Designing a kitchen can be a daunting task, but it is also a rewarding one. A kitchen is not only a multifunctional space but a place that brings people together. As the saying goes, “the kitchen is the heart of the home.” It has taken me years of experience, research, and planning to design our kitchen. In this blog, I will provide you with steps of how I designed our French-inspired kitchen that is both functional and beautiful.
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Before embarking on designing our dream kitchen, it was essential to have a clear idea of what we wanted. So, I started listing down keywords that I envisioned our dream kitchen would be:
- Functional
- Practical
- Warm & inviting
- Organised
- Decorative
- French Inspired
- Traditional
- Classic
- Timeless
- Elegant
Before compiling a list of essential items, I reviewed the kitchen from our first home build and asked myself, what did I love most about the kitchen? What did I dislike? Was there anything I wish I could have done differently to make the kitchen better or more functional? This process helped me learn my must-have design elements.
List of Must-Haves for Our Kitchen
Functional and Practical
- Window servery from kitchen to alfresco
- Skylights
- Walk-in pantry
- Motion sensor for pantry lights
- Outlets in a drawer for charging items
- Arched door for the pantry on swivel
- Custom shelving
- Custom storage organisation in kitchen drawers
- Filtered water tap
- PowerPoint on the island bench
- Lighting inside cupboards
- Cabinetry drawers on both sides of the island bench
- Timber display hanging shelves
- Breakfast cupboard
Design and Decor
- Marble Bianco Carrara look for the benchtop
- Shaker style cabinetry
- Some glass-fronted cabinets to show off favourite pieces
- Rug for styling
- White butler’s sink
- Arched range hood
Organisation
- Sink, bin, and dishwasher in close proximity
- Two soap pumps at the sink (one for hand soap, and one for dish soap).
- Sponge storage drawer
- Bin pull-out to have a drawer above to place items such as garbage bags
- Placement and quantity of electrical outlets e.g. breakfast bar
- 1-1.2 meters between countertops to allow room to move
- Knife drawer
- Stove, sink, and fridge to be in a triangle arrangement so that you can easily access them all
- Smaller cabinets on top of the larger cabinets to store seasonal or rarely used items.
- Outlets in the above cabinets
- Landing spaces near appliances e.g. cooktop, fridge, microwave, toaster, etc.
- For bulkier items, consider pull-out corner storage
- Drop off key zone/mail area/junk drawer – include a power point in the drawer
When it came to designing our dream kitchen, I sought ideas and inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram. Below are some of the images that I particularly loved.
After compiling a list of essential features for our kitchen, it was time to start the design process. To do this, I needed help to visualise our dream kitchen. I was so grateful to have stumbled upon Clare Le Roy from ‘The Little Design Corner‘. Through her SketchUp for Interior Design (Beginners) course, I learned how to create elevations and 3D designs for my home. Despite having no prior experience with SketchUp, I found the course both informative and engaging, with the format and layout being easy to follow. Most importantly, it helped me to visualise each area in our home, which allowed us to show the drawings to various tradespeople.
Here is our dream kitchen that I produced using Clare’s course and I am so pleased with the outcome. Stay tuned as our dream kitchen comes to life!
What are some of the must-have features in your dream kitchen? Share them in the comments below!
