I'm working on a book on insider tips for kitchen design (are you excited about it? I know I am!) and one of the items I’ve been pondering lately is how no one seems to pay attention to the door swings. I’m talking cabinet doors, refrigerator doors, microwave doors, doors between the kitchen and other rooms in the home—you get the idea.
Look, I even see it in showrooms – dings and gouges on refrigerator doors because someone forgot the counter was deeper than the built-in refrigerator and someone flung the refrigerator door open and, ouch.
Here’s the trick:
- Get a copy of your almost-final floor plan, a pencil, and a ruler that has circles or something you can indicate as swings.
- Lightly draw every door open – including dishwasher doors and oven/range doors (they’re approx. 21” deep.)
That’s right—we’re going to do a check BEFORE the kitchen is remodeled. If any door…
a) overlaps another
b) hits against a counter/hood fan/refrigerator, or
c) doesn’t allow enough room against the wall for you to keep your hand on the cabinet knob and crack your knuckles against the wall, then you need to tweak the design
Change some hinges, or redesign where the appliances go. If the garage door swings against the cabinets, make sure there’s a door stop applied to the hinge.
Maybe this won't solve every ding, but this small exercise will not only give you a last-minute check, but will save you from killing your friends, your kids, or your significant other every time you see that dent in your new refrigerator door.
(Who ever sees the dent first is allowed to use the “not me!” defense.)
Can you see why I bumped out the refrigerator cabinet on this design? Imagine swinging the refrigerator doors wide. Look at the nice counter which dies into the side panel so the left refrigerator door won't hit it. Also look at the cabinet knobs on the pantry on the right—wouldn’t they have made 2 fine dents?
There are other variations in design if you don’t like the stepped-out look; this is just one solution.
