The perfect solution for separating the kitchen from the living room is ensured by a range of different peninsula solutions. The kitchen of the Peninsula is based on a linear configuration with an extension to the room centre. Thanks to the versatility of modular kitchen systems, the result is a modern kitchen that is easy to personalise.
Types of peninsula kitchens
There are many ways to create a Peninsula Kitchen:
A peninsula that serves as a table connected to the rest of the cabinetry to create a compact solution, complete with a dining table
A Peninsula Kitchen with a work surface and storage in the base cabinets, with cupboard doors, deep and regular drawers and an open shelf, expanding the storage space offered by a normal kitchen while using the top to prepare food and store small countertop appliances
A Peninsula Kitchen with a cooktop and sinks, or only a cooktop or only a sink, making the peninsula the heart of the room
A Peninsula Kitchen with a worktop and snack counter or table, the latter positioned at the back of the operative area or just after it, in some cases maintaining the same dimensions, in others increasing its depth to create a snack counter or projecting table
Benefits of the Peninsula kitchen
A Peninsula Kitchen is an ideal choice for those seeking to differentiate the kitchen from the living room in an elegant, continuous and open style for a new kitchen in a large open space. This contemporary style offers a wide variety of benefits.
A breakfast or snack counter, close to the cooktop, ideal for quick meals or for chatting while cooking. It divides the kitchen from an open living room, when the space is one large room or when there is a desire to define the two environments without closing them off. It resolves the need for a dining table in a small space, because the peninsula elegantly stands in for a table when there just isn’t enough room. All the advantages of an island even without the necessary space for an Island Kitchen or because the room is too small or because it would be too much work to create one. It simplifies any required changes because the peninsula can be used as either a work surface or eventual snack counter, which means no changes to electrical and plumbing systems. You can always be part of the action, because this type of kitchen allows for entertaining guests or keeping an eye on children playing in the adjoining living room, all while cooking.
Workflow ergonomics
A Peninsula Kitchen is an ideal space for working in perfect tranquillity and tirelessly because everything is where you need it. It is important that the appliances, sinks and work surfaces are properly laid out based on the kitchen's movement logic. To create an ideal layout with optimised work flows, the wash-up and cooking area should be perpendicular and close to the corner, separated by a work top and operating space.
The refrigerator should generally be close to the sink. This makes it easy and fast to remove, clean and prepare it food, move it to a work surface and/or to the cooking area, where the cooktop and stove should be close to one another. This ensures the triangulation that guarantees rational and efficient movements.
Minimum dimensions
We recommend the following distances between the peninsula and the elements behind it:
120 cm for opening both cupboard doors at the same time
120 cm to allow two people to work in the kitchen
100 cm when the dishwasher is in front of a wall
Practical Suggestions
For the best layout of a Peninsula Kitchen we suggest paying attention to a few simple situations that should be considered during the design phase. Preliminary considerations about electricity and plumbing connections required by the peninsula and a connection for an exhaust hood. When changes are made to house that has already been designed, the easiest solution is to use the peninsula as a work surface, without touching the existing wiring and piping. Electricity and lighting are required for the peninsula, including the necessary outlets for worktop and handheld appliances, mobile phones or tablets. Recessed or suspended lighting are two ideal solutions. False ceiling: if there is enough height, a false ceiling is ideal for concealing the connection of the exhaust hood, making it possible to add a cook top to a peninsula even later on. Splashbacks can function as a divider between the cook top and a snack counter when they face one another across a shallow depth.
Different types of kitchen Layouts