HomeDeath by details for kitchen planning
Death by details for kitchen planning
31
- Minimalist
- HDB (BTO)
- ~1,200 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living with Kids
Kitchen was the hardest to plan for us. There were many components to think about, water inlet/outlet, electrical points, countertop height, dish rack height etc. Read on for some of our considerations, otherwise feel free to check out my Instagram account for kitchen planning tips. We adopted workflow-based planning for kitchen as well. The kitchen is a rectangle. It is a standard galley kitchen. We considered doing cabinets only one side only, or open shelves,. But after doing simulating on a free software, we found that symmetrical carpentry is nicer. We also thought about how often we are willing to clean the open shelves and realise that we are too lazy to do so. We want to build things to fit our lifestyle, not the other way round - build something that we feel obliged to maintain. In the end, we built top and bottom covered cabinets for both sides. Some considerations for kitchen: - Plan the appliances that are large or need to be installed. Water inlet and/or outlet, electrical points, double pole switch - Fridge - Dishwasher? - Water dispenser? - Good materials like sintered stone because kitchen is exposed to all sorts of temperatures and stains. - Some materials yellow over time under UV exposure, so this is something to take note if the kitchen is directly exposed to sun - Workflow wise, we purposely arranged beverage station, snack drawer and fridge to be near the entrance, so that our guests and us do not need to walk all the way in just to get a drink or snack - For cooking, workflow, pots and pans are directly under the stove, while condiments are to the left hand side next to the hood - We sourced for cutlery trays while planning carpentry and found something in IKEA that we like. We also thought about what we put inside and how thick the cutlery drawer should be. - Other considerations include using waterproof boards for sink area or upgrading to concrete sink - We opted for mortar base below the carpentry, so there is room for our feet - We allocated pull out drawer for oven to dissipate heat - And a space for microwave while we were still undecided on which model to get - Placement of fridge, opening of door, whether there’s obstruction that prevents the fridge door from opening fully, minimum gaps required around the fridge, considered all these - Singapore is a very humid and hot place. So having a fan is non-negotiable. After brainstorming the different locations for a fan, we thought of getting a lights with fan instead. This turns out to be one of the most asked about item in our house. - We saw a home tour video that showcases light oak laminate and fell in love with it immediately. For top cabinets, we chose warm white. Bottom cabinets will be more heavily utilised so we use plain/light coloured laminate on top instead. 
We persisted in getting a white auto sync door instead of the black and silver options provided by ID. No regrets! 
We built a tall unit to keep oven, microwave oven which we thought will be more frequently used, and drawers for baking equipments. It is easier to find small items with drawer instead of casement. The oven is on a pull out drawer so it can dissipate heat when in use. LED on both sides for task lighting.
