Kitchens & Design Photo'sKitchens - The most important room in the house? A "Livable" cooking area has more than granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances!
Have you ever specifically thought about looking to see if when the refrigerator door is open - can multiple people stand and look into it all at one time? This situation can come up often with family, friends, etc. And, today’s modern stylish kitchens often have islands that are very functional, but may be too close to the refrigerator and limit space, door swing and viewing room. Here is a photo example of a Refrigerator too close to the Island. If this was not a side by side Refrigerator door the space would be even smaller!
Check the spacing in this photo of the dishwasher, trash can, and sink to the left of the dishwasher.
You cannot walk back and forth easily in front of the dishwasher when unloading it - this knocks your shins! The trash can pulls out from under the island, but almost hits the dishwasher door when it is open. And, to make matters worse the sink is directly to the left of the dishwasher so only one person can stand in this area while cleaing up. Lots of things to think about based on how you work in your kitchen and whether you have others with you at the same time.
The square footage of this one is actually large, but it seems cramped with just two people working in it. This particular spot in a Kitchen is perfect for mounting one of the new Flat Panel LCD televisions, operate it with a remote control & you'll never have to reach above the refrigerator again except to clean off the screen occasionally. If you are building a new home you might request the builder leave the cabinet out and put some good wood framing behind the drywall that can be used for the Television Mount. This does cause you to loose some storage space, but you have to admit that the things you put in that cabinet you usually don't remember that you own!
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One reason the Refrigerator is too close to the Island is that it is very Deep (lots of cubic feet for lots of food and drink needed for a large family). It sticks out from the front counter edge (which are standard depth) almost 10 inches. Lesson Learned is to always measure the Refrigerator space carefully in THREE Dimensions! Some manufacturers are making styles that are not as deep as the standard, but remember that if you give up depth you loose lots of interior square footage for those large milk jugs or soda bottles in the door.
