10 Kitchen Do’s and Dont’s

The Kitchen is the heart of the Home! SO cliché right? But most of us, when designing a house, will overlook this space or leave it to last because we find it too overwhelming. I am here to give you some tips to make the process easier and get the best out of your kitchen and space.

Kitchen of Martina Gemmola – Created by @cantileverinteriors⁣
Styled by @ruthwelsby⁣

So here’s my Do’s and Dont’s

Do’s

  1. Always engage a kitchen expert in the initial design process whether with your draftsperson, architect orBuilder. So many times I sit with clients where the space could have worked better if the design of the kitchen was planned alongside the floorplan. As Rebeka says “its easier to change a line on a drawing, than live with a space that doesn’t quite work.”
  2. Always use the working triangle rule with any kitchen. This will save you in the long run. Having no more than 8m in total between the cooktop, sink and fridge will always make for a more effective and efficient kitchen.
  3. Isolate your working areas. I work with many large families and it always works better to have different spaces where people can break off to. So if you can include a butlers pantry then make it work. It means one person can be washing dishes whilst your children can be preparing their own meals, out of your working space. Trust me! This will save your life!
  4. Lights, Lights, Lights!!!! Be sure to spend some time working out your electrical plan. Having a bright working environment in your kitchen is vital but be sure to add some mood lighting – whether under overheads, pendants, and even under kickboards. This will give your kitchen a high end, elegant feel and look.
  5. HAVE SOME FUN!! What I mean by this is don’t be afraid to play around with colours, textures and materials. There’s nothing worse than a boring kitchen that has no soul. Your kitchen should be an extension of you and your personality! It’s the soul of the home and in my opinion should set the tone and feel for the rest of your house.

Dont’s

  1. Don’t scrimp on your kitchen. Don’t leave it to the last minute. A chunk of your budget should always be dedicated to your kitchen because this is a) the heart of your home (see point 1 in Do’s) and b) is what will always sell a house. You can always tell a kitchen which has been left to the last minute and is an afterthought.
  2. Don’t just go with what is trendy. There is always a life span on trends. Everything will always come in and out. Choose things based on what you love and make it personal.
  3. Don’t place your fridge in an awkward position or one that is too far away from the rest of the areas in the house. The fridge is the most used appliance in the home so it needs to work with the triangle as well as the rest of the rooms in the home.
  4. Don’t directly place your sink and cooktop across from each other. By doing this, you will restrict anyone who is cooking and prepping at the sink. Functionally it does not work well and you will forever be working on top of each other. This is particularly important for smaller kitchens which don’t have large spaces between the working spaces. If you are dealing with a walkway of more than 1200mm than this rule can definitely be tweaked.
  5. Don’t forget about storage. Although the look of our kitchen is paramount I often see kitchens that look amazing but lack storage for the average family. You can gain storage by going floor to ceiling (which looks AH-mazing!) and also gives you extra storage for those random items – Christmas trees, snow gear etc. Look at internal accessories such as tea towel racks, spice drawers and internal drawers which will make your kitchen that more functional as well as create additional storage.

And here’s some images of kitchens done right!

Image from @est_living Pinterest⁣
Image from @studioblackinteriors⁣ Architecture and Design by @ceastribleyarchitects⁣ 📷 @stabstudio⁣

Written by our Style Guru and kitchen expert – Rachel.

Related Articles