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Design Tips
Room Layouts
Basically, there are four types of kitchen layout - Galley, Inline, U-Shape and L-Shape.
Each has their pros and cons, and you should design your kitchen to suit your spatial and culinary prefences. For example, someone who uses their kitchen on occassion can get away with a galley style layout, whilst a hard core chef will probably need a U-Shape layout for additional bench space.
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Galley |
Inline |
U-Shape |
L-Shape |
What Kitchen shapes best suit your needs
Gallery needs careful planning to ensure opposites do not clash,either with appliances or work areas, important not to create blocking to access, for example placing the fridge at the entry point so when the fridge is open no one can enter or leave the kitchen
Inline all cabinets in a straight line. In this layout all travel is in a straight line so no work triangle as such, this is very functional when space is at a premium or in opening the room to a Dining or entertaining areas.
U-Shaped a larger room allows cabinets to be placed opposite and still have a functional space between. This is a very functional space for minimising travel, usally has good options for deep pantries and wall cabinet storage.
L-Shaped this layout suits inclusion of the dining area directly adjacent to but detached from the kitchen in the same room
Island kitchen is ideal for the open plan living, this layout supports multiple work areas and access points to the kitchen with the Island acting as both breakfast bar and entertaining point
Handy design help.
Need help with design and placement of kitchen cabinets
Try this great planning site
www.kitchendraw.com Click on free demo
Great sites to get ideas for finishes
Laminates benchtops and door and Panels
www.laminex.com.au www.polytec.com.au
Hardware. Drawer runners, Hinges, storage ideas, and lots more
www.hettich.com.au www.blum.com.au
Kitchen Zones
When planning your kitchen layout, consider the following spatial requirements:
| Food Storage: |
Pantry units are the normal storage option for food storage, but consider narrow cabinets for optimal space usage. Dry goods are perfect for cabinet or drawer storage, whilst you will need to consider allocation for refrigerated and fruit/veg storage. |
| Food Preparation: |
Now what layout should you go for, you will always require bench space for food preparation. Typically, allow at least 2 clear metres of bench space to cater for serving requirements. If space is a at a premium, install your microwave beneath the benchtop to create extra room.
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| Cleaning: | A dishwasher takes 60cm of base space. |
| Cooking: | Australian Standards require at least 30cm space each side of a cooktop, to allow for heat reduction. |
| Space Planning: | Try to keep your distances within 1.5m |
Cabinet Tricks
1. When desiging, place your corner cabinets in first - these are a standard size, and are the cornerstones of your cabinet layout. Then place your other door and drawer cabinets. You might want to consider using a void at the corners and then start with a drawer cabinet from each corner, whilst you lose approx 600mm x 600mm in space by using drawers you actually gain extra usable capacity
Keep in mind the primary elements of your kitchen design - food storage, food cooking and cleaning/washing. It sounds silly, but some people forget to plan for a refrigerator space in their layouts only to come unstuck when they start building!
Storage Tricks
1. Place frequently used items within easy reach - store items you use less frequently in upper wall cabinets and in low base cabinets;
2. Drawers make better use of space in base cabinets than traditional door cabinets. They grant better access to every corner of your drawer, and you can see what you have at a glance;
3. These days we tend to see a combination of storage solutions in what is a traditional cabinet. Tall pantry that have 2 or 3 drawers in the bottom half make the best of accessible storage beneath with robust shelving above.