The best kitchen for your style Part 1: Planning your kitchen

Country style kitchens

Country style kitchens ooze old world charm, nostalgia and that ‘home made’ flair. An era when you could smell Nan’s freshly baked scones from the rose garden. A time when freestanding cookers took centre-stage in the heart and soul of the family home – the kitchen. When meat safes existed, steel mesh cupboards kept creepy crawlies at bay and displayed Nan’s finest china, open shelves lined the walls and the cake tins, milk jugs, stove top kettles and other high rotation and hard-working kitchen items were on display – not hidden away. Today’s country charming kitchens take all the best bits of the yesteryear, while recreating the kitchen plan and design to accommodate for our modern lifestyle needs.

Hanging pots and pans, wall knife displays, open shelves and the piece de resistance, the kitchen table sat close to the kitchen workspace. The perfect solution for country cottages and yep, even small city apartments.

Key features: Enamel finishes, chrome knobs, retro-appliances, raw wooden timbers, exposed elements (pipes, range-hood etc), freestanding cookers and earthy elements mixed with sleek modern finishes and cabinetry.

Suits: Country and country-inspired homes, suburban weatherboards, retro-inspired homes, Art deco designs, Californian bungalows and even contemporary homes adding a dash of ‘50s glamour and charm.

On-trend kitchens

For those of us who love cooking up new and interesting meals, plans, holidays … whatever! You’ll love the abundance of quirky, cool, stylish, sophisticated and functional kitchen trends coming to a stove top near you. From feature wall splashbacks to clever cabinetry and extended island benches you’ll want to enjoy a Pina Colada (or two) at.

Some of our favourites?

Inset cabinets are a great way to add depth and layering to a kitchen design. And for small kitchens where working bench space is limited, they are practical – being inset means avoiding ‘bumps to the head’.

Taller kitchens, where the cabinetry extends from ceiling to floor, making full use of space and storage efficiencies is not only a smart hack for small spaces but keeps cutlery, utensils, dinnerware and other kitchen essentials off benches and out of sight.

Open shelves between drawers are another on-trend design feature that we’re loving. Keep your favourite collectables, china, tea cup collection, heirloom silverware or even high-rotation dinnerware on show and at-hand – not hidden away!

Key features: Bright coloured cabinetry, patterned or coloured glass tiling, black reflective glass splashbacks, inset cabinets, exposed shelves, art-work lighting, extended cabinetry and island benches.

Suits: Trends become popular because they have aesthetic appeal and are usually functional – the best trends suited to your lifestyle and personality can be easily worked into any kitchen style. Subway style splashbacks, for example, work magic in loft style apartment kitchens, country, traditional, contemporary spaces and more.

Contemporary kitchens

Contemporary kitchens tend to conjure images of seamless finishes, linear designs, reflective stainless steel, sleek finishes and minimalism. That is, everything is hidden away behind (handle-less or ergonomically designed handles) cabinet doors.  It is the perfect kitchen for those who can’t stand clutter! Deep draws cleverly accommodate for well organised saucepan sets, butler’s pantries (aka scullery) keep toasters and coffee machines off benches and out of site, and turnstile corner cupboards mean you can actually access your entire spice collection in lightning speed (and without spilling the cinnamon)!

Key features: Symmetrical lines, organised cupboards, shelving and high-performing kitchen layout and design. Appliances that have reflective qualities silver stainless steel or reflective black to maximise light and space.

Suits: The beauty of a contemporary kitchen is that is suits just about every home – from a quaint garden cottage with a modern interior twist, to the great Aussie suburban dwelling to architecturally designed homes. Plus, while perfectly suited for minimalist and sophisticated personality types, contemporary kitchens are also well suited to ‘disorganised creative types’ – with an organised modern kitchen plan and design like this, there’s less clutter and more time for creativity!

Find your dream kitchen here …

Feeling inspired? Hop, step and jump on these three steps to your perfect kitchen. 

Step 1: Choose your colour schemes

Have fun cooking up different colour schemes, doors, benchtops and more with kaboodle kitchen’s online 3D kitchen planner.

Step 2: Then, choose your layout

There's U-shapes, L-shapes, galley style and much more. Your lifestyle will play a huge factor here and it's always good to keep functionality in mind. For example, do you have young children, or teenagers ‘eating on the go’? Do you prepare most meals from scratch and require plenty of storage space, or do you dine out several nights a week? Are you a dinner party and entertaining queen or love your solitude? The ‘working triangle' will help you create the most effective work space and kitchen layouts for your needs.

Step 3: Things to consider - measure twice, cut once

When creating your kitchen, the golden rule is to measure your space. Understand how much space you have to work with and how to measure your space correctly, you can make an appointment with a Bunnings In-Home Consultant to help you.