Make your kitchen work for you with these great design ideas.
Text by Vanitha Pavapathi
The kitchen is arguably the most important space in a home, where a lot of the cooking and entertaining occur. Naturally, a great kitchen design is imperative. More often than not, not many people get it right because it’s not merely deciding on a kitchen layout; it takes a medley of elements to create a truly excellent kitchen design. Below are 10 design ideas that help you get the best out of your kitchen space.
Create a more expansive feeling in a narrow dwelling by having an open kitchen that has been cleverly executed, like in this semi-detached Sydney home. Just be sure to keep things simple and pared down to avoid clutter, as this type of kitchen is on full display at all times. Design by CM Studio
Want your kitchen to look and feel spacious, yet have enough storage for your appliances, tableware and cookbooks? The solution: open shelving. Though it can be somewhat a challenge to style it with your functional items, when done right, it serves both form and function. The trick is to add in decorative elements but not overfilling the shelves. Design by Monocot Studio
Traditional kitchen design always has upper and lower cabinets. But no one said rules can’t be broken. Remove your upper cabinets and see what a world of difference it makes to your kitchen space. Yes, the drawback is that you no longer have that extra storage space (honestly, do you actually need and use everything in the cabinet?) but the bright side is that your kitchen will look and feel more spacious. Don’t believe us? Check out this 4-room HDB flat to see for yourself. Design by Three-D Conceptwerke
Ace the modern interpretation of a farmhouse chic look with a wood island bench like this old Melbourne residence that has undergone hip transformation. Not only is wood a lot warmer and welcoming than stone surfaces, the woodgrain adds character and style to the space too. Design by Pipkorn & Kilpatrick
Incorporate your love for colours and patterns with ornate tiles, be it backsplash or flooring like this Peranakan style apartment. This dwelling cleverly makes visual statement with a turquoise backsplash and vibrant patterned flooring; the latter beautifully anchors the space like a large rug would. Design by Linear Space Concepts
The all-white kitchen can be seen in a lot of modern homes today, courtesy of the minimalist movement and we suspect IKEA too. But have you seen an all-black kitchen before? Moody, mysterious and oh-so-sexy, this all-black kitchen in the home of a female interior designer is a testament that it can work beyond a bachelor pad. Just be sure to balance the look out with various materials as seen in this HDB unit such as the warm accents of wood-look flooring and the metallic sheen of stainless steel countertops. Design by Millimeters Studio
For homes that lack space and need things that do double duty, a movable island in the kitchen is ingenious. Have it ground the kitchen space or wheel it to the side if you like. Plus, it could serve as a dining table which you could orient the position any way you like to fit your space. This is especially suited for open-plan spaces like this HDB flat. Design by D5 Studio Image
We Singaporeans love our sambal belachan, but not so much when we make it at home as the pungent smell tends to permeate the entire house and linger for days at times. That’s why properties that have separate wet kitchen are a novelty. But if you don’t want to be confined by four walls in a wet kitchen, an indoor outdoor kitchen is the best solution. Perfect for frequent cooking and entertaining, the wet and dry kitchen zones in this house are separated by glass door. This is not only a clever solution to keep smells at bay, it lets in light and blurs the boundary of space to create one large integrated area. Design by Design of Schatz
Don’t just stick to safe colours like white, beige and brown. Make a bold statement with bright, unusual colours as seen in this HDB maisonette. The navy blue injects cool contrast to the space, which results in a fresh and modern appeal that is particularly apt for an open-plan concept. Pro tip: Get solid wood cabinetry instead of laminates so you could paint your kitchen cabinets in a different colour every 10 years or so. Yes, it may be more expensive. But you sort of get a “new” kitchen every time you change out the colour, making it a worthwhile long-term investment. Design by D.D.I
Most kitchen islands are situated directly opposite the kitchen cabinet in a linear form. But not this kitchen that has a structural column that separates the two, which the designer from asolidplan integrated into the kitchen island design. The result is a fully integrated island that serves as a dining table, kitchen counter and breakfast table. So instead of erecting a wall that closes off the entire space to conceal the clutter that is cooking and preparation, consider a design like this. Not to mention, the curved opening of the column could also function as a service station. Design by asolidplan
