National Bake for Family Fun Month, celebrated throughout February, gives us the excuse to get in the kitchen to bake cakes, biscuits or any treat of your choice. A great way to involve children in the kitchen, baking can be adapted to suit all ages and abilities. From a simple flapjack to a complex tiered cake, there’s an option for everyone.

For keen bakers, a customised kitchen means you will have utensils to hand, easy access to tins and trays and space for warming, cooling and refrigerating. With innovative design, your kitchen can become a baking haven. In this blog, our Lead Designer and Co-owner, Will Lyne, shares his top tips for designing the baker’s kitchen of your dreams.

1. Include a space where you can wire in a TV, desktop or laptop computer or display an iPad. With lots of recipes and how-to videos online, having tech to hand is convenient.
2. A kitchen island creates a dedicated working space. Avoid including a sink or adding appliances – instead, keep a clear space to use for icing cakes or kneading dough.
3. Choose worktop heights to suit you. Custom countertops ensure you are comfortable whether you are standing and kneading or sitting down to ice cakes or cookies.
4. Marble and granite worktops keep pastry cool. If you do not want to use them for your entire worktop, incorporate a smaller section of this material to be used for baking. Quartz countertops are baker-friendly too and can accommodate rolling, cutting and direct heat.
5. If you have the space and budget, wall-mounted double ovens are great for bakers. Convection ovens work with fans that recirculate heat, resulting in even bakes.
6. Useful for proving dough, heating plates or defrosting delicate food, warming drawers are a versatile addition to your kitchen. Choose a drawer with integrated vacuum options so you can remove oxygen from storage bags and keep ingredients fresher for longer.
7. A food mixer is essential in any baker’s kitchen. Keep it on the worktop so it is accessible and hang additional fittings on hooks or keep in a nearby drawer.
8. An extra-wide fridge where you can alter the shelving will provide much-needed space for storing large bakes.
9. Make sure you include plenty of electric sockets around your kitchen, near your workspace. You will be able to use your appliances wherever you prefer, without trailing wires.
10. Keeping worktops clear is imperative. Combine display and practicality, opting for open shelving with glass decanters for ingredients.
11. A traditional or Butler design pantry is perfect for a baker’s kitchen. With ample shelving space for storing baking ingredients, crockery and appliances, a pantry is practical as well as stylish.
12. Elevate your drawer storage with intelligent design features – adding a roll-out section to house cookie cutters and measuring spoons or upright tray storage means your drawers are organised and easy to use.  
13. Invest in a built-in step stool or ladder so tall upper cabinets can be reached easily and safely.

For expert advice on how to plan a kitchen tailored to your needs, message us or call us on 01926 832511.