Checklist: Ten steps to your dream kitchen
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Anyone who buys a kitchen isn't just making a big investment, but also a commitment for decades to come, which is why every detail has to be perfect. We have drawn up a checklist for you to ensure that you go into your meeting with your cabinet maker or kitchen studio as well prepared as possible. We suggest ten things you should consider when planning your kitchen for life – from functionality to comfort.
1. Know your needs
Your kitchen has to suit you. Your habits are important, as multi-course menus need more worktop space than a quick, on-the-go snack, and sophisticated haute cuisine recipes often require specific cooking utensils.
Keep tabs on how you use the kitchen across several days and ask yourself:
Where do you work most often?
How much worktop space do you need?
Do you normally cook by yourself or with others?
Do you often have guests round?
What utensils can't you do without?
Is the person who does most of the cooking left or right-handed?
Make some notes – this will ensure that you have all important information to hand when planning with your designer in the kitchen studio and won't forget anything.
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2. Analyse your shopping behaviour
You should ensure that the storage space for provisions is well planned. Many households like to ensure they are well stocked at all times while others prefer to pop to the shops if there is something they need. Consider the following when planning:
How big is your household?
Do you shop every day and therefore need less space for provisions? Or do you need storage space for the weekly shop?
Do you keep long-lasting goods such as rice, pasta and tinned goods stocked up in your home?
Do you often keep leftovers in containers or fresh storage boxes?
Our expert tip: With the you can specify which provisions you want to store in the kitchen and plan the corresponding cabinet solutions.
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3. Maximise the available storage space
You probably can't change the footprint of your kitchen, but you can use the available storage space more efficiently – even the smallest space can be used as storage space thanks to our innovative cabinet solutions.
makes the most of even the narrowest of spaces – this pull-out is available from a cabinet width of just 15 to 20 centimetres.
With , the furniture plinth is more than just storage space; it can also be used as a step to reach the highest cabinet compartments, meaning that you can use the full height of the room.
4. Consider your cabinets
Particular attention needs to be paid to the kitchen cabinets when it comes to the issue of storage space, as they are essential for keeping things neat and tidy. Our experts from Blum requirements research recommend the following when designing the cabinets:
Larder units and base cabinets should have pull-outs instead of shelves, ensuring that you always have an overview of their contents. Even the farthest corner of the storage space can be used and plates, bowls, pots and pans are significantly easier to remove.
As far as wall cabinets are concerned, use fronts with lift systems and not doors. They don't protrude into the room and therefore ensure maximum freedom of movement in the kitchen.
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5. Shorten your routes
If you are constantly having to walk from the hob to the other end of the kitchen to fetch the right wooden spoon, then you're simply wasting time. However, optimal flows can be achieved in an ergonomically designed kitchen.
Professionals divide their kitchens into clearly defined zones and set these zones up so that they can achieve maximum efficiency. Five zones have proven to be effective in practice:
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Think here of larder units but also of the option of storing shopping bags to sort items without having to walk all over the kitchen.
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A cabinet for plates and glasses should be near the dishwasher or sink.
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There should be a drainage area near the sink as well as storage space for sponges, washing-up liquid and waste separation.
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A large worktop space with storage space for important utensils for preparing food such as knives, bowls and chopping boards is needed here.
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The ideal place for mixing bowls and silicon spatulas is near a worktop space and the larder unit used to store flour, sugar and other cooking ingredients.
Meal preparation and clean-up are regular activities or "workflows". Monitor your cooking habits across several days – this will help you work out which utensils you use most and where you use them, to ensure the way you move through the kitchen is as efficient as possible. Your kitchen planner can also help you with this.
More about kitchen organisation
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6. Choose the right worktop height
The right worktop height helps you to maintain the right ergonomic posture – this ensures that your back is pain-free, even when carrying out complex work in the kitchen. The ideal kitchen worktop height is normally 15 to 20 cm below elbow height with your arms bent.
Choose the worktop height in your new kitchen depending on who will cook in it most often. If lots of cooks of different heights cook there, a height-adjustable workspace or workspace with different heights is recommended. Talk to your kitchen planner about what options are available for your personal situation.
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7. Make your kitchen as convenient as possible
Regardless of how passionate you are about cooking, you will probably spend several hours a week in the kitchen, which is why it has to be convenient. This applies to each and every little movement – such as opening and closing drawers. Kitchens with handle-less fronts which make use of opening support systems are currently on trend. They not only look elegant, but have also shown themselves to be effective in practice, as a brief touch is all that is required for the pull-outs to open virtually by themselves. The waste bin pull-out under the sink is particularly handy, as you often have your hands full here.
8. Ensure your kitchen is neat and tidy
Who doesn't have that one completely disorganised drawer full of wooden spoons, spatulas and grill tongs. To ensure that everything has a home, the ergonomics experts from Blum recommend pull-outs fitted with an internal organising system such as or . The sophisticated inner dividing system provides clarity and organisation. By the way, this not only applies to kitchen utensils, as thanks to cross dividers, pots and their lids can be stored next to one another and storage of provisions is tidier and more organised.
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9. Make use of practical kitchen accessories
Speaking of the contents of the drawers, there are small accessories with a big impact which make your day-to-day cooking easier. You should therefore rely on organising systems such as AMBIA-LINE or ORGA-LINE from Blum which can be used to accommodate these kinds of accessories – ensuring that everything has its place in the kitchen right from the start:
You can have the right spice within easy reach right away with a spice holder.
A knife holder in the utensil drawer means you can quickly grab hold of the most important tool in any cook's arsenal.
A plate holder in the base cabinet ensures order and clarity. The plates can be stacked securely so that nothing clatters.
Thanks to a foil/film dispenser in the drawer, you can quickly and efficiently cut aluminium foil and cling film to precisely the length you want.
10. Test your kitchen design before you install it
When buying a new car, a test drive is essential. This is also true when buying a new kitchen – especially as you are often spending as much on a new kitchen as on a new car. At Blum, you can try out the kitchen you want during the design phase. We can bring your planned kitchen layout to life with a life-size model using mobile cabinets in many of our showrooms. This allows you to get a feel for the dimensions, workflows and potential sticking points before you make your purchase and you can modify your kitchen design accordingly – giving you the assurance that you are making the right investment and taking you a step closer to your dream kitchen.
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How to design your dream kitchen
Before the design process, monitor your shopping and cooking habits so that you can tailor your new kitchen exactly to your needs – from the storage space and the worktop space to the inner dividing system in the drawers.
Plan your kitchen cabinets with storage space and functionality in mind – for example, talk to your cabinet maker or kitchen studio about innovative cabinet solutions and opt for pull-outs and lift systems instead of doors to ensure clarity and freedom of movement.
Divide the kitchen into five zones – Consumables, Non-consumables, Cleaning, Preparation, and Cooking – and ensure the best placement of cabinets, kitchen appliances and utensils within these zones for efficient workflows.
Adjust the height of the worktop space to the cook who spends the most time in the kitchen.
Don't forget about your convenience – for example with opening support systems and practical accessories.
Arrange a kitchen test drive in the Blum showroom in Dornbirn to put your design through its paces in practice.
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