So would like some opinions on this refrigerator location since there is some major "disagreement" on the possible location. The fridge depth will be 27 3/4". All cabinets are 24" depth as usual.

Breakfast table is on top. Main dining room below. Garage entry through mud room and then pantry.

Space between cabinets and island is 4' on both sides and the hallway to dining room is 4' wide as well.

Would you put the refrigerator in location A, B, or C?

Appreciate your vote and comments on why.

I'd probably go A or B personally

Only reason is we have a similar setup and use counter space next to the range like where C is all the time.

Need to see a slightly larger view...what's to the right and above the breakfast nook?

past the breakfast nook is door to outside. To the right is a bathroom (pool and interior) for bedroom (mother in law suite). to left is living room and stairs to 2nd floor (kids bedrooms upstairs). Master suite other side of living room.

To be clear my wife like position C because the fridge will not be a pinch point when doors are open. But this moves the range over so the island and range will NOT be lined up. This drawing is not to scale with range and cabinets. Since we have 4' between island and cabinets on other side, in my opinion this is plenty of room to walk by someone if they are at the fridge. And with it at C, you have to go over there to get stuff out and bring back to other side where the appliances garages and such will be.

I prefer A and B myself, but we will have to completely redesign the cabinets in the kitchen as we currently had it drawn at the C location before we discovered the error with range/vent hood not being centered. And there is no way to squeeze it in. Fridge and range are extra wide so won't fit next to each other (which would look really weird anyway).

A by default

B is in the hallway to the dining room and garage. Pain with it open.

C is facing your living room. Not the best view from your living room. If the fridge has doors that match your cabinets, you can put it in location C as second choice.

A if you are getting a big double door fridge with double door freezer, like commercial size.

B if standard sized fridge and freezer leaving A as nice counter space.

This was the agreed on decision between the wife and I and she cooks nearly every single night so….this would be a serious consideration and not a light hearted decision.

If you could go ahead and mock this up in Google Sketch, that would probably help a lot with visuals.

I would go with B. The area where A is can be used for small appliance countertop section, coffee station, even have a wine fridge, in the underneath cabinets that are a part of the A section, etc.

I do not find that B will have a main corridor issue since guests and residents/family members will be constantly walking by from garage/mud room to kitchen.

I do see C as more of a traffic concern problem. If you are hosting/entertaining with people hanging out in kitchen area flowing to living room to breakfast area then having the fridge amid that traffic could be less desirable.

Also, I am always a fan of counter depth fridges. They have a come a long way in designing them to accommodate as much as the regular old school fridges from 90s/2000s. I see that you will have a garage fridge for overflow food/drinks located in your utility area so you should be able to create adequate fridge space even with the counter depth for kitchen fridge.

Also, if you go with C or B, I would consider a single door instead of french doors. It will more accessible because the door can open away from the cooking area. I have a similar kitchen and we used a counter depth single door.

The fridge is a 48" wide commercial counter depth model.

Also, to be more specific the A location is on this corner.

We currently have the A location as an appliance garage and coffee bar so very nice but we would have to redesign everything if putting it a A.

I like B but my wife is so worried about the pinch point. I think having 4' is plenty to get around but understand her concern.

My choice is A, then B, then C.

Her choice is C, then A, then B.

I do most of the cooking by the way.

Thanks.

I like A. Especially after knowing it's a 48"; that's going to give your fridge access the most "leg room" to open and close and be out of the way. Good on the counter depth! Then you can have other small appliances and/or coffee station next to it. It is also hidden from view looking into kitchen so that has its own aesthetic advantages too.

It looks like A is in each of your top 2 choices so A is the winner..?

Bronco6G said:

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If there is a woman involved, put it where she wants it.

Obviously A is the best choice

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B, then A, then C. Here is a little secret, sometimes women are wrong.

My kitchen has a very similar layout and the fridge is at A. I didn't design it this way (it was a builder model).

Looking towards the breakfast table, what's to the left of the fridge if it's at point A? I have double doors out to a patio in my space. The poster's comment about position A being far away from everything is correct. You said your drawing isn't to scale. Part of the issue with that position in my kitchen is that it blocks the walkway between the fridge and the island.

It's not a great layout in my home, but the difference is I don't have that corridor leading to the dining room. I have countertop and cabinets connecting the sections between your A and B.

Looking at it more closely, I'm not a fan of C. It puts the fridge too much on the fringe of the kitchen. So, I'd probably go with B.

Your comment about the range and hood being off center from the sink/island made me wonder if mine is or not. My hood is centered on the wall that it's on. I'm pretty sure that puts it off center from the sink. But my island is huge (much bigger than the sink), so it's not noticeable or distracting. I also have a two-tier island which hides the sink from view when looking towards the range/hood.

FWIW, I'm also a woman.

Well, it's too late to redesign this Kitchen so that the chef can be in an undisturbed eddy (between B-C) and NOT a thoroughfare!

So to focus solely on Ref = "A" @ end
1) Ref doors swing 120d, so if limited by a flanking wall, it better be short enough to allow such = "A" @ end
2) best to have plenty of layout spaces for in-out contents = "A" @ end, as annotated here
3) this honey attracts many bees that can interfere with chef movements, so a remote location to chef zone, even if remote to seating/Bkfst = "A"
4) such applies to MW, as well ... best on lowest sh of upper cabs, never in a base cab ... even if controls can be locked
5) if you can't recess a partial wall behind Ref 7", then make flanking cabs 30"d and enjoy the extra storage space, esp, for those large diameter items; add pull-out shelves for $$$$

I must add a history lesson here.
The "triangle" from a 1950s Life Magazine article lives on today, even though the quoted kitchen designer later taught that his "triangle" was only a Basic Design for NYC apartments with little space. He went on to explain larger & specially kitchens have different triangle & other shaped "zones", while large kitchens may have many zones, e.g. baking, prep, broiling, et al.
Ergo, one may begin with a simple triangle when designing but this must adapt to the space & activities OR force a better layout before things get nailed down.

FWIW I identify as a man...

While I am not a fan of a range and sink butt to butt, if that is going to your arrangement, I do think they should align. While I lean towards B, C is about the same to me. Unless you leave your ref open for extended periods of time, I try to not over think the pinch point issue.

I think the A run of cabinets should not have the ref and keep it clean for aesthetic purposes.

So my summary is to keep sink and range aligned with whichever position of ref makes that happen.

C or A. Functionally, C is better. A takes up too much counterspace. Never have a refrigerator door opening into a hallway like B.

Upon further consideration, my vote is C. If you look at traffic flow from the garage/laundry/mud room, it leaves the one cooking alone the most. You have a workable triangle whereas A or B makes the triangle larger and puts traffic through it.

My read is that the traffic should come up the hallway and then between A and the island.

Quote:

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Her choice is C, then A, then B.

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She is correct and my choice agrees with hers.

I feel like whatever you do won't be a huge issue....

I have a buddy with a very similar floorplan almost identical, his fridge is in location C and I've never thought of it as out of place. But looking at that diagram I'd have said no to C....

I could also see it being nice to have the fridge in C if you have a pool.

HDeathstar said:

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A by default

B is in the hallway to the dining room and garage. Pain with it open.

C is facing your living room. Not the best view from your living room. If the fridge has doors that match your cabinets, you can put it in location C as second choice.

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This is your answer. People that actually cook don't want other people in and out of the fridge and in their space.

As stated, unless it's built in with cabinetry doors, you're paying a lot to ruin the main view from the living room with a fridge as well as losing valuable counter top space by the stove.

If you are going to do a coffee station, location "A" next to the fridge is also your spot.

My parents have a somewhat similar floorplan and their fridge is in point B, which is also where I would lean. I don't think it will really impact flow that much; how often do you keep your fridge door hanging open for more than 15 seconds? And how frequently are people traveling between the garage and kitchen during meal time? 'A' feels too close to the living room and outside of the kitchen space to me. 'C' is workable but does seem a bit more visible from the living room.

A

C
Access to breakfast table and sink and leaves enough space between it and stove for coffee maker. Food prep on other side of the stove. Our kitchen has similar setup.

What type of fridge is it? I mean, how are the doors set up? That might change my opinion.

C - closest to the kitchen table.

C makes sense from the dining area…

If not C, A.

We have a similar setup and our fridge is in location A. Having the island right across makes for easy loading after a grocery trip, fridge is also out of the way while being accessible. The only pite tial issue we have is that the counter space next to the fridge is pretty small and can be a collection space for all of my kids homework and other junk.