Our top tips to designing your very own ergonomic kitchen

Sometimes, your vision of your ideal kitchen can seem like it’s limited by the amount of space you actually have available. But we prefer to think of it another way – it’s these kind of challenges that can breed the best kind of creativity! You don’t necessarily have to have a galley kitchen – if you’re looking to redesign your kitchen and you’re struggling with a couple of ideas, we’ve provided some great jumping-off points in this week’s post. Even when space is at a premium, it’s our mission to get you the kitchen of your dreams!

We’ll be dealing with three main aspects of your kitchen:

• Your kitchen appliances
• A neat idea for a kitchen island
• Some great ideas for storage

Right then – let’s get right into it!

Economising on your kitchen appliances

As with most things to do with ergonomic kitchens, choosing the right appliances for your space is all a matter of efficiency, which means that appliances with dual roles are truly going to shine. Double ovens make a great example – exactly like those featured in this ultra-modern kitchen for Mr and Mrs Redmond – as are compact microwaves. (Here at Kitchen Design Centre, our kitchen appliances are all sourced from industry-leading supplier Neff, which is internally renowned for the flawless aesthetics and effortless functionality of their appliances.)

When it comes to your kitchen worktops, choosing a single rather than a double bowl sink could save you as much as a few feet of counter space. Double bowl sinks are wonderful if you’ve got the space for them, but if not then you may well find that a farmhouse style is perfectly spacious enough! In fact, a single-bowl undermount sink is often ideal – the edge of the sink itself is concealed so that you can benefit from marginally more space, which might make all the difference to the available elbow room! A Quooker tap can also save you valuable counter space that might be taken up by a kettle.

In fact, if you’re redesigning your kitchen from scratch (or outlining your requirements to one of our own amazing kitchen designers), it’s worth looking at the your layout to see if there are any other appliances or utensils, such as toasters for example, that you could do without. When it comes to designing an ergonomic kitchen, every square inch counts.

Making the most of your kitchen island

If you’ve got the luxury of space to have a kitchen island in the first place, it presents another prime opportunity to refine the design of your ergonomic kitchen! An all-in-one island can make your life easier by both housing storage containers underneath and preparation space on top, freeing up valuable room elsewhere in your kitchen. You can even integrate appliances onto your island such as a sink or a stove, for additional functionality, or use bar seating to make a miniature dining area – not a luxury afforded in many ergonomic kitchens!

Maximising your storage

It can be easy to fall into the trap of overcrowding your walls with storage units – eventually, rather than being helpful, the constant opening and closing of doors can often end up getting in the way. If you need extra storage, it’s often best to stick with a single wall of cupboards, and some open shelving. In fact, speaking of wall-mounted storage, S-hooks for your utensils are always a brilliant idea. Not only is it useful, but it also looks fantastic, and gives a real flair of personality to your contemporary kitchen.

You can also explore built-in storage options such as pull-out pantries, which can be tucked into even the tightest of spaces while still providing easy access to pots, pans and other utensils. If you’ve only got cutlery in your drawers, it might be worth considering whether you can place another layer of removable internal shelving within a single drawer. You can put your most frequently-used utensils on the top layer, removing it occasionally to access your posh cutlery or less frequently-used utensils underneath. Being able to pack several sets of cutlery into one drawer can then free up valuable space elsewhere.

Tall kitchen units are also your best friend – as you can see in several of our previous case studies – both for the Redmonds (whom we mentioned above) and the Social Kitchen Diner. Kitchen cabinetry that reaches to the ceiling can provide you with the maximum amount of storage without taking up extra floorspace, and as an extra bonus, ceiling-high cabinets can help visually expand the space.

On that note, modern handleless kitchens are often the best option for ergonomic kitchens, as their clean lines and minimalist look can also help to give the kitchen a spacious feel. This is exactly the approach our designer John Crosby took when designing this modern ergonomic kitchen for Mr and Mrs Glacy.

You can click the link above to explore how his design made maximum use of the space – or alternatively, stop by any of our designer kitchen showrooms in Manchester, Blackburn or Barrowford, where our talented kitchen designers will happily discuss their creative ideas on how to make your dream kitchen a reality!