Art of Designing the Perfect Kitchen: Maximising Practicality and Comfort

Art of Designing the Perfect Kitchen: Maximising Practicality and Comfort

There is no doubt about it, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It is here where your surroundings and layout really matter, in no other room will you spend more hours awake and active. Our kitchens are where families and friends are brought together, it is the room in the house in which the day begins and in which it ends ­ where the most important hours of the day are spent. If you can afford to renovate just one room in your home, nowhere is more important than your kitchen.

Kitchens are not always the easiest rooms to design though. Sometimes they are spaciously limited, they nearly always require several different fittings for several different purposes and they are by far the room in which the most health and safety concerns are likely to loom.

It is of utmost importance, therefore, that the kitchen is exceedingly safe, perfectly practical and yet delightfully comfortable.

The Kitchen Triangle

Kitchens come in a variety of shapes and sizes. The U­shape, L­shape, G­shape, Galley, with or without an island… the type of layout is not necessarily important and is often dictated by invariable dimensions. A vital rule of thumb, however, is to not stray far from the ‘Kitchen Triangle’ concept. The important 3 points of this triangle are the stove, refrigerator and sink. The idea is that these 3 vital items should form a triangle that is efficient, practical and comfortable all at once.

Kitchen Triangle

Islands are Beautiful but not Essential

It is easy and effective to include an island into your kitchen and they fit perfectly into the kitchen triangle concept with either the sink or oven located at the island, nobody wants a large refrigerator smack bang in the middle of the room though! Islands really do require a large amount of space and should only be considered if one can be placed at a minimum of four feet from the nearest counter. If this can be done, however, great, islands really open up your kitchen to new design possibilities. Breakfast bar style seating on the opposite side of the cooking area is a particular favourite of mine.

Utilising Space Efficiently

It is of utmost importance to maximise the space and storage in your kitchen, you must consider whether you have used everywhere that can be used. Why not install a cupboard above the refrigerator for example? This makes for a great place to store those seasonal items and frees up space elsewhere. Or have you tried inserting another shelf into a cupboard? People rarely tamper with kitchen cupboards assuming that the shelves have been built to maximum potential ­ this isn’t always the case! More often than not you can insert another shelf for even more space and organisation. A really common mistake is forgetting about the very backs of cupboards. These are considered inaccessible and become the burial ground of old utensils. With more gadgets and gizmos entering the market all the time there are a great many ways to solve this effectively. A compartmented draw­out bin, for example, is fantastically effective and much more appealing than having one or more bins out in the open.

Carousel units and pull out storage baskets are other brilliant mechanisms, they fill every bit of space and make accessing the things you need easy peasy. Remember, your kitchen should be a place where everything is within reach so that you don’t have to go digging around to find the one thing you need whilst keeping tabs on the stove, oven, kettle and whatever other tasks may be piling up.

Neutral and Natural Colours

Human beings have different tastes and styles, from the minimal to the extreme. The kitchen is not usually the place to express your wild side. The majority of kitchens are neutral colours for a reason. They are easier to clean, they look more spacious, they look authentic and classy and they don’t date. They also compliment any natural work surfaces and highlight any artwork or decorative embellishments that you love. Blacks, whites, mochas, natural plain colours are the way to go.

Neutral and Natural Colours

Efficient Lighting is Essential

You need the perfect lighting for the perfect cooking but it is also important in creating atmosphere and accentuating the beauty of your kitchen.

Efficient Lighting in Kitchen

I recommend a combination of overall ceiling lighting that can be adjusted using a rotary switch, this way you can adjust brightness to a maximum, minimum or somewhere in between depending on the mood and atmosphere of the evening. Combine this with effective counter lighting for complete clarity when cooking and preparing and you have everything covered and can add further lighting and decoration as you see fit.

Good Counters are the Sign of Good Kitchen

Nobody likes a cluttered kitchen and nobody likes household renovations piling up on the to­do list. Countertops as seen in the image below can be a nightmare kitchen feature. They are unhygienic, unattractive and difficult to clean. If there is one area to improve your kitchen it is in the counters, here lies the sign of a good kitchen.

Good Counters

Kitchen design expert and experienced stonemason at ThisIsStone, Max De Viet says

“Worktops are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most important part of the kitchen and where money should be spent. Materials like granite and marble are durable and affordable but they also provide a wonderful authentic natural feel and increase your home’s value.”

High quality worktops are cost-effective as well as being resilient and attractive. There is a wide variety of rock to choose from, meaning a high-quality natural surface can be chosen carefully, according to your specific taste and preference. Many natural materials like granite do, in fact, improve with age. Ultimately, the quality of a kitchen can really be felt in the quality of the counters.

Backsplash the Cherry on the Cake

Don’t forget the backsplash, an unsung hero of kitchen design. Backsplashes are a fabulous way to add that touch of class and their purpose, well, it’s in the name. They keep a kitchen chic and fancy and make food and liquid that splatters whilst cooking immeasurably easier to clean.

Perfect Kitchen

You can match the backsplash with a stone countertop for that organised, neat look or go for a lovely subway tiled backsplash. Whichever you go for try to avoid any reflective materials like mirror or glass. Despite being easy to clean they reflect items located on the counter and make everything look busier and more cluttered.