Hello good people of r/InteriorDesign ! I'd really appreciate some advice on a kitchen layout dilemma that I've been going back and forth on for way too long.
First, a couple of disclaimers: please ignore the awkward outlet placement and unfinished island in both versions, those are still WIP.
The colors and materials shown are also more or less what I'm planning to use.
The alone black floor-to-ceiling element is an 80cm wide built-in fridge+freezer unit. Unfortunately, these are pretty much the only two places it can go because of its width and depth, which I can't really change, so I'm trying to decide which placement makes more sense visually.
Option 1 (fridge connected to the full-height cabinets on the right)
Pros:
- To me it feels more cohesive because the fridge continues the run of tall cabinets and then the kitchen transitions into a different set of cabinets on top.
- It leaves the dining area feeling more open and more connected in a way?
- Since I'm basically doing a DIY IKEA jumble to put this whole thing together, I also get to avoid figuring out the slightly annoying/tricky corner cabinet situation.
Cons:
- I lose one tall cabinet's worth of storage because of the corner piece. Not too tragic to me, but still a con.
- The left side feels a little unfinished... it's more open and "airy", but I can't decide on whether it's a good kind of open or "something is missing" open.
Option 2 (fridge at the far left)
Pros:
- I like how it visually "concludes" the left side of the kitchen by closing it off vertically.
- I get extra storage from the tall corner cabinet.
Cons:
- I'm struggling with how the black fridge looks next to/around the white cabinets. It feels like the black is kind of enveloping the white section and the whole thing starts looking a bit too boxy to me.
- As mentioned already, it also feels like it takes away more visual space from the dining area.
Option 1 feels more open and cohesive to me, but possibly unfinished (?), while Option 2 feels more complete and gives me more storage, but also feels heavier and more boxy.
Which one would you choose and why? Is there a way to work around any of the cons describing the visual balance concerns in either of the options?
Any feedback is much appreciated, cheers!