Common Mistakes of DIY New Kitchen Designs

Self designing a kitchen can be an exciting process, but it goes beyond the working triangle. Here we will explore some common mistakes, so you can avoid them in your home kitchen design ideas.

Not Allowing Space For the Fridge Door to Open

Your fridge is likely to be at the heart of all your new kitchen designs, but you don’t need to just look at the width of your appliance; you also need to allow space for the door to open. You’re likely to place your fridge against a wall, but you still need to open the door at least 90 degrees without the handle hitting your wall. Additionally, in order to open your crisper drawers or remove the shelves for cleaning, you’ll need the door to open more than 90 degrees. You can avoid this by increasing the size of your refrigerator niche, placing a tall cabinet between your wall and refrigerator or adding a wide filler panel.

Incorrectly Setting Your Benchtop Height

The standard benchtop height was set at 900 millimetres for years, and many designs still show this. However, people have been getting taller over the decades, which means that the "standard" height of a benchtop has increased. If members of your household are taller than average, a 900 millimetre height can be uncomfortable, and you may prefer 950 millimetres. This is likely to suit most teenagers and adults.

Allowing Clashing Doors

Another very common mistake is failing to check if any doors or drawers will hit each other if they’re opened together. This can happen especially with fridge doors and oven doors, but you may also find you have a problem with cabinets in corners. Clashing doors can not only be annoying, but it can risk damage to your handles.

Not Planning Sufficient Storage Space

A good kitchen has a place for everything, so you need to ensure that you have sufficient storage space for all of your dishes, small appliances, pots, and pans. Remember that you don’t necessarily need cabinets, as you can include deep drawers, pan racks and other storage in your new kitchen designs.

Forgetting Your Appliances

Finally, it can be very easy to get so carried away planning your cabinets that you forget to include your large appliances in your design. In addition to the basic triangle of oven, sink, and fridge, you need to include your dishwasher, freezer and even washing machine if you don’t have a separate laundry. A good rule of thumb is to keep your large appliances in the same place as your current kitchen, so you won’t need to move any connections.

If you need help with your new kitchen designs, you should speak to us. We have a massive choice of kitchens, and The Maker team is ready to help with practical home kitchen design ideas.

Kitchen designs can be a confusing stumbling block. AT The Maker, we provide a professional kitchen design and manufacturing service. Our new kitchen designs are inspired by the best in contemporary European design.