I’m reviewing eight functional design elements we incorporated in our kitchen renovation. We renovated our kitchen almost seven years ago now, and while there are a few things I would like to change (mostly aesthetic - but another post for another day), there are several features that we added that truly improve the functionality of the space. As the saying goes - kitchens are the heart of the home - and because of that, it is critical to thoroughly plan the use and functionality of space during a renovation. This post will give you some ideas to consider when planning out your kitchen renovation.

Deep Storage Drawers

I love the deep drawers we installed in our kitchen. Deep drawers are so much more functional for me than shelved cabinets - I appreciate being able to pull them out and see everything stored - rather than move and pull out each item to finally get to the dish I was looking for waaaay in the back. I also love that our deep and wide drawers give me a lot of flexibility in what I store - I added some stackable dividers a few years ago that help me store smaller items by category, but can be removed if my needs change.

Flexible storage is critical in a family kitchen - the items a family with a baby needs to store are very different than with preschool aged children, which is also different from what families with children who are involved with sports need access to. As the season of my life changes, I appreciate being able to adjust my kitchen so that it works with the needs of my family. Last week I removed most of the sippy cups from my household which opened up a drawer for me to rearrange our kitchen towels and hot mitts and opened up a little more space for my ever increasing bread hobby paraphernalia. This would not be possible without a lot of flexible storage in my cabinets.

Side Cleaning Cabinet

This was the one “Pinteresty” thing that we added to our kitchen - and it truly is a hit in our home. We “flipped” the last cabinet along the main wall in our kitchen so that it opened perpendicular to the rest of the cabinets. This wide and shallow cabinet makes an excellent hideaway for our cleaning supplies, including a cordless vacuum. I love have easy access to these supplies and for them to be hidden from view. I also really appreciate being able to store my cleaning supplies in a safe location away from tiny hands; many people store these supplies under their sink, and then need to add child locks to keep them safe. Because of this cabinet, I’m able to use the space under my sink for multiple trash and recycling bins - allowing them to be easily accessible but also hidden.

A Large Sink

Scott was adamant about a big sink - and I was in total agreement with that decision. While some people like to have a divided sink (one side for dirty dishes, one side for clean, or one side for food) I always felt like the dividers in my previous sinks got in the way. I wanted a very simple, but very large sink that I could load up with whatever I was working on at that time. Over the years this has definitely proven to be the correct choice for our family. I’ve been thankful for my large sink countless times over the past several years - filling large pots of water for stocks, pasta, and canning, rinsing vegetables from our garden or an overly indulgent farmers market trip, thawing several thanksgiving turkeys, making various concoctions/experimenting with foods, managing the dishes from countless dinner parties/holidays/birthdays and my regular breadmaking, and of course bathing a new baby (the tub fit perfectly in the sink - it was like we planned it!)

A Large Island

If I could call anything a workhorse in our kitchen, it would have to be our island. Our island is used everyday, several times a day, for all kinds of activities. It can transform from a breakfast bar, to an office, to a playdough studio, to a homework station, to a dinner prep area, to a buffet table, to cocktail bar, to a drying rack - sometimes all in the same day. We are constantly clearing the island to prepare for the next activity. Having a granite countertop is also extremely helpful in all my food related projects - I can use my counter for rolling out pie crust, shaping pizza dough, resting a hot pan directly from my oven, and setting up a cookie decorating assembly line without having to worry about being precious with finishes. The size of the island was something I prioritized as part of the renovation; I was focused on getting the largest island I could that was still functional in the space, and I’m very glad to call this a success.

Cabinets on both sides of the island

Speaking of the island, one of the ways I was able to increase the footprint of the island is by designing cabinets on both sides of it. We had cabinets on the typical inside of the island (across from the stools) but we also added a more shallow cabinet on the stool side for additional storage.

When we swapped our dining room and kitchen, we went from a galley kitchen to an L-shape with an island (and lost a closet pantry in the process). I knew we’d be losing storage, so finding extra ways to add storage was a necessity in creating the new layout. The shallow cabinets on the stool side are an excellent option for us to create more storage for items we don’t use everyday. I keep most of our small appliances in these cabinets, as well as our serveware that we use either seasonally or just on special occasions.

A Tall Spice Cabinet

I love our spice cabinet - love love love it - it is super functional and makes organizing and using my spices so easy. And what is particularly great about it is that it was something we added to our kitchen just to help with the functionality of our refrigerator. At the time, I was not concerned at all about how to store our spices - I had been using a cabinet with a few stadium shelves previously and that worked out fine - but when we started to layout the new kitchen and decided to place the fridge near a corner, we realized that in order to open our refridgerator’s french doors, we needed a little more clearance for them to function properly. The solution? A tall, narrow cabinet - perfect for spice storage. When the renovation was finally over and I started to unpack all our food and move into the new space, I realized quickly how amazing this spice cabinet was - it became such a pleasant surprise in the kitchen.

Pull out drawers in the pantry

As I mentioned above, we lost our makeshift closet pantry as part of the renovation process. When I was laying out the cabinets, I wanted to make sure we incorporated a decent amount of food storage to accommodate that loss. As part of the plan, I added two tall 24x24 cabinets for our food storage. It was an upgrade (read: added cost) to switch the shelves to pull out drawers, but so so worth it. Two feet deep doesn’t seem like a lot - but when you are searching for a particular ingredient, it is much more functional to be able to pull out the drawer rather than reach back in to search. Anytime I am working with a client considering pantry cabinets, I strongly recommend pull out drawers for storage.

Built In Microwave

I personally am a big fan of limiting countertop “storage” - sometimes that is your only option for certain items, but if you can find a way to hide (appliance garage) or build in items typically stored on your countertop, it makes clean up so much easier. One of the ways we did this in our kitchen was by purchasing a double microwave/oven unit (microwave on top, oven on the bottom). Having a designated spot for our microwave built into the space is a huge space saver on my counters. It still gives me the functionality of a microwave, but with a cleaner, less cluttered look. One of the first items I talk to my kitchen renovation clients about in the planning process is appliance selection, including small appliance storage, to ensure the space is not only beautiful, but works for how you actually like to prepare food.

There can be hundreds of decisions to make as part of a kitchen renovation, many which directly impact the functionality and flow of the space. Working with an interior designer helps you learn about your options and prioritize what is most important for you and your home, ultimately saving you time, money, and avoiding costly mistakes. Interior designers can also help you layout the space, determine what is possible, and help you budget your kitchen remodel with your priorities in mind. If you are considering a kitchen remodel, schedule a consultation with me to learn more about how I can partner with you to create a space you love.

8 Functional Design Elements from my Kitchen Renovation