7 Common Kitchen Design Challenges & How Experts Get Around Them
From bad layouts to poor storage, here are seven issues pros come up against (and overcome) in clients' kitchen renos
The kitchen is one of the most-used areas in your clients’ homes, so it can’t just look great – it needs to functional efficiently too. We spoke to three design professionals to find out the seven most common problems they encounter when renovating a kitchen, and the steps they take to overcome them – essential insights for your next kitchen project.
And we’ve accompanied their tips with images of beautifully resolved kitchens to inspire your design thinking.
And we’ve accompanied their tips with images of beautifully resolved kitchens to inspire your design thinking.
Solution: As with any obstacle, these kitchen-design challenges are best assisted with good communication. We work really hard to travel the renovation journey alongside our clients, listen to what is important to them and respond with clear explanations of opportunities and potential benefits from any proposals we have.
At the end of the day it is their home and their money, we are simply here to help them make decisions that they are happy about about well into the future.
We often question the status quo, whether that be a presumption about the building itself or where something is located. We do so gently, explaining why it may help to adjust previous thinking and with an openness to the outcome of discussions.
At the end of the day it is their home and their money, we are simply here to help them make decisions that they are happy about about well into the future.
We often question the status quo, whether that be a presumption about the building itself or where something is located. We do so gently, explaining why it may help to adjust previous thinking and with an openness to the outcome of discussions.
We also:
- Design in 3D to help clients visualise the impact that built changes will make.
- Specify specialist hardware and storage for tricky spots, such as narrow pull-outs, corner units, and door hardware that allows easy access to non-standard cabinetry. The value per square metre in a kitchen is far more than the equivalent space elsewhere, such as in a garage or basement, so it’s worth investing in making every millimetre count.
- We might consider removing an awkward window where the view won’t be missed [to provide more usable wall space for joinery]. If it’s a single storey house or the kitchen is on the top level we might then supplement natural light with a skylight.
- In some cases, rather than removing a window, we might tweak the height in order to fit bench space under it.
The tall double cupboards in this kitchen house a pantry and appliances.
2. Problem: Insufficient storage
Alison Felstead, interior designer and owner at Naibu Design, says:
Having too many small appliances on benchtops can make a kitchen feel cluttered and uninviting.
Solution: If space permits, I like to include a pantry cupboard for food items and an appliances cupboard for small, frequent-use appliances such as the microwave, toaster and coffee machine.
Corner joinery units can also be problematic as they can create ‘dead’ wasted space. But there are some clever internal corner storage systems that can be specified to make better use of them.
I also like to include a combination of cupboards and drawers in a client’s kitchen design to maximise their storage options.
2. Problem: Insufficient storage
Alison Felstead, interior designer and owner at Naibu Design, says:
Having too many small appliances on benchtops can make a kitchen feel cluttered and uninviting.
Solution: If space permits, I like to include a pantry cupboard for food items and an appliances cupboard for small, frequent-use appliances such as the microwave, toaster and coffee machine.
Corner joinery units can also be problematic as they can create ‘dead’ wasted space. But there are some clever internal corner storage systems that can be specified to make better use of them.
I also like to include a combination of cupboards and drawers in a client’s kitchen design to maximise their storage options.
Kitchen layout with a bin system to the left of the sink and an integrated dishwasher to the right.
3. Problem: No space for rubbish and recycling
Felstead says:
Waste management is often overlooked in kitchen planning, but it is very important in order for the room to function properly.
Solution: The specific bin set-up will depend on the client’s needs, but usually a larger bin is required for general waste, supplemented with separate, smaller bins for different types of recycling.
If space allows, my ideal layout is to house a pull-out in a cupboard to the left of the sink with separate bins for general waste and recycling. I’d then position the dishwasher to the right of the sink.
Browse more images of beautiful and contemporary Australian kitchens in green on Houzz
3. Problem: No space for rubbish and recycling
Felstead says:
Waste management is often overlooked in kitchen planning, but it is very important in order for the room to function properly.
Solution: The specific bin set-up will depend on the client’s needs, but usually a larger bin is required for general waste, supplemented with separate, smaller bins for different types of recycling.
If space allows, my ideal layout is to house a pull-out in a cupboard to the left of the sink with separate bins for general waste and recycling. I’d then position the dishwasher to the right of the sink.
Browse more images of beautiful and contemporary Australian kitchens in green on Houzz
4. Problem: No home for bulky items
Alishia Minett Johnson, design director at Minett Studio Architects + Interiors, says:
We’ll often see kitchen storage set-ups that don’t factor in space for bulky and awkward items such as platters, baking trays, large pots and fry pans. Some of our clients complain about inheriting a kitchen that doesn’t house their bulky cookware and, as a result, their laundry or hall cupboards end up doubling as extra storage.
Solution: We are home cooks and entertainers ourselves with young families, so the experience of knowing what is the most efficient layout, effective use of space and storage is key to a successful outcome.
We go to the client’s home and measure everything – from their cookbooks, cookware and platters to their vases – to ensure that their storage delivers.
We mark out heights in masking tape on the wall so the client can simulate opening the oven and cupboards, and to ensure the space is comfortable to use.
Alishia Minett Johnson, design director at Minett Studio Architects + Interiors, says:
We’ll often see kitchen storage set-ups that don’t factor in space for bulky and awkward items such as platters, baking trays, large pots and fry pans. Some of our clients complain about inheriting a kitchen that doesn’t house their bulky cookware and, as a result, their laundry or hall cupboards end up doubling as extra storage.
Solution: We are home cooks and entertainers ourselves with young families, so the experience of knowing what is the most efficient layout, effective use of space and storage is key to a successful outcome.
We go to the client’s home and measure everything – from their cookbooks, cookware and platters to their vases – to ensure that their storage delivers.
We mark out heights in masking tape on the wall so the client can simulate opening the oven and cupboards, and to ensure the space is comfortable to use.
Images: Tatjana Plitt.
When workshopping a new kitchen with a client, we ask specific questions, such as:
When workshopping a new kitchen with a client, we ask specific questions, such as:
- Do you have lots of cooking oils and sauces that you need to access when you’re at the stove?
- Would you need a spice drawer?
- Do you collect cookbooks and which are the tallest and shortest of them?
- How many small appliances do you have and which ones do you use daily?
- What is your morning routine in the kitchen? What do you need easy access to?
- Will more than one person cook in the kitchen at once and what is the most practical circulation layout?
- Do you have any health concerns, such as a bad back, which mean you don’t want to bend to access the oven or unload the dishwasher?
5. Problem: Not designing the space holistically
Minett Johnson says:
Kitchens that aren’t properly tailored to the client, their home and lifestyle can be frustrating to use.
Solution: When you’re designing a kitchen, consider who will be using it and the home it will go into. You need to think like a cook and make sure the kitchen works well and doesn’t just look beautiful.
For example, designing the correct-size drawers to fit the client’s large stockpots and spot for them to store baking trays, platters and chopping boards vertically.
For example, we ask our clients to choose their appliances first as this will dictate the quality of the joinery finish required. If the client selects top-shelf appliances, such as Sub-Zero fridges, this calls for high-end cabinetry, with two-pack polyurethane and timber-veneer finishes.
We’d also reserve other expensive features, such as pocket doors, for high-end projects.
If the client chooses low- to mid-range appliances, then timber laminates and engineered stone are generally sufficient for joinery.
Minett Johnson says:
Kitchens that aren’t properly tailored to the client, their home and lifestyle can be frustrating to use.
Solution: When you’re designing a kitchen, consider who will be using it and the home it will go into. You need to think like a cook and make sure the kitchen works well and doesn’t just look beautiful.
For example, designing the correct-size drawers to fit the client’s large stockpots and spot for them to store baking trays, platters and chopping boards vertically.
For example, we ask our clients to choose their appliances first as this will dictate the quality of the joinery finish required. If the client selects top-shelf appliances, such as Sub-Zero fridges, this calls for high-end cabinetry, with two-pack polyurethane and timber-veneer finishes.
We’d also reserve other expensive features, such as pocket doors, for high-end projects.
If the client chooses low- to mid-range appliances, then timber laminates and engineered stone are generally sufficient for joinery.
6. Problem: Poor lighting
Felstead says:
It is important to have task lighting in those areas where you prepare and cook food, such as benchtops, the cooktop and sink, supplemented by ambient lighting for atmosphere.
Solution: Combine task lighting and ambient lighting for the best of both worlds. This could include ceiling lights such as pendants or spotlights as ambient lighting (with a dimmer option so you can change lighting levels to suit the mood), and either spotlights or LED strip lighting underneath the wall cupboards for task lighting so the cook can prepare food safely and comfortably.
I would also choose a range hood with an integrated light to illuminate the cooktop when you’re cooking.
Felstead says:
It is important to have task lighting in those areas where you prepare and cook food, such as benchtops, the cooktop and sink, supplemented by ambient lighting for atmosphere.
Solution: Combine task lighting and ambient lighting for the best of both worlds. This could include ceiling lights such as pendants or spotlights as ambient lighting (with a dimmer option so you can change lighting levels to suit the mood), and either spotlights or LED strip lighting underneath the wall cupboards for task lighting so the cook can prepare food safely and comfortably.
I would also choose a range hood with an integrated light to illuminate the cooktop when you’re cooking.
7. Problem: A tricky layout
Felstead says:
Your client’s kitchen should look good and function properly too. A poor layout will make the kitchen difficult to use.
Solution: Larger appliances such as the fridge, oven, sink and dishwasher along with the cabinetry should be positioned close to the cook for easy use, but with enough space around them for doors and drawers to open comfortably.
Also be sure to choose a fridge that is not too deep for the cabinetry, making it stick out beyond the edge. I will either choose a narrow-depth fridge or make the cabinetry housing the fridge a little deeper.
Felstead says:
Your client’s kitchen should look good and function properly too. A poor layout will make the kitchen difficult to use.
Solution: Larger appliances such as the fridge, oven, sink and dishwasher along with the cabinetry should be positioned close to the cook for easy use, but with enough space around them for doors and drawers to open comfortably.
Also be sure to choose a fridge that is not too deep for the cabinetry, making it stick out beyond the edge. I will either choose a narrow-depth fridge or make the cabinetry housing the fridge a little deeper.
Your turn
What’s the most common problem you come up against when renovating a client’s kitchen and how do you deal with it? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save these images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Want more expert design insights from your peers? Don’t miss this story Pros Reveal: 10 Features That’ll Elevate a Living Room Every Time
What’s the most common problem you come up against when renovating a client’s kitchen and how do you deal with it? Tell us in the Comments below. And don’t forget to save these images, like this story and join the conversation.
More
Want more expert design insights from your peers? Don’t miss this story Pros Reveal: 10 Features That’ll Elevate a Living Room Every Time
Frances Fraser, designer and director at Honour Creative, says:
It’s no wonder that most new-build kitchens we see feature a single wall and an island, or an L-shaped layout with an island. Windows are exactly where you want them, and the blank wall and ceiling levels are ready to accommodate a clean-lined, balanced composition of cabinetry.
The reality when renovating a kitchen in an older home is often awkward corners, or windows that break up wall space, relationships to adjacent spaces that create thoroughfare complications, and angled ceilings or ones with height changes.
Working with kitchens that start off as anything but a blank canvas creates some of the most common design challenges. These include how to find space for tall elements such as the fridge, disjointed flow between work zones, under-utilised corners, a constrained footprint, and a need for more storage.