What to consider when designing a new kitchen
After what seemed like years of lockdowns meant that many households have spent much more time together in the kitchen than ever before, most have been fatigued by their outdated kitchen designs. Many people are now opting for renovations and bespoke kitchens to give their homes a more personal, comfortable or perhaps luxurious touch, given they’re spending more and more time at home than ever before.
There are many factors that must be considered when designing a new kitchen. Initial decisions include setting a budget, choosing the right company and collecting ideas to get an idea of what you want. It is then more detail oriented discussions that take over – things like lighting choices and appliances. These parts can’t be forgotten or neglected as they can help to either make or break the space.
How much space you need for cooking
When planning the kitchen space, it is important to work out how much space is needed for cooking and how much preparation space is required. For example, those who love to cook and entertain may greatly benefit from a large and open island, where there is plenty of prep space and maybe even multiple sinks – one for washing food before chopping and one for dirty dishes and prepping drinks.
The kitchen flow is an important consideration, especially in a space where doors are often left open and appliances are in abundance. The “golden triangle” often crops up in design conversations (essentially having the hob, sink, and fridge in close proximity). It is important to ensure that the layout allows for enough space for cooking, as well as user-friendly navigation and space to comfortably walk around the kitchen without knocking into units.
Exploring appliance options
It is important when trying to save both space and money to understand which appliances are necessary, and which you can probably forget. For instance, kettles taking up countertop space can be replaced by sleek hot water taps – of which the Quooker is our favourite. Microwaves can be built within cupboard spaces again freeing up crucial worktop space.
Plug points can now be eliminated and replaced with pop-up sockets that come out of the worktops.
Dishwasher drawers are readily available from Fisher and Paykel which are more energy efficient and allow you to load to compartments separately, using less water and energy if you don’t have a full load to put on.
Lighting
When renovating kitchen spaces, many are now opting for darker unit cupboards and styles, including dark greys, matte blacks, forest greens, and navy. This is much more achievable in spaces with lots of natural light (something fairly common when someone locates the kitchen at the rear of the house). In order to ensure that the space is not totally darkened, lighting is particularly important in creating a homely and inviting kitchen space – as well as helping to make these spaces appear larger in size.
Lighting can also serve the purpose of interior creativity, it can be functional i.e. to light an otherwise dark worktop area (which we do by putting LED strip lights in the under panels of wall units) and it can be used to great effect in instances where we backlight onyx or alabaster for a display unit.
Popular lighting choices in kitchen areas include hanging pendants over kitchen islands, with long-stemmed, brass bulb options serving as very popular.
Spotlights, especially in more traditional kitchens, are a neat way of lighting up the room and do not take up too much space or make the room feel cluttered.
Fridge and freezer size
This is an all-important factor for consideration when designing a new kitchen. Fridge-freezer size is typically dependent on the number of individuals in a household, but can also depend on the kitchen’s purpose. If you batch cook a lot then you’ll require more freezer space than the average household.
American style fridge freezers are a popular choice in larger spaces, allowing for water dispensers and extensive storage for drinks. Certain fridges, especially those that do not match the colour or style of the kitchen, can be integrated well, tucked behind the cupboard doors. The double door fridges at high level are phenomenal and allow easy access to all refrigerated goods whilst the drawers at low level are convenient and compact.
