The U-shaped kitchen is a classic design that incorporates practicality, simplicity, and positive aesthetics. If you’re passionate about cooking or creating food then you should feel familiar with a U-shaped kitchen design. Whittled down, a U-shaped kitchen is essentially a kitchen where the counter surfaces form the shape of a U with an uninterrupted worktop following three successive sides! This layout has the benefit of maximising the available area of counter surface to work on while also promoting the accessibility to crucial areas of the kitchen.
A U-shaped kitchen particularly versatile kitchen design that works fantastically with large kitchens and also fits well with compact, smaller floor spaces providing you have at least two metres of space to move in between the opposite kitchen units. This space between the banks of units in the U-shape allows anyone to happily prepare meals in a free environment as well as utilising this layout that keeps the additional storage and appliances close by.
As well as that this design provides a greater area for both cooking and entertaining as a U-shaped kitchen give the opportunity multipurpose spaces. In a compact kitchen such as this, on side of the U-shape can be a seating area with one side for preparing food, then the other for breakfast on a morning or for socialising on an evening.
Keep it Minimalistic
A minimal themed U-shaped kitchen is the way to go to get this design looking at it’s best in your home. This is a compact design looking for you to maneuver around the space is the most practical way so it is rewarding to keep to simple colours and arrangements to avoid things looking too cluttered. Staying with one colour, such as using all white kitchen unit doors, is a positive start giving the impression of a larger space by blending in the boundaries of the surfaces, ceilings and walls.
Open-Plan Design
Building an open plan U-shaped kitchen with an island frees up the space by accommodating other rooms in the house such as the dining room. Being able to integrate the kitchen and living room using a peninsula style design allows a great feeling accessibility as well as freedom when using the space. This can be further achieved by incorporating the use of a single floor style and introducing elements of the storage used in the kitchen in the adjoining room such as storage for water and wine glasses.
Storage Savvy
A U-shaped kitchen is all about storage and maximising the space that you can use by adding more cupboards and shelves. Working smart in this type of design is important, trying to incorporate storage on the walls as well as under the counter doesn’t feel like much but adds a lot when you’re looking to hide away all your utensils and equipment. Using the unique U-shaped design you can fit in smart storage in the corners of the U to add further space.
A Working Triangle
If you have a smaller area to work in then the design concept of a ‘golden’ or working triangle kitchen will be a superb match. This involves having your cooker/hob, fridge, and sink between 1.2m (4 feet) and 2.7m (9 feet) away from each other creating the most efficient working space. This practical and time-saving concept is much harder to achieve in other longer kitchen designs such as a Galley or L-shape.
Make the Most of Your Windows
If we’re following this simple, minimalist design then natural light is certainly the way to make your kitchen shine. Planning your U-shaped kitchen around a window will ensure that you get the best light filling the space and showing off the elegant design. Keeping the finish of the units a lighter high-gloss shade as well as adding some understated ceiling lights and glazed tiles will complete the look.