Kitchen Design Features: You Don’t Know You Need Them Until You Have Them
Today’s kitchens are the true heartbeat of a home. They are where life unfolds: cooking, eating, entertaining, homework, chatting, daydreaming… everything.
For me, a kitchen should always be the starting point of any home layout. It needs to be designed around the way you live, cook, clean and entertain. Only then can everything else follow.
Over time, I have gathered a list of features I love incorporating into my kitchen designs - some of which are still misunderstood or simply unknown to many. A lot of this is backed by personal experience too: having moved five times in the past four years, I have had the privilege (and occasional pain!) of testing different kitchen setups and learning which features I truly can’t live without.
Here are my favourites:
Boiling Water Tap
These have become popular, yet I still hear all sorts of reactions:
“Too dangerous.”
“Too bulky.”
“Energy wasteful.”
And my favourite: “But I drink my tea at a specific temperature.”
Boiling water taps are thoroughly safety-tested and are actually more energy-efficient than a kettle, and there are smart solutions for optimising the space under the sink with the bulky tanks. As for the tea temperature - well, a splash of cold water solves that dilemma quite elegantly.
I had one for nearly a decade in our previous London flat. When we moved to our new home and didn’t have one… the kettle suddenly felt like a prehistoric object. Waiting for water to boil drove me mad - and the limescale cleaning even more so. It also takes up valuable counter space and adds visual clutter. I missed my boiling water tap so badly.
Pictured Quooker boiling tap in Patinated Brass finish and round neck
Filtered Water Tap
Another daily essential. Some brands offer a combined boiling + filtered water tap, which is brilliant for clean minimalistic design but not always intuitive for little hands. If the layout allows, I prefer keeping the two separate.
No more water jugs or filters wandering around the kitchen.
Dual-lever filtered water tap in matt black by Adobe Design
Venting Hob
I was sceptical before installing one in my own home and now I can’t recommend it enough. It’s powerful, quiet and opens up entirely new design possibilities:
no bulky extractor blocking the island
ability to use open shelves above the hob
cleaner sightlines and more flexible layouts
Yes, it takes up a base cabinet for the mechanism but for me it’s absolutely worth it.
Bora Pure venting hob seamlessly integrated into the black granite worktop on the kitchen island
Two Sinks
A game-changer for busy kitchens.
One clean sink for cooking tasks: washing vegetables, draining pasta, rinsing ingredients.
One everything-else sink: dirty dishes, hand-washing, soaking pans.
The clean sink can be small; the main one should be large enough for big pots and oven trays.
In this kitchen the small white sink is for clean tasks and the large black sink for everything-else
Two Dishwashers
A must for busy families or anyone who loves entertaining.
I’m a keen cook - when I host, the first dishwasher is full before dinner is even served. Having a second one means zero stress and no frantic emptying before loading plates and glasses.
Vertical Shelving
Perfect for chopping boards, baking trays, serving platters and any other tall flat items.
It’s simple, space-saving and practical.
Vertical shelves used for trays and cutting boards, hidden behind pocket doors
Fridge with Ice Maker
A seasonal favourite of mine. No more buying bags of ice or filling ice trays. You get ice on demand at the press of a button and when you no longer need it, you simply switch it off to regain space in the freezer. That simple.
Pictured Integrated French Door Refrigerator Freezer by Fisher & Paykel
Some of these features do require giving up a little cupboard space, but with thoughtful planning, smarter storage solutions and occasionally relocating a few items elsewhere, it’s entirely possible to make room for the things that genuinely improve how your kitchen works day-to-day.
And as the title suggests - you don’t know you need them until you have them. Many of these features may seem unnecessary at first, but once you have lived with them you become completely hooked. They make everyday life in the kitchen so much smoother, more efficient and more enjoyable that it’s almost impossible to go back.
If you’re planning a renovation or dreaming about a kitchen that truly works for the way you live, I’d love to help. Get in touch to book a consultation and let’s create a kitchen that feels beautiful, functional and effortless every day.