A logical approach is to classify what functions you would like your kitchen to provide, and then to apply a reverse engineering process to achieve them.

While all kitchen designs should include a dash of romance and a sprinkle of whimsy, at some point the layout will have to incorporate the practical. When you arrive at that point, consider some of the following elements:

Layout.

The majority of homes will be compatible with one of the standard layouts that have been popularised over time. These standards include the straight line (linear), galley (double linear), L-shape, C-shape, and G-shape kitchens; with an island, with a peninsula etc. Each of which can be arranged so that the functional zones within the kitchen can be connected or overlap.

You may be able to come up with an alternative arrangement that works better for you – but the standards will at least give you a starting point. Built-in furniture is typically best adapted to the existing architectural footprint of a home. However, if you are considering extending a room or creating an open kitchen-living space, then call in a structural engineer and builder to consider out the possibilities before you start your planning process. It may save you a lot of planning time and frustration by knowing your possibilities up front.

Materials and finishes.

There are a myriad of materials and finishes that can be used in a kitchen. For instance, a benchtop must be durable and hygienic; a splashback behind a cooktop should be impervious to heat; and doors must withstand thousands of gentle openings and closings (and even some not so gentle). If you love the glamour of a gloss 2-pack paint finish for your doors, chances are your adventurous 2-year old will as well.

Often material selection becomes a balancing act between appearance and performance. Some decisions will be based on circumstances, others on logic. 2-pack paint is a durable finish, but it will not withstand wear and tear to the same extent as a plastic laminate. If the users of your kitchen are not going to test out the durability of the surfaces, 2-pack paint may very well be for you. Alternatively, some materials are simply not a great idea for certain applications. Requests for the combination of solid timber benchtops and undermount sinks appear from time to time. They might look great at the time of installation, but probably won’t stand the test of time like stone or an acrylic solid surface.

Roll out storage.

Human evolution (or intelligent design if that’s your flavour) seems to be tracking in the direction of less is more when it comes to physical work. There has been such substantial development in drawer hardware within the last 5 years that our design preferences are stongly shifting towards a drawer predominance in kitchens. This progression has placed the exclusive drawer hardware of the early 2000s as completely redundant when compared to even today’s standard hardware, let alone the top of the range.

Your existing kitchen is likely to have a roller runner that leaves about 1/4 of your drawer within the confines of it’s cabinet. Today’s runners project the drawer fully from it’s cabinet home. The drawers sides can be decorative in their own right; stainless steel, metallic black, solid timber – a range of possibilities. Custom drawer inserts can be added to separate, sort, and collect utensils, spices, jars, plates. Whatever you can think of storing in a kitchen, someone has developed a product to organise it for you.

Pulls and pushes.
The three alternative options for opening drawers and cupboards are:

Pull – Joinery pulls include handles, knobs, lip pulls, and profile handles that are attached to the door or drawer front. A finger pull involves a small recess built into the cabinet that allows you to grip the top edge of a door or drawer front for opening.

Push activated – Opening involves a mechanism built into the cabinet internals which when pushed, will project the door or drawer out sufficiently for you to grasp an edge to physically continue the opening.

Motorised – A more recent innovation that achieves full opening in response to a single touch.

The choice you make will be based on design aesthetic, or as an afterthought. Whatever your choice, you should consider the impact of that decision. If you select a standard handle, you need to consider how adjacent cabinets, particularly those at right angles, will be affected. Will the position of the handles potentially block the opening of the adjacent door, drawer or flap? If you select a finger pull option, consider what internal space within the cabinet will be required to achieve this detail and whether it will compromise the space available for storage. If you select a push-activated or motorised opening, will it stand the test of time given the way your kitchen will be used?

Benchtop heights.

The working triangle is the most commonly described ergonomic concept in kitchen planning. It involves a logical arrangement of the storage, preparation, and cooking areas to reduce the transit time between each. Very sensible.

But what about benchtop height? In Australia, we seem to accept a universal benchtop height of 900mm irrespective of our physical dimensions or cooking preferences. Many European companies offer a reduced height section for the cooktop, and a raised height island or peninsula bench for the preparation and sink areas. The logic being that a lower cooktop is easier for observing and stirring pots, and that a higher sink means less reaching for the bottom of the bowl. Will the multilevel kitchen design catch on in Australia? Or will we persist with the less confronting single height? If you are a touch diminutive or XXL, perhaps you should consider becoming a trend setter?

Child safety.

Child safety is typically considered in terms of locks and catches that can be fitted to prevent little ones from opening up doors and drawers. However, there are several common features in kitchens that pose substantially more risk than some minor spillage or breakage. A container of steamed vegetables in an underbench microwave or a pot of boiling water on the front burner of a cooktop can result in disaster.

If child safety is a key consideration in your kitchen planning, avoid underbench appliances that generate heat and install a cooktop guard or shield. Also, consider the potential for children to use a bank of drawers or internal shelf for climbing – particularly if installed below a cooktop. A combination of sensible planning and child safety devices should reduce the potential for harm.

The modern home office can also become a family environment for multimedia which may involve considerations beyond your work needs. Whatever your requirements there are several fundamentals that will help you to plan your home office design:

Work within your existing architectural footprint where possible.

Home renovation shows on TV can often give the impression that walls can be removed on a whim – but remember, something has to hold up that roof. Check with a structural engineer or builder before taking the sledgehammer out.

Understand your technology.

The myriad of electrical equipment that can find its way into a home office can make the mind boggle. Ensure that you understand the dimensions and operational requirements of your devices during the planning phase. Something as simple as providing good airflow can spare your expensive equipment a slow and painful departure.

Softwire management.

While infrared, wireless, bluetooth etc. allow many devices to communicate with one another, you will still need to manage some plug in cabling – power at least. Sensible planning can ensure that cabling not only spans the distance between devices, but that is largely hidden from view. An important point if a web of cables doesn’t match your design aesthetic.

Selection of materials.

The most commonly used materials in our home office’s are timber veneer, 2-pack polyurethane paint, and laminate. Each material has it’s advantages in certain applications. For instance, 2-pack polyurethane paint is often considered a more attractive material than laminate, but it is not as robust. The key is to match the material to both the application and your requirements.

Benchtops.

The workspace requirements will often govern the overall arrangement of your home office. The depth of a benchtop can be varied to allow positioning of a notebook or monitor to provide comfortable viewing, and the length should consider the lateral space required by each of it’s users. These factors will then influence adjacent items such as overhead or underbench cabinets.

Overhead cabinets and shelves.

Overhead storage is typically used for folders and books. The trend is towards a single overhead cabinet with an easy access lift up flap or single floating shelf. Everything is within arm’s reach.

Pinboards.

Pinboards provide an ideal use of the vertical space between benchtop and overhead cabinet. Pinboards can be composed of coloured cork, or upholstered in a range of fabrics. They can also be used to mount power points and to hide any defects in your existing walls.

Roll out storage.

Drawers provide easier access to your stored items than a standard cabinet, and are ideal for stationary, personal items, and files. A drawer that can fully extend allows you to access any of it’s contents from a seated position.

Ergonomics.

Your home office layout should consider any individual requirements you may have. Custom manufactured home offices offer the flexibility to incorporate specific sitting and reach heights to suit your physical dimensions.

1. Ventilation, ventilation, ventilation.

Modern audiovisual equipment can become remarkably hot while operating. Ensure that your entertainment unit provides ample air intake and exit to adequately vent the heat generated by the equipment. This may include a recessed cabinet bottom, an open section in the cabinet back, or a mesh panel in the enclosing doors. Hot air rises, so openings at several heights within the cabinet will allow the heat to help drive air movement.

2. Know your sizes.

If you have decided that a custom fabricated entertainment unit is exactly what you need to house your new AV equipment, carefully study the physical dimensions and airflow requirements of each item. There is little sense in building furniture to fit your new, state of the art AV equipment, and then having it sit on top of the unit because it doesn’t fit inside.

3. Limit vibration.

The quality of an audio system is often judged on how crisp and clear it can reproduce the recorded sound. So obviously, the first thing we do with our new system is ramp the volume up to ear drum shattering levels. But what is that rattle in the background? Solid objects are quite adept at transmitting sound. While doors and adjustable shelves are securely attached or placed, they are not rigidly fixed and are not immune to vibration. Where possible, add buffers or seals made from rubber or felt to dampen any vibration that may develop.

4. Allow vibration.

Limit vibration for all devices except for the sub-woofer, of course, whose role is to vibrate. However, it is the floor that should vibrate and not so much the cabinet. Within your entertainment unit, create a space that allows the sub-woofer to be placed directly on the floor without contacting any part of the cabinet.

5. Remote control.

The modern design aesthetic requires that much of your elaborate equipment be heard, but not seen. However, concealing equipment behind a solid cabinet door may mean that it does not respond to your remote control, no matter how hard you push on the buttons. Possible solutions include smart wiring, signal repeaters, or simply a modest mesh panel that allows your remote control signal to penetrate the cabinetry and reach it’s target.

6. Storage.

Storage within an entertainment unit would typically refer to a physical space to store your audio cassettes, video tapes, CDs and DVDs. However, storage of audiovisual media is now more frequently of the form of personal video recorders, hard drives, and iPods. If you prefer a minimalist aesthetic, embrace digital storage and reduce your need for physical space. If you have a more tactile sense, consider cabinets, drawers, and shelves to organise, store, and hide your treasures

7. Future proof.

It may be hard to accept right now, but your brand new AV equipment will probably have a shorter lifespan that the unit that will house it. While most technologies seem to be shrinking in size, they are often generating more heat and have more demands on airflow. Sensible future proofing might include airflow channels that exceed requirements; or well planned cabinet parts that allow the interior of the unit to be reconfigured to suit more or larger equipment.