Design and convenience describes my ideal kitchen. Here are my top 5 dream kitchen must have features!
It’s true what they say – kitchens sell homes, as evidenced by the fact that the second we entered the kitchen of our current home while touring it in 2013, I turned to Ben and said, “I MUST HAVE THIS.” I was also 8 months pregnant with Lincoln at the time and we’d already sold our house, so we literally needed to have this, but coming from a once-orange kitchen with bathroom tiles for countertops, the tall cabinets, sleek appliances, and stone countertops of the new place gave me immediate goo-goo eyes.
While I do love our current kitchen, the thought of designing my dream kitchen from the ground up sends me into an emotional tailspin. Oh, the possibilities! Truly I couldn’t care less about having the biggest house with the fanciest finishes – but a tricked out kitchen? Yes, please!
When I think about my dream kitchen, I think design and convenience. Beautiful cabinetry, a big island, wide-plank wood floors, white stone, and fabulous hardware – plus functional features like the 5 must-haves I’m sharing below. This “Just 5 Things” post idea came from a reader and it was a blast to curate. I’ve already pitched 10 kitchen upgrade ideas to Ben as a result of my “research”, which will all undoubtedly be knocked into the atmosphere (?,) but ah, a girl can dream. ?
Tell me – have you ever had the chance to design your dream kitchen? What did you include? If not (hi! ??) what would you include in yours?
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1. Appliance Garage
Clutter in any area of the house drives me nuts, but clutter in the kitchen makes me insane. Probably because I spend so much time in there for my job – and who doesn’t like a zen, organized work space?
That said, I would adore cupboards at counter height set up as an appliance garage to hide any of the cough FIVE appliances currently residing on our counter: toaster, KitchenAid Mixer, Keurig, Nespresso, plus the air fryer Ben got me for our anniversary earlier this week (can’t wait to try that bad boy out.)
Isn’t this solution just so sleek?
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Here’s another fun option with a top sliding door. Must have for my dream kitchen – totally obsessed.
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2. Walk-In/Butler’s Pantry
Forget walk-in closets, I’m ALL about the walk-in/butler’s pantry. CAN YOU EVEN with this space?!
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My dream kitchen would have a separate, walk-in pantry loaded with shelves, pull out shelves, and counter space for ALL THE STORAGE. I’ve seen some really cool pantries a couple stairs away from the main kitchen space, but have always liked the idea of tucking it behind a kitchen wall like the photo below.
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The only pantry we have in our kitchen is a skinny pull out shelf next to the fridge, so I use the cupboards in the laundry room for overflow and it’s really inconvenient. Our current kitchen layout would lend itself well to installing the kind of pantry in the photo above and below, so who knows, maybe someday my dream pantry could become a reality!
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3. Sliding Pull Out Drawers and Shelves
One thing I love about our current kitchen is that it’s loaded with pull out shelves making it really convenient to store and retrieve items in deep cabinets. Our garbage/recycling is even on a track and I don’t think I could ever go back.
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Another feature I’ve always wanted to include in my dream kitchen is drawers under the sink. How many bottles of cleaner, plastic bags, and dishwasher detergent boxes have you lost in the dark recesses of your under-sink cabinet?! Hate that space!
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4. Command Center
A command center is something we lack in our current kitchen and I’m desperate for a space like this. Probably because I have to use up a big corner of the kitchen to organize bills, etc, and it’s really unsightly (again, hate clutter!) We could use the office/guest room upstairs for that stuff but for me, if it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind. I have the memory of a goldfish.
I love the space in this dream kitchen below. From the traditional desk design that matches the rest of the kitchen cabinetry, to the cork board backsplash and shelving above (which I’d cover with doors in my dream kitchen,) it’s the perfect size and design.
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This command center is dreamy too. The chalk board backsplash + under cabinet lighting is a fun touch.
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5. Built-In Wine Refrigerator
No explanation needed for why I’d want to include a built-in wine refrigerator in my dream kitchen! That said, I love the location of this wine fridge – tucked into the end of the island vs taking up cabinet space in the main kitchen area.
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Just like the microwave, I am also obsessed with the idea of stashing the wine fridge in a walk in pantry. I don’t care if people SEE my wine, I just don’t want to have to go down to my spider-infested basement – where we currently keep our wine fridge – every time I want a glass.
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5 More Features I’d Love!
- Cabinet lighting. We currently have under and over cabinet lighting and the ambience it creates at night is totally dreamy.
- Farmhouse sink. Timeless and functional – got to have it in my dream kitchen!
- Hands free faucet. A must!
- Pot filler. Would love to hear from people who have one – love it or hate it? I would love the convenience but what if there’s an issue with the pipes? Do you have to bust open the wall?
- Waterfall edge. Adore this look.
What are your must-haves for your dream kitchen?
Walk-in pantry is a must! We’re moving and while we are upgrading a lot in our new kitchen, the size of the pantry is much smaller than what we have now. My husband’s dream — and he says it’s not asking much — is a wine cellar hidden underneath the large kitchen island, like a secret entrance and staircase! I’m not even sure where he got this idea (probably reddit) because I can’t even find an example on google, lol.
I’ve seen this on Pinterest!
Ugh – no command center. The hubs cannot stop himself from dropping stuff on our little peninsula now – would be worse with a desk, computer, etc.
My dream kitchen would have a microwave drawer, where the dished pop in from the top. Would be so much easier to clean than the over-the-range version I have now. And…would love an upgraded dishwasher with a third “tray” at the top for washing cutlery and serving stuff (tongs, etc.) flat instead of crammed into a little basket.
Oh my goodness… I’m all dreamy-eyed over here. So much storage and YES to that butler’s pantry!
Your “must haves” that I gravitated most towards were all storage related, because despite having a large kitchen, we just don’t have super functional cabinet space. The Butler’s pantry and appliance garage were my faves! I could take or leave a pot filler. I guess I’d enjoy it if it were already in a kitchen, but I’ve never found filling a pot with my regular faucet to me that much of a hassle.
YES! I am currently storing kitchen appliances in a bathroom closet, so an appliance garage sounds fabulous. Also the stack of papers constantly accruing on my kitchen counters tells me that we need a command center.
Agreed to the sliding drawers! My tupperware drawer was a disaster and constantly a mess until we installed some DIY sliding drawers.
Great ideas! I showed the drawers under the sink idea to my contractor husband and his comment “no more disposal”. I do like how they look, however. My must haves include seating for kitchen chats and noshing. Was at a friend’s new home and they had pull out shelves in upper cabinets as well – brilliant!! Great article, Kristen!
@ Wendy: I’ve seen U shaped drawers so the middle of the sink (where the disposal is located) is open.
I’d really love pull-out shelves and drawers in my lower cabinets. Even though I try to keep most-used items in front, I still sometimes have to get on the floor to go rooting around for the ones at the back. Maybe I just need a cushioned floor . . .
Whee – great list! We are in the final stretch of a kitchen remodel; I am very anxious to be cooking again & eating food that doesn’t come from a toaster. We installed a 36”, stainless farm sink – it is massive! I actually gave up a pantry area for a much more expanded kitchen space but it was all so outdated, it made sense to reconfigure everything; we added a 24” wall pantry with roll out shelves in its place. I really like glass front cabinets, we did wide-plank “luxury” wood-look vinyl tile to save some dough, and installed an exposed chimney hood vent surrounded by white subway (kinda basic but clean looking) on a huge wall as a statement when you walk in. I’m a Fixer Upper fanatic so now I’m on the hunt for some character in the form of a cool pot/tool rack, possibly wrought iron, to hang on a blank wall. I agree on the lighting – recessed, pendants, and under cab lighting make such a difference. I read an article on Houzz this week, “How to Make a Small Kitchen Appear Larger”, and was pleased we had integrated 4/5 suggestions to our space. We went with a soapstone countertop as I can’t stand shiny rocks and we have a craftsman/farm house; everyone is telling me to be scared but I can’t wait for it to have a lived in look!
Magnolia homes has a wrought iron coffee mug holder that I use for my pots and pans. It’s really strong. I hung it on the wall next to my range and it runs vertically from just above the counter to just under the ceiling. I love it and it’s very handy to grab my pots from and rustic looking.
Beverage center is the new wine fridge
I currently have a kitchen I’m happy with. In my previous house, we had a kitchen with a poor layout for 30+ years. I made sure this kitchen has a good work flow pattern.) However the following items would make it even better.
1) An induction stove. I love the glass top stove we have but it gets very hot to the touch. An induction stove would give me piece of mind.
2) More cupboard storage space – you can never have too much. As well, slide out drawers in these cupboards.
3) More space and an island so more people could work in the kitchen at the same time
4) a walk in pantry
5) a walk in root cellar for cold storage of root vegetables, home canned goods
6) a second stove (gas?) for canning. An All-American pressure canner to so canning on this stove. (There is only one pressure canner Presto that you can use on some glass topped stoves and you have to go with the smaller pressure canner because of weight). As well, a tomato press to make homemade tomato sauces/passata.
7) second sink (to add more people to work in kitchen at same time)
8) free standing freezer
9) a fridge with a bottom freezer drawer, they are so much more efficient
Forgot the add, my kitchen in our house (we moved a year ago) looks very much like the first picture – airy, light with white cupboards & light grey and white quartz counters It also has a ton of natural light. After being trapped in a very dark kitchen for many years, I love it. (The kitchen was one of the most important points who looked when we bought this house a year ago.
Forgot the add, my kitchen in our house (we moved a year ago) looks very much like the first picture – airy, light with white cupboards & light grey and white quartz counters It also has a ton of natural light. It also has undercabinet lighting. After being trapped in a very dark kitchen for many years, I love it. (The kitchen was one of the most important points who looked when we bought this house a year ago.)
The huge walk in pantry is a must! My kitchen is tiny right now, especially compared to the rest of my house. I think the builder/original owner must not have liked to cook. I use drawers and shelves in other downstairs rooms to store all the overflow, and it would be nice to have one huge pantry!
Your comment reminded me of a house we looked at once. We loved everything about it, but there was literally no kitchen. There was a refrigerator and maybe a tiny (I would guess 5’ x 5’ sort of kitchen area. Weirdest thing I ever saw. Needless to say, we did t buy the house. :)
A cook and someone to clean up the kitchen