Three top tips for small kitchen design
It would be lovely if we all had large, spacious kitchens with plenty of room for everything we want. The reality, though, is that we sometimes have to manage with small spaces or low ceilings. Can small kitchen design compensate for this?
If you go to the big chains, such as Wickes, Magnet or Wren, the answer would seem to be no. Units come in standard sizes, and a smaller kitchen just means you have to make do with less storage space.
Independent kitchen showrooms are a different matter, though. Many will offer non-standard units that make an effective small kitchen design far easier. Here are three simple options to bear in mind.
Use higher wall units for a small kitchen design
Standard wall units, which are the only kind sold in the high street chains, are 720mm high. However, 720mm high units often leave a lot of unused space between the top of the units & the ceiling. That may not be a problem in large kitchens, but with a small kitchen design, space is at a premium.
Unlike the chains, most independent kitchen showrooms also supply 900mm high wall units. That means that, at a stroke, you have 25% more storage space in your wall units.
Use jumbo base units for a small kitchen design
UK manufactured base units are 720mm high (from top to bottom) & have a 150mm high plinth. In contrast, many German & Italian kitchens offer jumbo base units. Jumbo base units are 780mm high & feature a 100mm high plinth. Not only does a shallower plinth look much sleeker, but 780mm high base units offer 15-20% more storage capacity than 720mm high base units. This is equivalent to having an extra two or three base units in your kitchen.
If you use both options — 900mm wall units and 780mm base units — the extra storage capacity will be around 35%. These non-standard base units are supplied by German manufacturers and, like the 900mm wall units, can only be bought from specialist local showrooms.
It’s also worth noting that if you know the right German or Italian kitchen showrooms to visit, you can buy jumbo base units for a similar price to 720mm base units from somewhere like Howdens, Magnet, Wren or Wickes.
Options for low ceilings
On the other hand, perhaps your problem is fitting everything under a low ceiling, which may not leave enough room even for 720mm wall units. If you buy your kitchen from a chain like Wickes, Magnet or Wren, your only option will be to cut down a standard unit to the appropriate size — hardly an ideal solution.
A specialist local showroom, however, may be able to supply you with wall units of 570mm, which should fit your kitchen without modification.
So, how do you find the showrooms in your area that offer these non-standard items for a small kitchen design at prices similar to places like Wren, Magnet, Howdens & Wickes? easy, just contact us & we’ll tell you who they are.
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