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Form and Function

The kitchen layout is the most vital part of the kitchen design. It’s important to create a usable kitchen that functions correctly with day to day use. The Family kitchen is usually the ‘Hub’ of the home, which can be a very busy place at times, and must be well-planned to create a successful kitchen. Using the best layout to suit your situation is critical to optimise storage, large preparation zones and cooking areas.

U-Shaped Kitchen

One of the most flexible designs, better suited to a larger room. U-shape kitchen layouts offer maximum bench and storage space where all three main walls of the kitchen are utilised with cabinetry, usually with only one doorway or entrance into the kitchen.

Galley Kitchen

The Ideal layout where space is limited and often used in apartments or large rooms that are long and narrow. Galley-style kitchens allow the most efficient use of space with cabinets running down either side of the room, and a walk way between the benches.

An ideal way to lay out a galley kitchen is to run all the taller cabinets down one wall… pantries, built-in fridges or wall ovens, etc, leaving your sink and large bench spaces down the other wall.

Galley kitchens help make the space look bigger producing an elongated effect by having the two countertops parallel to each other. Many people find that a galley kitchen is efficient and also very comfortable to work in, because you can minimize your movements around the space, and have no hard-to-access corner cabinets.

L-Shaped Kitchen

A popular shape when the kitchen is integrated into other open-plan living areas. Suitable for all room shapes from large, long or narrow.

The L-shaped kitchen is easy to work in as the working area is well established, making food preparation easier even with two people working together. It provides plenty of work space and storage space and can work well in either small or large kitchens.

A large L-shaped kitchen can also be combined with an island or a dining table.

Island Kitchen (Open Planned)

A very versatile kitchen layout for the busy family. Great for entertaining but only really effective in a larger open-plan room. Combines any shape kitchen with a separate work bench, which allows for multiple walk ways around the main kitchen. The island creates extra workspace to be utilised for preparation, cooking, dining or entertaining, while allowing a feeling of openness.

Things to consider when laying out your new kitchen:

• Where do I want the appliances to be located?
• Do I have enough room for a wall mounted oven or should I keep it under the bench?
• Do I need to create additional storage space?
• Do I have enough work top space?
• By simply removing a non-structural wall, would I create a more workable space?
• Do I have good lighting in the kitchen? Can I fit a large window or skylight for better natural lighting?

The main visual features

Doors and Panels are often the main visual features in the kitchen and they usually take up the greatest surface area… and therefore they must be selected carefully. A lot of the expense in a kitchen goes into the doors and panels, making the actual cabinets themselves a more economical component.

Laminate or Melamine Finish

These are both very economical for people working with a budget. They’re popular for their durability characteristics, where a pre-finished board is cut to size and then edged, which of course restricts these doors to being flat and square. Virtually unlimited colours and wood grains are available to suit anybody’s taste and they’re now available in gloss finishes.

Vacuum formed or Thermo Laminated

Allows for mouldings and patterns to be routed into the face of the doors. Available in a large range of colours and finishes, textured, embossed wood grain and High Gloss. Once the MDF doors are routed they are then covered in glue and a durable vinyl foil is vacuum formed over the face to create very hard wearing kitchen cabinet doors and panels.

Polyurethane

Available in unlimited colours and profiles. Once again the doors can be routed or left square and spray painted with special 2 pack paint. Finishes are available in Satin, Semi-Gloss or High Gloss, in any colour imaginable. At Probuilt Kitchens we can also colour match from a sample. Once the 2-pack has been sprayed, the doors are baked to fully cure the paint before handling. Suitable for very detailed joinery in either modern or contemporary style kitchens.

Solid Timber

Solid timber doors are available in a range of species to create your dream kitchen. Natural timber is machined and shaped into styles and rails and made into timber doors that are then polished with a timber coating system. Every timber kitchen is unique.

Bench Top Surfaces

The kitchen bench tops can become the main visual features of your new kitchen but they need to be tough and durable to be able to take the wear and tear of day-to-day use.

There’s a massive range of options on the market from Natural stones and granite, Quartz surfaces, acrylic solid surface to Laminates.

Laminated

Popular, economical and versatile… Laminated kitchen bench tops can be manufactured in a variety of styles from plain colours, granite and timber looks. They’re available in both gloss and matt finishes, and a laminated bench top is a very popular choice for those on a budget.

Granite or Marble

Individual and natural… Granite is a naturally developed product that is machined into slabs which are then cut into bench tops. Available in all different shades of colour and patterns, a very individual and distinctive bench top can be created. Resistant to scratches, they’re very durable but may require extra maintenance and resealing over time.

Engineered Quartz Surfaces

Man-made stone… produced by a process of combining crumbled quartz with special resins to form slabs that can be machined into bench tops. A very popular choice in today’s modern kitchens with low maintenance, and stain and scratch resistant properties. CaesarStone, Smart Stone and Quantum quartz are some of the popular brands.

Acrylic Surfaces

Developed from a blend of polyester and acrylic resins, this material is incredibly durable and has excellent stain and bacteria resistance. Available in plain and stone looking colours. Once installed, joins can be polished to be virtually seamless making it a very versatile choice.

Easy-clean protection

Splashbacks protect your walls and significantly reduce damage from water and cooking splashes and also allow for easier cleaning. Splashbacks can become a striking feature in your new kitchen with a variety of products available.

Stone

If you choose either natural or engineered Quartz, it can be returned up the wall to create a matching splash back. Matching the splash back to the bench top can provide a simple but integrated look which is durable and easy to maintain, without introducing more colours.

Glass

Glass splashbacks have become very popular in today’s modern kitchens. With an unlimited range of colours, glass is easily maintained with no grout lines. Glass sheets are cut into pieces, and then they go through a toughening process before being painted and installed.

Tiles

Very popular and economical… ceramic tiles are available in thousand of different colours, sizes and finishes. From mosaics to 600m x 600mm large tiles… from flat plain to gloss ripples to glass mosaics… a tile can be found to suit anyone’s taste.