When planning a new kitchen design, there are going to be limitations that you will need to take into account before you commence. The most limiting factor for a kitchen, in most homes, is the amount of available space. If you can, move your washing machine and other laundry appliances to a utility room or a separate wash rooms. If it is practical, devote your kitchen to food preparation and entertaining only.

However, in many homes food appliances, such as a refrigerator, an oven or a hob, will have to share the space with washing appliances. In such cases, tuck your laundry area as out of the way as possible. Use cabinetry doors and fascias to hide them. Keep laundry appliances to the edges and cooking ones central. Make the oven and hob the focal point of the room’s design. Ensure you have working surfaces to either side of your hob. This will help no end when it comes to cooking. Only after this, consider your food storage and the location of the sink.

Ovens At The Heart Of A Kitchen.

A lot of kitchen designers start with the position of the oven and progress with their design from there. If you are going to have more than one oven, this is pretty much an essential approach to take. For enthusiastic cooks and amateur chefs, multiple eye level ovens, arranged in a row along a wall, is a great idea. Ideally, place them next to one another, so you can keep an eye on your cooking easily. Keep your other, minor cooking appliances, close at hand, too.

Integral Cabinetry.

Once you have decided where your oven or ovens will, consider a good location for other appliances, like a refrigerator and a microwave. Why not install them all together in a purpose built cabinet? A well designed cabinet will house all of your appliances in what appears to be a false wall or a storage unit, with seeming ease. The ideal solution to housing your appliances, the cabinetry should also provide you with storage space for other kitchen utensils and items. Why not finish your cabinet doors in the same, stainless steel-like, finish as your appliances?

Ranges.

A traditional looking kitchen always appears to be the real deal when a range cooker has been installed. If your kitchen has this look, tucking an oven away into a wall fixed cabinet simply won’t do. Set your range cooker at the center of one of your kitchen’s wall and complete the look a with a canopy extractor unit. Make sure you have room for a counter top work surface on either side of the range. For the traditional feel to be completed, install feature splash back tiling on the wall behind the range.

Cook’s Equipment.

Try not to leave minor appliances hanging around on your counter tops. If you have designed your kitchen’s look around a major appliance then the design approach can be undone by clutter. Make sure you have a hidey hole that your mixer unit or scales can be set away inside, without detracting from the look. If possible, make these cubby holes integrate with the rest of the kitchen’s cabinetry.

The Minimalist Look.

For the ultimate in simple design, don’t just tuck away the smaller kitchen kit. A minimalist look will create the illusion that there is nothing going on in your kitchen at all. Use false walls and plainly designed cabinet fascias to cover over your freezer, cooker and other appliances. When you need the kitchen to function in a regular way, simply slide your partition across. Design your cabinets and storage units so that you don’t need to fix them with handles, as this can destroy the illusion of calm serenity you want to achieve.

Picture sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.