The BEST Kitchen Layout and Other Questions Answered

[@kimshine4011]

Yesterday I replaced my double bowl sink with a single bowl sink and I love it. Thanks for your insight. I'm in the final phase of my kitchen remodel. Just a few finishing touches to go. I've done most of the work myself and its been really hard but it's so rewarding. I'm painting the old cabinets and keeping the old countertop because they are still in good shape and I couldn't decide on a counter that I liked. I painted the kitchen, got new appliances, had a new floor put in and a new sink and faucet. I'm replacing the old bifold pantry door with a barn door. I don't care if they are past their prime I like it and its the best solution for my space. I'll send youbefore and after pictures when I'm done. I still have to paint the cabinet doors and install the barn door.

[@MTKDofficial]

Sweet! Sounds awesome and I love seeing pictures of reno projects! Good on you, for doing all the work. It's not an easy task!

[@lornabrown7992]

Im a kitchen designer and have found your videos have the best practical information. Thank you.

[@MTKDofficial]

Cool! Thanks for letting me know. I love hearing from other people in the industry.

[@dyanalayng5507]

IKEA had a great idea of cabinets to the ceiling, using square display cabinets with lighting above the regular ones. A very beautiful look, and got rid of the greasy dust trap area. [Edit 2] Since my first comment, I saw another version in Country Living's excellent book on Kitchens. The cabinet doors had their top thirds in paned glass, and the rest wood. So a simpler solution.

[@vociferonheraldofthewinter2284]

I 100% support everything in this video, but I must add one thing. If you're building/remodeling and planning on being in a space for a long time, give yourself room to grow. I remember when microwaves weren't a thing. Now they're as intrinsic to a kitchen as a refrigerator. I remember a time when air fryers didn't exist. Now I have one sitting on my counter that I use about once a week. There will be new things that really are worth adding. If you have everything absolutely organized down to the inch, there's nowhere left to go when you really do want to add something. Another thing I did to make my kitchen more flexible is to keep a few extra inches on the sides of the stove and the fridge. The counters covered that space and spacer boards were installed on the sides. Sure enough, I got a once in a lifetime opportunity to upgrade to a high end oven for an insane price. By some miracle, we had the cash on hand. But my old oven was 30 inches and the new one is 36. Because of those spare three inches on each side, all we had to do was remove the spacers and cut the end of the counters. (Yeay butcherblock!) This deal was so insane that I would've remodeled the entire kitchen for this oven, but because I had room to grow, it wasn't a problem. Here's more. For the area around fridge, we do plan on adding a six inch pull out pantry in that space. Turns out we need that adjustment in storage, too. Right now I have a 32 inch sink, but two months ago I found a brand new, still in the box, $1100 farmhouse sink for $30. Scratch and ding situation. It only has a tiny chip on the porcelain in a place nobody will ever see. The farmhouse sink is 36 inches. My sink base is 36 inches. We will have to modify that base, but nothing else need be bothered. All of these changes work smoothly and easily because I left some room to grow seven years ago.

[@namaenomore7831]

I started to watch some home design content maybe two weeks ago. yesterday I finally loaded a designing app for my phone to better understand what my ideal kitchen would look like, you’d never believe it but it was an L kitchen with an island… with a bit of a tweak. instead of the 3 corner cabinets there would be a “doorway” to the living room or some other space

[@darlene19668]

Ones that work🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂Happy weekend to the beautiful Tobin family....grow...grow....grow...great info, very valuable👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻thumbs up all day every day

[@Kenzie_Hill]

Great video! ❤ I'm leaning towards zero upper cabinets... I prefer not hitting my head when prepping; avoid those squeaky inset doors; never cleaning those high doors that get greasy; and I love displaying art. Tall cabinets with pull out drawers / shelves are awesome and efficient. But I don't need cabinets above my counters

[@MTKDofficial]

It seems like a reasonable option for lots of people.

[@richardvasquez4079]

That was one of the videos why I keep watching you since I started kitchen design and found KZbin. The only other videos I watch on KZbin or from HS design. Keep up the good work... Do the SMART bottle thingy I am old and was drinking out of a hose so who knows what chemicals I have in my system now. I don't think drinking smart now is going to help except for vodka...😊

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks Richard. Appreciate your support. And you could put vodka in the smart bottle, but probably not recommended. lol.

[@teri-joscott8279]

Great video as always! Love the first photo of the L shaped kitchen with an island. I am toying with the idea of shallow storage--trying to fingure it out. Always something to think about from your content! Thanks so much!

[@MTKDofficial]

Thanks Teri-Jo! Yeah, shallow storage is a great feature if you can make it work!

[@pman2916]

I prefer the "L" shape kitchen. Thanks for this video Mark🙏

[@tealkerberus748]

I need more content about how to design a farm kitchen. When you're growing most of your family's food on site and you need to be able to process and store it, and you might have three or four people working together for several hours as you bottle your year's supply of cherries or turn a massive quantity of minced meat and assorted vegetables into frozen hamburger patties and sausage rolls, what does a serious working kitchen look like?

[@natashabailey6091]

Great Video Mark!!!. Very informative!!!🤗😁

[@VoodooViking]

Best setup I’ve seen with layout is in mobile homes. You just gotta tweak everything to fit you. Even cooking for a family of 6 that worked perfectly fine. No complaints. The galley style with a big island prep counter with everything else against the wall is the best setup. I’ve even cooked for family reunions which was up to over 60 people with that setup. Just make things work for you. But most people have too much stuff, and what’s worse is they have too much stuff not meant for cooking(decor and stuff). Get rid of the crap, set your kitchen up for business and it’s infinitely easier to cook. You don’t need 20 pots and pans. I’ve done a full all out thanksgiving dinner for 20+ people with less than 10 cooking vessels.

[@MTKDofficial]

I agree. Most people have too much stuff. Every new sparkling thing has to go in the kitchen. lol

[@terence4427]

As always nice video. MTK, I think you should consider doing a video on kitchen islands for "small kitchens". I think your viewers would appreciate that.

[@MTKDofficial]

Hey, thanks so much. That is a great video suggestion for sure! Thanks for the input.

[@ryansoo4000]

Hi Mark. Why don't you do a video on kitchen layouts and features that were highly desirable 20-50 years ago but are horribly out of fashion now, and a second video on how to include the features people want today? Some bad choices from the past: kitchen islands on a 45 degree angle from the other cabinets, brick pizza ovens, writing desks, sunshine ceilings. Some current wants (and where to put them): charging stations, espresso stations, computer screens.

[@MTKDofficial]

Great ideas! You always have great ideas.

[@johnlanore599]

My kitchen is 13ft 10" long 13ft 1" wide. In an empty demoed kitchen. Do you think I could fit an island or peninsula ?I never sit at my table its just another spot to be cluttered. I plan on spending 15- 20 k so far Im at a 0 balance with the entire kitchen gutted. Any thoughts will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[@MTKDofficial]

You could technically fit an island, but a peninsula might be better suited for these dimensions. I'm assuming a U shaped kitchen and minimum clearances. If it's an L shaped layout, then an island would be my first choice. Make sure you have it designed both ways so you can see the possibilities. Reach out if you need help.

[@HelenEttlin]

We’re building our kitchen and running into a few problems. At my height, a 34” counter is about as tall as I can comfortable use. Stoves and dishwashers don’t fit. Anything above the bottom shelf on upper cabinets is worthless to me. So it’s turning into a bit of problem. 6:11

[@MTKDofficial]

Sounds like you’re building custom (?). I recommend a lowered section or a built in toekick step.

[@bragayd487]

Good day Mark! Is it possible to put kitchen island to a kitchen size 3m by 3m ?

[@MTKDofficial]

You may be better off with something that is moveable. Having a stationary island that is a somewhat standard size would be challenging.

[@bragayd487]

we have a limited space but i am thinking to make an L shape kitchen and with island facing to the glass wall facing the backyard.

[@markh2038]

Corian: “used to be on that list”. Why is that? I’ve had Corian countertops before and I plan to use them again for my next kitchen project. Marble, quartz, etc are so ridiculously overrated: Heavy, way too hard a surface (feels like I’m going to break every dish I set down on it), and NOT low maintenance. The fact that they remain trendy proves that most people don’t understand what they’re buying

[@helendorning4450]

Mark says not popular now BUT I'm in Australia and it is used here in upmarket kitchens and bathrooms plus used in commercial applications including hospitals, hotels, dental clinics and schools. My countertops, big island and 1 metre high splashback is stunning. It's my 2nd Corian kitchen and I LOVE it.

[@JPatrickT12]

Well, because… plastic. Plastic cuts and burns, and wood under seems swells if penetrated by water. Plastic is not and will never be a “high-end”, solid design trend. You’re free to want a plastic kitchen, but maybe don’t assume that any one who doesn’t “doesn’t understand what they’re buying”.

[@MTKDofficial]

I think the main reason is the manufactured stone industry (quartz). I remember when it first started becoming popular in my area. Everyone wanted to have quartz in their kitchen. It wasn't long before I never sold another Corian top (or very few). The market determines the trends and Corian and others got left behind. That's why DuPont started making quartz countertops, to try to get some of their marketshare back.

[@5610winston]

4:10 Please tell me those are not baskets! Dust-catching, grime-catching baskets?

[@MTKDofficial]

haha

[@RecycledAndSaved]

#1 ease of entry and closest to garage from grocery shopping with counter next to fridge and pantry - especially in winter snowy climates. #2 smaller magic triangle the better fridge/pantry/microwave/sink fewer steps for 95% of use - for one person making coffee, microwaving snacks, making lunch etc. smaller with less steps is better. FACT - giant beautiful kitchens with fridge on wrong end for grocery unloading or microwave too far from fridge and sink are fails. Better to have usable efficient kitchen.

[@RolanTheBrave]

Our new kitchen is a double L layout, with doors in diagonally opposite corners

[@MTKDofficial]

Double L? interesting!

[@RolanTheBrave]

@@MTKDofficial we're kind of limited due to the doors in diagonally opposite corners leading into other rooms.

[@pattibennett8774]

Personally I hate islands. Much rather have a peninsula.

[@PeloquinDavid]

Depends mostly on (1) the dimensions of your kitchen (i.e. long-ish/narrow-ish kitchens work better with peninsulas) and (2) how many people will typically be working in the kitchen at the same time (more than one, islands make it easier to move in/out of the kitchen without running into each other).

[@pattibennett8774]

@@PeloquinDavid Yep, long-ish narrow kitchen. And although there may often be two people working at the same time, we ripped down a wall and have two doorways on opposite sides of the kitchen. I wanted a look that I thought would more suit the house and the way I would use it so I went for the peninsula. In my house an island would just sort of look as though it were hanging out in no man's land. I don't like islands myself, but lots of people love them and far be it from me to say what someone else should do. Either way the kitchen hasn't been updated since the house was built in 1945 so I'm on pins and needles waiting for it to be finished. :)

[@pokagal7335]

love your kitchen ideas as I start a DIY reno, but a smart water bottle? Really, bro? How stupid has one have to be to not drink enough water, lol? Not saying that you are stupid, 'cause I know you are not. Just another piece of clutter that will be used for a few months and then fade away into a space that could be better used to store something important.

[@darlene19668]

😂😂😂😂

[@MTKDofficial]

So, I guess this means you're not buying one? lol. Good luck on the reno, I'm right in the middle of one myself!