First of all, remember what space you’re using – its primary function is to work well for food prep and cooking. Even a smaller space can be adapted for adventurous catering if that’s the look you’re going for. Key aspects for efficient kitchen design include having adequate storage, reasonably sized clear and accessible surfaces for food prep and creating the all-important ‘triangle’ between fridge, cooker and sink.
However, it’s very well being functional, but what can take your kitchen design from ‘it works’ to ‘it wows!’?
- Open up the visual transparency. This helps any space feel far more open and larger, plus it gets maximum daylight into the kitchen.
- Avoid, or consider getting rid of, any upper cabinets in the open areas of the kitchen. Instead, increase storage space along the outer perimeter, but don’t forget to use this particular element to frame views if you can or even just to define the space.
- Connect to the outdoors if you can. Giving easy access to outdoor entertainment and dining spaces makes a good kitchen into a great one. Try and create a good spatial relationship between your garden/patio/courtyard – whatever you have available. Forget single doors – instead go for sliding or bi-fold glazed door options because just having these allows the daylight to penetrate your kitchen far more deeply.
- Make it easy to move around. Fluidity of movement makes a kitchen space far more enjoyable to be in, rather than cramming yourself against the worktop every time someone wants to walk past. Bumping into others is not the feel you’re looking for! This is easily facilitated by creating more than one access point in and out of the kitchen, and preferably more than one ‘work zone’ to multiple people can use and enjoy the space at the same time.
- Make your access easy to extended food space; prioritise a dining room or even have the kitchen set up for easy food deliveries. Give special consideration to outdoor eating areas or just any spaces that support kitchen functionality – larders, store cupboards, etc. Convenient access from the garage/main door into the house will make your life a lot easier!
- Consider creating a kitchen design that feels more like a living space than purely a food prep/cooking workspace. A minimalist design approach is an excellent way to achieve this.
More handy recommendations include:
- Using colour wisely. Steer away from painting your kitchen one bold, block colour, instead stay neutral and bring in the colour through appliances and accessories to keep that look fresh.
- Use neutral materials in the main sections which are designed for longevity and durability such as stone or wood. Investing in good workmanship and quality materials means that they’ll stand the rigorous test of kitchen time as well as staying stylish for longer.
- Get great lighting! General lighting, task-focused lighting and lighting to create an ambience are all different types so give special consideration to what you actually want to achieve in your kitchen.
- If you’re on a strict budget then spend wisely on the basic, fundamental elements of your kitchen and only then select the other aspects to slide in neatly with the rest of your budget. For example, invest in doors, windows and cabinets and then consider replacing the worktops at a later date.
- Choose frameless cabinets (sometimes known as box type) and consider installing full-extension drawer hardware because this will maximise your cupboard and extra storage options.
- Use the same flooring without to create a cohesive and welcoming look and feel to your kitchen and to stop it feeling like a purely functional space.
Picking and choosing some of these suggestions is a great way to kick off your new kitchen design! After all, the well-known saying that a kitchen is the heart of the home is an important one to stand by.
