Got the keys to your new home? Are you buzzing with excitement, ready to showcase your skills in renovation? The most challenging part of any renovation is undoubtedly the kitchen, especially when designing your dream kitchen in Singapore. The kitchen is a space that demands excellent storage and organization. Whether we like it or not, kitchen work can easily descend into chaos, making a scientific design approach crucial.
Many Chinese people love to cook, and a significant portion enjoy heavy-oil stir-frying. For Singaporean homes that are often designed for “light cooking,” this presents a major challenge. Different lifestyles, dietary habits, and usage patterns have varying requirements for kitchen layouts. Proper planning can efficiently utilize every precious inch of space, save you time and energy, and enhance your quality of life for years, even decades, to come.
Today, we’ll discuss a few small details in kitchen design to help you elevate both the functionality and aesthetics of your kitchen!
Table of Contents
Kitchen Workflow: Design for Habits and Maximize Counter Space
This is a very critical issue. Let’s imagine the cooking process: taking ingredients from the fridge, preparing them at the sink, chopping vegetables on the prep counter, cooking on the stove, and finally plating and serving. This is followed by washing dishes and cleaning up. This involves spaces for storage, preparation, and cooking. If your refrigerator is next to the stove, your cutting board is far from the sink, the dishwasher is installed randomly, and the dish cabinet or sterilizer is in a high wall cabinet, the result will certainly be disastrous.
Typically, kitchens are divided into: single-wall, L-shaped, U-shaped, and galley layouts. The final layout of the kitchen needs to be adjusted based on the space and usage habits.
Single-Wall Kitchen
In a single-wall kitchen, the entire work area is arranged along one wall. It requires little space, the work zone combination is simple, and it’s suitable for long, narrow kitchens. All sections are lined up, placing the entire cooking process on a single workflow line.
Key point: Single-wall kitchens lack flexibility and require clear planning of the cooking process. Each zone should be used sequentially to minimize movement. Such kitchens are generally smaller and are suitable for families that don’t cook frequently.
L-Shaped Kitchen
An L-shaped kitchen expands in two directions from a corner, offering more flexibility in workflow and making the most efficient use of space, forming an enclosed work area.
Key point: The corner area in an L-shaped kitchen can be inconvenient for storage or operation. If setting up storage space under the countertop, it’s more convenient to use a corner cabinet solution.
U-Shaped Kitchen
Functional areas are arranged along three walls, forming an enclosed workstation. This not only provides a larger preparation surface but also accommodates more kitchen appliances.
Key point: This is a great choice for large kitchens. This spatial design is the most convenient and offers the most storage capacity. Attention should also be paid to the corner spaces.
Galley Kitchen
Some kitchens have a small balcony attached, so the kitchen work area is arranged on two opposite walls.
Key point: This design needs to consider the flow of movement to and from the balcony and daily habits. For example, it’s not ideal to do heavy stir-frying when laundry is drying on the balcony, and the width of the corridor must allow for easy passage.
Standard Kitchen Dimensions—Comfortable and Ergonomic Measurements
Depending on the height of the kitchen user, we recommend that homeowners adjust the details according to their actual needs to achieve the best design.
Primary work area: This is where you place your cutting board and chop vegetables. This is the center of the entire kitchen, where most items are and the most work is done. Even in a very tiny kitchen, you need to ensure a basic operational space. This minimum size should not be less than 600 mm, and the bigger, the better.
Secondary work area: There must be space next to the stove for plates and dishes. Generally, you need to leave at least 300 mm for plating after cooking. Additionally, there should be at least 300 mm from the sink to the wall for draining items during washing.
A standard cabinet run that includes the sink, prep area, and stove area is generally about 2.4 meters long (IKEA’s standard is 2.1 meters). Families with more space can extend it to 3 meters.
Countertop depth: We recommend a depth between 450 mm and 600 mm. Of course, we can differentiate the depth based on the countertop’s purpose. For example, a 600 mm wide countertop, after placing appliances like a rice cooker, microwave, and oven, might have about 15-30 cm of remaining space that is difficult to utilize, which is a waste in a way. If you intentionally divide the cabinetry into two sections, with the wider countertop for the primary work area (washing, cutting, cooking) and a narrower cabinet for storing kitchen appliances, you can minimize wasted space and create more room to turn around.
Wall cabinet depth is generally between 320-350 mm. Cabinets that are too deep can swallow items, acting like a bottomless pit, making things inside hard to reach. There is also a risk of bumping your head.
Recommended range hood installation height: for side-draft models, 870-920mm; for non-side-draft models, 650-700mm.
Countertop height of 800 mm might make tall people bend over to wash and cut vegetables, while shorter individuals might have to raise their arms to cook. We recommend split-level countertops (880 mm for the washing area, 750 mm for the cooking stove), which can provide a comfortable standard for everyone and every task.
Clever Kitchen Ideas—Unconventional Designs to Free Up More Space
- Free Up Kitchen Space
Move infrequently used or multifunctional kitchen appliances out of the kitchen. Typically, our refrigerators store not only fresh ingredients but also beverages, leftovers, fruits, etc. If you are not a heavy kitchen user, the refrigerator is not an essential appliance to be placed in the kitchen. Moving the refrigerator outside might even make it more convenient for you to enjoy a cool summer drink.
A sideboard or buffet cabinet, if you can fit one, can also take on some kitchen functions. Make full use of the space on both sides of the kitchen entrance to create a sideboard. Placing small appliances like microwaves and ovens on the sideboard can greatly optimize the dining workflow. Take something from the fridge, heat it in the microwave or oven, and then bring it directly to the table.
The kitchen space freed up this way not only makes cooking more convenient but also optimizes the dining workflow and protects appliances from grease and smoke—a win-win situation.
- Drawers and Pull-Out Baskets are King
Never use shelves in your kitchen base cabinets, or you might find yourself kneeling on the floor to dig things out. Pull-out baskets, dish racks, and pull-down shelves for wall cabinets are all great tools to increase kitchen efficiency. Please choose them based on your personal usage habits.
- Shelves Instead of Wall Cabinets
If the primary kitchen user is short, the utility of wall cabinets is genuinely low. Moreover, wall cabinets can visually compress the space and aren’t always convenient to use. Consider using shelves to replace wall cabinets. It not only saves money but also offers more flexibility. You don’t have to worry too much about grease and smoke, as items stored on open shelves are typically used frequently. Items stored in wall cabinets, on the other hand, might be left unused due to their low frequency of use.
- Add a Breakfast Bar
If you have a small space and are open to a semi-open kitchen, you can adopt this design. A bar on one side can serve as both a preparation counter and a dining table, which is very practical. For those who prefer a U-shaped layout and a closed kitchen, you can create a half-height sliding door, which is very useful.
Kitchen Design Pitfalls to Avoid
Kitchen Flue
Kitchens in Singapore may not have a public flue. This is because the National Environment Agency (NEA) regulations state that residences cannot install systems that discharge environmental pollutants. Many homes in Singapore do not have extractor hoods but are equipped with recirculating hoods instead.
If you need to install an extractor hood, you must find a government-approved company to do it for you. First, determine the location and direction of the public flue. The gas stove should be placed as close to the public flue as possible to shorten the ducting and reduce bends, which significantly improves the exhaust efficiency of the range hood. The ducting needs to be fitted with a filter mesh to absorb grease and smoke, preventing air pollution when exhausted.
Plumbing and Electrical Installation
The sink should be located as close to the main drain pipe as possible, with minimal bends, to reduce the probability of clogging. You may also need to pre-install electrical outlets under the sink for a water purifier, garbage disposal, instant water heater, etc. If you plan to install a dishwasher, you must also pre-install sufficient plumbing and electrical lines. Consider the connection between the sink and the dishwasher to ensure a seamless transition for dishes from the sink to the dishwasher.
Storage Gadgets
Are you constantly tempted by various storage gadgets? Expandable racks, shelf dividers, various hanging racks, spice organizers, pot lid holders, pegboards—they all look wonderful in advertisements. But wait, hold off on that purchase. We suggest you carefully consider the efficiency of any kitchen storage gadget before buying it, to prevent cheap or mismatched styles from making the space look cluttered. Moreover, these gadgets are generally not made of durable materials and can detract from the aesthetic quality of the space. Be sure to choose the most frequently used and highest quality small items based on your habits to avoid waste and disuse.
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