Kitchen Storage Considerations - Form Vs. Function

There are a huge number of factors that need to be taken into consideration when designing a new kitchen

. However more often than not, the ergonomics behind kitchen design are overlooked, with many consumers being more concerned with the overall look and style of their kitchen. Consequently, they could be left with a beautiful, yet highly impractical room.

However, an experienced designer should be able to maintain a balance between form and function. This means spending time choosing door fronts and handles as well as considering the activities that are frequently performed within the kitchen, such as making a cup of tea or emptying the dishwasher. A kitchen designer may also consider how important less frequent event are too, such as Christmas dinner or parties.

Here we review some of the practical storage options available when designing a new kitchen:

Drawers

Drawers no longer need to be in standard base units but can be easily combined above or below a cupboard unit. Popular internal choices include adjustable plate inserts placed near a dishwasher or serving area to make the kitchen more serviceable.

Hidden internal drawers work well in kitchens of any size, as they provide easily-accessible storage without disturbing the overall kitchen layout. In addition, specialised cutlery, utensil and spice inserts are beneficial in larger kitchens as they help store items in an organised and accessible manner.

Kickspace drawers (in the plinth right at the bottom of units) can be really useful in smaller kitchens as they provide additional storage and do not break up the clean lines of the overall kitchen design.

Cupboards and interior solutions

Be choosy about cupboard and door offerings - whilst many may initially seem like quite clever solutions they may not actually be very practical or work well together.

Angled corner cabinets can provide valued additional worktop and storage space, and also work very well as wall cabinets, which are better accessed than a standard blind corner. However if additional worktop is not a requirement, magic corners or a Le-mans pullout storage are a possibility, as they look like a standard cabinet door front.

Larder style cabinets can provide a flexible form of storage, and are great for housing any awkward or unusual shaped items. In particular they can work well when teamed with wooden vegetable crates, pull-out wirework baskets, internal dovetailed drawers or even bottle rack/back of door storage for bottles and oils.

High quality pull-out larder systems and internal wirework drawers can provide much valued and efficient storage for heavy items such as tins and cans. Some can even take the weight of larger items such as food processors.

Worktop storage

Appliance garages can be used in larger kitchens, as these house frequently-used items such as toasters and food processors, which can then be easily accessed but left in situ behind bi-folded double or shutter doors.

When dedicated appliance garages are not an option, hydraulic appliance lifts can prove beneficial as it removes items from the worktop, making an area previously lost by an appliance have purpose again.

A good looking kitchen that does not function properly is almost as frustrating as having old , damaged or dated units and worktops. Where possible try to look at the spacial aspects of the kitchen before getting carried away with the details of work top depths and door handles - hard as it may be.

by: Richard Davonport

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