Functional Kitchen Design Guide – all the tips and tricks I used to design my kitchen

Prefacing this blog post, I would like to point out that everything I’m saying in here is specifically thought to work for my, and my boyfriend’s, lifestyle, the existing features of our home and also our taste and the vibe we wanted to give our home. And while this will hopefully, probably help anyone who reads it, just remember that you, very probably, live differently than we do and some things may or may not work for your lifestyle and may or may not be to your taste. If you need guidance in that area, or any area of your home, I’ll be happy to help you out with tailor-made advice.

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Our beloved kitchen today

01.  Style

I’ll be going backwards here, as style isn’t actually the first thing I think of when designing a kitchen but, as an outsider, it is the first thing you see and also this modern farmhouse style has a very specific reason for being.

The floorplan for our living and receiving areas are completely open. The kitchen used to have a small dividing bar as pictured below, probably to conceal the usual kitchen “mess”. The problem with that diving bar is twofold:

-       It doesn’t actually conceal much

-       It’s very narrow so you can’t put much inside of the cabinet and it blocks the possibility of having bigger drawers against the wall

But I agree that as on open kitchen, I didn’t want my kitchen to look messy while my boyfriend and I cook every single meal and I want everyday things to be easy to reach.

In comes the modern farmhouse kitchen style. Because of the design and the vibe it gives, it becomes ok for the salt and pepper to be there, for a teacup to be drying and for a couple of other things to be out on the countertop. In fact, it’s becoming part of the style. If those items weren’t there it would look empty.

In our region, Geneva and area, this shaker style cabinetry isn’t common, we’re more used to seeing plain cabinetries, so this was actually pretty hard to find.

The original kitchen when we bought the flat

02.  Color coordination

Again thinking backwards here, but the beige-colored smeg appliances were non-negotiable, to my boyfriend’s great dismay ;), and while I was certain I wanted the top cabinets to be of white and glass, the bottom ones we used to give a bit of warmth. We debated between terra-cotta and sage green, and the latter won. We chose a matt finish, also to bring warmth in.

Now the reason I wanted my top cabinets to be white with glass is because of the high ceiling. If we’d have them in color, it would give a feeling of a lot less height. It was important to me that the eye just glides over them, have a glimpse of the pretty glassware and crockery and then look up. Yes we could’ve made the decision to have open shelving, like we later built on the left hand side of the fridge (DIY coming), but that means lots of dust on plates and glass and ultimately less space, and I was in great need of space.

Which brings me to the choices of countertop and backsplash. For the same reason, I wanted the eyes to glide over the kitchen island and see the gorgeous view of Geneva and the lake as we walk in and not be obstructed or dimmed by something stronger. So white it was.

03.  Design and planning

While designing our kitchen I applied a ton of rules I only later found out about on my Atelier H.O.M.E. course (I will tell you more about that course soon). Again, I was just focusing on how we realistically use our kitchen in our daily lives and making it as operational as possible. So, we moved the fridge on the left-hand side (previously on the right), made sure we have enough counter-top space on the right to deposit fridge content and crockery about to enter or leave the dishwasher. The espresso machine goes here as I have frothed almond milk on my coffee (stored in the fridge) and an easy access to the sink.

The sink design not only works seamlessly in our modern farmhouse style, but also makes my life easier, water stays in the sink more (I am a known splasher of water when doing the washing up) and it’s easy to clean. Bonus point: I love its dramatic effect. Also, I wanted the drying rack to be part of the sink, and not carved into the counter top because I use it so frequently, I absolutely hate drying up, and so I know I need a space where it’s easy for me to stack up drying crockery.

Perspective drawing of our kitchen done by little old me.

This is where I did something without thinking about it but learned later into my course was actually quite smart (😉 ), I placed the bin, not under the sink as is often seen, but under the drying rack. So, when either of us is doing some washing up and stacking up the dishwasher, the other one can still help clear up and throw things in the bin without asking the other one to move.

Next to the sink, another, wider, counter top. This is where I will do most of the cooking prep – between the sink and the gas stove. And underneath, massive drawers where breakfast and sweet groceries are stored.

Above all of this, and only on this part of the wall, we installed the cabinets for all the beautiful crockery that we own. I have quite a few pieces from my grandmother and others I just love either new or found second-hand. They are placed above the dishwasher and the sink to facilitate the clearing up, mugs and tea things are on the right-hand side to be closer to the stove and the kettle.

3D design of our kitchen

Now on the right wall we have a tiny countertop perfect for our rice cooker. I eat a lot of rice, growing up in Asia will do that to you, and so this piece of equipment is always out and used pretty much every day or every other day. Underneath we have a large spice rack to season while cooking on the stove that is conveniently right next to it! And then on the right hand of the stove another large countertop space where I would do my baking prep and keep my SMEG mixer out mostly because it’s pretty and works with the rest of the appliances :D Underneath that we have very large drawers to store pots and pans at the bottom, savory groceries in the middle and cutlery at the top.

Notice how I didn’t store my sweet and baking ingredients here? That’s because it would be so impractical to use the mixer and have to open the drawer that’s right underneath it 🤓

And finally, the piece de résistance: the island

This was always meant to be our reception area and is meant to sit at least 6 people. In the end it’s also where I work and where I’m currently writing this piece! But we needed as much storage as possible, so the cabinets facing the kitchen are wide and big, it’s where all miscellaneous items are stored along with alcohol, and the small cabinet holds everything cleaning related. All these are kept hidden, and I guess in the least accessible spot of all the layout because we use these things less frequently. And finally, facing the living room, the little wine cellar, because well, who doesn’t want to show that off ?

One thing to note here is that it was crucial to me to have a single piece of stone so that when we walk in our home, the eye glides over the surface and is attracted to the view. The company we bought the kitchen from tried really hard to sell us an outlet that would’ve been carved out of the stone, placed in the center of the island, but that was an absolute no for me. Instead, we’ve put our outlet on the side of the cabinet, hiding from view but still easily accessible (currently where my computer charger is sitting).

I hope you enjoyed my Functional Kitchen Design Guide

I believe this is all of it for my Functional Kitchen Design Guide! I hope this piece inspired you for your very own kitchen and if there’s anything else or you need guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

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