5 Key Mistakes in Kitchen Planning

When planning a kitchen layout and arranging furniture and appliances, even experienced designers and homeowners often make mistakes that significantly reduce comfort. Before ordering your kitchen set, make sure you’ve avoided these common issues.

1. Poor Choice of Kitchen Set Configuration

The kitchen setup should match the size and shape of the space. If all work surfaces—countertops, sink, stove, and prep areas—are along one long wall, moving from end to end will take more time and effort. In most cases, an L-shaped or U-shaped layout is more convenient.

When placing furniture in two rows, U-shaped, or adding an island in the center, ensure there’s at least a one-meter passage between parallel items, ideally around 1.2 meters. Otherwise, the passage will be too narrow, and there won’t be enough space to open drawers or cabinet doors comfortably.

2. Inconvenient Placement of Individual Furniture Pieces

This includes mistakes like furniture being at the wrong height, poor layout choices, and issues with hardware:
• Lower cabinets have shelves instead of pull-out drawers, requiring you to bend or squat to access the back.
• Overhead cabinets with vertically opening doors are too high, making the handles hard to reach.
• Cabinets with traditional doors are placed too close to walls or deeper furniture, limiting door movement.
• In corner cabinets, handles on adjacent units may block each other, preventing drawers or doors from fully opening.
• Narrow tall cabinets near the stove or sink can restrict workspace access and accumulate grime or grease on side panels.

3. Incorrect Placement of Appliances

Many people start with a plan designed for built-in appliances but end up using regular units, which reduces their lifespan. Built-in appliances come with ventilation systems for cooling, allowing them to be installed close to cabinets and walls. Regular appliances can overheat in these conditions.
Other mistakes include:
• Installing a small sink in a corner, making it hard to reach. Place it closer to the center or parallel to one wall.
• Placing microwaves or coffee makers above chest level, making it hard and unsafe to retrieve hot items.
• Putting the stove or oven too close to the refrigerator, which increases its load and shortens its lifespan.
• Installing the stove near a window (less than 50 cm away) can be dangerous; drafts may extinguish the flame, and curtains risk catching grease and grime.
• Placing the stove and sink too close together risks extinguishing flames with splashes or causing short circuits. Water splashes on a hot pan can cause oil to splatter and lead to burns.
Avoid placing appliances from “hot” zones (stove, oven) too close to items in “water” zones (sink, dishwasher, refrigerator). Always keep buffer zones between the stove, sink, and refrigerator for safety and to create temporary storage space.

4. Inefficient Use of Space

This mistake is especially common in small kitchens. Freestanding furniture and appliances occupy too much space; built-in furniture is often more efficient.

Sometimes, small open shelves are installed instead of full-size overhead cabinets. Cabinets hold more and help keep things organized, while crowded shelves make the kitchen look cluttered. Open shelves are better suited for decorative purposes or kitchens with minimal items to store.

Another missed opportunity is underutilized corners. For example, corner furniture may occupy space, but the inner area of an L-shaped set might go unused. Folding doors, corner drawers, or a carousel shelf can help make corner units more accessible.

5. Poorly Considered Module Dimensions

Design programs allow you to adjust furniture dimensions to fit a specific kitchen layout. However, beginners often try to fit as much furniture as possible, resulting in inconvenient dimensions like overly shallow units or narrow, unusable sections. Shallow countertops don’t fit sinks, stovetops, or standard-sized storage racks, and extra-deep units or drawers longer than 90 cm are awkward to use. Disproportionate furniture also affects the kitchen’s overall look.

Careful kitchen planning requires engineering knowledge, design skills, and experience with furniture manufacturing. Design software can help but cannot replace practical experience.

One of the specialties at Nova Tech is custom kitchen furniture production. We create kitchens that balance practicality and functionality, ergonomics, and impeccable style.