Design Kitchens and Kitchen Cupboards

The most important rooms in your home are the kitchen and bathroom(s). Whether you are planning to stay in your home or sell it, updating your kitchen and kitchen cupboards is always a good idea. It will add value to your home and improve your family’s most important get-together area.

In most cases the homeowner’s budget is the biggest determining factor on the choices at hand for your kitchen cupboards for example granite or Formica kitchen tops. DF Enterprises has over 10 years experience in the designing and installation of kitchen cupboards and we can help you with your choices so that your kitchen can be beautiful and functional at the same time, while staying within your budget.

Although DF Enterprises usually designs kitchens and kitchen cupboards with their clients forming part of the process, you can use the following information as a good guideline to design your own kitchen and kitchen cupboards.

What is needed to design a kitchen?

Floor plan of kitchen with dimensions of the kitchen and kitchen cupboards
Diagram of where the cupboards, sink, fridge, oven etc. must be
Desired finishes of kitchen cupboards such as panels, doors, handles and counter tops

Kitchen floor plans

There are 3 main floor plans for kitchens

U-shaped kitchens – kitchen cupboards on 3 walls of the kitchen
Galley kitchens – kitchen cupboards on 2 opposite walls of the kitchen
L-shaped kitchens – kitchen cupboards on 2 adjacent walls of the kitchen

Placing of kitchen appliances

Try and place your sink under the kitchen window
Place your dishwasher and refuse bin near the sink
Place the sink, fridge and oven in a triangular

Measurements that must be done

Ceiling height - extremely important as the height of the kitchen cupboards depend on this measurement
The length of all the walls
Exact dimensions of all the kitchen windows
The position of the windows in the respective walls, measured horizontally and vertically
The width and height of the doors and their position in the walls, measured horizontally and vertically
The position of the water point(s) and waste pipe(s) for the sink, dishwasher and washing machine
The position of the plug point(s) for the fridge, oven, dishwasher, washing machine and tumble dryer
The dimensions of the existing and/or new kitchen appliances - always better to know these sizes before you start designing the kitchen cupboards
Check and recheck all the measurements

General Tips

It is good idea to leave a 50mm gap between the kitchen cupboards and the appliances.
Your kitchen cupboards should not extend all the way to the roof or the walls. Most ceilings and walls are not level, straight or square. Rather leave a gap and use fillers.
Do not forget the cupboard handles as there are ±40 handles in an average kitchen and the cost thereof can be substantial.
If the kitchen is new purchase the appliances first as kitchen appliances vary in size.
Design a new kitchen and kitchen cupboards first, and then install the plug and plumbing points.
Place fridge plug points between 1000 mm and 1300mm above the floor.
Place oven and other appliances plug points below 600mm from the floor, making sure that they are not in the way of other kitchen cupboard units.

DF Enterprises specialises in kitchen cupboards, build-in-cupboards, bedroom cupboards, office cupboards, reception counters, wall / TV units, display units, bar units and vanities in Melamine and Superwood. Call us for expert advice on kitchen and kitchen cupboard design.