10 Small Design Details That Can Transform Your Kitchen
You’ve planned the layout and chosen the appliances, so now you can focus on the details that’ll bring you daily joy
When it comes to kitchen design, there’s lots to think about, from the layout and unit door colour, to which appliances and worktop materials are best for your needs. But in addition to these big decisions, there are lots of lesser known details to consider, many of which can make a significant difference to the overall look, finish and practical use of your new kitchen. So with that in mind, here are 10 of the finer kitchen details that you might not have thought of, but which could transform your cook space, making it easier and more fun to use.
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This article is from our Most Popular stories file
Alternatively, you might create a symmetrical arrangement for your eye-level wall units, though not necessarily your
base units, as seen here. Cabinetry of identical height and width, where possible, also contributes to a symmetrical feel. Other ideas include balanced open shelving, a central kitchen island, balanced seating, evenly spaced pendant lighting over a peninsula or island, or creating symmetry through the use of colour and texture. Many designers naturally seek to include elements of symmetry when planning a design, but how much of it you want is ultimately up to you.
Find a local kitchen designer to help with your project, browse their past projects and read reviews from previous clients.
base units, as seen here. Cabinetry of identical height and width, where possible, also contributes to a symmetrical feel. Other ideas include balanced open shelving, a central kitchen island, balanced seating, evenly spaced pendant lighting over a peninsula or island, or creating symmetry through the use of colour and texture. Many designers naturally seek to include elements of symmetry when planning a design, but how much of it you want is ultimately up to you.
Find a local kitchen designer to help with your project, browse their past projects and read reviews from previous clients.
Include secret drawers and organisers
Ensuring sufficient storage is a primary kitchen design consideration, but being able to organise your storage is also important for making the space easier, more efficient and safer to use.
There are many clever drawer and cabinet inserts to help with this. Secret drawers are slimline designs that fit inside and at the top of deeper drawers, as shown here. They can also be fitted with handy inserts, such as cutlery holders, spice or knife racks, or even kitchen foil and clingfilm holders. Other drawer inserts designed to help you stay organised include drawer mats or plate holders – both of which stop your plates sliding about when you open the drawer. As they sit just beneath your worktop, these drawers provide easy access to items during cooking.
Ensuring sufficient storage is a primary kitchen design consideration, but being able to organise your storage is also important for making the space easier, more efficient and safer to use.
There are many clever drawer and cabinet inserts to help with this. Secret drawers are slimline designs that fit inside and at the top of deeper drawers, as shown here. They can also be fitted with handy inserts, such as cutlery holders, spice or knife racks, or even kitchen foil and clingfilm holders. Other drawer inserts designed to help you stay organised include drawer mats or plate holders – both of which stop your plates sliding about when you open the drawer. As they sit just beneath your worktop, these drawers provide easy access to items during cooking.
Add internal cabinet pull-outs
There are many kitchen pull-outs and inserts available, which offer easy access and help to organise the inside of your units.
Standard kitchen cupboards can make it difficult to locate the item you need – you often have to pull everything out first, or find yourself straining to reach into the back. Internal pull-out options eliminate this problem by bringing the contents of your cupboard directly to you. They’re available for base units (including corner ones), wall units and tall cabinets, as seen here, and have options for shelves, trays, wire or baskets. Some base unit and pull-out larder options can even rotate outwards, doubling the capacity of your cupboard and making it even easier to find what you need.
There are many kitchen pull-outs and inserts available, which offer easy access and help to organise the inside of your units.
Standard kitchen cupboards can make it difficult to locate the item you need – you often have to pull everything out first, or find yourself straining to reach into the back. Internal pull-out options eliminate this problem by bringing the contents of your cupboard directly to you. They’re available for base units (including corner ones), wall units and tall cabinets, as seen here, and have options for shelves, trays, wire or baskets. Some base unit and pull-out larder options can even rotate outwards, doubling the capacity of your cupboard and making it even easier to find what you need.
Have fun with LED lighting
LED lights have become increasingly popular in recent years. They can be installed anywhere in your kitchen, as uplights, downlights or accent lighting, and offer a simple but effective means of transforming the look and feel of a room.
Great for developing atmosphere or a sense of drama, LED strip lights are a popular option and are often added to bulkheads, plinths or to the underside of a breakfast bar. LEDs are extremely versatile, and where you can really have fun with them is in the range of colours and temperatures available – you can even choose colour-changing options. They can work off dimmer switches or, even better, can be operated from your mobile phone, meaning you don’t even have to get up to change your room’s whole ambience.
If you’re planning on introducing LED lighting into your kitchen, it’s best to factor it in at the early stages of the project, and always opt for high-quality LEDs as the standard can vary significantly and impact hugely on the output.
LED lights have become increasingly popular in recent years. They can be installed anywhere in your kitchen, as uplights, downlights or accent lighting, and offer a simple but effective means of transforming the look and feel of a room.
Great for developing atmosphere or a sense of drama, LED strip lights are a popular option and are often added to bulkheads, plinths or to the underside of a breakfast bar. LEDs are extremely versatile, and where you can really have fun with them is in the range of colours and temperatures available – you can even choose colour-changing options. They can work off dimmer switches or, even better, can be operated from your mobile phone, meaning you don’t even have to get up to change your room’s whole ambience.
If you’re planning on introducing LED lighting into your kitchen, it’s best to factor it in at the early stages of the project, and always opt for high-quality LEDs as the standard can vary significantly and impact hugely on the output.
Welcome a waterfall edge worktop
A waterfall worktop edge on an island, as seen here, can be a striking statement. It’s easily achieved by continuing the island worktop surface down either one or usually both sides of the island, so it ‘cascades’ to the floor. Waterfall islands make a sleek and clean statement so are best suited for modern kitchens, though they can work for traditional spaces too – search Houzz photos for ideas.
Your waterfall edge could incorporate a similar colour palette to your island furniture, or opt for a striking contrast to really establish it as the focal point of the room. As well as being easy on the eye, waterfall edges are practical too. A simple overhang allows your island to also be used as a breakfast bar, with space for chairs to be tucked neatly underneath.
More: 18 Kitchens Where Gorgeous Waterfall Worktops Take Centre Stage
A waterfall worktop edge on an island, as seen here, can be a striking statement. It’s easily achieved by continuing the island worktop surface down either one or usually both sides of the island, so it ‘cascades’ to the floor. Waterfall islands make a sleek and clean statement so are best suited for modern kitchens, though they can work for traditional spaces too – search Houzz photos for ideas.
Your waterfall edge could incorporate a similar colour palette to your island furniture, or opt for a striking contrast to really establish it as the focal point of the room. As well as being easy on the eye, waterfall edges are practical too. A simple overhang allows your island to also be used as a breakfast bar, with space for chairs to be tucked neatly underneath.
More: 18 Kitchens Where Gorgeous Waterfall Worktops Take Centre Stage
Let your kitchen ‘float’
Another striking design option that you might not have considered is floating end panels. These can be introduced into handleless kitchens on the exposed ends of a run of units or an island, and create a softer look in place of square edges. The look is achieved by continuing the handleless channel around the corner of the units, or all the way around the island, as shown here. Once the worktop is lowered onto the top of the units it creates the impression of elegantly floating just above the furniture.
Another striking design option that you might not have considered is floating end panels. These can be introduced into handleless kitchens on the exposed ends of a run of units or an island, and create a softer look in place of square edges. The look is achieved by continuing the handleless channel around the corner of the units, or all the way around the island, as shown here. Once the worktop is lowered onto the top of the units it creates the impression of elegantly floating just above the furniture.
Projecting an island’s panels proud of the plinth will also give the effect of the island hovering just above the floor. (You can heighten this look even more with LED strip lighting inside the worktop or plinth.)
Don’t forget pop-up sockets and USB chargers
Ease of use is important in any kitchen, and a surefire way of achieving this is by including sufficient power sockets in convenient places.
Pop-up sockets on an island, as seen here, go a long way to making the island a multi-purpose piece of furniture – whether you’re plugging in to whip up a smoothie in a blender, or charging your laptop while you work there. As it retracts back into the worktop after use, a pop-up socket never spoils a kitchen’s clean aesthetic.
As we also spend a lot of time using our phones and iPads, it can be handy to have USB ports built into your kitchen socket boards too, keeping the sockets themselves free for other uses. Inbuilt USB ports are particularly useful if you like to cook while listening to music powered off your phone, as you can do this for hours at a time without worrying about draining your battery.
Ease of use is important in any kitchen, and a surefire way of achieving this is by including sufficient power sockets in convenient places.
Pop-up sockets on an island, as seen here, go a long way to making the island a multi-purpose piece of furniture – whether you’re plugging in to whip up a smoothie in a blender, or charging your laptop while you work there. As it retracts back into the worktop after use, a pop-up socket never spoils a kitchen’s clean aesthetic.
As we also spend a lot of time using our phones and iPads, it can be handy to have USB ports built into your kitchen socket boards too, keeping the sockets themselves free for other uses. Inbuilt USB ports are particularly useful if you like to cook while listening to music powered off your phone, as you can do this for hours at a time without worrying about draining your battery.
Opt for electric-opening cabinets
Many kitchen companies now offer the luxury option of electric-opening cabinets. Suitable for handled and handleless doors, and for both base and wall units, these require only the gentlest of touches anywhere on the surface to open doors and drawers fully, silently and effortlessly. This can be a helpful timesaver during cooking if your hands are full or messy – a raised knee or bump of the hip will also easily open the door.
And if a base unit drawer is full of heavy pots and pans, you don’t have to strain to open it.
If you’re considering electric cabinets, it’s worth noting you can interrupt the opening, so in the event of a power failure, these systems are still operable.
Many kitchen companies now offer the luxury option of electric-opening cabinets. Suitable for handled and handleless doors, and for both base and wall units, these require only the gentlest of touches anywhere on the surface to open doors and drawers fully, silently and effortlessly. This can be a helpful timesaver during cooking if your hands are full or messy – a raised knee or bump of the hip will also easily open the door.
And if a base unit drawer is full of heavy pots and pans, you don’t have to strain to open it.
If you’re considering electric cabinets, it’s worth noting you can interrupt the opening, so in the event of a power failure, these systems are still operable.
Swing towards soft-close doors and drawers
Even if electric-opening doors aren’t for you, you should still consider the soft-close element of this mechanism for your kitchen. Soft-closing door hinges and drawer slides are designed to endure repeated and frequent open and closing. They allow your kitchen doors and drawers to glide open smoothly and fully, but they also close smoothly and quietly too, without ever slamming shut… because they can’t!
Even if electric-opening doors aren’t for you, you should still consider the soft-close element of this mechanism for your kitchen. Soft-closing door hinges and drawer slides are designed to endure repeated and frequent open and closing. They allow your kitchen doors and drawers to glide open smoothly and fully, but they also close smoothly and quietly too, without ever slamming shut… because they can’t!
Favour fingerprint-proof cabinet doors
If fingerprints on your cabinetry bothers you, then it’s best to go for a matt rather than gloss finish as matt kitchens don’t show marks or smudges so prominently. This is often a concern for parents of small children, but if you still prefer a gloss kitchen, you can partially overcome this by teaming matt base cabinets with gloss wall units. That way, you still get a glossy look but these units are out of reach of sticky little fingers.
If you opt for gloss, the colour and type of finish you choose can also impact on how visible finger marks are. Darker gloss colours show marks more than paler tones, while a glass kitchen also reveals smudges more easily than one with a laser or laminate finish.
Tell us…
What small details have made a big impact on the look or use of your kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
If fingerprints on your cabinetry bothers you, then it’s best to go for a matt rather than gloss finish as matt kitchens don’t show marks or smudges so prominently. This is often a concern for parents of small children, but if you still prefer a gloss kitchen, you can partially overcome this by teaming matt base cabinets with gloss wall units. That way, you still get a glossy look but these units are out of reach of sticky little fingers.
If you opt for gloss, the colour and type of finish you choose can also impact on how visible finger marks are. Darker gloss colours show marks more than paler tones, while a glass kitchen also reveals smudges more easily than one with a laser or laminate finish.
Tell us…
What small details have made a big impact on the look or use of your kitchen? Let us know in the Comments.
We’re generally attracted to symmetrical shapes, patterns and forms. Symmetry has associations with stability, good health and longevity and, subconsciously, we may look for it in design. It’s rarely possible to achieve total symmetry in a kitchen – and not everyone would welcome it – but features with visual balance tend to look neater, projecting a sense of calm and order to a space.
There are many ways to achieve symmetry in your kitchen. You might select a central focal point along one wall such as an extractor, open shelving or mantle, and build your symmetry around this. Or you might bookend your design with tall units, as seen here.
More: How to Curate Ideas for Your Kitchen Project