Planning a kitchen Design your new kitchen
An option for a compact working triangle
Designing a kitchen
Begin by deciding what you like and don’t like about your current kitchen. If the layout works, only change it if there is a real benefit – for example, it increases the value of your home. Think about what you want to keep – the kitchen appliances, taps or carcasses (the structure of the kitchen units, hidden from view).
Start your plan by mapping out your current kitchen layout on graph paper. Use metric measurements as this is what kitchen manufacturers use. Highlight where the electric sockets are, how these return to the fuse box and where the plumbing and waste pipes are. Add windows and any other restrictions, such as a chimney breast and doorway, then mark which kitchen walls are external or internal.
If you have a boiler in the kitchen, highlight where and what type of boiler it is. Then separately measure things like the size of your crockery, pots and pans and any kitchen gadgets that you don’t want on display, such as a food mixer or breadmaker, so they'll fit into the new cupboards.
Kitchen planning checklist
- Keep the work triangle distance (see picture, right) between the sink, fridge and cooker at 7m or less. This makes cooking hassle free as you’ll have shorter distances to travel.
- Allow for a 40cm clearance between an open kitchen door and the nearest opposite unit.
- Ensure at least 120cm clearance between runs of kitchen units, so that two people can move around at once.
- Standard 60cm deep units will be a tight squeeze if your kitchen is less than 180cm wide from one wall to the other. Solve this by looking for slimmer 50cm deep units.
- Leave at least 40cm clearance between the worktop and wall-mounted cupboards.
- Most unit doors open up to a maximum of 60cm. Dishwasher doors usually open by 60cm and oven doors by 50cm.
- A typical worktop height is 90cm, although this will not be ideal for everybody. Ensure that elbow height is a few centimetres above kitchen worktops.
Key kitchen statistics
The table below shows some average size guidelines for kitchen units, worktops and kitchen sinks.
| Key kitchen statistics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Floor kitchen unit sizes | sizes | Wall-mounted unit | Worktops | Sink units |
| Height | 72cm | 72–90cm | 2–4cm | 15–18cm |
| Width | 30–60cm | 30–60cm | 2.5m, 3m or 4m and cut to fit | 76–95cm |
| Depth | Up to 60cm | 30cm | Depth of cabinet plus 3cm overhang | 44–50cm |
Kitchen appliance sizes
| Appliance measurements | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measurement | Cooker | Fridge/ freezer | Dishwasher (full/slimline) | Washing machine/ tumble dryer | Extractor fan |
| Height | 90cm | 140–180cm | 85/80–88cm | 85cm | 14cm |
| Width | 50cm | 50–60cm | 60/45cm | 56–60cm | 52–90cm |
| Depth | 60cm | 56–65cm | 54–60/54–60cm | 52–62cm | 30–60cm |
Designer kitchen styles
Once you've decided what you want to keep or replace, think about the decor. Do you want new flooring? What about the area of wall between the worktop and the kitchen cupboards? Do you want to keep existing tiles or are you looking for a new style? Will appliances, such as fridge freezers, dishwashers and microwaves, be built in rather than freestanding? All of this can add cost to your kitchen refurbishment.
Browse through some home-interest magazines for inspiration and browse kitchen retailers or DIY stores. Don't forget to include builders and merchants specialist kitchen showrooms, as well as a local kitchen firm.
If you're likely to sell your home in the near future, make sure you have a kitchen with a wide appeal such as a simple Shaker style. Alternatively, if the style of your home is quite contemporary, it might be worth looking for a good-value modern kitchen style with self-closing drawers, creative storage options and a granite worktop.
