Top 4 Tips for the Perfect Kitchen Layout
Planning your new kitchen or renovation project is exciting. From deciding on your colour palette to meeting with kitchen builders, it’s likely you will spend a lot of time on Pinterest or visiting showrooms for design inspiration.
While you’re imagining what your new design will look like, however, it’s also important to start thinking about your kitchen layout.
How you’ll use your new space is just as crucial as how it looks, and you don’t want to end up with a kitchen that perpetuates all of the pain points you’re trying to leave behind.
With this in mind, here are our top 4 tips to designing a functional layout for your new kitchen.
1. Consider your shape
This should be the first item on your list when you begin planning your renovation, as the shape of your kitchen creates the playing field for you to then place all of your design elements within.
If your house doesn’t allow for an open-plan kitchen, a galley-style layout puts everything you need within easy reach.
Smaller homes or apartments may benefit from an L-shape or straight layout, allowing for the kitchen to integrate with adjacent living areas.
Families or entertainers may opt for a U-shape or integrate an island with multiple access points to keep the kids out from under your feet.
2. Plan around your workflow
It’s the golden rule of kitchen layouts, but positioning elements within your kitchen according to your workflow is a surefire way to end up with a layout you love.
While people have been following the ‘golden triangle’ rule for almost a hundred years (placing your fridge, cooktop and sink at each point of an invisible triangle within the kitchen), many kitchen builders now recommend work zones in its place.
The basic idea behind work zones is that there’s a dedicated space for the tasks you do in the kitchen – this could look like a preparation zone with bench space and cupboards for cookware; a cooking zone with a stove and inbuilt storage for spices and cookbooks; and a washing zone that’s close to your cupboards to make putting away dishes easy.
This allows your layout to reflect the way you and your family use the kitchen, as opposed to opting for a one-size-fits-all approach that might create more headaches than it solves.
First-time renovator? We created an exclusive guide to get you inspired. Access our 2022 Kitchen Design eBook here.
3. Make room for appliances
Not only do you need to know the size of your appliances to ensure they fit in your new layout, you’ll also want to ensure that they don’t impose upon other work areas.
One of the biggest layout blunders is not accounting for appliances or cupboard doors when they’re open – for example, how an open fridge might affect your ability to open a neighbouring cupboard.
Pre-selecting (and pre-measuring) your appliances before signing off on your layout will help to maximise every inch of space, and ensure a stress-free kitchen installation for your kitchen builders.
4. Work with the space you have
It seems like a no-brainer, but the space you have available for your new kitchen will play a huge role in the elements you can or can’t include.
If you have wishlist items like an island bench or butler’s pantry, ask your kitchen builders how they can absorb other elements to maximise functionality. For example, use your island to house both a breakfast bar and your sink and dishwasher.
When there’s not the space to execute everything on your wishlist, consider alternatives – if a butler’s pantry is out, could you boost the footprint of your walk-in pantry and include an appliance hutch?
Unsure where to start when it comes to planning your project? Get in touch with us for a no-obligation consultation and quote, and see how we can help you to design the perfect layout for your kitchen.
