Kitchen design advice
Emma G
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Hello! Hoping for any recommendations/advice re our kitchen plan please. We hadn't originally planned to have wall units above the range, but a) I've realised we have nowhere particularly useful to store glasses, and b) I don't love shelves as they can get a bit grubby, and i'm not sure about how they look here. Any advice?! Would love to also hear any thoughts re the kitchen as a whole, as we're not wedded to anything except the range and also an eye level oven. Thanks so much :)
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Comments (7)Hi India, first of all I feel your pain! My first flat's kitchen was even smaller than yours, but once I'd had it refitted it was brilliant for just me, so don't worry you will find a way to do it that you will love. Secondly I recommend that you approach a local independent kitchen designer/shop - your choice isn't just big shed (cheap)/bespoke (expensive): local independents should be able to help you design a kitchen using off-the-shelf units, so not necessarily any more expensive than Ikea/Howdens/etc, and you'll get a more personal service. Your Ikea design looks ok actually. The adjustments I'd make would be: - Have an inset sink without drainer (you can get dish drainers which have a lip to drain into your sink, which means when it's not in use you can put it away somewhere, sitting on end, so it doesn't take up much space). I have this one https://www.josephjoseph.com/collections/dish-racks-drainers/products/extend-dishrack-grey?variant=36470412181576. This will look much neater and will give you all that worktop space over the washing machine, when you're not drying dishes. Fixed draining boards are ugly things - I still don't have one even now I have a substantially bigger kitchen - still love my Joseph Joseph drainer which is quick to pack away when it's not in use. - I'd also change the 600mm door on the sink unit for 2x300mm doors - smaller doors make sense in a small kitchen. Or you might also consider deep drawers instead of a cupboard under the sink. - For extra storage, you could consider a top box over the fridge-freezer too. - Personally in the drawer unit, I'd have two deep drawers (with a hidden internal drawer at the top for cutlery etc) - lots of shallow drawers are frustrating as you can't get much in them other than the sort of c**p which shouldn't be in a kitchen anyway, whereas you can put pans or stack plates in a deep one. I have an Ikea kitchen at the moment, and love my deep pan drawers. I've actually had two Ikea kitchens so far. If you choose your finishes carefully, get a good fitter and really think hard about your design to make it work for you - ie don't rely on their expertise alone - they are fab kitchens, good quality with good internal organisation bits and pieces Your "dead" corner is tricky. I'm not sure whether the Howdens unit will actually open/pull out, as less than half of it is accessible - but I've never had a corner unit so not sure how they work. But they'll be able to advise you on that and again I think this is where a local independent might be able to take a creative eye to it. Worth looking whether Howdens or someone else does a 500mm sink cupboard too - in my tiny kitchen that's what I had and the round inset sink I had was plenty big enough for washing up for one person. Means you can have wider drawers next to it. Good luck!...See MoreKitchen Design Advice
Comments (7)I agree with previous comments. You have a really lovely kitchen with a pretty outlook, which many would die for - and I think it wouldn't take much to deal with the niggles you're feeling with it. What paint colour are the walls at the moment? In the first pic they look quite white - useful to know what paint it is. You do have a creaminess in the floors so you might need to look to something which has a taupe undertone to tie the units and floors together, or go for something bolder and completely different to either of them. I personally wouldn't bother adding anything over the cooker as I think it will make the space look busier and less serene. There's also a danger that it will fill up with knick knacks and dust, and therefore become something else that niggles you. Is there a particular reason why you want one? I understand your point about the upstands as I have the same problem in a couple of areas - if they aren't fitted well to wonky walls, you can end up with gappy bits, but you can generally keep them dust free with a quick nozzle vacuum and a wipe with a damp cloth. I also agree with the PP that upstands are nicer and more luxurious feeling than replacing them with tiles. I'd suggest that you look at whether the caulk was done properly - it may be a good idea to remove it and recaulk. You could add tiles above the upstand rather than removing the upstand altogether - that might help to give you a neater join and reduce any gappiness. I'm another one who has nothing on worktops other than a kettle - I even put the toaster away when it's finished with! My oven gloves and kitchen roll live in a drawer - they are only used for a matter of seconds each day, and take seconds to get out and put away again, so I don't feel the need to have everything out. You said "excuse the clutter" so we know that you don't always have all of that stuff out, but I'm guessing quite a few things arealways there, so a bit of ruthless decluttering may be just the thing to make the whole space feel fresher and more unified with the dining end of the room. I would take everything off the shelves, worktops and windowsills and only put back what you love and enhances the space. Eg your teapot and cups look pretty on the lower shelf, but the upper shelf looks cluttered. Maybe try just putting a plant on the top shelf, and resist the urge to fill up any open space. Find a home for everything else - rubber gloves in the cupboard under the sink, etc etc. I know lots of people love to have lots of things out in the kitchen and maybe you're one of them in which case ignore this whole point - but I do think it's worth trying as you may find that you fall in love with the kitchen when you can see all the lovely finishes properly. I have roman blinds in the kitchen and TBH I wouldn't again - they are a bit of a dust and grease magnet so unless you have very good grease extraction, I'd avoid them. Because roller blinds are rolled up, they capture less dirt. You could always replace the cheap ones with more expensive rollers, with a nice chrome chain etc? Re the knife block, does it really matter that the wood doesn't match? Having everything match isn't always a good goal - and you could just keep the knives in a drawer or cupboard as again that would help to declutter the worktops. But if it really bothers you then yes stain it, shouldn't take long....See More
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