ᐅ Layout division: open-plan kitchen, living, and dining area

Hello dear forum members,

I have purchased an apartment from a developer. The basic floor plan is already fixed, meaning the exterior layout is set. Only after some time did I realize that the proposed floor plan is difficult to furnish. It is an open-plan space with kitchen, living, and dining areas measuring about 600 x 600 cm (236 x 236 inches). I am attaching a plan. This is the sales plan. I will probably only receive a fully dimensioned plan by the end of August.

The apartment will be completed in the third quarter of 2018, so there is still time to make some adjustments. But how? I am tearing my hair out because I have been stuck focusing on the problems and unfortunately have no new ideas. I hope you can give me a helpful nudge in a different direction.

To furnish are:
- Kitchen for 1 to 2 people
- One dining table 150 x 80 cm (59 x 31 inches) with 4 chairs
- One two-seater sofa (160 cm long (63 inches))
- One lowboard (120 cm long (47 inches))
- One highboard (100 cm long (39 inches))
- One display cabinet (90 cm long (35 inches), 110 cm high (43 inches))
- One armchair for a reading corner

All furniture except the sofa is flexible and can, if necessary, be moved to the adjacent room. The kitchen and dining table are also essential.

Also fixed are the service shaft (the diagonal black-and-white square) and, in the worst case, the WC, though I still need to confirm that.

I hope someone can give me a fresh perspective. I already asked a question in the kitchen planning forum next door, but I think it was too early for me. I couldn’t really engage much. Now it’s different, and I’m hoping for the collective intelligence here.

Don’t you want a living area with a sofa? Or have you simply not fit it in yet?
What else is flexible? I assume the wall with the plumbing is not, which means the kitchen location is pretty much fixed. Square rooms are always tricky to furnish, but I wouldn’t want to give up a living area.

Does the kitchen have to be an island layout?
If there has to be an island, I would definitely make it narrower.

A bar stool as a reading corner? Hmm... that sounds uncomfortable to me... how do you imagine that? I’m having a hard time picturing it...

But I’ll sketch something out.

Is this meant to be an everyday living space or a holiday home?
You mentioned an adjacent room; where would that be located?

I think all the furniture from the list is included here.

If the passage between the kitchenette and the dining table becomes too narrow for the private living area, it might be necessary to shorten the kitchenette or the kitchen island slightly.

But at least this way you would have a living area. Personally, I don’t like having a sofa by the table, mainly because the sofa seat is usually too low for the table.

You’re quick! I’ll address the points one by one:

@Climbee:
I’m usually alone (only not on weekends). The living area really just consists of a sofa and a small coffee table for putting my feet up. I don’t have a TV; I use a laptop on my lap and keep it next to or behind the sofa when not in use.

The utility shaft is fixed, and the toilet is likely fixed as well in the worst case, but the wall itself is still flexible. I believe the kitchen could also be moved to the opposite side, so technically that wouldn’t be a problem.

An island setup isn’t necessary. It’s just that with a single-wall kitchen, you’re always facing the wall instead of the room or the light. I find that a bit depressing and would only do it if there’s no other solution.

The cocktail chair is currently just in a corner with a reading lamp. But honestly, that’s the least important part and can easily be removed.

@ypg:
Yes, this is my only everyday and main apartment. I live alone and have a second bedroom as a “reserve” for storage, drying laundry, and similar uses.

Yes, I wouldn’t place the sofa near the table either. That was a suggestion from someone else that I still have available electronically. I’ll make another empty floor plan, maybe that will be clearer.

I’m also considering moving the kitchen to the left side of the plan and shifting the passage to the rear bedrooms more towards the middle, closer to plan center. However, I’m not inspired yet on how to plan the utility room and toilet in that case.

The rear hallway takes up quite a bit of useless space. I’m currently at a loss on how to solve that differently.

Why not place the toilet outside the bathroom, in the utility room at the bottom of the plan, in front of the second room (move the door of the second room upwards)?

This way, you could arrange the kitchen in an L-shape (along the new wall and extending into the room) at the bottom of the plan (with the small terrace behind it), and distribute the dining table and sofa in the remaining space.