In the growing trend of modular kitchens, the minimum requirement that you should be aiming for while considering to go for one is to make sure that the design is tailored to be practical and comprehensive. Modular kitchens come with ample customization opportunities, and you can make every nook and cranny serve a purpose. Although technique and precision are essential to have a beautiful and luxurious kitchen, you can also consider the following simple tips to get started with your modular kitchen design and plan.

1. Take the kitchen work triangle into consideration

The kitchen work triangle is a kitchen design guideline that helps to plan efficient workspaces and clear traffic lanes in the kitchen. It constitutes the cooktop, sink, and refrigerator. A significant part of your kitchen planning consists of deciding how to arrange these three items so that one can easily access the cooking, cleaning and food storage areas without overcrowding the kitchen area.

It is recommended to draw a rough sketch of your kitchen space first before deciding the type of layout you want to go for. A general rule, as mentioned by the National Kitchen and Bath Association, is to let a distance of 4 to 9 feet between each leg of the triangle.

2. Plan your layout

You need to commit to a layout to design a modular kitchen for your home. Modern-day kitchens aren’t just about cooking and cleaning. They are the hub of the home and have turned out to be more multi-functional than ever. So, think well and plan your layout spaces according to the activities that will happen there such as dining, conversations and tea time.

3. Use the ideal countertop length

For countertops, the established standard height of the counter top is somewhere around 32 or 33 inches. You also need to ensure that the kitchen cabinets are not too high from the countertop or else it might be very difficult to reach the upper shelves.

Understand that these design standards are set considering the average height of people. So, like any feature of your home, your designer can adjust the countertop height to meet the preferences of your family.

4. Know your color scheme well

The color scheme you choose can add a finishing touch to your kitchen space. As you have to maintain the kitchen color for a long time, it is recommended to avoid using an all-white color scheme for your kitchen. That will demand consistent cleaning and high maintenance.

This doesn’t mean you should blindly opt for brighter hues as well. Darker shades trap in more heat which could be a problem during summers. So, you can try mixing and matching different shades and use different combinations. Designers usually offer a predefined set of color combinations to choose from to make your decision easier. Also, make sure that your kitchen color goes well with your overall home décor.

5. Ventilation is vital

A lot of heat is generated when you are cooking in the kitchen. Although the chimney and the exhaust fan helps to vent out the fumes and heat outside the kitchen area, having a door which opens out in the balcony or washing area is always useful. This will ensure your kitchen has proper air circulation even when you are not cooking. Also, this will prevent the smoke from accumulating inside your home.

6. Kitchen Lighting

While having the brightness and warmth of the natural light in your kitchen is aesthetically pleasing, overhead lighting in the kitchen is important as well. Make sure that the overhead lighting falls on the countertop where most of the activities are carried out. Presently, cabinet lights are gaining popularity due to the direct shine they put on the countertop, which is great for cooking at night.

7. Safety First

Your kitchen should be a safe place to work in. So, pay regular attention to gas piping and take necessary steps to prohibit gas leakage from curving countertop edges. Even the flooring you select must be slip-resistant and allow you to easily clean any spills or breaks. Place your appliances closer to the switchboard, which should be at a fair distance from the basin and the stove.

8. Pay attention to corner spaces

While creating storage shelves and cabinets in the kitchen, we often tend to ignore the corners thinking it’s of no use. However, you can introduce blind corner cabinets along with the modular kitchen designs to ensure complete utilization of the kitchen corner space.

9. Take care of kitchen trash

According to your preference, you can either keep all the trash outside the kitchen in a large steel garbage container or ask for built-in bins that are constructed behind the cabinet door. Built-in bins also come with two containers to store dry waste and wet waste separately.

The above-mentioned steps can help you cover all the aspects of designing the best modular kitchen. Note that the steps can be customized to suit your requirements as well so that you can create a unique kitchen space that is exclusive to your home. You can also hire an interior designer who can help you build a new sophisticated modular kitchen or renovate the old one.

Modular Kitchen FAQs: All you need to know

We interviewed our inhouse ContractorBhai Modular Kitchen Expert to get you the latest trends. He has a rich experience of designing Modular Kitchens for the last 10 years now and has successfully completed over 2000+ kitchen projects.

Q – What style or design of Modular Kitchen are commonly used?
CB Expert Modular Kitchen comes in 3 basic styles C-shape style , L-shape style and Parallel style. You cab also go for U-shaped style or Island style Modular kitchen. These two styles are ideal for those who work and cook in most leisurely way and have spacious work-space. We then look for the position of sink, cooking area and refrigerator, if they complementing each other or not, as the positions of these 3 components helps make the kitchen an efficient work space.

Q- What is the material used for cabinets for Modular Kitchens? Are they user friendly?
CB Expert – All the kitchen cabinet materials that we use for modular kitchens are user-friendly, water-resistant, and heat resistant. You can choose from different materials from natural or lacquered wood, combinations of wood and laminate, laminate and granite, or even aluminum and marble for the cabinets.

You can get the cabinets custom made as per your style and choice of material, but it needs to be appropriate for kitchen use. Marine ply is one of the best materials for kitchen cabinets because of its resistance to water. With marine ply, you can get your modular kitchen wooden finish in matt and gloss as well. Either of them can be used as both are equally good. It is quite an economical material.

Solid wood cabinets need a lot of care and frequent polishing to retain the luster. Besides, constant water contact causes them to rot. They get heated up quickly and are prone to rusting if they are not powder coated.

Q- While working in the kitchen, the drawers are often sharp around edges and cause injury, what do we do in this case?
CB Expert – You will often notice sharp n pointed edges that hurt, in carpentry work. That is if you getting your kitchen furnished through a carpenter. This is because the laminates used are cut very sharply and the material used leaves a black mark at the edges. In Modular Kitchen, you will not find such sharp edges as the edges are covered with 2 mm pvc edge bending which are hot pressed. This not only gives you a blunt edge but also a finished edge

Q – And what are different hardware used while making cabinets and drawers for Modular Kitchens?
CB Expert – You have many different materials used like, Telescopic channels are most commonly used. They allow the drawer to open fully so you don”t have to struggle when you need a jar which is at the back of the cabinet. You also get hydraulic hinges that allows smooth and easy opening shutters. You get to choose from a 90 degree hinge or a 165 degree hinge. 90 degree hinges are used for regular cabinets while 165 degree hinges are ideal for corner cabinets under L- shaped platforms.They make cabinets with folding doors easier to open and access.

Smooves-a type of hinge has a similar mechanism but are of a higher quality. They are very expensive but worth every penny. Grass channels close at feather touch but never bang shut. So you won”t have to worry for it rough handling. I suggest you to avoid bottom-mounted channels, as the drawers with such channels do not open fully. At least 4 to 6 inches of the drawer remains inside.

Updated Tips on Organized modular Kitchen Cabinets – Below sink Area & Magic Corner

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

Storage – It’s always a good idea to store your detergents or chemicals used for washing utensils and kitchen here. Avoid have food and utensil storage here. Infact I would say that it’s a big NO. Reason, there are chances for cockroaches and other insects to live. Its best to have dustbins, detergents or utensils related other sops, scrubbers, etc. here.

Below sink Cabinet Hinges –There are Chances that the door hinges below sink area will get wet. We therefore suggest you to have SS (stainless steel) hinges installed to this particular area. Not all hinges are stainless steel which rust soon and thus need to be constantly changes or repaired.
SS hinges are somewhat expensive than other non-durable hinges. But it’s all about quality. And you need just 4 hinges, 2 on each side for under sink cabinet door.

Magic Corner – Say the counter-top is in L-shaped. You have this corner joint there. We recommended home owners to avoid picking much expensive fittings for this corner area. There’s a reason for it. We have noticed that home owners eventually stop using this corner much because of its difficult corner access. Well here’s a Value for money tip for you. Store heavy or not often required item there, say which you may require once in a month or once in two month. For e.g. many home owns have spare cylinder which can be placed in this magic corner.

Rather than undergoing this headache, we would suggest you to opt for Parallel style kitchen than L-shaped kitchen if room allows. Parallel style kitchen is the best Kitchen style of using every inch of space.

Q – Apparently,what is more popular Fully-Modular Kitchen or Semi-Modular Kitchen According to you in India?
A – You will get to see more of Semi-Modular Kitchens then Fully-Modular ones in India. The look of each of them is more or less similar.

Q – In that case, when I enter a store or any kitchen what helps me identify if its a Semi-Modular and Fully-Modular kitchen?
A – That is very easy. You shall notice the base of the structure for that. In Fully-Modular Kitchen the entire structure rests on 4″ or 6″ height , which are standard heights. If you have short woman in house who is going to be spending more time in kitchen then u may choose the structure with 4″ leg height or else 6″ is always an option. While in Semi-Modular Kitchen (work done by civil professionals), you will see a bedding i.e a raised floor which not more then 1.5″ to 2″ in height. Because of this bedding, water will not come in contact with the wooden doors or shutters while n you wash the floor.

This article is available in Hindi, Marathi & Gujarati languages.