PRO TIPS for a Functional Kitchen | 4 Things You Need

These are my top 4 tips to having a functional kitchen. If you are planning a renovation or a new build, focus on these design tips.

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⏰⏰ CHAPTERS ⏰⏰

00:00 Intro
00:13 Drawers
02:52 Counter Space
04:39 Storage
06:02 Accessibility
08:36 Kitchen Design
08:57 End Card

#kitchendesign
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[cs]

We are building a house and our kitchen is u-shaped, with a peninsula rather than an island. Lots of counter space for a 100 SF room. We put in a few cabinets that are all drawers and a few that have slide-out shelves. Another accessibility consideration is aging. To that end, we skipped upper cabinets completely. I don’t want to have to climb up to get anything. Instead, we are putting shelves all along one wall (10 feet) of the laundry room and will also have an upright freezer in there, so no worries about space for food storage. I did what you suggest - I spent a lot of time thinking about how I cook and designed it specific to my needs.

[terryruiz]

I recently had cabinets resurfaced. One ridiculously deep cabinet under the built-in oven became a drawer. The front looks as though it has two cabinet doors, but it's a drawer front. I LOVE IT! Perfect now for skillets, and now the space is so much more accessible. In my 70's, I really am done with crawling on my knees to dig into cavernous cabinets!

[bethheerten]

Thinking 2022 will be the year for our kitchen reno. After 35 years my kitchen and I are tired of one another

[deborahfrazier]

A designer after my own heart. You can never have too many drawers.
Working on our kitchen right now. Moving kitchen into dining area & dining into kitchen. The problem is square footage.

[mstinamichele]

I loved your reaction after you said "a piece of me dies inside". 😂 I'm doing drawers. I'm getting older and I'm sure my back will be thankful for it. Gone are the days of reaching to the back of a cabinet to get something.

[pamcadd]

I designed my kitchen with a large peninsula that is 33" high because that's a comfortable work surface for 5' me. It's my baking area, with a bank of 9 drawers (3 high, 3 across) to store flour, bowls, etc. It's about 36" deep and the other side is an overhang for bar stools that are at a comfortable height. The kitchen isn't very big, but this is provides ample space for bread baking, homework, meals, and socializing with the [short] cook. I love it!

[darlene]

Will break ground in October for our new home….love these tips I will have all drawers😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣in my kitchen….yes will have large butler pantry…oh you give me hope…thank you Mr Mark

[kimlittleton]

You have no idea how much I have looked for the information you provide !!!! Bravo !!! Best information out there I have found. I have a home that was built in 1980. Kitchen is TERRIBLE. Did I say that loud I have suffered through it for 20 years. It is time to make a change. However, I am not a I do not have a big just know the current situation Sux. It is time for a change. It will be a DIY project and I do not really care if it is a want to improve accessibility. I COOK from scratch (most of the time). I GARDEN and have a lot of produce to CAN my produce and can up stuff like chili, stews, etc. I need FUNCTION in my life so badly I can scream. Especially a lot of counter space and prep space. So I am ever so grateful to find your channel and take in all this information as I attempt to plant out a full kitchen remodel. Appreciate you so much for putting all this great stuff out there and removing some of the paralyzing decision making.

[pattysayssew]

Yes, drawers drawers drawers!!! Also, yes, I have tiny drawers and they hold very specific items like measuring cups, tea accoutrements, lids, and other little things I use regularly and want quick access to. Also, small kitchen, so it really helps. Thanks for the info! I really enjoy your videos, especially as I begin the remodel journey.

[jennifergorman]

Love that you brought up accessibility! You are the first designer I’ve heard bring this up on YouTube. Accessibility is an area of design i am particularly interested in. There are some pretty handy solutions that can be incorporated for those who like a step up rather than customizing the height of their cabinets. In my home we usually have a step stool for my daughter but i switched it out for a folding single step. Not a great solution but better than tripping over the stationary step. I am planning a kitchen reno now and will be fitting the new kitchen with a built in pull out step stool that fit in between the base units. It’s a little thing but i think the convince and safety will be worth it. My Keeping universal design principals in mind when planning a space will always play off.

[gingermonette]

If I ever plan a kitchen, I will shoot for 48" of continuous space NEXT TO THE SINK AND plates in cabinets right above. Currently my prep space is across from the sink and I'm constantly washing produce and dripping it across the floor to my cutting board.

[cahenglish]

I agree - DRAWERS!!!! Also, I really loved your thoughts on "average" vs "unique." Amen

[batiagabrielleeven]

Shallow drawers would be perfect for tea, coffee, pens, spices.... I'm in

[jlanam]

THANK YOU! Thank you for affirming what I've thought all along--that DRAWERS are the most useful base cabinets (WHY should I add pullouts to all my base cabinets to make them useful, when that means I have to open BOTH doors before I pull out what are essentially drawers??) AND that my kitchen should be useful for ME in spite of what the GUIDELINES say! I had a kitchen planner at the ORANGE store tell me I couldn't put a peninsula where I wanted it, because my work triangle would be too big. I can't tell you how much I LOVED my big kitchen, and how useful it was to be able to move freely around my toddler son as he made Lego creations in the middle of the kitchen floor! Now we'll be doing it again, and I'm so excited to be able to design a kitchen that fits US!

[rosezingleman]

After watching YT videos for 8 months, I plunked down the debit card on a new kitchen last week. This is our second remodel, but in our retirement home, and my hubs recently drove past our old huge house and saw a huge dumpster in the driveway—the new owner is ripping out our fabulous old kitchen that pretty much drove the price of that previous house…. You should never drive past your old house!
On the day I paid for the new kitchen, I came in on a couple (older than us, ~65-70 yrs old) sitting at the designer’s desk and the wife was screaming at no one in particular, “you don’t understand what it’s like to only have one faucet!!!”
Yes, the remodel divorce is a very real phenomenon.
You should do a show on *that.*

[dawnfranklin]

I am from UK and trying to design my new kitchen locating it in another room.. I had decided to have as many drawers as possible as I have severe back problems and was so pleased that you recommended them, makes me feel better.

[anushags]

I love love love my shallow drawer for display of spices in glass. I cook wit lot of spices and all at once access with a visual treat!

[trinaroe]

I have one IKEA shallow (15” deep cabinet style) drawer in my kitchen. It was part of an IKEA hack to my standard face framed half fixed shelf base cabinet. I added the shallow drawer on top of the fixed shelf. Because this drawer is in a full depth cabinet the full extension doesn’t bring it all the way out of the cabinet box, but it does make the cabinet much more useable. I store the extra blade to my full size food processor and a mini food processor (base and top apart and side by side) in this drawer. I also added a full depth interior IKEA drawer to the bottom of the same base cabinet. My electric knife sharpener and a crockpot go in the back of the bottom drawer and fit under the shelf. The front of the drawer holds my full sized food processor and a tall Ninja blender. They fit in front of the shallow drawer.

[reneesmith]

Drawers ✅ Counter Space ✅ Storage ✅ Accessibility ✅ Good advice!

[shetrisrunning]

I love drawers for the kitchen. That is in my kitchen plan.