7 Ways to Increase Your Kitchen Bench Space
Used for everything from rolling out pasta dough to chopping vegetables to unloading groceries and countless other activities, bench space plays a crucial role in the productivity and functionality of your kitchen.
Whether you’re doing a DIY project or planning a full-scale renovation, there are lots of creative solutions to declutter your kitchen and reclaim valuable bench space – from installing a kitchen island benchtop to installing high shelving. Read on to learn more.
1. Choose an induction cooktop
Induction cooktops are a great choice for a space-conscious kitchen design, doubling as bench space to prepare meals, as well as fully equipped stovetops.
Their design is discreet, meaning from the right angle, no-one will even know there’s a stovetop there. They sit relatively flush with the profile of your bench and are perfect for a minimal, seamless look.
2. Opt for pull-out benches
Pull-out benches are the perfect solution for apartments and small kitchens. Conceal a pull-out bench within your benchtop, pantry or other shelving to gain extra preparation space when you need it without taking up additional space when you don’t.
These benches slide away into a shallow cavity inside your kitchen, so that they don’t take away from your kitchen’s footprint or create an obstruction when not in use.
3. Incorporate a butler’s pantry
Where you have the space to include one, a butler’s pantry not only creates additional bench space, but it helps to free up your existing benchtops, too.
A butler’s pantry can help to declutter your main kitchen area and free up the valuable room around your sink and stovetop.
It can also act as a secondary preparation or cooking area, perfect if you enjoy entertaining.
4. Install an island benchtop
Not only will a kitchen island benchtop give you valuable extra bench space, it can also create an additional seating or dining area within your kitchen, too.
Kitchen islands can strategically conceal sinks, drawers, and storage inside the cabinets underneath. All this additional storage means you don’t need to store as much on your benchtop, effectively creating additional bench space on top of the actual island bench itself.
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5. Wheeled butcher blocks
Offering the convenience of a kitchen island benchtop with the flexibility to move it around as you need to, a wheeled butcher block is a valuable addition to small and large kitchens alike.
Being on wheels, you can move the butcher block to where you need additional space at any given time. It also means you can prepare food in one area of the kitchen, and then wheel it to your cooking zone – even out to the barbeque if needed.
As an added bonus, most moving butcher blocks also double as kitchen cupboards and storage. This allows you to store away infrequently used items such as industrial cleaning products, utensils, and heavy cooking appliances.
6. Make changes to unused space
Take a look around your kitchen. Are there any corners or surfaces that aren’t currently being used?
These could be transformed into functional storage for kitchen appliances, a coffee station or even into transitional elements like an integrated study nook in an open-plan living zone.
Review any ‘dead’ areas in your kitchen and see whether implementing a smart storage solution could help you to reclaim bench space.
7. Declutter and install high shelving
Benchtop appliances are repeat offenders in taking up space without actually being used all that often.
Unless you’re using something every day, chances are you’d get more use from that space if it were vacant. Unplug any appliances that don’t get used frequently and store these in an easily accessible place (and be sure to throw away any that you can’t justify keeping).
Integrated storage in your kitchen island benchtop can be a great home for small appliances – install deep, wide drawers so you can easily reach in and grab whatever you want to use without fumbling around in the back of a cupboard.
If you’re all out of storage space, consider creating shelving above your cooktop and bench spaces. Modern kitchen designs also make use of otherwise unused space by adding vertical spice racks and pull-out drawers for deep cupboards.
Whether your kitchen wish list includes maximising storage, updating the design, optimising layout or all of the above – our team of experts can help to create a kitchen you’ll love. Get in touch with us to discuss what you want to achieve, and how we can help you do it.
