Prep kitchens have been popular within the luxury housing market for some time but now they are starting to build mainstream appeal. At Extreme Design we are creating more and more projects with supplementary kitchen working spaces, so what exactly is a prep kitchen? and why should you have one in your home?

What Is A Prep Kitchen?

A prep kitchen is an additional space that is accessible from the main kitchen. Its main purpose is to support the focal kitchen, acting as the working space whilst concealing the more practical kitchen elements from the main kitchen design. In most cases, a prep kitchen focuses on a good amount of counter space, a large practical sink and tailored kitchen appliances that meet the cooking needs of the homeowner.

Why should you have a prep kitchen in your home?

Kitchens have become the central living space of the home; simply put they have become more than just a place to cook. As a result, open plan kitchen/living spaces have become the popular design choice for people that desire a large versatile living space. The fact of the matter is that the practical cooking requirements of the kitchen can interrupt the other open plan living zones and the other functional uses of the space. In most cases, these can also impact the design possibilities too.

By adding a separate prep kitchen, the main kitchen design is unburdened by some of the practical rules that are applied to kitchen design, creating the freedom to create a beautiful kitchen showpiece. The focal kitchen space can then transcend into the perfect living space for entertaining and enjoying time together with family and friends.

With the prep kitchen taking care of the more functional cooking requirements, the main kitchen can focus on aesthetics. This opens up the design possibilities to include materials that may have been deemed too precious for heavy daily use. Whilst functionally is still important, the main kitchen design can focus on other functional requirements. For example, if you regularly entertain you may choose to incorporate a large bar area or a place to store your wine collection in your kitchen design.

One obvious benefit of the prep kitchen is that it’s the perfect place to prepare food. It gives you or your caterers an uninterrupted place to cook whilst reducing disruption in the main kitchen space. As a hidden additional cooking space, the prep kitchen can be designed to meet more functional cooking needs and can be equipped with professional-grade appliances to best suit the practical needs of the chef/caterers. Your prep kitchen can also be designed in the style of a servery, such as the Extreme kitchen below. This kitchen has two doors, one from the adjoining main kitchen and the other leading into the formal dining area. This space connects the main kitchen and servery, creating the perfect space to prepare food and drinks before serving to guests in the dining area.

prep kitchen servery

The prep kitchen is also a great place to fulfil storage needs such as countertop cooking appliances, dried goods and to additional cold storage. This allows the main design to remain uncluttered whilst allowing you to showcase items and pieces that your treasure within the space. Some people choose to expand their utility room to create a large prep kitchen with laundry facilities, such as the one below.

prep kitchen with laundry

Much like the unique design requirements of any kitchen, the design of your prep kitchen is completely determined by your requirements. To discuss your kitchen or furniture project, contact an Extreme designer at one of our studios.

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