Five simple steps to your new Kitchen Design

If you’re ready to start your new kitchen design but don’t know where to start then we have some simple tips to get you going. When you design your own kitchen; it makes sense to think about a few fundamental things in advance.

That perfect kitchen design is only possible if you take the time to think about all of your needs, wants and requirements. A number of these different factors will then influence the layout and make up of your new kitchen design.

Here is a simple checklist to run through to get you thinking about the right sort of design decisions that you eventually need to make.

(1) Target Customer!

When starting a new Kitchen Design we should start by considering who is living in and around the kitchen? How many people live in your household? Do they pass through often (think about open layout and protected cooking zone).

What are your shopping, cooking and eating habits? Do you need a large pantry to allow your monthly shop to be stored and accessed easily, or are you a take-away couple always too busy to cook but needs lots of open bench space to spread out on.

Do you have a budding chef in the household that needs a smart prep and cooking area, or perhaps a family member is into baking – than think about sensible benchspace in proximity to consumables storage areas?

(2) Room size

What are the dimensions of the space for your new kitchen? As long as you understand the available space than that is enough at this stage (yes you need basic measurements).

If you have a floor plan than make copies and you can start scribbling ideas on this. Better still, use your floor plan as the basis of a mood board and start collecting and pasting ideas all over it…

For more thorough information on measuring your space try this short article for some great tips:

Measure UP

(3) Penetrations

Understand where the available service penetrations are – we are talking water, power, gas etc. Will you keep them where they are for your new kitchen design (usually cheaper) or do you need to re-locate them to achieve a better-balanced kitchen design.

Can I move my sink is one of the most common questions asked with renovations. Being able to move from a wall location to a more open island position can offer huge advantages in terms of open design  and alternate layout options. Whilst moving the sink is almost always possible you must consider how it will drain – this is where you will spend or save your plumbing budget.

(4) Storage space

What are your storage needs? Do you have alternative storage space available to you (e.g. pantry, cellar, etc.?) Recent kitchen design has moved on from the traditional kitchen triangle. Whether you’re building new or considering a Flatpack project; it’s time to forget Kitchen Triangles.

Designing with work zones is where it at now but let’s look at this in a practical way. The traditional triangle is giving way to task-specific kitchen zones for maximum efficiency. The proper allocation of the zone will shorten distances travelled and simplify workflows. Read more on WORK ZONES here

Kitchen Triangle?

(5) Planning tools

Consider your everyday kitchen activities and think about where you will work, where will you store everything you need? Remember, the more frequently used something is the easier and closer is should be.

Once you have all of these ideas running around your head then its time to start planning. You can start making sketches or look for an online tool. For example, bring it all together with the Semble Kitchen Builder, a simple tool that lets you visualise your new kitchen in 3D. This simple kitchen builder will allow you to lay out cabinets to scale and explore your kitchen in 3D. Like to know more about designing online?

Online PLanner

Your new kitchen design

Think about trends and popular styles, but be wary about selecting a design which does not have wide appeal if there is any chance you may eventually sell the property. Try more styles here…..

Kitchen Styles

or this popular take on mixing old with new styles….

Transitional Style

Interested in more

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