Design a Kitchen

DIY kitchen layout for a motorhome

Building your kitchen requires a lot of initial planning. Trying to cram a lot of kitchen storage and bench tops into a small work area takes skill and imagination. Let's not forget that we also need room for refridgeration, a stove, and a kitchen sink to wash the dishes in.

Categorizing the main kitchen design criteria.

Accessibility and location
Cupboards and drawers
Benchtops and workspace
Stove and rangehood
Fridge/freezer
Sink and plumbing
Microwave and appliances
Electrical lighting and power
Design and construction methods

Many DIY motorhome builders end up building their kitchen after they have laid out the bedrooms and bathrooms, and then find that the kitchen has to double as the lounge/living area as they are out of real-estate! Don't forget to check underneath your bus to ensure that things like your kitchen waste drain is not appearing above the wheels etc.

The kitchen is one of the most important areas in your motorhome, as it commands more daily use than other areas. While free-campers may insist that they will be cooking outdoors, just remember that there are many times when outdoor cooking is either not permitted nor feasible. Just consider making 3 meals a day, 25 cups of coffee, 6 cold beers from the fridge, along with getting a pair of scissors from the kitchen drawer, and suddenly a kitchen gains in importance.

There is nothing worse than someone trying to prepare food in an aisle kitchen, while others are trying to squeeze past to access other areas of the motorhome.

OK, so you've decided on the spot to build the kitchen. Now lets consider just how much space we will need for storage alone. You are not going to need the 55 electric kitchen appliances that you have at home, so workout what you do need, and allow sufficient accessible storage for them. ie: Most motorhomers will insist on a bread-maker, a mixer or a blender, but will happily give up the electric kettle, the chicken rotiserie, and the deep-fryer. So basically your storage cupboard and drawer space can be divided into categories such as a food pantry, appliance cupboard, pots and pans, cutlery drawers, and overhead wall cupboards perhaps for the crockery and stubby coolers.

Well now we have it all packed neatly away, you will need somewhere to prepare your meals. Enter the bench-top space. Forget doubling the draining area on the sink and the dining table as food preparation space, it simply doesn't work out, and juggling food and dishes suddenly makes a real chore out of preparing a meal. It might be fine for one person, but I'd hate to be trying to cook a feed for the kids this way. So make sure that you have plenty of bench top or work area that does not have to share the 22 inch tele or the stereo.

Just to make the build even more difficult, you now have to somehow add in the stove/oven and the essential fridge/freezer. Whether you settle for gas or electric cooking, you really need to consider the proximity of the stove to the sink. It's not a good idea to be struggling with a very hot saucepan of vegies in boiling water up the corridor enroute to the sink behind the TV set. The refridgerator also needs to be located near the sink and stove. again it's a pain in the arse if you have to keep ducking up the hall to get the butter or milk as your recipe calls for it. Ideally, the refridgerator should be sited somewhere opposite or adjacent to the stove.

Kitchen sinks, whether the small caravan type or a larger domestic twin drainer all tend to stuff up the best designs due to their plumbing and drainage requirements. Most would be familiar with that odd shaped top drawer beneath the sink in most older caravans. Cleverly cut short to clear the drain pipe in the center of the sink, but really useless for storing anything other than 2 boxes of matches. Your sink is going to intrude on your design, both with the depth and size of the bowl, plus the drain piping through the cupboard below, so allow for it in your intitial design please.

Now let's not forget the good ole micro-wave oven. A great gadget for defrosting, heating or cooking quickly! Again, consider where you are going to put the damned thing. Even if you are not intending on having one, allow for it in your build, because you will want one later on then. Just like at home, all your appliances are going to need some power. Decide where you will be using each appliance and allow for suitably placed power outlets. It's another pain running extension cords all over the place just because your voltage inverter is located at the other end of your motorhome. We have 3 seperate inverters in our kitchen, covering all possible usage combinations.

Right, now that you have allowed for all the criteria, just before you put the pencil to paper, remember that you will need an extractor fan or rangehood over that stove, a vent behind the fridge, and some well placed lighting so you can cook at night.