Kitchen build - Dan Kitchens Australia

Hey @chylld, just wondering, what is the depth of your countertop and cabinets where the fridge is?

The fridge looks like it sits just proud of the cabinetry and a quick google search shows the fridge has depth of 738mm.

 

700mm. Feels like a good depth, our old kitchen was 600mm from wall to countertop edge and that didn't feel deep enough.

 

@chylld
Ahh I had a feeling that was the case. Good call!

Is the whole kitchen 700mm (as in the L Shape)?

Because i was considering doing 700mm on one side, but the other side i can only fit 600mm, otherwise I would need to shrink the island and I don't want to do that.

Do you reckon that would look weird? One counter top being 700mm, and the other 600mm?



After doing some reading, I realised that I will also need to add a spacer next to the left of the fridge so the doors can open.

 

Just got home and measured... from splashback to edge of the countertop, the fridge and oven sides are 685mm and the drinks bar is 700mm. 1120mm gap around the island which we find to be perfect as it lets multiple people move around each other, or for a drawer / dishwasher to be open and not block passage.

Is your 600mm side on the right against the window? I think that will be fine as a lot of depth behind the sink isn't easily usable, whereas every cm of island space is invaluable. It wouldn't look weird to mix 700 and 600mm imo, but if you wanted to disguise that depth without sacrificing practicality, you can have the rear 100mm behind the stove raised as a shelf for spices/sauces/oils etc.

Bad photo of this in my old kitchen:


Also, in my old kitchen we had the microwave as high as in your plan - we personally found this horrible as it was awkward and even dangerous to take hot food out, especially for my wife who's only 150cm tall. Unfortunately microwave placement is often a compromise if you don't have space to put both microwave and conventional ovens at bench height. Right under the island bench is probably the best alternative.

Also with your cabinets above the fridge, I'd recommend taller doors that extend down past the bottom of the cabinets so that there's a uniform visual gap all the way around the fridge. With the cabinets the way they are currently (assuming you have a gap behind them) the fridge should get more than enough ventilation.

 

You've got a very similar layout to what we have in our kitchen - you'll love it. No-one will notice if the back bench is 700 and the side 600 - definitely go deep where you can. What's the distance between the island the sink cabinetry?

 

@Jess Peletier
Gap between bench (cooktop side) and Island = 1200mm
Gap between bench (sink / window side) and island = 1000mm

Island = 2100mm length x 900mm deep (therefore giving 300mm overhang for the legs)

I am considering making the island 1100mm deep, and pushing the cabinets in by 200mm (so a birdseye view would be 200mm + 600mm + 300mm), this way people can actually sit on the other side too.

Putting drawers in, so when you pull out the top drawers, you would only have a 400mm opening. However I am going a 2 draw configuration, so the drawers would be quite high anyway, so maybe the 400mm opening might not be such a big problem.

Any thoughts on that?

 

My wife is the same height! haha!
Her parents have a wall oven setup where the microwave is above the oven (but they have a double oven), so the bottom of the microwave is about 1300-1350mm from ground she can reach it but she does have to stretch.

I'll be using a single oven (and most likely Neff - my wife checked out the sliding oven door and loved it!). Thanks for the recommendation!

I considered lowering the oven, so the microwave could be lower, but i thought it would look visually weird if the bottom of the oven wasn't lined up with the countertop.

I guess the other option is to put the microwave below the oven (which would be no different to if it was under the bench in another location). Do you reckon that would work?

 

700mm is a good depth and much better than the standard 600mm. I use this now for all sides which have fridges. It's also a much better depth for laundries which have front loaders as they can be quite deep too.

 

I reckon losing the accessibility to the draws will drive you nuts, unless you can get telescopic runners. But even fumbling around under the bench for the handles might be annoying? Do you need the extra seating for meals?

 

I agree - all my benches are 700 deep nad feel lovely and spacious. My benches are also higher than standard - no good for these guys wives but I love it.

 

@neK I'm 158cm and I have a similar layout to your proposal and the top of my "microwave" is 1628mm and that is quite comfortable for me.

My microwave is actually a compact oven so does double duty. That way I have the benefits of almost a double oven and a microwave function too.

 

You'll see that the top of the microwave lines up with the overheads which helps with the OCD/symmetry issues as the bottom of the oven doesn't.

I put the wine rack to create the opening swing for the fridge. It's technically not the right space for wine due to some heat from fridge but I'm not a conoisseur so it doesn't bother me

 

@neK don't make your island double sided. Just no It will drive you nuts every day for the 3 times a year you might enjoy having it double sided. But do make it deeper if you like as a 400 or 500mm overhang can allow you to have some shallow cabinets on the rear for storing infrequently used items.

 

Have you moved in yet? Feels like it's taken forever!

 

Well, you are a long time dead
Who cares what it cost, you love it and that's all that matters

 

Ditto Jess & Westminster's comments above re island - best to not push the cabinets in. If your choice of rail system requires tilting the drawers to install them on the runners, then that could also be problematic.

You're welcome, highly recommend Import Appliances as you'll save a chunk. Also recommend a Neff oven with full steam as it works brilliantly.

Microwave below the oven could work, if the top of it is at bench height. The other way around (as per Westminster's post above) feels like the better compromise though as the working levels of the microwave and oven will both be closer to bench height.

 

@Jess Peletier Yes!!! Sort of. We got the keys on Wednesday and have been moving stuff in between rain (which you know there has been a lot). We are now living here but plenty of stuff still at old house to pack up and move.

 

Ha - yes you've chosen a miserable week to move!

 

@Westminster I'm thinking of getting the same fridge. What are the gaps (left/right and top) did you leave for the fridge?

Also, would you recommend making the fridge cavity taller (future proofing) and getting longer doors to cover the gap?

 

We've been using the fridge for a week now and it seems to suit us quite well. I liked the idea of the section which could be fridge or freezer which will come in handy when we need more fridge space for a party/christmas etc. I also have a dedicated upright freezer in addition though as I knew the bottom part wouldn't be enough for a family of 5 living in whoop whoop/acreage as I'll cook big meals and freeze some for nights I don't feel like cooking.

My cavity dimensions are 1900H x 980W. I checked that for future proof alternative fridges and there was a wide range of fridge freezers that would also fit in that area when this one eventually dies. I think there was only a couple of fridges that didn't fit and I was ok about that as there was still plenty to chose from.