Basic Kitchen Design – tops tips for renovating or building

July 1st, 2015

Appliance Talk Buying Guide Kitchen

Whether you’re building a new kitchen for your home, or fixing one up with the goal of selling, you should always begin with a plan.

722px-Small_kitchen_-_perspective_-_textures source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Small_kitchen_-_perspective_-_textures.PNGsource: wikipedia

To help you get started, here are a few simple kitchen design ideas, and some basic advice for creating an efficient working space that also looks great:

The Kitchen Working Triangle

This classic concept has formed the backbone of kitchen designs since the mid-20th century.

Think about how you use your kitchen – what three appliances see the most use?  In most cases, the answer is the oven or stove, the fridge, and the sink.

kitchen working triangle

You’ll want these three appliances positioned within easy reach of one another (a step or two at most), so that by the time you finish cooking a particularly complex dish, you won’t feel like you just ran a marathon.

Kitchen Zoning

This has nothing to do with applying for permits from the council (though if you’re renovating, you should probably still check that).  Rather, this kitchen design idea expands on the Working Triangle concept by organising the room’s appliances and cabinets by the way they’re used.

Certain appliances and cabinet spaces naturally pair themselves with particular kitchen tasks.  For example, the oven, cooktop and rangehood all work together for the job of cooking; the fridge and pantry are used for food storage; and the sink and dishwasher are for cleaning up.

Kitchen ZonesSource: dynamicspace.com

When planning the layout of your kitchen, try to divide its space up into “zones” based on these different tasks, and position the required appliances appropriately.

Consider how each zone relates to the others, to naturally streamline your time in the kitchen for maximum efficiency.  For example, positioning your crockery storage cupboards on the far side of the kitchen from your dishwasher doesn’t make much sense, as you’ll need to walk across the kitchen to put away every coffee cup.

Choose a sink style that suits your benchtop material

Not only should your kitchen sink be good-looking and reliable, it should also suit your benchtop material.

If your kitchen benchtop is made of wood or some other absorbent material, you should choose a top mount or inset sink, as its upper lip will sit on top of the benchtop’s surface, helping to limit its contact with water, and therefore helping to limit potential water damage.

CLARON-UNDERMOUNT-HERO_1

However, for stone and marble benchtops that have no problem with the odd splash, the sunken, built-in look of an undermount sink can really help show off your surfaces.

Cabinets, drawers and floors

There are a few simple principles to keep in mind when it comes to your kitchen’s hardworking storage spaces and surfaces.

eye level kitchen cabinets source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nancyhugo/418234930/in/photostream/source: Nancy Hugo on Flickr

It’s generally worthwhile to keep kitchen cabinets above eye level, so you don’t have to bend or crouch to view or access their contents.  Contrariwise, kitchen drawers should go below bench-level, so you can see what they’re holding with just a downward glance.

800px-Newly_renovated_kitchen_with_hardwood_floor

While a tough and sturdy kitchen floor such as tiles or stone is always worthwhile, keep in mind that you may be standing and working on this surface for quite some time. To give your poor soles a break, consider a softer flooring such as wood – if that doesn’t appeal, consider investing in a spongy rubber mat under the main cooking areas.

Don’t forget to measure your appliances!

It goes without saying that you need to make sure any appliances you purchase are going to fit into your kitchen’s available gaps and cavities.

dishwasher

But don’t forget to make sure that they also measure up with your benchtops, and with each other.  It’s just not a good look when you’ve got a fridge, oven or dishwasher that sticks out or in from your cabinetry line, or when your rangehood is smaller than your cooktop or oven.

Neatly lining up every element of your kitchen will make the entire space look better, so double-check your measurements, remembering to take into account any extra space that may be required for appliance doors and the like.

Unify your kitchen’s style

Remember that your kitchen often serves as an entertainment area as well as a food production line, so you should be proud to show the room off to your guests.

One simple way to give your kitchen a consistent look is to stick with a single colour or style when it comes to your appliances.

You usually can’t go wrong with clean and smart stainless steel, though for a more traditional kitchen, there’s always the option of classic white.

Electrolux Ebony Appliances Online

Black appliances can serve as a cool “feature item” on their own, or combined to create a very cool dark kitchen space.

Colour Kitchen Appliances

More and more appliances are becoming available in a range of bright, eye-catching colours.  One of these can serve as a retro-styled feature in your kitchen, but combining multiple coloured appliances can lead to clashing, unless you’ve a firm grasp of colour theory.

Sample kitchen layout ideas

Looking for a basic kitchen design to start off with? Here are a few classics:

In Line Kitchen

800px-Kitchen_Fitting_(6)

An In-Line kitchen is named for the way it arranges all of its appliances and working spaces along one wall, making the layout ideal for studio apartments and similar compact homes.

Galley Style Kitchen

galley kitchen source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nancyhugo/421729935source: Nancy Hugo on Flickr

Galley Style or Corridor kitchens follow a similar idea, but use TWO lines positioned opposite one another.  A great kitchen layout for smaller houses, though it should not be placed in one of your home’s major thoroughfares, as having people walking through the behind you while you’re lifting and carrying hot stuff can be a recipe for disaster.

U-Shape Kitchen

island kitchen 2 source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/chalonuk/6197772677source: Chalon Handmade on Flickr

In smaller homes, this simple layout creates a natural Working Triangle, though in a larger home, you may want to place an island in the centre so you can use space more efficiently.

L-Shape Kitchen

Alexkitchen1 source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexkitchen1.jpgsource: wikipedia

Much like the U shape, this design is usually most efficient in a smaller home, and can also benefit from the addition of a island in a larger space.

Peninsula Kitchen

800px-Gourmet_Kitchen_Scrub_Island_Resort,_Spa_&_Marina source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gourmet_Kitchen_Scrub_Island_Resort,_Spa_%26_Marina.jpgsource: wikipedia

Shaped roughly like a letter G, or a U-shape kitchen with an extra bench sticking out, this is a great design for open-plan homes. The additional bench effectively separates the kitchen from the remainder of the home without cutting the room off completely, and can also function as an impromptu dining table or even a bar!

Your turn

Got a kitchen design tip? Ever learned an important lesson from a renovation mistake? Share the love and let us all benefit!

Mark joined Appliances Online in November 2011 and has since learned more than he ever expected to know about appliances. He enjoys looking for new and unusual ways for to solve everyday problems using typical household appliances. When he’s not toiling at the desks of Appliances Online and Big Brown Box, he tries to find time to write the next big bestseller and draw satirical cartoons, but is too easily distracted by TV, music and video games. Mark’s favourite appliance is the Dyson Groom Tool, as he loves the concept of vacuuming your dog. Google+

One response to “Basic Kitchen Design – tops tips for renovating or building”

  1. Here are some very important aspects to consider when renovating a kitchen, Thanks for sharing helpful article.

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