For an avid home cook, the kitchen is a sacred space. Though it should have an inviting ambiance, a well-thought-out kitchen is more about the workflow than it is about shiny appliances or endless counter space.
One of the best ways to optimize your kitchen space is with custom cabinetry. The ability to decide on the color, shape, and function of your cabinetry can truly transform your kitchen.
There are many ways for a home chef to improve kitchen functionality with custom cabinetry. See how from the Cabinet Chic!
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How to Design Functional Kitchen Cabinetry
Many at-home chefs dream about a custom kitchen with all the bells and whistles allowing them to cook to their heart's content and entertain friends & family. How to make it happen? Custom cabinetry with special features, of course!
When designing the “perfect” kitchen cabinetry, keep the following things in mind, and your kitchen will be *chef’s kiss!*
#1. Plan for Socialization
#2. Get in the Work Zone
#3. Stay Organized
#4. Light it Up
#5. Hide those Outlets
Now, let’s talk designing your dream kitchen!
#1. Plan for Socialization
Too many cooks in the kitchen? Never! For many home chefs, cooking is the time for socialization and community. This is where an open floor plan can become especially handy.
No one wants to be stuck in a kitchen by themselves! You want there to be an area for friends and family to get social. People should feel comfortable congregating in the kitchen, eating appetizers, talking, and drinking some wine.
A custom-built island with a high top on one side can help promote conversation while you are cooking; but don’t give up all your workspace for a high top. If you don’t have the space to expand the island, create a nearby gathering area so friends and family can still get in on the action and socialize.
#2. Get in the (Work) Zone
There is a reason that the common “kitchen work triangle” layout is so popular. With a strategically placed refrigerator, prep area, and a cooking zone, everything is at hand, so you don’t have to hop all over the place when cooking a delicious meal.
For a seamless workspace, consider areas for your prep work, where you want to store appliances, and where your trash will be located. Trust us, it’s important.
Consider a stove built into the cabinetry, creating a perfect transition from the stovetop to your countertops. Or what about: a panel-ready built-in refrigerator cabinet; it can make efficient use of your kitchen space while creating a statement. And don’t forget about the convenience (and high-style) of a seamless custom panel-ready built-in dishwasher.
Be still my heart, and make a statement - your kitchen appliances can be built into custom cabinetry to blend with everything else in the space.
Get creative. Design a special appliance cabinet for your coffee maker, a low countertop for your crockpot, or even a fold-out shelf for your stand-up mixer. *Swoon.*
Trash Storage
Trash collection is a necessary but often unattractive part of any kitchen. And while you would never dream of putting your trash can in the same cabinet that stores your pots and pans, you can have a custom cabinet built just for your trash.
Keep your trash out of sight with a fully enclosed slide-out drawer, and include a bin for the recycling!
Warming Drawer
Don’t forget to include a built-in warming drawer! A warming drawer is a special drawer that is installed above or below your built-in oven. In this drawer, you can keep food warm, raise dough, and butter in need of softening. With practice, the warming drawer could become your new best friend in the kitchen!
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#3. Stay Organized
The best part about having custom cabinetry installed is that you can dream up specialized storage for your kitchen.
A dream kitchen doesn’t have to be a BIG kitchen. We believe in maximizing your space to make it beautiful & functional.
There are no limits to what you can design with custom cabinetry. Consider including:
- Custom drawers for silverware, pots and pans, or spices
- Fold-out shelving
- Glass-front cabinets to show off your glasses and dinnerware
- A fully custom pantry
- Custom turntables
- Corner cabinet storage
- Whatever you can dream, C & C Cabinets can likely build it!
#4. Light it Up
Getting enough light to your prep areas can be a challenge. Traditionally, counters face away from the kitchen’s central light source, and the upper cabinets create shadows. But not anymore!
LED light strips can be installed easily along the underside of your cabinetry, and even better, we can design your cabinets to project light perfectly onto your counters and prep areas.
Under-cabinet lighting can create the perfect ambiance when the overhead lights are turned off. At night, you can set them to glow softly in your favorite colors, as you can often integrate these into a smart-home setup.
#5. Hide Those Outlets
Designing custom cabinetry gives you a chance to do some custom kitchen wiring. Not just to integrate your smart home appliances, but also adding more outlets for a cutting-edge kitchen.
If you have every kitchen appliance at your disposal, or your kitchen island becomes the family’s hub for charging phones and tablets, hidden outlets can be a fantastic addition. Consider where you use your appliances, and place outlets:
- Under top cabinets
- Inside bottom cabinets
- On the side of the island
- Inside drawers
- You name it!
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Get Cooking with the Cabinet Chic
Our team at C & C Cabinets has been working on the heart of the home for decades. For our family-owned business, trust us, it’s happiness built-in when we get to reveal the final design. Our unique experience allows the Cabinet Chic to provide design ideas that you may not have thought of. Then our local craftsmen build them with ease. It’s our goal to design a beautiful and functional kitchen space that will enhance every aspect of your at-home cooking experience.
Let us make your kitchen uniquely yours! Contact our Tampa Bay designers today for a custom kitchen design consultation; 813-876-6780. Until then, bon appetit!
