Kitchen conundrum cracked

With smart storage solutions and clever layout, a compact kitchen need not be a hindrance, writes Kya deLongchamps

SMALL wonder. It’s a curious thing, but most TV chefs when cooking at home appear to favour a compact kitchen. Two steps from their cooker, island studded sink and heaving fridge, they don’t ramble around. A small space can be full of rangy ideas, and in a hard pressed workplace like the kitchen planning ahead, offers unique challenges.

LIMITLESS LAYOUTS

The entire walk between the key kitchen elements of the cooker, sink and fridge should be no more than 7-8 metres. ‘L’ shaped kitchens that inhabit a corner are a favourite for open plan arrangements and can be neatly enclosed by an island, breakfast bar or dining set to partition the kitchen from the rest of the room.

If two of you are going to use the space, ensure there’s enough counter on each wall, perhaps putting the sink on one side and the cooker on the other. If you have just one wall for a kitchen, it makes sense to treat the kitchen table as another primary work surface.

Galley kitchens formed by a corridor don’t have to command culinary slavery and offer multiple benefits. You only have to swing around to find another counter. Cabinets can run on both sides or just on one. You’ll need at least 120cm for two adults to move around the space comfortably between cabinetry, so don’t wall yourself in. Open shelving creates a more comfortable feel at eye level than facing a blank wall hung door.

Add cabinets at the end of the galley and you have a classic ‘U’ shape, ideal for setting your fridge, cooker, sink triumvirate at reasonably equal distances. You’ll have two blind corners to handle, so pull out and swing wirework will be crucial to their success. Ask Express Kitchens for details of their Magic Corner units. www.expresskitchens.net.

COMPACT APPLIANCES

Sprawling ranges and double wide fridge/freezers look great on the showroom floor, but can crowd your floorspace often without practical advantage. Look for compact models that do their job retaining those sophisticated looks in a tighter profile, such as the 60cm 2-4 Aga, €3,995. A handsome range can grandstand in a stand-alone situation a frolic from the kitchen proper. If you still want a double-wide wonder, consider creative placement of the cooker, or split its elements, mounting a hob in the island or counter and take the oven to waist level including storage beneath.

Fridge freezers can be streamlined to tall 48cm models, or divided, taking the freezer to another 50cm to 60cm spot you can spare in a cool room. Side by sides are less space efficient than stacked fridge/freezers so think about where you would appreciate that extra 20cm, on the hob or in a cooler cabinet.

GO TALL

Take your storage right to the ceiling with tall pantry style cupboards and then stack your goods efficiently. Lesser used items should go high or very low, with everyday items at waist level and to the fore. Tall terraces of cupboards can be claustrophobic. Break the arrangement up into hanging cupboards with counters below, and some clear runs of floor cabinets with the airiness of open shelving or a reflective splash back.

Pale country kitchens in painted wood are an obvious choice, but clean contemporary, high gloss units can really shine in cramped quarters. Streamlined and on trend, take a look at Faktum frames set with lofty doors from the Abstrakt range from IKEA. B&Q offer a full height 360 revolving corner unit (890X890mm) ideal for tucking into a cramped idle recess. Cooke & Lewis. €1,050.

INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS

Cabinets will dominate your space, whether built in or free-standing. That plain yawning base unit with a shelf or two is not as useful as a set of drawers in the same carcass, and they can vary from pot drawers to shallow trays for cutlery.

Get the most from that cm of depth with fully extending drawers with a good weight bearing capacity, and detail their interior with dividers and cutlery trays. Even 30cm of width can deliver a taller pull-out. Add a soft close to ensure bottles and jars are not rudely shaken when you use the unit. From €147 for a 30cm unit for a non-framed door configuration. Soft close from €268. B&Q.

Consider where the contents of the storage unit will be moving to and from. It makes sense to put cutlery and flatware cupboards and drawers close to the dishwasher and sink for instance. Wall mounted cabinets are around 35cm deep (wall ones 60cm in general) so don’t plan to stuff your appliances up there.

LET THE LIGHT IN

Glazed units, lit from within offer a floating feel to a hemmed in busy kitchen. As with all openly viewed storage, the contents should be staged attractively. Glass and any reflective material will bounce light around the room, so keep this in mind for accessories, tiling and splash-backs.

Freestanding furniture on legs allows light a passage, and one or two well chosen pieces married to built-in cabinets will deliver character too. When introducing artificial light, a wide wash of light if preferable to tightly honed spots that will create shadows that are not only diminishing to the sense of space but dangerous in a busy kitchen environment. Under-mounted lights for wall mounted cabinets and shelving are ideal for an extra injection of task lighting.

DINE IF YOU DARE

Eating areas don’t have to be vast, and a deep, glorified counter can take breakfast and snacks with a simple over-hang to disguise some stools. When placing the chairs or stools keep in mind, that chairs move. Leave 90cm between the edge of the table and traffic flow behind it.

A 50s style Butterfly dining set can be pulled out of a 33cm resting position and folded down to accommodate four people over 139cm. Take a look at Argos’ Emperor rectangular and oval sets from €315 in oak or chocolate that swallow up four folding chairs, or IKEA’s Norden Gateleg in white with six handy drawers. A corner bench is another approach to tailoring a perch for light meals, but ensure the seat depth is appropriate to the largest backside in the family.

In an open plan area, bridge the kitchen with furniture style pieces that can sit happily on the edge where you might not have thought of storage solutions. Counters and bars can play sideboard for the dining space on one side and kitchen servant for storage on the other. A really satisfying double performer.