Kitchen layouts: what’s functional?
So many kitchen layouts, so little functionality. But you don’t need to choose between aesthetics and performance: read our tips on how to style a flawless and functional kitchen!
Let’s be completely honest: styling a kitchen is not easy. In fact, this may very well be the most difficult room to design. Why? Well, just think about it. How many factors do you need to take into consideration when you’re planning it? Aesthetics is one: of course, the last thing you want is to spend hours in a kitchen that’s the polar opposite of your taste and sense of style. Then, there’s space: that’s not a problem if you live in a big house or in a spacious apartment, but realistically, most of us live inside shoeb…, erm, small-ish apartment in the heart of big cities. Finally, you need to throw functionality into the equation as well! A kitchen is a space to cook, and often not even just for yourself. Think back about your college student years: it’s not easy cooking inside a cramped kitchen. However, there’s a few tips that will certainly come in handy when it’s time to style your own. Take a look!
Keep the areas separated
Keeping a fluid and yet clear separation between different areas of your kitchen is key in order to create a functional space. For instance, the area where you cook should ideally be separated from the area where you prepare the food, chop it up, and so on. A great idea would be to have an island with all the essentials: burners, a bit of space where you can temporarily place the dishes you’re about to cook, plus all the utensils and spices you need. A pro tip? Add a small, secondary sink! You’re not going to use it every day to do your dishes, because its function will be to provide you with a nearby solution for when you need to quickly rinse a pot, a spoon, and so on.
Keep your spices and dressings close
There’s nothing more annoying than when you realize you need to add some spice or dressing to what you’re cooking, but you forgot to bring it close to the burners with you, and so you need to go and rummage inside some god-forsaken cabinet. The secret here -- as with almost anything else in life, really, is to plan ahead: what are you going to cook? What kind of spices does that dish require? Once you’ve taken down a mental note, all you have to do is pour all the ingredients you need into a row of small containers, and place them right next to you. This way, you’ll always have exactly what you need, the minute you need it. If you really want to be as organized as a chef, you could even put your spices in the exact order of when you’ll need to use them!
Create even more space
Give yourself even more space to prepare your food! The idea here is similar to having an island just for the burners and a small sink. An island that you can just use for food-preparing will not only give you all the space you need, but will also make your kitchen instantly more organized. Why? Because you’ll stack everything you need for this process right underneath it! Cutting boards, bowls, knives: you’ll be able to keep all these essentials in one place. This is going to speed up the whole process of making dinner, because it will spare you from having to look everywhere for the scale you were so sure you’d put inside that cabinet next to the fridge!
Double oven
Double (and triple) ovens may be a bit overboard if you normally only cook for yourself, but if you have a large family, or simply really enjoy yourself having your friends over for a delicious brunch or dinner, then two ovens are most definitely the right choice for you! You may think it a bit excessive, but take a long, hard look at your Christmas dinners and your birthday parties: do you really believe that cooking for twenty-ish people wouldn’t have been a lot easier, had you been able to use two ovens at once? Trust us on this, two ovens are a lifesaver if you love cooking and baking. Finally, you’ll be able to bake double the food in half the time! Sure, you’ll probably find trace of this in your monthly utilities, but at least, you’ll always have double pizza to numb your pain.
Tile backsplash
What’s a tile backsplash got to do with functionality, you may be wondering. Well, we are not going to lie, a lot of it has in fact to do more with beauty and creating a stylish, hip kitchen rather than a functional one. Who could ever deny the appeal of some gorgeous, colorful tiles? And by the way, if you’re interested in tiles, why not take a look at this article? Here you’ll find some gorgeous pastel tiles that would look perfect in any Wes Anderson movie. However, tiles can also play a small role in making your kitchen a bit more functional. It doesn’t matter how experienced of a chef you are: by now you must be familiar with how easy it is to splash marinara sauce all over the burners, the cabinets, and of course...on the wall too! That’s why you should consider a good, old tile backsplash. Not only are tiles super easy and quick to clean, but they’re also easily replaced! Should you one day wake up and be sick of your backsplash, getting a new one will be a matter of just a few days.
Ditch plastic
Ditch plastic! We’ll never get tired of saying that. Have you watched the documentary “Plastic Ocean”? Then you must know how tragic the situation is. Therefore, there’s no reason why you should be playing a role in making it any worse than what it already is! We believe you should immediately ditch any unnecessary plastic you’re using in your kitchen. You can buy unpacked food, put it inside an Eco cotton bag, and then, once you get home, you will put it inside a beautiful, reusable container. Glass should be your first choice as it’s inexpensive and comparatively environment-friendly. But do you know what would be a stunning choice? Marble! A natural material, and so sleek and fancy, it will instantly upgrade your kitchen’s style!
Open shelving
Open shelving most definitely is a lifesaver if you love cooking. From a merely aesthetic point of view, open shelves do allow you to let your style shine through your kitchen much better than closed cabinets. But their biggest advantage is their functionality: they might need you to dust them quite often, but, on the other hand, they allow you to keep everything you need within a hand’s reach.
Handles
If you’re not a fan of open shelves, then you might consider making sure your cabinets are not handleless! Of course we all love the polished, sleek look of a handleless kitchen, but at the same time, can you imagine how many dirty fingerprints you’re going to leave on those ultra-sleek doors? If you’re in a rush to cook, you just can’t afford handleless cabinets and drawers: you might burn your professional soufflé while you’re trying to open the oven mitts drawers with slippery hands!
Separate dining table
Since keeping the different work spaces separate is so important, you might as well consider to leave some space for a small dining table! As much as we love having dinner sitting on a high-end stool, what if your partner is cooking and needs that space on the kitchen island? The best solution is to add a cute, tiny dining table to your kitchen layout, so that everyone will be at freedom to do whatever it is they fancy doing, all in the same room.
Pot rack
Finally, don’t underestimate the importance of a pot rack! Place it above or right behind the burners, and you’ll become faster than ever at cooking delicious meals!
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