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Hi,

I need some advise regarding decent/workable kitchen dimension for a family of 4 in a house on 30x40 site.

As per the initial plan drafted by my architect, the kitchen dimension comes as 8' 6" x 8' 6" with a utility area of 4' 0" x 10" 6" at the back. If I choose to extend the kitchen as 8' 6" x 10' 6", then the utility will become 4' 0" x 4' 0". Would 8' 6" x 8' 6" be a comfortable dimension for a kitchen or would it be too small? It's a partially open kitchen, as shown in the attachment.

Thanks.

Hi,

The kitchen size is wheather large / medium/small is determined based on the length of the counter.If the counter length is 8-10ft -small(for 2 person),10-12-medium,above 13 large.In your case if the sapce behind puja room is used for fridge/sink then counter length will be 6'6''+3'6''=10' which is good enough but not very comfortable.

Thanks a lot, Aparna. Your input has helped.
We were apprehensive about the kitchen size and had a talk with our architect. He has redesigned the space and now we have around 16' 6" as counter length. Of course, it means a smaller utility area, but we're happy with the change.

8.6x8.6 is a good size for a kitchen. We lived in a rented place that had a large kitchen platform. the distance between platforms on the opposite ends (parallel platforms) was about 9 feet. This made one side platform totally useless as one has to walk all the way to the other to use it and ended up being a platform for temporary storage. Ideally both the platforms(opposite sides) should be reasonably close to use them simultaneously.

Google for "work triangle" in kitchen and you might get good ideas in kitchen design. In your layout, you can have the fridge behind the pooja room and have a L shaped kitchen counter.

Thanks tvsh. Very valuable inputs.
With the new design, we'll now have about 6' between opposite counters, which I believe is a decent space for a couple of people to work together comfortably in the kitchen.

On a different note, what is a comfortable size for utility area behind the kitchen - assuming it is to be used only for washing used kitchen utensils (the utility for my washing machine is at terrace level)? The rented place where I lived earlier had a small kitchen but a rather big utility area and I found it to be a complete waste. A few friends who have recently built their houses too have opined that going for a big utility area is not advisable unless you have clear idea on what you are going to use that space for apart from utensils washing.

Warm regards.

Thanks tvsh, It is a good info. I too will be benefited.

Cheers,
Nag

OldWorldCharm wrote:Thanks tvsh. Very valuable inputs.
On a different note, what is a comfortable size for utility area behind the kitchen - assuming it is to be used only for washing used kitchen utensils (the utility for my washing machine is at terrace level)? The rented place where I lived earlier had a small kitchen but a rather big utility area and I found it to be a complete waste. A few friends who have recently built their houses too have opined that going for a big utility area is not advisable unless you have clear idea on what you are going to use that space for apart from utensils washing.

Warm regards.

In my opinion, the utility should have space for a sink (the ones to wash your kitchen utensils), space to keep the dirty pots/pans on one side of the sink, and space for putting the washed pots on the other side of the sink. Below these counters, provide space for keeping brooms, mops & other cleaning stuff. I would prefer to have space for the washer and dishwasher (if you are going to install one) all in the utility). It would be nice to provide a shelf above the counter/sink, to keep the laundry essentials (detergent, clothespins etc.) If at all possible, would be nice to keep the ironing board also in that area. But these are all wish lists, given the site size and the optimization we want to make for other living areas, this is not possible, so my compromise would be to just have the sink and the counters on either side. If the counter is provided at a decent height, on one side we could keep the clothes washer.

Thanks, blrsiteseeker. Very practical tips. I guess that's where the difference comes. You having finished building your house recenty and actually 'experiencing' the spaces that were planned on paper (or should I say, computer ) have been have to provide the right perspective on this. Thanks again.

yes, the original plan for our utility was to have both dishwasher and washing machine in the utility. but when the room was built, we figured out that the dishwasher was not going to fit in. so we moved it to the kitchen. Luckily for us the kitchen is fairly large with lot of undercounter space and in addition we had a store room too. So I did not mind it too much.

tvsh wrote:8.6x8.6 is a good size for a kitchen. We lived in a rented place that had a large kitchen platform. the distance between platforms on the opposite ends (parallel platforms) was about 9 feet. This made one side platform totally useless as one has to walk all the way to the other to use it and ended up being a platform for temporary storage. Ideally both the platforms(opposite sides) should be reasonably close to use them simultaneously.

Google for "work triangle" in kitchen and you might get good ideas in kitchen design. In your layout, you can have the fridge behind the pooja room and have a L shaped kitchen counter.

Thank you tvsh. Very informative. It helps me while I design my kitchen.

Regards,
Naga