If you can’t stand the heat

Thoughts turn to spring cleaning at this time of year. Sorting one of your most important spaces doesn't have to be a chore.

Making sure that you understand your own needs is the first step to creating a user-friendly kitchen. Courtesy of John Lewis

1 Consider your needs

Whether you are planning a whole new design from scratch or simply want to make the most of your current kitchen, start by understanding your specific needs. You may be itching to get on and make some changes, but don’t skip this vital step. First, make a list of who will be using the room and for what purpose, how much needs to be stored, whether or not you’ll want to entertain here, your style and tastes, and so on. Then writedown what you definitely don’t want. Finally, look at what you already have and make a note of which elements are working and which elements aren’t. Now, whenever you make a decision about how to lay out your kitchen, what to buy or where to store something, you can refer to these notes and make sure that your kitchen works for you.

2 Form a design triangle

Functionality is the most important consideration in this room, where, for the most part, you’re trying to get things done, rather than relax. You’ll spend most of your time here moving between fridge, sink and stove, so these should be positioned in a convenient triangle, to make them as easily accessible as possible. Believe it or not, this idea goes back to the 1940s and was introduced to help standardise design and maximise efficiency for housewives who spent so much of their time in the kitchen. According to the experts, the distance between each element should ideally be between 1.2 metres and 2.7 metres. If you’re planning a full-scale redesign, it’s worth keeping this in mind.

3 Add a social element

While most of the time spent in the kitchen involves work or activity of some sort, it’s also the heart of the home, so be sure to include a social element if you can. This might take the form of a dining or smaller breakfast table, depending on the space that you have, or even a couple of stools where your partner or a friend can sit with a drink and a snack while you get on with preparing a meal (or vice versa). You could even install a flip-down tabletop that folds away when it’s not in use. If there’s any chance of knocking through to create a kitchen-cafe, so much the better — open-plan living is one trend that’s here to stay — or you could create a smaller look-through hatch as a compromise.

4 Increase your storage

There may not be much that you can do about the number of units that you have in a built-in kitchen, but there are always clever ways to add more storage (and let’s face it, most of us could use the space). If your units are a standard size, you may well be able to add or replace certain elements, for example, swapping two standard drawers for one deep pan drawer, or adding extra shelving inside one cupboard, so as to increase space for smaller items. Open shelving is increasingly popular, so consider adding this if you have an expanse of wall free; or what about buying free-standing, tiered storage baskets for your veg, or even a butcher’s block to increase both work and storage space? Don’t forget the ceiling either — hanging pot rails will free up an awful lot of cupboard space. There are also plenty of options for organising your units better, from pull-out shelving to carousels, which make it so much easier to get to the back of deep ­cupboards.

5 Organise your fridge

Have you ever discovered a jar at the back of the fridge that turns out to be full of mould? Or had to defrost a Tupperware container of food from the freezer before you could identify what it was? Food waste costs us a fortune and it’s not so great for the environment either, so getting your fridge in order is well worth the effort. Start by taking everything out, giving it a wash down, then replacing it in an order that works for you. There are plenty of clever products available to help you keep things neat and tidy, from storage boxes that contain the smell of onions to dividers that keep your veg drawers in order or rewritable labels for your freezer containers — so there’s no ­excuse.

6 Invest in great tools

While some items can be chosen based on how pretty they are — plates, mugs, glassware and so on — there are items that form the backbone of your kitchen arsenal and these need to be as high-quality as you can afford. Heavy duty, non-stick cookware will save you hours of scrubbing away burnt-on food, while professional-standard knives make preparation a doddle (note: make sure to keep them sharp with a dedicated sharpener — you’re far more likely to have an accident with a blunt knife). There are other things that you may need, too — a bread maker if your family goes through loads of sandwiches, for example, or an electric mixer if you do lots of baking. Going back to the first point, it’s all about understanding your needs and how you use your kitchen.

7 Get technical

Advances in technology have given us all sorts of wonderful gadgetry that can make your kitchen so much more user friendly. You can get fridges that make ice and dispense drinks; variable-temperature kettles; voice-activated grocery-list makers; digital scales that tell you about nutritional content; toasters that keep your toast warm after it’s popped; and all sorts of devices with built-in Wi-Fi so that you can operate them remotely. You can even get a specialist tablet designed for kitchen use, with splash-proof screen and waterproof keys, so that you can look up recipes and watch instructional videos on the go, without worrying about spilling soup on it — oh, and there’s a cabinet mount, too, so you don’t have to clutter your ­workstation.