How many cm of counter space does a kitchen need?

[dubbyoo]

Assuming the counter is on standard 60cm deep units, how much do you need?

We currently have 80cm plus 2 corner unit tops which are good for kettle, microwave etc but no good for food prep etc. as pretty inaccessible. It doesn't feel nearly enough but in my new kitchen I'm hoping to maximise one wall for storage in full height cabinets. This would sadly reduce the amount available for counters of course.

My googling has resulted in "put in as much as you can fit" type answers. How long a counter feels good without being wasteful?

As much as you can. My longest stretch is 360cm! It's great.

I find about 60cm is used up with kettle, tea, toaster, washing up liquid and utensils etc. I have an additional 90cm on top of that, but unhelpfully split into a 60cm and 30cm section. I think I would be okay if I had double that space, but would like more than that really. I can bake quite elaborate stuff in the space I have, but I have to be (and regularly fail to be) extremely tidy and organised. I also have a dining room next to the kitchen which I can use to put cake tins etc while they aren't in immediate use.

@ApolloandDaphne 360cm! I would LOVE that. It looks like I might have about 120cm (sob!) plus another 60cm section for kettle, toaster and easy access cooking stuff by the hob.

@Nacreous it's frustrating isn't it? Having 2x120 sections would make cooking prep so much easier. Plus I could be lazier about leaving stuff out sometimes

We have around 4m as it is usual U shape kitchen. I can do with 1m prep, 60cm kettle/tea/coffee area, another 60 keep empty but use for nutribullet/juicer etc.

Where do you keep fruits? I need 60cm just for fruits

Here's mine. Sorry for the crap drawing! My hob is induction so can be used as a work surface too. Oven and micr housed in a stacked unit with cupboards above and below.
Plenty of workspace for me. ( kettle on hob, not electric, small toaster, breadbin on worktop) everything else in cupboards.

I certainly wouldn't have wall to wall cupboards instead of worksurface if that's the total amount you're looking at.

Could you get a dresser or chest of drawers for the living room or dining room for some extra cupboard space? Or ceiling height cupboards? If you'd get an entire extra run of worksurface it might be s worthwhile sacrifice?

I've just organised our whole kitchen round more workspace. We have 60cm for dirty dishes, 60ish for draining area, and an L shape roughly 120 plus 120 for prep area. I love it.

I don't think anyone can tell you that X cm is ok but Y cm are too little. It's more what trade offs are right for you. I decided against a bank of full height units. We have a fridge freezer and one full height cupboard, but we have a built under double oven and our microwave is built into a wall unit (because wall cabs are shallow, this is expensive and means having a small and pretty rubbish microwave). We also don't have a draining board. What about a boiling water tap or stove top kettle to eliminate the kettle from the worktop?

I wouldn't have floor to ceiling units at the expense of worksurface either.
You can always store something elsewhere (dining m / utility / spare bedroom / loft / garage) but you can't prepare food elsewhere and be running back and forward to other rooms.
Don't do it!!!

(Does depend if you also have an 'island' or decent kitchen table as well as work surface).

You could create a hidden section of worktop within the wall of storage by using tambour or bifold doors for a section in the middle (or ideally hide and slide but these are really pricey). This could be where you keep toaster, kettle etc?

I'll measure mine and double it and that should be about right

As much as possible! We have ours in 3 sections, 120 on one side of sink (kettle takes up 30 of this, toaster only comes out when needed). Then about 150 in an L on the other side of the sink to the hob, and the same again in another L on the other side of the hob. I could manage fine without one of those stretches but having all 3 makes the kitchen so easy to use.

However, we have masses of storage including a walk in pantry so I haven’t had to do the storage vs worktop trade off.

I also think it’s having long stretches that makes all the difference, I would choose 1 longer stretch over 2 or 3 very small ones.

I would put it in zones of - coffee/kettle area, wash up stacking area, prep area and serve out area. So it could be 3 to 4 metres total but needs to be in useful places.

I have 60cm to right of hob, but 1/3 is unusable thanks to a low-hanging boiler; 40cm between hob and sink, entirely taken up with washing up. That's it! Thankfully we're doing a minor rejig – currently adding years to my life stress-wise but yards to my worktop.

I would find ways to get as much stuff as possible off the counter space you have. If budget allows, a boiling water tap = no need for a kettle! Combi microwave/oven = bye-bye microwave! Dishwasher + drip-dry any non-dishwasher items over hob. All clutter in cupboards. Hang chopping boards. Magnetised knife rack on wall instead of knife block. Etc. Give up eating fruit & have a Terry's chocolate orange in the cupboard instead. Washing-up liquid & sponge on windowsill/under sink/caddy on wall. Make toast under the grill/make one of your cupboards an "appliance garage" I.e. shove toaster in the cupboard. Hob-top coffee maker.

Some brilliant ideas here thank you!

There are rules in certain countries about how much worktop needs to be in a new build home . I think 3m in total is the minimum for most of the UK and Europe

I don’t have enough.

I have 60cm clear counter space between sink and hob.

There is 60 the other side of the hob but I use it for kettle, toaster, boards and knives so only the front section is useable.

I also have 180cm on the other side of the run, but 60 has the microwave and the other two have cupboards that come all the way down to the counter so you only get the front half.

You can gain extra worktop space by little things like a removable cover over the sink or if you can a pull out like a drawer. My longest strech is 320cm. Uninterrupted. The other side is 200, but with massive sink.

How big is your kitchen?

Btw I absolutely second some of the ideas here like magnet knife holder on a wall etc. We have basically just a cambro with oils and most used spices and kettle, toaster and microvave on the counter as permanent things.

We have about about 70cms next to oven, then 180cms one side of hob and 200cms between other side if the hob and sink. I live having this much. Old kitchen had about 1m between sink and hob and a couple of meters the other side but had kettle, toaster and microwave on it so only about 80cms -1m usable and it used to drive me mad.

I have a very unuseful 60cm space, which is a dumping ground for rubbish. Had a remembered to put s power point there, it’s be perfect for kettle etc dont forget the powerpoints - with usb charger if possible. I long run of 240 x 90 as a breakfast bar, but still wasted space against the wall. With a set of inaccessible power points!

We have just under 3m at the moment. It's in two parts, one 100cm straight section, and the remainder as two sections joined into a corner. The kitchen is L shaped and this works well, as two people can be preparing food or what not, on different worktop spaces. So though the kitchen isn't huge (2 x 2.5m runs), it is a practical space for us.

We're planning a new kitchen at the moment, and while trying to fit everything in (we don't have a fridge in the kitchen now, and the cooker is slim at the moment), various designers have suggested larder units or ovens in tall units. While I think these look beautiful and are undoubtedly useful, I think I'd prefer less stuff in cupboards and keeping our worktop space, than the other way around. It's all personal preference though really!