| This planning guide offers simple facts and some practical advice from our kitchen experts. With this in your hand, planning your new kitchen will be both fun and easy. And best of all, it will help you to get a pleasant kitchen that’s easy to work in something you will appreciate well into the future. If you want more tips and ideas, IKEA kitchen specialists are on hand at your store, ready to support you. |
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| One more thing before you start. Your own experience is just as important as what the experts say. Put it to use by making a list of the good and bad aspects of your existing kitchen. Then make a list of the components of your dream kitchen. |
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| Measure your room |
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Measuring your room as thoroughly and accurately as possible at the beginning of the kitchen planning process will make life a lot easier down the track. Start with a sketch of your room…
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1. Measure from the floor to ceiling, the distance between walls and from the corners to doors. Also make a record of anything that projects into the room, such as radiators, pipes, ventilation, special angles and any other major architectural features.
2. Next, measure the size of doors and windows, as well as the height and distance of each from the floor, ceiling and wall edges. It’s a good idea to mark onto your drawing the space doors and windows need to swing open. If you’re planning to place a cabinet under a window, remember that the minimum distance between the window frame and the floor should be at least 90 cm, and preferably 105 cm.
3. Note the location of existing electrical outlets, switches, water
and gas connections. Remember that these can be moved to suit your new
kitchen. Mark down the approximate position of where you would like new
outlets, switches and connections to be placed.
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Work zones
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Your kitchen can be divided into three main work zones: cooking (stove/hob), washing up (sink/dishwasher) and storage (fridge/freezer)
So what?
Well, when it comes to planning for convenience and efficiency, these zones become quite important.
If you consider that you shouldn’t have to walk more than eight metres between the three areas of activity in your kitchen, achieving a more natural workflow actually makes a lot of sense.
Quick tip: Reduce the work out! Consider not only the distance between work zones, but how far you have to stretch or bend down for common items.
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Well planned from the inside out
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Inside…
It sounds obvious, but keeping items near the places you use them most makes for a kitchen that’s geared for efficiency. By this we mean having pots, pans and spices near the stove, keeping glasses and plates above or next to the sink and dishwasher, and storing groceries close to bench space. If you have to reach too high or bend down too often to get to essential items, there's a good chance they're not in their ideal position.
Storage solutions like smooth-running, fully-extending drawers with adjustable drawer dividers provide a complete overview of contents; giving you access to the things you need quickly and easily, even if they’re placed at the back.
And inside drawers and cabinets you can further enhance the functionality of your kitchen work zones with smart RATIONELL interior fittings like cutlery trays, waste bins, plate holders, plus all manner of boxes, baskets and racks.
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…and out
Smart storage doesn’t only have to exist on the inside. Easy-access storage solutions like wall-mounted dish drainers, cutlery stands, wine glass racks, magnetic strips for knives, as well as baskets, hooks and holders, unclutter and free up benches. And most of our sinks can be completed with practical accessories like fitted dish drainers, rinsing baskets and chopping boards to give you even more room to work.
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5 kitchens that are easy to work in
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Your kitchen can be divided into three main work zones: cooking
(stove/hob), washing up (sink/dishwasher) and storage (fridge/freezer).
With the help of this work triangle, you can achieve the optimal
kitchen layout.
Below you’ll see five of the most common layouts –
choose one that match your needs and your room.
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1. SINGLE-LINE KITCHEN
A single-line kitchen puts all appliances and cabinets along one wall. That means that the work triangle is in a straight line. This is a compact and effective layout for narrow kitchens. It’s good for small to medium-sized households – or where one person at a time works in the kitchen. If you use this layout for a large kitchen, there is a risk that there will be too much distance between the different functions.
Consider double rows of wall cabinets or extra high wall cabinets to put the walls to maximum use.
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2. SINGLE-LINE KITCHEN WITH AN ISLAND
An island provides an extra worksurface and storage area. It also makes it easier for several people to work in the kitchen at the same time. If you want, you may equip the island with an extra sink or stove/hob. Before you decide, check if it’s possible to connect plumbing, electricity and ventilation duct for the cooker hood to the island. And be sure you have a worksurface between the oven and the sink so you don’t have to take many steps when carrying hot things.
You need a large room for this layout. There should be at least 120 cm between the row of cabinets and the island to ensure you have plenty of room to move about and open doors and drawers.
An island can also double as a serving area, a bar or a room divider.
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3. L-SHAPED KITCHEN
An L-shaped kitchen is a practical layout that gives good work areas and storage space. This is the most common layout and an ideal one if you want a dining table or a small island in the kitchen.
When you divide the workstations between two adjoining walls in this way, you get a good work triangle. And by reserving a worksurface between each station – stove/hob, sink/dishwasher and fridge/freezer – you reduce the risk for spills and keep things from getting too crowded.
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4. U-SHAPED KITCHEN
A U-shaped kitchen is the perfect kitchen for cooking and preparing food, with everything within easy reach. This layout enables you to put the space to maximum use for cooking and storage.
The work triangle is perfect! Two people can easily work together in the kitchen. But it’s important to note that you need a large room for a U-shaped kitchen.
Avoid planning the worksurfaces directly across from one another so two people can work comfortably without bumping into one another. There should be at least 120 cm between the opposite rows of cabinets to ensure you have plenty of room.
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5. GALLEY KITCHEN
A galley kitchen gives you two good work and storage stations on opposite walls. That’s a big advantage in a kitchen where preparing food is the focus. A galley kitchen doesn’t require a lot of room and is an excellent solution if you have a door or a window at the end of the room.
Try to avoid positioning the work areas directly opposite one another so two people can work without bumping into one another.
There should be at least 120 cm between the facing rows of cabinets to ensure you have plenty of room to move about and open doors and drawers. If you place your stove/hob and sink/dishwasher on one side and your fridge/freezer on the other, you will be able to open the doors on facing rows at the same time. You also reduce the risk for spills and accidents by not carrying hot pots, pans and dishes between rows.
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Some practical advice
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Follow the measurements and minimum space requirements our experts recommend and your kitchen will be easy to work in. And think about practicality when you plan where to place your cabinets. These things have a big impact on to how easy it is for you to wash up, cook, open doors and drawers – and do other kitchen work.
To make it easier we divided this chapter into four parts: Worktop, Stove/Hob, Sink, and Cabinets and Drawers.
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Worktop
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When you prepare food and cook, you need both room to work and room for your food items and cooking utensils. This is why we recommend between 80 and 140 cm for your main worksurface. Longer than this and you will have to take unnecessary steps.
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The best place for preparing food is on the worksurface between the hob
and the sink so it’s important that this area is large enough.
We recommend at least 80 cm between the stove/hob and the sink. |
If you have a kitchen with two parallel rows of units, there should be
at least 120 cm between the opposite rows. This ensures that there’s
room for you – and another person – to work in the kitchen without
bumping into one another. And you can open doors and drawers on both
rows of cabinets at the same time. |
The minimum distance between the worktop and the bottom edge of the
wall cabinets or deco strip should be 50 cm. If the cabinets are lower
than this, they will block the view over the worktop. |
Make your kitchen island steady and secure by building a plinth frame
and fasten it into both the floor and the cabinets. Make the frame 16
cm high so that you can cover it with PERFEKT plinth. If you don’t want
a plinth, use UTBY legs with anchoring fittings. If your kitchen island
is at the same height as your cabinets, choose bar stools with a seat
height of 63 cm. If you want a higher bar, attach a bartop mounted by
bracket to a base cabinet and choose stools with a 74 cm seat height. |
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Stove/hob
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Function and safety are the most important things to consider when planning the area around your stove/hob.
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| Plan a worktop that is at least 40 cm – but preferably 50 cm – on each
side of the stove/hob. This will give you space to take hot pans off
the stove and put them on a nearby pot stand. |
The extractor hood/fan should always be mounted directly above the hob.
For reasons of safety and functionality, make sure to mount the
extractor hood/fan on recommended height above the hob. You'll find
exact measurements in the instructions enclosed with the product. There
may be local regulations that differ where you live – ask at the store
if you have questions. |
Keep your utensils and pots and pans near the stove/hob and everything
will be at your fingertips. For example, plan a drawer for all your
cooking utensils. And for pots and pans plan either deep,
fully-extendable drawers with a drawer mat that dampens sound, a
swing-out fitting in a corner base cabinet or pull-out wire baskets. |
Placing your hob and oven in separate locations can make cooking more
efficient, especially if you’re more than one person cooking at the
same time. An advantage of an eyelevel oven is that you don’t have to
bend down to take pans in and out and the oven is out of reach for
small children. Maximum 90 cm from the floor is a good distance for the
oven. Be sure you have a worksurface on the side of the oven to rest
hot things. |
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| Don’t place a multiple drawer unit next to stove/hob. Children may use
them as a ladder and climb up on the hob.
If you do, however, choose
this solution, you can reduce the risk of accidents by using RATIONELL
drawer/cabinet catches. |
Don’t place the stove, built-in oven or dishwasher in a corner. When
you open the door, you block the cabinet or drawers next to it.You
should also avoid placing an extractor hood next to a corner wall
cabinet, as this wouldn’t allow enough room for you to open the door
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Don’t place the stove/hob next to a wall. Not only do you loose an
important worksurface on the side, but the wall may also get hot and be
splattered with food and oil. |
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Sink
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Place the sink and dishwasher close to one another and you will have a natural workflow that makes washing up easy.
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Place the dishwasher close to the sink to make loading and unloading easier and avoid spills on the floor. A 40-60 cm workspace between the sink and dishwasher will give you room for a dish drainer and make unloading the dishwasher easier too.
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Store glasses, porcelain and cutlery close to the sink and dishwasher and make loading and unloading the dishwasher easy. You will need at least one drawer for cutlery. If you want to save worktop space, consider putting a mounting strip with a dish drainer and cutlery stand on the wall.
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Before placing the sink under a window that opens inward, check the height of the base cabinet and the kitchen mixer tap. If the kitchen mixer tap is too high it will block the window.
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Avoid placing the sink next to a wall or in the end of a base cabinet row, as you will loose important work surface on the side. DOMSJÖ bowl rests on the sides of the base cabinets and is therefore required to be installed between two base cabinets.
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Cabinets and drawers
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When things are easy to find and easy to reach, kitchen work is like a dance. Placement and distance are important when planning cabinets and drawers too.
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Finding things in your kitchen is easy when your groceries and utensils are in smooth-running, fully-extendable drawers and pull-out pantry. They give an overview of what’s inside and you can reach right in and take things out. If you have a small kitchen you can make full use of your cabinets by putting fully-extending RATIONELL drawers into our shallow high cabinets. Or attach legs to wall cabinets and use them as cabinets with drawers.
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Place a 5 cm filler piece between the cabinet and the wall to ensure there is enough room to open drawers and doors fully. This is especially important if you have pull-out wire baskets and if the wall is not perfectly straight.
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If you want to place a wall cabinet in a corner near a window, finish with a filler piece there too. Then you won’t have to worry about curtain rods or anything else getting in the way when you open the door.
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Don’t place drawers in a corner. When you open a drawer it may hit the door or handle on the adjoining cabinet or block access to it. Avoid placing a drawer unit in a corner with an adjoining 120 cm corner cabinet. If you must, place a filler piece between them.
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Things to think through
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Here we have put facts and suggestions in one place, so you wouldn’t forget to think about them now when you’re busy planning your new kitchen.
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 WORKSURFACES
• Worktops come in oiled solid wood or laminate. Or you can order made-to-measure worktops in stone and acrylic.
• Figure out where the seam of the worktop will fall. The worktop will be easier to keep clean If the seam doesn’t end up in the middle of the worksurface. Do not place a seam under a hob, under or near a sink, or above appliances or an empty space.
• Decide on the size of the sink, the number of bowls and whether you want a sink with or without a drainer. A draining surface is particularly useful if you do dishes by hand. It gives an extra place to put things and reduces water on the worktop.
• Several of our sinks are reversible. Place the side with the large bowl or the draining surface to suit the layout of your kitchen and the way you work. If you’re right-handed, place the drain to the left and vice versa.
• Be sure the sink fits in the base cabinet. The cabinent under the sink with 1 bowl should be at least 50 cm wide. If you have a sink with a 1.5 bowl, the cabinet should be at least 60 cm. If you have a sink with 2 bowls, the cabinet should be at least 80 cm.
• Most of our sinks can be completed with practical accessories like a chopping board and rinsing baskets. A smart way to free up space and get more room to work on.
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 APPLIANCES
Choose a large freezer if you do your shopping once a week or month. If you buy in small portions, you can probably get by without a freezer.
• You can give your kitchen a fully coordinated look by also mounting kitchen doors on your dishwasher, fridge and freezer. If you don’t want to cover your appliances, you can choose freestanding appliances.
• Decide where you want the oven – under the worktop or in a high cabinet.
• A microwave oven from IKEA is adapted to fit perfectly as a built-in unit in FAKTUM wall cabinets or high cabinets with a matching oven.
• Choose a built-in fan or a wall mounted extractor hood. Extractor hoods for kitchen islands are mounted to the ceiling. You can use most of our fans in two ways – either connected to a duct or with a charcoal filter for recirculation.
• If you have a small kitchen, consider a hob that is only 29 cm wide and a microwave oven with a pull-out fan. Mount it between wall cabinets above the stove/hob. We also have a microwave with oven functions, such as forced air and grill, that make it even more practical in your kitchen. You can mount it in a high cabinet.
• If you would like to keep your “old” appliances, measure up to check they fit into FAKTUM frames.
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 INTERIOR FITTINGS IN CABINETS AND DRAWERS
RATIONELL interior fittings help make the most of the storage possibilities in your kitchen. Organise inside cabinets and drawers and adapt them for different purposes.
• Adding adjustable dividers, which fit our smooth-running fully-extendable drawers, will give you a good view of what’s in them as well as making everything easily accessible. You could also fit two fully-extending drawers under your sink to make better use of the space there.
• RATIONELL interior fittings help you to organise inside the cabinet under the sink. There’s a pull-out waste sorting system and wire baskets that you can mount inside the cabinet for detergents, rags, etc.
• Make cleaning easier by choosing a cabinet with pull-out fittings for your vacuum cleaner and cleaning materials. A laundry bin on castors and a pull-out ironing board that fits the cabinets.
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 DINING AREA AND BAR
If you want a dining area in the kitchen, it’s a good idea to plan for it from the start. Here are some guidelines about measurements. Follow them and your dining area will be comfortable and pleasant. The nicest place for your table is near a window.
• Most dining tables are about 80 cm wide. For everyone to sit comfortable around a table of that size – and be able to stand up easily - you need about 80 cm from the table to place a chair. So a dining area should be about 240 cm in width. Add 120 cm of space between the kitchen cabinets and the table. That gives room for a person to sit comfortably at the table, while another person stands at the worktop. The distance to a wall should be about 75 cm, unless it’s a walkway.
• If you have a small kitchen and need a small dining area, choose a wall-mounted drop-leaf table. It save space when not in use. To position it at normal table height, attach it to the wall so that the upper edge of the tabletop is 74 cm from the floor. For a bartop height, attach it at 95 or 106 cm from the floor, depending on the seat height of your bar stools. A comfortable seat height is 30 cm below the tabletop. Folding chairs and bar stools also save space!
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 CHILD SAFETY
Plan for child safety from the start and your kitchen will be safe and pleasant for the whole family.
• PATRULL drawer/cabinet catch prevents children from opening drawers and getting to knives or using the drawers as a ladder. They fit the FAKTUM kitchen system as well as other kitchens.
• Other things that make life in your kitchen safer are: single-lever mixer taps with adjustable water temperature, hob guards, ovens with heat-insulated and ventilated doors, and child-safe locks.
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 WALL STORAGE AND TROLLEYS
These accessories put your utensils and groceries close at hand. They also help to keep your worktop clutter-free and ready for work.
• Magnetic strip for knives.
• Wall mounted cutlery stand, kitchen roll holder, shelves, spice stand, dish drainer and bottle rack.
• Trolley – extra work surface and place to put things.
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 LIGHTING
With the right combination of lamps you can make your kitchen both cosy and practical. Here’s a list of lighting for different purposes:
• General ceiling lighting.
• Pendant lamp above the dining table, preferably one that is height adjustable.
• Worktop lighting that spreads light over your worksurfaces.
• Lighting inside glass-door cabinets.
• Spotlights to highlight paintings, plants, etc.
• Mood lighting – one example is with a lamp in the window.
• Reading lamp if you read at the table.
• Lamp behind the kitchen TV to reduce glare.
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 SMALL DETAILS
Plan small details from the start and your kitchen will have a more coordi¬nated look. Knobs and handles come in a variety of different materials and designs. Choose a style to suit you and your kitchen. Just remember, don’t choose too long handles in proportions to the doors. The handles might strike against other doors or handles when you open up. Use a FIXA drill template to help mark out holes for your handles. This will make it easier for you to position your handles correctly, either horizontally or vertically.
• Decide whether to put your kitchen cabinets on legs or plinths. Or both! All our kitchen legs are height-adjustable to ensure that they stand steady, even on irregular floors. CAPITA legs come in three heights, which gives a working height of 85, 90 or 95 cm. Choose a height for your worktop that´s most com¬fortable for you.
• Complement with UTBY shelving unit if you want to give your kitchen an airy impression. Combine it with FAKTUM base cabinets in a base cabinet row or a kitchen island as well as with a matching worktop.
• With AVSIKT roll-front cabinet on the worktop you can use the entire wall for practical storage. You can mount the small roll-front cabinet in the space between a base cabinet and a wall cabinet.
• Make use of the “spare room” between cabinets by inserting a PERFEKT shelf! It’s 20 cm wide and will create some extra storage space.
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Here’s how to get started
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Now it’s time to start planning. You can choose to work with our computerized 3D planning tool, or with graph paper and paper puzzles. Our kitchen experts are on hand in the store to provide hints and advice.
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 Define your room
Use the computerized planning tool to make a 3D scale plan of your kitchen.
The tool is available in the store and can also be downloaded free of charge from www.IKEA.com.sa. Select the room shape and enter the measurements of your room.
You can start from scratch, or work from one of our “ready-made” kitchen plans. If you prefer to plan with graph paper and paper puzzles, you’ll find these in the Kitchen brochure and at the store.
Draw your kitchen area to scale on the paper (1 square = 20 cm) and place the puzzle pop-outs as you wish. Mark fixed installations: doors, windows, vents, drains, radiators, electric sockets, etc.
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 Designate the work zones
Consider what kitchen layout you want when you start creating your kitchen. Locate the different work zones for cooking (oven/hob), washing up (sink/dishwasher) and storage (fridge/freezer) so that the distances between them contribute to a practical work flow.
If you want built-in appliances, choose the cabinets that are specially adapted for appliances in both size and construction. Make sure, too, that you have the right cabinet width below the sink.Choose the right cabinets for each zone and add suitable interior fittings. There are many different cabinet combinations to choose from.
Deciding from the start what to store in each zone creates a functional kitchen on the inside, too! Study the various ideas and solutions in the Kitchen Department at the store, in the Kitchen brochure or in the FAKTUM Buying guide. Test different combinations to make the best possible use of the space you have.
Always start by placing the first cabinet in the corner.
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 Give it your own style
Add your own choice of fronts, worktops, knobs and handles. Choose visible legs or plinths. In short, give your kitchen the style and expression you want. If you use the computerized planning tool, you can click on the 3D-symbol to see a 3D representation of your new kitchen whenever you wish.
Appliances, sink and kitchen mixer tap
Choose the appliances, sink and kitchen mixer tap that meet your needs and match the style of the kitchen you have created.
Perfect your kitchen
A few personal touches make your kitchen complete. Choose mouldings, lighting, wall and sink organizers, trolleys and more from our complete offer of kitchen items. IKEA has all you need to make sure your kitchen works well day after day for years to come.
Choose services and place your order
Contact one of our in-store kitchen experts to have your plan quality-assured. You can also get more information about services such as financing, transport and installation, and will receive full details of the complete price of the kitchen you have chosen, including any optional services.
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