How to Make the Most Out of Your L-shaped Kitchen

There are a number of ways to maximise the floorplan and worktop spaces of your L-shaped kitchen—without compromising on the benefits you might find in an open plan design.

While customers are starting to shift away from the idea of separate traditional dining rooms, L-shaped kitchens have emerged as a popular alternative to create a single multipurpose, versatile space.

It’s important, however, when considering how to make the very best of your asymmetrical layout, to pay proper attention to the design and positioning of your kitchen furniture, storage units, and appliances. An L-shaped kitchen, with a bit of intelligent planning, can be an excellent option for a modern household.

What is an L-shaped kitchen?

An L-shaped kitchen is a highly functional layout that generally consists of two worktop units that meet at one corner to form an 'L'. It's become an increasingly desirable set-up as it provides more floor space than a traditional U-shaped kitchen without relinquishing any precious worktop real estate.

Meanwhile, in a larger kitchen, it's often possible to have just one work surface that runs along a wall, while the other unit creeps into the living space. This is a superb way of creating a natural divide between the working kitchen and a dining or socialisng area. However small or large your kitchen, an L-shape layout can work for you.

Go freestanding!

Freestanding furniture is a tried and tested method of maximising an L-shaped kitchen plan. No matter how seemingly awkward your layout, Hugo & Blake's team of experienced cabinet makers can build freestanding units to fit your space. 

The beauty of freestanding kitchen furniture is that nothing is permanent. If you feel an L-shape floorplan isn’t working for you, the flexibility of non-fixed units means that it’s incredibly straightforward to rethink and redesign your space to suit your ever-changing needs.

Divide and conquer!

An L-shaped layout offers huge potential for subdividing your kitchen into designated areas for cooking, socialising, working, or dining. If you’re hosting a dinner party, for example, guests can congregate on one side of a worktop while you’re busy preparing food and drinks in the sectioned-off kitchen area. 

Equally, if you’re looking for a place to work, a kitchen table can be positioned away from the main cooking hub and limit distractions if someone is busy carrying out culinary tasks.  

You can also just as easily turn the room into a kitchen-diner by incorporating a table and chairs at one side of the room—this can also moonlight as an auxiliary workstation if space is at a premium.

Choose a freestanding kitchen island

If you’re blessed with enough room, we would highly recommend investing in a freestanding kitchen island. Not only does it create a focal point for the room—as well as a place for dining with the addition of some breakfast bar stools—it also provides a valuable source of storage. 

An Hugo & Blake freestanding kitchen island can be designed and built with a whole range of drawer, pantry, and shelving configurations to cater for your storage needs—and for smaller kitchens, it can serve as a vital all-purpose unit for housing appliances. Ovens, sinks and fridges can all be incorporated into your island to free up space elsewhere.

Storage considerations

Talking of storage. As much as style is a key feature to consider when designing your L-shaped kitchen, functionality is an equally important concern—and smart storage is a failsafe way of optimising the practical elements of your space.  

If a kitchen island isn't a workable option, we can handcraft a whole range of storage cabinets, each designed specifically for your floorplan. Our cabinet makers will custom-build units, pantries, and dressers that will fit perfectly into your L-shape layout—no matter how seemingly challenging it might appear. When every inch of kitchen counts, trust us to find the right storage solution.

How can we help?

If you’d like any advice on the best kind of freestanding kitchen cabinets to use for your L-shape, or would like any guidance on smart storage units, kitchen islands, then please do get in touch. Our friendly team is always on hand to offer our assistance. Your dream kitchen is always just a phone call or email away!