Someone with a great mind once said: “Creativity is nothing but a mind set free.” When designing kitchens for restaurants, you have no option other than to work from the perspective of a liberated mind. Great interior restaurant kitchen designs require thinking outside the box.
However, as you task your mind for a masterpiece commercial kitchen, remember that both form and function must complement each other. In a kitchen set-up, especially for a restaurant kitchen, if one has to be sacrificed, function must remain. After all, your commercial kitchen equipment are fundamental to the restaurant operations.
Professional kitchens have one thing in common: they are practical. Of course, you want the kitchen to look charming as well, and to make customers feel as though they are sitting at the chef’s table, watching the action as knives slice and as pans on fire sizzle with yet another tantalizing order. A great interior kitchen design should allow customers this vantage view.
While the interior design of a restaurant kitchen should be functional, it must not lack in beauty and appeal. The best design is one that blends both form and function. Below are eleven restaurant kitchen interior design ideas to get you started:
Idea #1: Make the kitchen interior design personal.
To give your restaurant kitchen a homely feel, install several open shelves where you can store all your favourite spices. Working in a restaurant kitchen that is personalized to feel like a home kitchen feels really great. Since many people will be spending most of their day working here, make it feel like home to minimize the stress associated with a fast-paced restaurant kitchen.
Idea #2: Professional worktable
The one thing you want a restaurant kitchen to have is a professional worktable. This is a real workhorse that acts as a peninsula, a worktop, and an eat-in area. It fits in nicely away from all the action. Make this professional worktable fit nicely with the rest of the restaurant kitchen interior design.
Idea #3: Go stainless steel
The number one enemy of surfaces, kitchens included, is staining. The good thing about stainless steel surfaces is that they (you guessed it) don’t stain. Even if you splash the contents of a hot pan on them, they won’t stain. This is critical since bacteria can easily penetrate porous surfaces, but they cannot penetrate stainless steel.
Idea #4: Use white subway tiles
Over the past decade, tiles featuring the classic white subway design have become quite popular in most restaurant kitchens. They are quickly replacing the floor-to-ceiling tile designs. If you want a restaurant kitchen that looks like a scene from a romance movie, go for one featuring white subway tiles.
Idea #5: Add a utensil rack
The beauty of a utensil rack is that it shows off your quality cooking utensils while keeping everything within easy reach. Consider utilitarian utensil rods to present your cooking implements appealingly without interfering with functionality and ease of access. For instance, if you have orange enamel cookware, placing it on the top shelf brightens the entire area with vibrant colour.
Idea #6: Provide a service door
If you prefer the iconic restaurant theme, consider having a service door that features a porthole window. The only setback, however, is that servers carrying full trays could end up crashing at the door. Nonetheless, you can minimize such minor hazards by placing the door between the butler’s pantry and the kitchen.
Idea #7: Provide for a rolling block cart
Imagine a big rolling butcher’s block cart that sharply contrasts with the shiny, clean, stainless steel base of the cart located below it. Now, niftily place it next to the range. As the chef prepares food, he or she can roll it out to wherever it’s required. This is simply ingenious!
Idea #8: Marble-topped island
Picture this! You are at a French restaurant. You can smell the espresso and the chocolate croissants being prepared at the marble-topped worktable inspired by the French bakery. The marble-topped island is perfect for pie crusts among other baking tasks. It’s a must-have in your restaurant kitchen.
Idea #9: Heat Lamp-Style Lights
How about adding some pendant lights over the island? While these are not heat lamps, their presence at the island gives your kitchen an exquisite finish.
Idea #10: Commercial kitchen shelving
A busy restaurant must have these sturdy, perfectly sized shelves. Your interior restaurant kitchen design is incomplete without them. This is where you will be storing supplies such as cookware, small appliances and large cereal boxes.
Idea #11: Aim for Flow
The most effective commercial kitchen design is that which seeks to achieve flow. A restaurant kitchen is a busy place. The design, therefore, must seek to achieve flow from one end of the chain to the other. As much as possible, avoid a design that forces workers to crisscross one end of the kitchen to the other. It should operate like a conveyor belt.
A functional, nicely organized restaurant kitchen design should aim for maximum efficiency and productivity. It should allow for as much space as possible so that workers do not keep bumping into each other. The placement of utensils and kitchen appliances must be strategic enough to allow easy access.
