If you have the luxury of designing your kitchen from scratch, it’s worth thinking about how you’ll clean it. Food storage and preparation are obviously top priorities, but ease of house cleaning shouldn’t be too far behind.
Below, we’ll cover some tips for how to design a kitchen that’s easy to clean and organise. Hopefully, these should give you some inspiration for your upcoming kitchen renovation.
Designing a Kitchen for Effortless Cleaning and Organized
1. Choose the Right Worktop Material
Kitchen worktops are perhaps the most regularly cleaned surface, so it makes sense to have something that’s easy to clean. Unfortunately, this means staying away from natural stone materials, such as granite and marble.
While they look great, you have to be very careful about the products you use, as most kitchen cleaners are too acidic or alkaline for stone. Instead, consider engineered stone, which includes resin, or other materials like laminate.
2. Think About Your Storage Options
There are so many clever storage options that help you to maximise the space in your kitchen. Look for drawer organisers, rotating shelves, and even shelf splitters to fully utilise every available inch in your kitchen.
If you’re planning to fit a large corner cupboard or similar, you’ll want a fitting that makes everything accessible without losing space. Rotating shelves are probably the best option for this.
3. Be Mindful of Your Splashback
A splashback is a must for an easy-to-clean kitchen, but not all splashbacks are created equal. If you’re after a low-maintenance space, choose something that’s quick and easy to wipe down.
In short, this means avoiding tiles if possible. Glass is a good option, as are laminate or vinyl products. If you’re set on tiles, go as big as possible to minimise the amount of grout. This is far harder to clean than a tile and will stain easily.
4. Keep Worktops Uncluttered
It’s easy to fall into the trap of keeping things on worktops, but the more stuff you have out, the harder they are to clean. Plus, the stuff itself can get dirty, meaning you have to clean that too!
Try to avoid cluttered worktops by designating space in cupboards for small appliances and kitchen gadgets. The only thing you probably won’t be able to squirrel away is the kettle, but in theory everything else can live in a cupboard. Better yet, you can even fit a plug socket so your microwave and toaster can function.
5. Go with Flat Cupboard Doors
Cupboard doors can be a major source of frustration in cleaning. While decorative elements look nice, you’ll be cursing when you have to try and clean dried-on food off them.
Ideally, you’ll want the flattest cupboard doors possible. Vinyl or laminated materials are again the best choice, as they wipe clean very quickly. Cut-out pulls are a good option for sleek, modern-looking cabinet doors.
6. Strategic Bin Positioning
Your kitchen is probably where you have your bins. But where’s the best place to keep them? Black-bag rubbish and food waste should be close to (or under) the sink for convenience. The same is true for recycling, although this depends on how big your space is.
7. Use Drawer Liners
Even the most organised drawer is still going to get some mess in it. Drawers under worktops are particularly susceptible to crumbs and liquids, so factor this into your drawer design.
First, put wipe-clean liners at the bottom of drawers. Unsurprisingly, these can be removed and just wiped down as needed. Second, think about what drawers go where. For example, the cutlery drawer will probably have the most things in it, making it difficult to clean. Try to avoid putting it under your main prep area, as this’ll increase the chances of it getting dirty.
8. Use Durable Paint
Choose either a kitchen-specific or oil-based paint, as these are hardwearing and wipe-clean. The colour itself doesn’t really matter, although remember that light paints will show marks far more easily than darker shades. That said, you’ll never find a colour that’ll hide all food marks, so just go with something that’s easy to clean.
Final Thoughts
Designing a kitchen from the ground-up with cleaning and organisation in mind will make your life a lot easier. The most important things are to ensure everything has a home and that surfaces are simple to wipe down. Provided you nail these points, your kitchen should stay looking clean for a long time.
