Designing Your Kitchen

The design of your kitchen is the most important aspect of your kitchen. Get the design right and your kitchen will serve you well for many years. Here are some things to consider;

Space programming

Quite often, kitchens are hastily designed in an effort to get you to sign up. Then after you start using your kitchen you discover that no provision has been made for an essential function. Functions to consider may include:

Cooking area
Food preparation area
Dry, refrigerated and frozen storage
Crockery, utensil and pot storage
Coffee and tea provision
Dish and pot washing
Garbage receptacle

Space allocation needs to be balanced so that one function does not suffer at the expense of another. Frequently, the cooking function becomes the primary focus of the design process and other functions are overshadowed.

Budget Considerations

Designing a kitchen on a budget can be challenging but not impossible. If there is something you really want in your kitchen but the budget doesn't stretch right now talk to our cabinetmaker so that provisions can be made to add it in later. If you plan for these items during the initial design stage it will allow the item to be easily added later.

Basic Layouts

U-shape kitchen

his versatile design suits both small and large kitchens. Its efficient shape prevents household traffic from moving through the kitchen and offers maximum bench and storage space. One of the legs of the U can be used as a breakfast bar.

If used in a small space the U design may leave you cramped for space and feeling closed in. Time also needs to go into thoughtful storage planning so that hard-to-access corner cupboards are used effectively.

L-Shape Kitchen

Best suited to narrow rooms, long rooms or open-plan living areas, the L-shaped kitchen frees up workspace and provides a good amount of storage below the countertop. The design also minimises walking distances between main working areas.

While some storage may be lost at the corner of the cabinets, there are products on the market that help overcome this problem. This kitchen is often integrated with the meals area in open-plan designs.

Two-way galley

This design is an efficient use of space, with cabinets down each side of the kitchen. Walking distance is minimal as cupboards are located behind you and in front of you.

There needs to be enough space left between the two sides, so that you can cook effectively and so that people can walk around you. The two-way galley can suffer from the same problems with household traffic as the single-line kitchen.

Island

Combines any kitchen design with a separate workbench (the island) which can be used for food preparation. This works best in large areas and can be helpful when more than one person is cooking at any time.