Kitchen Design - 10 Top Tips
After 25 years in the fitted kitchen / bedroom business I have overseen the design, sale, and installation of thousands of fitted kitchens and bedrooms. ...
Kitchen Design Tip 1. Before you start designing your new fitted kitchen it makes sense to formulate your idea's and note them down on to a wish list. It is worth remembering that your new kitchen plan should incorporate the things you do like about your existing kitchen, as well as the things you don't.
Kitchen Design Tip 2. Again, before starting your new kitchen plan you will find choosing your kitchen appliances (or type of appliances) is worthwhile. Your new fitted kitchen will require designing differently depending on your choice of appliances. ("Built In" Appliances are planned differently to "Built Under").
Kitchen Design Tip 3. Keeping the new position of the sink relatively close to it's existing position will simplify your kitchen installation. It is not so much a problem getting hot and cold feeds to your sink - it is the running of the waste from it that can cause problems. (As a rule of thumb "Right Handed" people prefer "Left Handed" draining boards - The "Lefty's" that lurk amongst us generally don't care.)
Kitchen Design Tip 4. Work your design out from any corners. Good access into corner cabinets is crucial for utalising storage space. If your measurements allow, try and plan corner cabinets in this order of preference... "L shape" Bi-Fold, "Le-Mans" Cantilever Tray, "Magic Corner", "Syncromotion Corner Drawers", Diagonal Cross Corner, and lastly the Blind Corner.
Kitchen Design Tip 5. Using "Hi-Line" base cabinets in place of "Drawer Line", will generally provide a more ergonomic kitchen. Instead of drawers everywhere (some working, some false) it is more practical, and often less expensive, to position an optimal size nest of drawers (500, or 600mm) where they are required.
Kitchen Design Tip 6. Try to design your kitchen economically. A 300mm wide cabinet may be half the size of a 600mm cabinet - but it is 3/4 of the cost. Try to plan your kitchen layout using large cabinets instead of loads of small ones, this will reduce the kitchen furniture cost dramatically (And, as part of your fitting cost is calculated by the number of cabinets to be installed you will achieve a saving here as well)
Kitchen Design Tip 7. Position your new kitchen hob (or Range Cooker) reasonably adjacent to the new sink position. This will avoid the need to walk any distance to drain pans full of boiling water. (If you are Right Handed consider positioning the sink to the right of the Hob)
Kitchen Design Tip 8. Allow for an uncluttered area of worktop space
immediately next to your oven. This will provide a safe area to remove hot trays from the oven and place on too.
Kitchen Design Tip 9. Avoid the classic error of designing an American Fridge Freezer into a corner as they need a minimum clearance of 300mm each side for the doors to open fully... (check yours before buying)
Kitchen Design Tip 10. When designing in a
Kitchen Island make sure there is plenty of walk-around space (preferably 1100mm, but minimum 900mm) to all sides. Avoid the temptation of including an island with less clearance space than this - it will dominate the room, making it look cluttered.
We hope you found these tips useful and provided you with a brief introduction to the world of kitchen planning.
By Peter Earthy
