How to design and build a kitchen?

There should be 5 main work spaces in the kitchen – a pantry area, storage area, sink area, preparation area and cooking stove. The pantry area should be reserved for food storage and the refrigerator, while the storage area should be reserved for cookware, appliances and utensils. The sink are would be the cleaning area and the preparation area should ideally have a spacious countertop for kitchen work. Also keep in mind that the cooking area should be large enough to place a stove and oven. 

As for the flow, we highly recommend integrating the pantry, sink, preparation area and cooking area since they are all needed to prepare a meal. A popular design flow is to create a work triangle which combines the sink, preparation area and cooking area. For more information, please refer to our article titled kitchen sinks: which materials to choose.

The three most popular types of kitchen designs are the linear design with 2 parallel work spaces, L-shaped and U-shaped. Before designing the work triangle, it's very important to consider how the kitchen will be used. Will there be more than one person working in the kitchen at a time? If you plan to renovate the kitchen, another good question to ask is what you don't like about it. This will help you design a better and more efficient kitchen. For more inspiration, here are 12 pictures of modular kitchens in Bangalore.

During the start of the design process for the floor plans, it is important to keep in mind that the kitchen consists of modules which must follow a certain logic. If the kitchen design does not abide by reasonable parameters and is not clear, problems to do with integrating furniture and appliances will naturally arise. This is why all appliances that are integrated into the kitchen must be in harmony with the modulation and the floor plan must match the upper areas of the kitchen. 

Essentially a module is made up of 3 elements – the lower module, upper module and tower module. The modules should include the bottom, back, sides, shelves, doors, base and frame bars. The main purpose of modulation is to prevent appliances from being placed wrongly. For example, a blender, toaster and microwave should not be placed in between two modules because it would make installing electrical conduits more complicated. 

Take note that the kitchen appliances should always match the measurements of the modules. The measurement of a module varies depending on how it's going to be used. So if the module is going to be used to place a stove, you need to take the measurement of the stove first to make sure it will fit neatly into the module. For the sink area, you need to consider whether the sink will be mounted above or below the countertop as well. Make sure to leave a few centimeters of gap between the module and the appliance. 

The width of the module should also be measured according to the hardware being used. For example, hinges and drawers can affect the width of modules. Standard drawer slides are made for drawers in sizes of 40cm, 50cm or 60cm, while more advanced drawer slides can fit drawers with a width of 120cm.  

The standard depth of a base module is 60cm and this includes the extra centimeters for the door as well. It's always a good idea to make sure the countertop exceeds the depth of the module in case anything spills on the counter. However for modules that don't have any appliances, the depth can be reduced. 

For upper modules, the standard depth is 30cm or 35cm, while for tower modules a depth of 60cm is ideal especially if you want to fit an oven in it. Some ovens also require an opening of at least 10cm for the heat to be released so it is best to understand the requirements of each appliance before designing the module for it. 

The standard height for base modules is about 90cm from the floor to the countertop. Base modules should have a space of 10cm to 15cm in between the module and the floor to avoid damage due to moisture. You can also add adjustable legs if the kitchen floor is not perfectly leveled. Also make sure the base module and the upper module match in terms of measurement. 

The primary material used for making kitchen cabinets, shelves and doors is usually TFL, which is a very durable material that will last a very long time. For the cabinets, the thickness should be around 15mm, while for the doors 18mm is an ideal thickness. For more ideas, please also read kitchen cabinet makeover.

For countertops, the most common materials to use are laminate, stone (such as quartz, granite and marble) and compound materials such as acrylic. The thickness of countertops covers is usually around 0.8cm to 1.5cm. As for baseboards, materials with a high resistance to moisture such as laminate covered plywood, plastic or metal is best. Here are 5 types of laminate to adore your kitchen cabinets.

The most popular materials for kitchen finishes are ceramic and melamine and they are available in a myriad of colours and patterns. Various prism TFL laminate designs also provide lots of opportunitues to get creative with the design. They can even mimic the texture and aesthetics of wood to give a more natural, rustic look to your kitchen. 

In terms of lighting, recessed LED lighting integrated into cabinets are not only practical but look great as well. Another great addition are magnetic spice racks and in-built dish racks. Another popular trend is distancing the counter top from the cabinet. However, make sure to leave a space of at least 30cm in order to make it easier to clean and maintain. 

Before we finish, we would like to leave you with a few other basic recommendations that can go a long way. One good tip is to use screw protectors, which are more costly but are worthwhile because they look much better. Another tip is to invest in high quality materials for the baseboards and hardware such as hinges. Last but not least, make sure to allow enough space if you're placing doors above appliances. 

We hope this idea book has been informative and helpful. For more ideas, please have a look at our article titled 24 rustic kitchen decors.