Big or small, turn your kitchen into a functional one

A functional kitchen comes in all shapes and sizes 

Making coffee or cooking pasta in a well-functioning kitchen feels better, no matter how much time you spend in it. While a larger kitchen space allows for endless options, a smaller size shouldn’t limit you in making your kitchen as functional as possible. In fact, smaller spaces can often lead to charming solutions.  

Whether it’s storage space, the location and type of the water station, your lighting concept or cozy seating areas, the functional design of your kitchen can vary a lot based on its size.  

We gathered our top 4 aspects to guide you on your journey towards creating a more functional kitchen – in small and large spaces.   

1. Storage space

If you’re planning for a big kitchen, storage solutions are most likely endless. It all comes down to your preference. And if you can play it loosely, you could consider hiding your appliances such as toasters and juicers in the cabinets. This will give a clean look to your kitchen.  

If you however need to fight for storage space in your small kitchen, you could consider a few options. Plan for ceiling-high cabinets to create that extra space for all your pots and pans and opt for open cabinets for an open and roomy feeling in an otherwise small kitchen.  

You can also get to thinking beyond cabinets and use the walls and corners for alternative storage options like shelves or baskets. 

2. Water station 

The general recommendation is to follow the golden triangle when choosing the location of your faucet, fridge and stove in the kitchen. According to the golden triangle theory, the kitchen’s three main work areas – the sink, fridge and stove – should form a triangle. The triangle is aimed to create a rotational flow between the tasks of cooking (stove), prepping (sink), and storage (fridge), and it’s important that no element, such as a kitchen island, blocks the flow. While a big kitchen will come with more options, the golden triangle should also be possible in a smaller kitchen. At the very least, it is a good idea to keep your water station easily accessible.  

The nature of your faucet might vary based on how big your kitchen is. If you have a bigger sink and enough space around it, a high swivel spout faucet is key to getting into all the corners and nooks to rinse off the sink; with a double sink, you can multitask between washing or rinsing dishes, or prepping food for cooking, and a swivel spout allows you to push your faucet to the sink you need.  

A flexible hose or pull-down spray can be equally useful, enabling you to easily wash larger pots, fill up containers and enjoy the overall added flexibility.

Oras also offers a variety of faucets with pull-out sprays, with options including swivel/non-swivel and high/low spouts, all under the Comfort design line extension . 

           Oras Inspera features a pull-out spray

Touchless faucets can be a great aid in creating a fully functional kitchen, too, and can fit any sized kitchen. A hybrid faucet can give you the flexibility of choosing between manual and touchless mode, so you can activate the touchless feature for small tasks while cooking, like washing food or rinsing your hands; and use the manual levers when you’re filling a pot with water, or you’re washing the dishes with the flexible hose or swivel spout. Hybrid faucets can help you save time and effort by simplifying processes when needed, can save water and money, and are equipped with manual levers for extra flexibility. You can take a look at our range of hybrid faucets here. 

                                                                                    The hybrid Oras Optima

3. Lighting 

A functional kitchen provides maximum visibility in every spot. A large kitchen ideally comes with more natural light sources via windows, whereas a small kitchen might be more prone to darker corners due to the shadow cast by the furniture. Installing spotlights is useful in any kitchen to maximize visibility; in addition, spotlights can also create a nice dimmer effect after dark. 

4. Seating 

With a big kitchen you could consider going for an island style kitchen, which can be used as a workstation and a table at the same time, which can be a great way to entertain guests while you’re cooking.  

If you’re the more classic type, go for the traditional kitchen table that can seat your friends and family. A small kitchen can also offer seating options with today’s innovative design opportunities. Consider installing a wall-mounted fold-out table or a pull-out table attached to the furniture; both options come with the flexibility of closing up the table when you need the space.

Storage space, the location and type of water station, lighting and seating all play an important role in making your kitchen functional. With the right choices, you can turn your large or small kitchen into a highly functional one. By following our guidelines, you can confidently take the first step in the right direction.