It's looking quite good so far - just a couple of thoughts:

I would move the fridge freezer from that corner and put it on the opposite wall between the oven unit and the larder: if your larder was reduced to a 450/500mm unit it should fit in. It is recommended to have at least 400mm free each side of the hob for pan handles, ease of taking things off the hob etc. so having the f/f there is a bit tricky. You could then fit in another base unit, either drawers or doors. I would go with an integrated f/f but freestanding ones can look funky too..

Is that a dishwasher or a washing machine to the right of the sink? If it's a d/w I would swap sides so it's not possibly snagging on the door frame when in use: if a w/m make sure it opens left so it can open fully. If you wanted to fit in a d/w as well as a w/m you could easily fit in a 450mm one to the left of the sink.

Good idea about the opening to give you a breakfast bar.

I wouldn't worry about a single wall unit next to the sink, it might just look like an afterthought.

That copper hood sounds fab - any chance of a photo?!

Thank you whizzywig - those are useful suggestions. We knew about the pan handle rule but hoped that because it was a single wok burner on the left side the amount we left would be OK, reason being that it's a bit of a faff to walk to the end of the kitchen just to peek in the fridge (which I do a lot haha).

That said, placing the FF in the tall units was the other option we considered. Do you know if having it next to oven would be an issue?

Here is the hood. We are trying to keep as many original era features as possible.

To the right of the sink we planned for DW. WM and dryer will go in utility.

Hi Daisy. We can't afford a swing out larder, we're planning to use internal drawers instead. The mic matches the oven for integration into the tall unit.

I've used a few induction hobs in other people's houses - buying all the pans again puts me off, as does the automatic cut off when water spills on the hot plate. I know gas is old-fashioned but it's nice to know I can cook even if the power is out (I expect the power to be out a fair bit as we tinker and install things).

Daisy I think you'll find that a d/w installed flush to the wall with a proud door architrave in front of it will not be able to open. I've seen fitters do it. With ovens too. (No matter how often you point it out on the plans...) In this case it looks like the door is in a bit of a recess so it shouldn't matter but it's worth looking out for it.

Bry R, I know it seems counterintuitive to put the oven and the f/f next to each other but modern appliances are both so well insulated it shouldn't be an issue.

That hood is fab though. Definitely worth keeping - taking everything else off that wall will make it a real feature, and one you'll be able to see through your new opening too.

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments! We've narrowed it down to 2 designs.

We can't have reduced-depth cabinets because we want the integral microwave and oven at eye-level. Yes, it's a narrow gap but we really need the storage.

Good point about not needing the wall cabinets, we'll get rid of those.

Re the dishwasher opening, we'll have 15cm of space to play with along that run for spacers.

Design 1: 2 tall cupboards together

The positives of this are we get a free-standing FF close to the entrance where opening the doors won't impede anyone in the kitchen. The unit run on window side will then be 3.6m which is one piece of laminate with no joins (we hate joins :)). This design also has a good 'working square' of counter space.

Negative is that we have to have a smaller hob to keep it away from the FF side.

Design 2: 3 tall cupboards together

Pros of this are that it looks smarter, and it allows the 4+wok hob.

Good work - you've found a couple of solutions that work for you and your needs.

My preference would be version 2 but might consider swapping ff & ovens to get the fridge further along (but not next to the wall) and maybe a slightly more slender larder - could you stretch to a 450mm pull-out? They swallow a multitude.

A good exercise to try before purchasing is to actually go through the paces of, e.g. making a cup of tea, cooking or prepping a meal, with the appliances and units in their imagined new places. It might help make up your mind.

Remember to show us a photo when it's finished!

I would say design 2. Better to keep all the tall units together and you have more space either side of the hob. Good luck with your kitchen

Hi everyone. Thanks for your input! We are mocking up Design 2 today to see how we would handle it.

OK to today we used cardboard to show us what Design 2 would be like in reality. Thanks to @whizzywig for this suggestion.

A chicane for the counters also works well, thanks @OnePlan

Will do! Sadly our budget (£10k) for the kitchen has resulted in one designer saying they can't help us and another stopping responding. :( We're not shooting for the moon here either, happy with laminate countertops. Oh well, I suppose if you can pick and choose from clients you have to go with the most valuable.

Hello again! We met with the architect last week and he gave us some great ideas for the house, and echoed @Jonathan's idea about moving the kitchen door to allow the FF to occupy the end of the kitchen.

It's looking like this will be our only way to get the counter space, the appliances AND the cabinet space we want, without overcrowding our tiny kitchen and making it difficult to work in.

Here is our latest plan, please let us know what you think of it...

Thanks in advance

We mocked up both installation methods for the FF, with the door opening towards the window side and with the door opening towards the utility room. Either way was less than ideal but since FF's don't seem to have smaller depths than 53cm it looks as if that's the decision we'll have to make.

I think you've done really well - it looks like a workable kitchen and should be do-able within your budget. I would still look at the 'L' though, just so there's a bit more space behind you as you take stuff out of the ff... ;)

Morning, thanks for the comments.

@Jonathan - the utility will have the washer and dryer stacked in it, as well as a small basin area, the electric and gas meters, and some storage, so the best we can do is try to claim some space from the wall in between (it's quite wide).

@whizzywig - I don't think we can spare any room for the L, but who knows what we'll manage in the end.

@oneplan - make hay!

I should add that the plan I've posted just now is what we want, not what we have!

That looks amazing... is all that glass there already? What a great space. Is it a Lyons estate by any chance?

Hi @whizzywig - this is the current layout:

On the ground floor the lounge, small bedroom and main bedroom all look out onto the courtyard so the glass is in place but could do with an update eventually.

We acutally viewed some Span estate houses with a view to buying - Field End, Cedar Chase, Weymede, The Plantation. But in the end we found this place on a small estate in SE London that fitted the bill.

That's awesome. What a great find - it will be such a fantastic home when you've done. Don't forget to keep a photo blog for your Houzz article later!

https://courtyardldn.wordpress.com/

Lovely - look forward to your updates! Extremely jealous - unfortunately we outgrew our Span 2 bed flat. We hope to find another similar, and more suitable, some day..

Thanks :) I'm sure you'll re-Span in time. It's just so tough when the financial jump from a 2-bed to a 3-bed is so massive. We couldn't have done it without inheritance.