Kitchen Appliance Layouts

Whether you’ve just moved in to a new home or are in the midst of a renovation, planning how to organize the storage in your kitchen takes some thought. The size of the drawer or cabinet, proximity to the stove or dishwasher, and ease of access are all factors you should think about when deciding which cabinet your glasses should go in, where to store your cookie sheets, and so on.

To help us nail down the absolute best and most efficient layout for a kitchen, we turned to custom cabinetry pros (and bros) Tyler and Justin Sachs, the brains behind New Jersey-based Stonington Cabinetry and Designs. Clients come to them with a blank slate, and Tyler and Justin work to design a highly functional (and incredibly beautiful) kitchen from scratch.

With years of experience—and dozens of custom kitchens under their belts—we knew they’d have some ingenious tips. As Tyler explains it, “custom kitchens should be planned from the inside out. Focus first on the function, and then let the form follow.” After all, kitchens “should be created to make cooking more enjoyable and efficient, so you can spend more time hanging out with our family and friends!”

Kitchen Design 101: What Is A Galley Kitchen Layout?

Whether you’re designing your dream kitchen from scratch or are just trying to make an awkward rental kitchen more efficient, the Sachs brothers’ tips are useful for anyone. Scroll down for five of Tyler and Justin’s best tips for optimizing your kitchen’s layout and storage organization like a pro.

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Anyone who has had to get down on their knees to dig around for pots and pans in lower cabinets can appreciate that drawers (allowing for a full view of and easy access to their contents) are a smarter choice for cookware that, quite frankly, doesn’t stack well and can be clumsy. Stuck with lower cabinets? Try installing wire or wood drawers like these inside your cabinets to gain the utility of drawers.

Choosing A Kitchen Layout

Yes, your KitchenAid mixer is pretty enough to leave out on the counter, but do you have somewhere in your kitchen to store it if you wanted to? Aside from cutting out the shelves in your cabinets (which is a totally valid but permanent option), there isn’t much you can do with an existing kitchen that doesn’t accommodate large appliances like mixers, slow cookers, and blenders. So file this tip away for when you get to build that custom kitchen from scratch.

As much as we love large drawers for lower storage, they simply aren’t an option for your upper cabinets. And despite prevailing opinion, that drawer beneath your oven is not for storing baking sheets and pans. So make sure to prioritize some vertical storage near your range for cookie sheets, muffin tins, large platters, etc. Tyler says their favorite place to put vertical storage is “above any tall, deep cabinet, like a double oven tower or a large pantry.”

If you’re able to install a roll-out mechanism for your trash and/or recycling bin inside your cabinets, make sure it’s close to your sink and dishwasher. Additionally, Tyler recommends storing your knives in a top drawer near your trash and sink. The less distance your knives have to travel for use, cleaning, and storage, the safer you and those wandering aimlessly into your kitchen will be.

Kitchen Layout Organization Tips In 2018

Outfit your top drawers with appropriately sized dividers for longer cooking utensils and everyday flatware, and pick top drawers within an arm’s length of the dishwasher for those items, Tyler says. His recommendation to use a top drawer for spices may not be an option for smaller kitchens, but the thought of having spice containers on a slanted drawer organizer where you can see all of them does beat digging around for spices you need—and knocking others over in the process—in your upper cabinet or pantry.

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Tips For Kitchen Layout Ideas With Appliances

Presented by Ikea 82 Clever Small Kitchen Ideas to Maximize Space Presented by Ikea 14 Modern Farmhouse Kitchens to Inspire Your Own The Top 3 Kitchen Sink Styles for Your Remodel Presented by Ikea 64 Kitchen Cabinet Ideas We're Obsessed WithYou may have your cabinets, flooring, tile, appliances, and paint all selected. But what makes a kitchen livable has little to do with the way it looks, and everything to do with functionality.

If you’re planning a kitchen, there are a few essential kitchen layout ideas you need to keep in mind as you’re designing and planning.

Before you make any big decisions or get carried away with the aesthetic, here are7 essential kitchen layout ideasyou will want to incorporate to make your kitchen design a success:

Popular Kitchen Layouts & Designs

No matter what, the kitchen is probably going to be a high-traffic area of the house. But there are ways you can get around making the kitchen a catch-all for mail and backpacks and coats.

Create a space before you get into the kitchen, like a mudroom, to control the chaos that can come sweeping in every day. Once in the kitchen, make sure the primary pathway through the kitchen is hazard-free and will not be obstructed by the refrigerator or oven door when open.

When laying out your kitchen it’s important to keep the main tasks in mind – preparing, serving, and cleaning up from meals. You don’t want to put the stove across the room from the sink, or the fridge too far away from the stove because that will complicate whichever task you are working on.

Open Floor Plan Kitchen Layouts Ideal For Entertaining And Meals

A kitchen island is where much of the meal preparation happens. If your kitchen layout will include one, consider its location carefully. Make sure that it will not block the area in front of your major appliances, such as wall ovens, dishwashers, and refrigerators.

Allow enough space for the appliance door swing plus room to pass when the doors are open. But you also don’t want to place it too far. Make sure your island is located within a comfortable arm’s reach from each of these fixtures.

When creating a kitchen layout, many designers place the sink first and then design from there. While this is probably grounded in tradition from the days when people spent a long time scrubbing dishes, it remains a good rule of thumb.

What Is A Galley Kitchen?

The oven and fridge are vital to preparing meals, but somehow the sink seems to still be the place where we spend the most time. Think about placing the sink where there is a view out a window or into the room. A kitchen island is also a great location for the sink.

When you’re deciding where to put the stove and oven, remember to put them on an exterior wall rather than an island or interior wall. This will make it easier (and less expensive) to install a proper ventilation system.

Instead of focusing all of your energy on creating enough cabinet and drawer storage, put a little of that energy into configuring convenient wall storage.

Avoid These Common Kitchen Design Mistakes

Storage walls are a great way to incorporate pantry storage, small appliances, baking accessories, extra china, or even a broom closet – in one convenient location. Open shelves, wall hooks, and overhead pot racks are not only convenient – if stocked with the right stuff, they can also add dimension to the aesthetic.

No matter how much designing, measuring, and pinning to your dream kitchenPinterest boardsyou do, your completed kitchen can still come as a surprise once the contractors are finished – and not always in a good way.

Save yourself from costly mistakes and unfixable flaws with a kitchen layout tool. provides an easy-to-useonline kitchen plannerthat you can use to plan your kitchen layout. Draw yourkitchen floor plan, add fixtures, finishes, and cabinets, and see them instantly in 3D!

The Perfect Kitchen Layout

Create 2D Floor Plans, 3D Floor Plans, and 3D Photos just like these, to share with your family, friends, or contractor for more accurate pricing.Starting a kitchen design project for many people begins with dreaming about cabinets. While it’s helpful (and fun!) to clarify your personal style with online research, browsing through magazines and talking to friends, great kitchen layouts actually start by researching appliances. In fact, many kitchen designers will want your appliance list before they put pen to paper on design concepts. When you think about it, it makes sense. Your layout may be very different if you select a Wolf 48” Dual-Fuel Range than it would be if you envision a contemporary induction cooktop and built-in wall ovens. Would you like to incorporate Sub-Zero refrigerator drawers for point-of-use convenience or perhaps integrate wine storage into your kitchen design plans?

There are so many exciting appliances on the market today