10 Dry Kitchen Ideas for More Food Prep Space at Home

Or you could use them as dining areas or breakfast bars.

If you’re the type of home chef who needs extra prep space, you can count on a dry kitchen serving you well.

Aside from being a suitable spot for simple tasks, such as chopping fruits/vegetables or making a hot cuppa in the morning, these easy-to-maintain corners can also come in handy at times where you need a comfortable place to have your meals. Here are 10 examples to take a look at (and steal some ideas from) for your new home!

1. This classy dry kitchen that doubles as a luxe dining area and bar

Because they typically occupy the same zone or are close to communal areas, a dry kitchen can also be configured to be a space where you can eat and/or entertain guests. Here, Hall Interiors adopted a galley-style layout, complete with classy accents, which fits a dining table, counter, a storage nook, and even a wine fridge, allowing the dry kitchen to serve an all-purpose role in the home.

2. A compact, single-wall set-up that doesn’t eat up too much space

When it comes to preparing food and drink at home, dry kitchens are usually used for light tasks (think toasting bread or brewing tea) whereas most of the ‘heavy-lifting’ is done in a wet kitchen. It’s for this reason that dry kitchens can be configured in a one-wall set-up, which definitely comes in handy when space is a constraint.

3. A food prep station in the heart of the home

If cooking is a lifelong hobby for you, why not make it the centre of your home? At first glance, it might seem odd to have a food preparation counter in a communal zone, but this idea certainly makes sense if your kitchen is too small to fit a full island but is close enough to walk from a ‘wet’ zone to a ‘dry’ one. Plus, you get a spot to enjoy the view outside while doing what you love!

4. Coffee corner dressed up with eye-catching accents

When it comes to designing a dry kitchen, the small details matter – but not just the ones you’re thinking of. While it’s important to consider the practical side of things (layout, appliance placement, countertop material), don’t forget about the aesthetics! A little colour, be it in the form of vibrant backsplash or bright cabinet doors, can go a long way in making your dry kitchen the cheeriest spot in your home.

5. A dry kitchen with cleverly concealed storage solutions

Dry kitchens are typically compact spaces that are rarely larger than 2.5 square metres, which is why keeping them tidy is extra-important. One easy way to keep any extraneous items out of sight would be to build in a row of cabinets at the back. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to keep your teacups/pots/coffee machine within easy reach for busy mornings!

6. A pair of wet and dry kitchens with an unbroken sight line

While one major advantage of having wet and dry kitchens is the ability to tackle different types of cooking tasks in dedicated zones, it could also lead to an issue of having two smaller spaces that look too cramped on their own. Fortunately, there’s a simple solution of installing see-through doors to create the impression of a long, continuous space.

7. An impressively practical dry kitchen set-up wrapped in black

Dry kitchens can be incredibly compact areas, but that’s an issue that you can work around with the right layout. In this Tampines home, The Local Inn.terior managed to fit in top-and-bottom cabinets along the length of a short wall, a nook for a top-freezer fridge, and still have enough space for a breakfast counter by adopting a super-efficient L-shaped kitchen configuration.

8. This uncomplicated dry kitchen that showcases Scandinavian simplicity

One of the best spots to place a dry kitchen is beside the dining table because it can pull double duty as a serving area when company comes. Needless to say, having an open-concept layout helps here as it makes it easy to pass dishes to and from one zone to another or even provide extra dining space if necessary.

9. A dry kitchen that also serves as a threshold between wet and dry zones

If the open-concept look is your cup of tea and having walls isn’t, having a dry kitchen between a communal zone (say, the living room) and your wet kitchen can be handy as it can also serve as a subtle space indicator, which shows where one area ends and the other begins.

10. This dry kitchen with pull-out surfaces that take the place of a counter

While it’s safe to say that countertops are a mainstay feature of every wet kitchen, not every dry kitchen needs one especially if space is a concern, or if you simply prefer having more walkway space. Alternatively, you could consider installing pull-out shelves, which was what Habit did for this Circuit Road apartment as a space-saving idea.

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