or not, it's up to you, but I planned Provence, Mediterranean, maybe modern classics...
they will tell you how you live here ... Repairs were inherited from the previous owners, the kitchen set was left in the apartment, and then they assembled a temporary, from what was, the stove from the hostess "Dream" is old, but the oven baked properly .. And we already live with " this "2.5 years .... Bosch dishwasher, 60 cm, was bought immediately, since the first half of the year they lived without hot water. There was an instantaneous water heater in the bathroom, but only cold water in the kitchen. We recently bought a Gorenie stove in a retro style, beige (built-in hob and oven), did not wait for a new kitchen, built it into our temporary version...
Room dimensions: Width 2.50, length 4.10.
Where the door to the utility room is 50 cm thick, the door opens into the interior of the utility room.
We will change the door to the son's room, to the same one as in the whole house. Volkhovets, model Interio color vanilla
This photo shows that the height of the work surface and the window sill are not the same, but! we will raise the floor, level and insulate, after that everything will be flush!
So..
Colors you like
Interiors that inspire me...
Wall decoration:
backsplash tiles Surrey, Kerama Marazzi http://kafel-online.ru/catalog/keramicheskaia-plitka/kerama-marazzi/surrei/#
From the same collection, pure white for window slopes and ceiling beams.
Wall near the table...
Question: Color? Texture! The choice of finishes in terms of practicality!? Well, somehow decorate it-beat it. Shelves-plates-clocks-forged elements... I can't decide...
Ceiling finish:
Clapboard, brushed, painted white-transparent to preserve the texture of wood...
Husband will make the kitchen set himself.
There is experience. We will order facades in MDF film, possibly painted, they have a larger choice of colors. The color of the facades is approximately the same as in the photo above ... I tried to draw in the planner
Option 1
Option 2
On the right is a standing refrigerator, then a dishwasher on the bottom. The window was not inserted in any way, but it is there!!! We don’t pay attention to the color of the facades, I don’t want such bright ones! I plan to build a beam on top so that the upper cabinets are built-in, and dust does not collect on them ... There is a battery at the bottom under the window, the heat should come out somehow !? The window sill is one with the countertop, slots for the release of heat are planned, not a little? Do you need heat to escape from facades? Lattices? Fabric instead of a door. I saw such options, I like them...
In the corner there are different options, a pencil case or hanging cabinets, I can’t decide yet... Their width is maximum 30-40 cm, because wall thickness 50 cm + built-in wardrobes, it turns out a kind of "tunnel" .
.. (I mean, I didn’t consider the option to build a refrigerator or oven there!) And I would like to!!! Maybe it's okay if the passage to the utility room is 80cm wide and 110cm long. I know it's not real!
Initially, there was an idea to hide the entrance to the utility room, like this:
But there is already a door that opens towards the utility room, it will not be possible to remove it or change the canvas ... IT needs to be hidden!
Something like that..!? It looks somehow simple... Yes, and my husband said that furniture hinges and facades will not withstand the load of frequent opening and will generally get in the way... We also have access to the summer terrace through the utility room...
The idea of curtains came up! in the opening, which is formed by built-in wardrobes, make a ceiling cornice from above, and hang curtains! From the same material, sew pillows on chairs and make a curtain on the facade under the window!? nine0005
Lighting :
I wanted specifically above the table, and in the ceiling spotlights along the kitchen cabinets.
And plus in the removal formed from the beam, I also wanted spot lighting for the working surface. So that there are several lighting options.
Suspension:
Option 1: I like it very much, it seems to fit?!
http://trendsveta.ru/catalog/podvesy/svetilnik_podvesnoy_arte_lamp_kopernik_a1703sp_3br/
Option 2: Cool incandescent lamp itself in the old style, I saw these, I like them very much, but the light is only 60 watts
isn't it too classic? By the way, lamps can also be antique!
http://trendsveta.ru/catalog/podvesy/svetilnik_podvesnoy_globo_landlife_6870_2/
I would like to plan everything before the start of the repair, so that I already know where I need sockets, where the lighting output is. It may seem to many that without a completed repair it is too early to think about decorations (curtains, lighting, etc.), but I want to think through everything in advance, foresee all possible mistakes. nine0005
Let's discuss?!
Design Debate: Do You Need a Kitchen Door
Door? - Yes, we do not need an isolated kitchen at all!
Approximately half of the surveyed designers note that the isolated kitchen has been replaced by a kitchen-living room.
Among the arguments is a new understanding of the quality of housing and the efficiency of "square meters" (they should work, not be empty). And new buildings are already rented out with a euro living room (it was immediately combined with a kitchen). And in the old fund, the customer asks to demolish the wall or coordinate the opening to the living room. To huddle with the family at five or seven meters, having a living room behind the wall? - Dismiss. nine0005
Anna Mitrokhina
Architect-designer Natalya Petrova: “The door to the kitchen is no longer needed. The kitchen was a separate room when there were gentlemen and servants, and later, when the housewives cooked for the whole family, spending the whole day at the stove. Now the owners do not want to lose contact with the family while they are preparing dinner.”
Interior designer Aleksandra Kuznetsova: “A common story related to our cultural background: the family gathers in the kitchen while the living room is empty.
If this is about you, then boldly combine the kitchen and living room into one space. nine0005
Kart Projects | Architecture
Designer Natalia Zelenova: “It seems to me that not only the door, but even the partition between the kitchen and the living room is no longer needed. It’s more comfortable to be in a large room with a sofa, a kitchen, a large table – like in TV shows or European projects.” The photo above shows an Australian interior.
Alexander Akimenkov Design Studio
A kitchen without a door is too expensive
If the kitchen and the living room are one room, then the kitchen furniture should be appropriate in terms of status and appearance. And it's not cheap. nine0005
Designer Elena Kulzhik: “Kitchen is a technical room. And I would minimize the budget for the kitchen set, removing this room as much as possible from the front areas.
Ekaterina Titenko
It's not visible - it's not a shame
The example of the hallways makes the thought more obvious.
Imagine: you have demolished a wall and now you constantly see street shoes. There is nothing terrible in them, but there is little pleasant either (considering that the children took off their shoes at random, they stand and literally “requires” you to get up from the sofa and put things in order). Just imagine that you no longer have the opportunity to “clean up later” from the table, just leave the mess behind a closed door until the morning. Are you mentally ready? nine0005
Kitchen studio designer Elena Burdina: “The production process is not always aesthetic: dirty dishes, creative mess, cleaning. The door will allow you to protect the rest of the house from the kitchen.
Ekaterina Abdullina, head of the design studio: “Kitchen can't always be kept in perfect condition, it's still one of the 'clunkiest' places in the house. Of course, it is better to be able to quickly cover all this in case of prying eyes.
Not everyone can be a cook - some are born for love
"The only thing I've been able to do in the kitchen so far is a mess and a few small fires," is Carrie's famous line from Sex and the City.
Indeed, sometimes we cook awkwardly: we spill something, scatter it, get dirty ourselves and dirty everything around. I don’t want this reality show to be watched at home.
Designer Irina Kashaeva: “The door is required! This area sometimes has to be private, like an artist's studio."
And by the way: Let's not be hypocrites. In the conditions of tiny apartments and other realities of the domestic housing stock, when families from several generations are forced to live in small spaces, a kitchen with a door (lockable) can turn into the only opportunity to have a personal life in principle.
I.D.interior design
The door is a formality
The concept of separate kitchen and living room does not always work, if only because the doors are rarely closed. If the task is only to visually separate the zones, it is easier to decorate the opening beautifully. nine0005
Designer Maria Ustinova: “In most of my projects, the kitchen is part of the living room, and smells are no more disturbing than when the door is closed - modern hoods do not leave them a chance.
If you remember, as a child, all kitchens had doors, but even on the stairs I knew that my grandmother had fried my favorite potato.
Leicht Moscow Official Showroom
The door to the kitchen is the rule of law
There are several situations in which it is not necessary to choose between an open plan and isolated rooms. If there is gas in the apartment, you are required to install a door in the kitchen - this is a requirement of the law. It sounds harsh, but there is room for maneuver here. nine0005
Fact: It is not necessary to install a blind leaf of standard height: the door can be glass or fold like an accordion. And many more hang the door just to agree on the redevelopment - and remove it immediately after they receive the documents.
ABOUT THIS…
Gas in the kitchen-living room: Why is everyone so bold
Pavel Zheleznov
"place of power" - although from time to time any member of the family wants silence and solitude.
nine0005
Designer Tatyana Yerzunova: “Sometimes everyone wants peace and solitude. Or the reverse situation is to do something noisy behind a closed door (like sitting in a company) and not create noise for those who are already sleeping.
Designer Elena Art: “We need a door: everyone who removed it says so. In the kitchen, adults can sit and whisper, but children can't hear.
Designer Lyudmila Pozhidaeva: “In a small apartment, the kitchen has many meanings. Here you can sit longer for adults when the children are already sleeping. You can rattle pots and pans early in the morning with the doors closed. Children can split up and do their homework here. And you can even leave a relative to spend the night. nine0005
Zhenya Zhdanova
But what company will fit on five meters?
However, there is also an opposite argument: a large and loud company is unlikely to fit in a small kitchen, so the door seems to be useless here.
It is better to invest in the doors of the bedrooms - so that it is quiet exactly where they sleep.
Designers Anna Shvets and Yana Protsenko: “If the kitchen is a standard small room, then the soundproofing function is secondary. But if it is necessary, it is better to isolate the bedroom. nine0005
DEREBAS WOOD
2. The door is needed to keep the cat out
The second objective indicator in favor of the door is the presence of pets. If the cat is used to relaxing on the windowsills and walking on the countertops, not everyone will like a dinner generously seasoned with six.
Tatyana Ivanova I Interior Designer & Decorator
3. The door is needed to work after hours
It happens that the only table is just in the kitchen. And in the evening they sent an important working document that urgently needs to be looked at. Or silence is needed for work, but it cannot be found in other rooms where there is always one of the family members.
Then the kitchen door helps a lot. nine0005
Journalist and blogger Masha Mamonova: “I like to work in the kitchen — just from her window there is a beautiful view, it inspires me.”
Chernenko Olga / White & Black Design Studio
4. The door protects from odors
Much, of course, depends on the culinary habits of the owners. But still, designers do not believe too much in the power of the hood and prefer to insure the door.
Designer Oksana Barnash: “For lovers of serious culinary activities — soups, pilaf, meatballs — one hood is not enough, no matter how powerful it is. Otherwise, the smells of food throughout the apartment (as well as in furniture and clothes) are provided. nine0005
Architect-designer Asiya Orlova: “A kitchen can remain without a door only if the house has a technical kitchen. The main cooking process takes place there, and the beautiful front kitchen serves only for cooking.
Julia Golavskaya
But: is it necessary to defend against them?
There is an opinion that you can not fight kitchen odors at all - who said that they will necessarily be unpleasant?
Designer Natalya Filina: “If the family cooks delicious food and the alluring smell of appetizing food spreads around the house, then, as a rule, a door to the kitchen is not needed.” nine0005
Architect Pavel Postnikov: “Personally, I love the smell of food being prepared and I try to convey this idea to customers.”
Designer Elena Prokhorenko: “Some people don't like it when smells spread around the apartment. But when it smells of food, it's a home, a hearth...”
Valcucine
By the way: Who cooks?
It's one thing - the hostess "conjures" in her fashionable kitchen for her own pleasure. And a completely different matter is the incoming worker.
If there is no shortage of square meters, the organization of a second, black kitchen also solves the problem. The first - the front - is made part of the living room, and the second - with the main household appliances - is hidden in an isolated room. nine0005
Architect Andrei Stube: “Some people can't stand the smell of the kitchen in other rooms at all. For others, the housekeeper cooks.
Designer Anna Zakharova: “Now clients are increasingly coming to divide the kitchen into a working one, where something is fried and steamed for many hours, and a front one. The first is located in the technical block; on the second, coffee is brewed and a light breakfast is prepared to sit with pleasure.
Kitchens Maria
5. The door protects against the noise of machinery
Another problem of a kitchen without doors is noise, and there is indeed a lot of it. It's not just that at night someone likes to take a walk to the refrigerator for sausage, and rustle packages in the morning.
The main source of noise is operating electrical appliances.
Even a refrigerator in normal mode can rhythmically tap so that you cannot fall asleep; what can we say about really loud appliances like a coffee grinder, washing (and then “beeping”) dishwashers.
Everything depends, again, on the size of the apartment and the distance from the bedroom. nine0005
Natalia Mitrakova
In the photo: an example of a kitchen where a washing machine was built into a closet on the loggia. There is no door between the kitchen and the loggia, but the noise is almost inaudible because of the facades
TN STUDIO
Designer Sergey Voblikov: “Sometimes a washing machine is built into a kitchen set. Accordingly, the door to the kitchen isolates from noise.
Designer Natalya Stepchenko: “The door is needed if family members have different regimes, and the kitchen is located next to a private area so as not to wake others up when you make yourself a smoothie.
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Designer Antonina Koroleva: “I recommend installing a door whenever possible, especially in small apartments. The same dishwasher can be run at night, and it will not interfere with sleep.
Leicht Moscow Official Showroom
Architect Roman Korotkov: “The combined kitchen-living room is a beautiful solution only for a glossy magazine or an executive apartment, but in real life it is not very functional. Firstly, not the most presentable things are on the countertop: oils, spices, detergents, sponges, rags, cutting boards. Few people clean it all inside after each cooking, leaving the countertop free, as in a showroom. Secondly, in the combined kitchen it is noisy due to cooking, running dishwasher / refrigerator / hood / kettle, from pouring water. Therefore, it is better to provide for the possibility of isolating the volume of the kitchen from the living room. nine0005
Modern kitchen factories offer to resolve the issue of order locally: close the set itself with a blank facade, and not the room - with a door.
Most premium brands have such solutions, and the trend is gradually entering the economy segment.
Krasyuk Sergey
If not a hinged door, then what?
Let's start with the fact that a beautiful door will not spoil the interior. Another question is that swing doors are not suitable for every interior. Yes, and good doors cost decently - sometimes they are not included in the budget at all in order to save money. nine0005
Designer Natalya Sycheva: “You can refuse a door if your budget is limited, and save money on it. But not in a one-room apartment, where the kitchen is often used both as a living room, and as a workplace, and as an additional bedroom - it is better to leave the door here for additional sound insulation.
Special-style
Another option is sliding partitions: when open, they unite the kitchen with the living room, when closed, they protect against noise and smell.
Particular attention is paid to glazed partitions: they do not give privacy, but it becomes noticeably lighter in the apartment. nine0005
Architect-designer Galina Kosarikova: “The ideal scenario is when it is possible to combine spaces, but make a sliding partition.”
Designer Marina Poklontseva: “It often happens that the window in the kitchen is the only one in adjacent rooms, and a beautiful door with transparent glass helps to increase the daylight area of the apartment.”
Designer Olesya Koval: “In our projects, we most often combine a space for cooking with a place for rest and gatherings, so we don't put a door. What for? It will definitely always be open. The kitchen and living room are rarely places of solitude. In some cases, we design mobile sliding partitions - in case someone still needs to create a more intimate space. nine0097
"Studio 3.14"
Depending on the style of the interior, the doors to the kitchen can imitate barn doors or fold like an accordion.
