Whether you appreciate friendly competition or are in search of home renovation inspiration, you have likely flicked over to the Nine Network and watched one of Australia’s top reality television shows, “The Block”.

There was a lot to be learnt on season 14’s episode 25. Not only did the judges hand out the first ever perfect score on the show, but there was a lot of insight about how to design a kitchen the right way and what you should never do, like this first recurring mistake:

Where’s the waste bin?

If there’s one spot everyone knows to toss their garbage, it’s by the kitchen sink. However not one, but two kitchens on the show were missing a waste bin by the sink. This is a huge inconvenience for everyone.

Whether hidden away behind cabinetry or set by the sink, when you’re buzzing around the kitchen preparing snacks and meals you need to have a spot to dispose of any waste and green materials conveniently. Otherwise, you’ll be left with a cluttered and unhealthy kitchen.

Sink-ing kitchens

There were also a few kitchen sink related issues brought up throughout the hour-long episode. One was that the kitchen sink was too small, and another was that the kitchen sink was in the wrong location.

Shaynna pointed out that Jess and Norm had positioned the sink directly in front of the oven – a very inappropriate place. When designing your kitchen, remember to leave space between the sink and the stove so that there’s enough room for you to prepare and cook meals safety.

This bench is too small!

The size of the kitchen bench was another problem on the show. A common issue which we have also borne witness to was homeowners choosing kitchen benches which were too small to provide nearly enough functionality for their kitchen.

We recently posted about how to design the best kitchen bench for your room. Some of our key points include:

  •         Having enough space around the bench for movement
  •         Choosing a bench that suits your lifestyle (will it be for food prep only? Will it be for an extra sink? What about storage?)
  •         Incorporating the right colours and materials to complement your kitchen design

A kitchen too far

Unfortunately for Courtney and Hans, they shuffled in at last place with their comparatively poorly designed kitchen. What the judges really hated was its location.

Calling it “dislocated”, Neale made an important point about how and where a kitchen should be positioned in the home.

Hard to reach cupboards

Although the judges didn’t comment on the height of Norm and Jess’s cupboards, we thought that the sheer height of the top cupboards was not very practical. Unless you are planning to store items that you will never use, having items out of arm’s reach and having to get a ladder was not ideal.

Oversized butlers pantry

While butlers pantries are on trend if you have an enormous space like the penthouses, several contestants were criticised for them being too big. While you can never have enough storage, there already was a lot of storage, so the larger butlers pantry was considered a waste of space.

The key issue being that the space could have been better used to accommodate a home office – another big trend! This allows the kitchen to not only function for food preparation and as a social hub, but also a place that allows someone working at home to be connected to the rest of the household or finishing off the last emails of the day while dinner is bubbling away nearby.

Here are some other rookie mistakes to avoid:

  •         Never position the front door so you enter the kitchen when coming into the home
  •         Try to avoid placing the kitchen under the bathroom or facing a bathroom door
  •         Keep kitchens away from staircases if possible

Need help with your Melbourne Kitchen Design?

We invite you to give our Melbourne Kitchen Designers at Zesta Kitchens a call. We want to hear all about your ideal kitchen and chat more about how we can enhance your space through our quality craftsmanship, innovation and design.

We welcome you to arrange for a free in-home kitchen design consultation today at 1300 190 395.

Image Source- www.9now.com.au