Beyond Aesthetics: Practical Kitchen Organisation Ideas
Published
By Hettich
25 June 2024
When designing a kitchen, aesthetics often take precedence over functionality, leading to compromises such as cheaper hardware that doesn’t last, or having appliances that look cool but in reality are impractical for everyday use. However, considering convenience is just as equally important.
Practical storage solutions play a crucial role in creating your dream kitchen, ensuring that it is both beautiful and functional. Here we will share with you some kitchen organisation ideas that can help you achieve this balance in creating or redesigning your kitchen.
Common Kitchen Storage Challenges
To meet the needs of the Australian homeowner, kitchens must be adaptable, organised, and efficient to accommodate diverse and dynamic lifestyles. By firstly understanding the common storage challenges in Australian kitchens, we aim to provide solutions that suit your needs as the pioneer of your kitchen.
1. Having an abundance of small appliances scattered around the kitchen can create a sense of disarray and congestion. Each gadget, whether it’s a toaster, blender, coffee maker, or food processor, takes up valuable counter space, leaving little room for meal preparation and making the kitchen feel cramped. This accumulation of appliances can also detract from the overall aesthetic appeal, transforming what should be a functional and inviting space into one that feels chaotic and overwhelming. As a result, the kitchen loses its efficiency and charm, making it a less enjoyable place to cook and spend time.
2. Outdoor dining is a key aspect of Australian home design, influencing both the layout and lifestyle of homeowners. Many Australians enjoy outdoor cooking and dining, which necessitates kitchens that facilitate easy transitions between indoor and outdoor spaces. However, the unpredictable climate poses challenges, with kitchens needing to withstand varying conditions such as rain and intense sun. Storage also becomes a concern, needing to resist corrosion from changing weather conditions and to be able to keep the contents inside safe.
Smart Kitchen Storage Solutions
So how can we consider fixes to clutter within the kitchen and handle the challenges that come with having an Alfresco kitchen in your home? As a leading provider of functional kitchen storage, we can recommend these smart storage solutions to ensure that organisation and long-term functionality lasts for your home. With our expertise and high-quality products, you can confidently transform your kitchen into a harmonious space where every item has its place, ensuring a seamless culinary experience for years to come.
Maximise Space with Sliding Door Cabinets
Instead of traditional wall-mounted cabinets, consider opting for ones with sliding doors. Not only do they provide a satisfying and smooth sliding experience, but they also protrude less into the surrounding space. Unlike standard cupboards that require clearance for swinging doors, sliding door cabinets eliminate this need, allowing for unobstructed workflow and reducing the risk of accidental collisions. This design choice enhances visibility of contents and ensures easy access to stored items.
Hettich offers sliding door solutions designed with both functionality and style in mind, exemplified by the SlideLine M system. Ideal for wall units, shelf systems, and kitchen overheads, this system incorporates silent system technology, ensuring a luxurious experience in both opening and closing motions, while minimising collisions. For added flair and customisation, consider pairing it with the Cadro Frame System, allowing you to tailor the look to your preferences.
Waste systems within drawers
Maintain your sleek kitchen interior design by concealing kitchen waste with pull-out bins. These bins utilise the space under your worksurface, keeping the mess hidden and seamlessly blending into your kitchen, unnoticed by guests.
Drawer interior organisation
Customisable drawer organiser solutions are designed to fit the exact size of your cutlery and accommodate the various shapes of your bowls and plates. These organisers ensure everything stays well-ordered and secure, preventing items from getting mixed up. With tailored compartments, you can maintain a neat and organised kitchen effortlessly. The OrgaTray range from Hettich offers this customisable experience for drawer organisation, choosing from different individual accessories such as cutlery trays, knife holders, spice racks and roll holder sets.
Innovative Storage for Displays
An alternative storage solution is the award-winning FurnSpin, designed to seamlessly conceal and reveal internal storage with a rotational twist.
Whether displaying or hiding glassware, china, or assorted kitchen essentials, this innovative fitting employs a unique “translatory rotational movement” to ingeniously transform furniture. With a stylish 180-degree rotation, your furniture effortlessly unveils its contents.
Discover more about FurnSpin here.
Outdoor kitchens
In order to deal with the ever-changing conditions of the outdoors, it is best to use products that are tested to be durable and corrosion free. Hettich’s Alfresco Kitchen range can withstand the harsh Australian climate, durable and sophisticated fittings are essential, knowing that your outdoor kitchen will remain functional and visually appealing for years to come, enduring the challenges of the Australian elements.
Hettich’s Alfresco Kitchen Collection offers the perfect solution with its InnoTech Atira drawer system. Featuring Anthracite colour and a range of side element heights, this system provides individual creativity and functionality. The full extension Quadro runners with soft-closing functionality ensure smooth and reliable operation.
Another exceptional addition to the collection is the Veosys fast assembly concealed hinge. Made of robust stainless steel, this rugged hinge guarantees excellent soft-closing performance, even in extreme outdoor temperatures. It exhibits remarkable corrosion resistance and remains unaffected by temperature fluctuations, moisture, or salt exposure.
Design Inspiration and Tips
While these storage solutions are helpful, their practicality becomes more evident through real-life examples and their implementation in designer homes and spaces which you can use as inspiration for your dream kitchen.
Studio Lux Interiors’ alfresco kitchen project harmoniously extends the indoor kitchen area to the outdoor alfresco, creating an aesthetically cohesive space. Utilising not only an Alfresco Kitchen collection product that is specifically recommended for outdoor use, but also an interior waste system that remains hidden inside the drawers, the designers at Studio Lux Interiors opted for the Hettich Bin.it Duo II Pull-Out bins below the BBQ grill, which contribute to the kitchen’s discreetness by concealing various waste items. Also in being mindful of potential corrosion, the designers opted to go with push-to-open doors for the cabinets, to avoid the need for handles that could erode, and help the alfresco space look more minimalistic and clean in aesthetic appearance.
As a kitchen featured used by many contestants of the Gran Hermano VIP reality TV show in Spain, its important to have a space that is easily organised and accessible for multiple people living in the same headquarters. The designers and joiners involved in the house creation not only opted for AvanTech YOU Illumination drawers from Hettich throughout this vibrant kitchen, but interior organisation to keep the relevant kitchen cuterly, spices, knifes and various accessories tidy and together, specifically using the OrgaTray 270.
Its versatile design opens up a world of personalised storage possibilities for the contestants of Gran Hermano, offering a tailored and endless range of storage options to suit their unique needs and preferences when cooking and eating.
While the product has yet to come to be released in the Australian market, FurnSpin continues to gain interest amongst designers and consumers everytime Hettich showcases at various events and exhibitions – as you can see the joy of the translatory rotational movement of this unique furniture from Design Show Australia in June 2024.
To explore projects that utilise various storage solutions for different areas of the home, visit https://designwithhettich.au/projects/
In summary, addressing clutter and creating an organised kitchen environment can be achieved by:
- Implementing sliding door systems for efficient storage and an unobstructed workflow.
- Incorporating waste systems within drawers or beneath benchtops to maintain a clean look.
- Utilising drawer interior organisers for cutlery and other items.
- Installing innovative displays like FurnSpin to show or hide contents as desired.
- Choosing corrosion-proof storage and hardware options for alfresco kitchens.
By addressing the common challenges found in Australian kitchens with these practical storage solutions, you can ensure that you are crafting a dream kitchen that excels in both beauty and functionality. These strategies and kitchen cabinet ideas will help you create a space that is not only visually appealing but also highly convenient and enjoyable to use every day.
Hettich continues to lead the industry by staying ahead of these trends. Explore our website for the latest insights and inspiration by browsing our project gallery for more design ideas for both residential and commercial spaces.
Or take action today by discovering the nearest Hettich showroom to explore our offerings firsthand, or alternatively locate a display, dealer, or tradesperson nearby to begin transforming your kitchen space.