FAQs - Design Questions Answered
From planning the right layout to making the most of your space, explore expert answers to design decisions that shape how your kitchen looks, feels and works everyday.
Layout & Islands
What kitchen layout will work best for my space?
The best kitchen layout isn't necessarily the one that fits the most cabinetry into the room. It's the one that makes the space easier to move through, more enjoyable to use and better suited to the way you live every day.
Room shape and size naturally influence what's possible, but good kitchen planning goes much further. Your designer will consider doors, windows and natural light; adjoining dining and living areas; key sightlines through the room; storage requirements; appliance choices; and how you want to cook, eat, entertain and spend time in the space.
From there, the layout begins to take shape.
L-Shaped Kitchens – Flexible & Open
An L-shaped kitchen uses two adjoining walls, leaving more of the room open. This makes it particularly effective in open-plan spaces and rooms where you want the kitchen to connect naturally with dining or living areas.
It can also provide the ideal starting point for an island. The main cabinetry can accommodate tall storage and appliances, while the island introduces additional preparation space, storage and seating without enclosing the kitchen.
For the right room, it's a wonderfully flexible layout because it gives the designer space to create distinct working and social areas while retaining an open feel.
U-Shaped Kitchens – Generous Storage & Worktop Space
With cabinetry across three sides, a U-shaped kitchen can provide exceptional storage and preparation space, while keeping the principal working areas within comfortable reach.
But more cabinetry isn't always better.
In a room where a full U-shape would feel too enclosed, your designer may reduce one run, replace wall cabinetry with open shelving or rethink the layout entirely. Knowing what not to put into a room can be just as important as knowing what to include.
A successful U-shaped kitchen should feel generous and efficient — never crowded.
One-Wall Kitchens – Streamlined & Considered
A one-wall kitchen can be an exceptionally strong design choice, particularly in a modern open-plan home.
Bringing tall cabinetry, ovens, refrigeration and storage together along one carefully planned run can create a calm, streamlined backdrop to the wider room.
Pair it with an island and the layout becomes particularly effective: the wall can carry much of the kitchen's storage and appliances, while the island provides preparation space, seating and a natural connection to the dining and living areas.
Rather than thinking of a one-wall kitchen as having less cabinetry, think of it as concentrating the kitchen where it works hardest and allowing the rest of the room to breathe.
Galley Kitchens – Exceptionally Efficient
Galley kitchens position cabinetry along two parallel runs and can be particularly effective in longer or narrower rooms.
The advantage is efficiency. With storage, preparation, cooking and cleaning areas positioned within easy reach, very little movement is wasted.
The distance between the two runs is important, however. Your designer needs to consider not only how the kitchen looks with everything closed, but what happens when an oven, dishwasher, drawer or cabinet is open and more than one person is using the room.
That's the difference between a layout that simply fits and one that works comfortably every day.
And What About an Island?
An island isn't automatically the right solution for every kitchen, and a kitchen doesn't need one to be successful.
Where the room has the space, however, an island can completely change how the kitchen functions. It can provide additional preparation space, deep storage, seating and a natural place for people to gather, while also helping to connect the kitchen with the wider room.
The important question isn't simply “Can we fit an island?” but “What do we want the island to do?”
It might accommodate the hob or sink, become the principal preparation area, provide seating for family and friends, or remain completely uninterrupted so it can be used for everything from breakfast and homework to entertaining.
Its purpose should determine its size and position — not the other way around.
Sometimes the Best Layout Isn't the Most Obvious One
This is where experienced kitchen design makes a difference.
A room that appears naturally suited to a U-shaped kitchen may work far better as an L-shape with an island. A long wall that initially seems destined for continuous cabinetry may benefit from being broken up. Moving the sink away from its existing position might create a much stronger working zone. And sometimes removing cabinetry can improve a kitchen rather than compromise it.
Two homes with almost identical dimensions can therefore result in completely different layouts.
One family may need extensive storage, a breakfast station and seating for children. Someone who loves cooking may prioritise generous preparation space, appliance positioning and an efficient cooking zone. If entertaining is important, the layout may be designed to keep guests connected to the kitchen without bringing them directly into the busiest working areas.
That's why we don't begin by choosing a kitchen shape.
We begin by understanding your room, your priorities and how you want the space to work, and then explore the layout that brings those elements together most successfully.
The right kitchen layout shouldn't simply make everything fit. It should make better use of your space and make everyday life within it feel easier.
See Different Kitchen Layouts in Real Homes
Want to see how different layouts work in real spaces? Explore over 50 kitchens from client homes across Ireland, featuring everything from L-shaped and U-shaped kitchens to one-wall designs, statement islands and kitchens designed without an island.
See how our designers have approached rooms of different shapes, sizes and styles — and discover ideas that could inspire the layout of your own kitchen.
Where should I position my fridge, sink and hob?
The position of your fridge, sink and hob has a significant influence on how comfortably and efficiently your kitchen works. Get these key elements right and everyday tasks flow naturally; get them wrong and even a beautiful kitchen can become frustrating to use.
Traditionally, kitchen planning centred around the “working triangle”, positioning the fridge, sink and hob within easy reach of one another. It's still a useful principle, but today's kitchens often need a more considered approach. Open-plan living, larger kitchens, islands and several people using the room at once mean we increasingly think in terms of zones and natural movement through the space, rather than relying on one rigid triangle.
A well-planned kitchen may include dedicated zones for food storage, preparation and cooking, cleaning, breakfast and coffee, entertaining and even a drop zone for groceries and everyday items. These zones don't need to feel separate; the skill is in positioning them so they work naturally together.
Think about how you move through your kitchen from the moment you enter. When you arrive home with shopping, is there somewhere convenient to set bags down close to the fridge and pantry? Can someone make coffee or breakfast without crossing the main cooking area? Can the dishwasher be emptied without interrupting food preparation? And when you're entertaining, can family and guests sit, pour a drink or chat with you without standing in the busiest working part of the kitchen?
The relationship between your sink, dishwasher and bins is particularly important, as is having useful preparation space close to your hob. Your fridge and food storage should be easy to access, while still allowing the person cooking to work comfortably.
Doors, windows and entrances also influence these decisions. Your designer will consider how people naturally enter and move through the room, how appliance doors open and how several areas of the kitchen may be used at the same time.
There is no universal formula for the perfect position of a fridge, sink or hob. The most successful kitchens are designed around how you move, cook, store, clean, gather and entertain, creating a series of considered zones that work together effortlessly as part of one space.
Should I put my sink, hob or nothing on my kitchen island?
There is no single right answer. Your kitchen island might be your main cooking zone, preparation area, social space or a combination of all three. What belongs on it should be determined by how you want to use the island every day.
Putting the Hob on Your Island
Positioning the hob on the island can work particularly well in an open-plan kitchen. Instead of facing a wall while cooking, you can face into the room, making it easier to interact with family or guests while preparing meals.
Extraction is an important consideration. Integrated downdraft solutions such as BORA remove cooking vapours at source without the need for a traditional overhead extractor, helping to preserve open sightlines across the kitchen.
If you're also planning island seating, your designer will consider the relationship between the cooking and social zones, ensuring there's appropriate separation and sufficient preparation space around the hob.
Putting the Sink on Your Island
A sink on the island can create an efficient preparation and cleaning zone, particularly when the dishwasher and bins are positioned alongside it.
But think about the everyday reality as well as the layout on paper. The sink is naturally where dishes, glasses, soap and washing-up tend to gather. In an open-plan room where the island is highly visible from the dining or living area, consider whether you're comfortable having this activity at the centre of the space.
Keeping Your Island Clear
Sometimes, putting nothing on the island is the best design decision.
An uninterrupted worktop gives you generous space for food preparation, baking and serving, while allowing the island to easily transition into a place for homework, entertaining or gathering with family and friends.
Keeping it clear can also allow a beautiful worktop to become a feature in its own right and create a calmer, less interrupted focal point within the room.
Start With How You Want to Use It
Rather than beginning with “Where should the sink or hob go?”, start by thinking about what you want your island to do.
Do you want to cook while talking to family? Somewhere for children to sit while you're preparing dinner? A generous preparation surface? A place to serve food when entertaining? Or an uncluttered centrepiece that can adapt throughout the day?
Your designer can then look at the island in relation to the rest of your kitchen, including working zones, seating, circulation, storage and sightlines, and determine whether a sink or hob genuinely improves the design or whether the most valuable thing you can put on your island is nothing at all.
How much space do I need around a kitchen island?
The space around your kitchen island is just as important as the size of the island itself. A larger island isn't always a better island, getting the proportions and surrounding space right is what allows it to feel comfortable and work effortlessly within the kitchen.
As a general guide, we typically recommend allowing approximately 1,000–1,200mm of clear space around an island, but there isn't one measurement that works for every kitchen. The right clearance depends on what surrounds the island and how each side of it will be used.
Where the island faces your main run of cabinetry, your designer will consider more than the walkway itself. Oven, dishwasher, fridge and cabinet doors need room to open comfortably, while still allowing someone else to move through the kitchen. A busy working aisle may therefore need more space than a side of the island used primarily for circulation.
Seating also changes the equation. If stools are positioned along one side, you'll need sufficient room for someone to sit comfortably and for others to pass behind them, particularly where the island adjoins a dining area, entrance or natural route through the room.
The proportions of the island matter too. In a generous room, an island can provide substantial storage, preparation space and seating. In a more compact space, reducing its size, or considering a peninsula instead, can often create a kitchen that feels more spacious and functions better.
This is why we don't design an island in isolation. Your designer will consider the size and shape of the room, surrounding cabinetry, appliance openings, seating, working zones and natural circulation routes before determining the dimensions that work best.
The aim isn't to fit the largest island your room can accommodate. It's to create an island that feels properly proportioned to the room and leaves enough space for your kitchen to work comfortably around it.
How many people can I seat at my kitchen island?
How many people you can comfortably seat at an island depends on more than its overall length. The size and shape of the island, where the seating is positioned and how the surrounding space is used all influence what will work best.
As a general guide, allowing approximately 600mm of width per person provides comfortable seating for most adults. This means an island with 1,800mm of usable seating space could typically accommodate three people, while 2,400mm could accommodate four. Your designer will also allow sufficient overhang and knee space, so stools can sit comfortably beneath the worktop when not in use.
But the number of stools isn't the only consideration. How people sit together can completely change how an island feels.
Placing four stools in one long row may technically provide four seats, but it isn't always the most sociable arrangement. Where space allows, wrapping seating around a corner or positioning seats on two sides allows people to face one another, creating a more natural setting for conversation, family meals or entertaining.
Think about who will use the seating too. An island used mainly for a quick breakfast may need something very different from one that will regularly accommodate children doing homework, family meals or guests while you cook.
If your island also contains a hob or sink, the relationship between the seating and working zones needs particularly careful consideration. Your designer will ensure that people aren't sitting too close to the cooking area or competing with the space needed for preparation and cleaning.
And sometimes, fewer comfortable seats are better than squeezing in one more stool. Leaving adequate space between people and around the island will make it far more enjoyable to use every day.
The best island seating is therefore designed around more than a number. It's about understanding who will sit there, how they'll use it and how the island fits into the wider kitchen and living space.
Storage & Everyday Function
How can I maximise storage in my kitchen?
Maximising kitchen storage isn't simply about fitting in more cabinets. The best storage is designed around what you actually need to store, how often you use it and where you naturally need it.
Before your initial design consultation, think about your current kitchen. What never seems to have a proper home? What clutters your worktops? What do you find yourself reaching, bending or searching for every day? These observations can be incredibly useful when planning your new kitchen.
Give Everyday Items a Proper Home
Rather than designing empty cabinets and deciding what goes into them afterwards, good storage planning starts with the things you actually own.
For example, deep drawers beneath the hob can keep pots and pans exactly where they're needed. A narrow pull-out can organise oils, spices and cooking ingredients close to your preparation area, while dedicated drawers can accommodate cutlery, utensils and everyday crockery.
Tray dividers can keep baking trays, chopping boards and serving boards upright rather than stacked on top of one another. Tall storage can provide a dedicated place for brushes, mops, an ironing board or vacuum cleaner, particularly where the kitchen connects with a utility or bootility room.
And think beyond traditional kitchen items. A dedicated charging drawer can keep phones, tablets, smart watches and other rechargeable devices, together with their chargers and cables, neatly concealed while they charge rather than taking over valuable worktop space.
Make Small Appliances Easier to Use
Consider the appliances that regularly end up on your worktop. An appliance garage with pull-out shelving can give larger everyday appliances such as an air fryer or slow cooker a permanent home, allowing them to be brought forward when needed and neatly concealed afterwards.
A breakfast station can do the same for your coffee machine, toaster, kettle and everyday breakfast essentials, creating a dedicated zone while keeping the main kitchen worktops clear.
The important consideration isn't simply finding somewhere to store an appliance, it's making sure it's convenient enough that you'll actually use it.
Use the Full Height of the Room
Where the proportions of the room allow, extra-tall or full-height cabinetry can provide valuable additional storage without increasing the footprint of your kitchen.
Keep the things you use every day within easy reach, while higher cabinets can accommodate less frequently used items such as large serving dishes, seasonal tableware or appliances that don't need to occupy your most accessible storage.
Look for Storage in Unexpected Places
Some of the most useful storage can be created in areas you might never have considered.
The end panel of an island or run of cabinetry can be designed to conceal shallow storage for everyday items such as letters, keys and a handbag, the things that naturally enter the kitchen but otherwise tend to gather on the worktop.
Even the plinth beneath your cabinetry can work harder. Depending on the design, this otherwise unused space can be cleverly adapted to incorporate something as simple as a pull-out feeding station for your dog's bowls, keeping them neatly tucked away when they're not needed.
If a robotic vacuum is part of your daily routine, its charging dock can be discreetly incorporated into an island or cabinetry, giving it somewhere to return and recharge without having the vacuum and dock permanently on view.
These may sound like small details, but they're often the details that make a kitchen particularly enjoyable to live with.
Make Your Island Work Harder
An island can provide far more than additional worktop space. Deep drawers and cupboards can create substantial storage on the working side, while the reverse or ends can sometimes accommodate additional shallow cabinetry for glassware, table linens, children's craft supplies, cookbooks or serving pieces.
The key is to consider every side of the island rather than automatically treating the back and ends as decorative panels.
Plan Around How You Live
If you bake regularly, you may want dedicated storage for a mixer, baking tins, ingredients and equipment close to a generous preparation surface. If you entertain often, glassware, serving dishes and drinks storage might deserve their own zone. For a busy family, integrated waste and recycling, lunch-box storage and easily accessible everyday food storage can make an enormous difference.
Your designer will bring experience and ideas to the process, but you know the contents of your kitchen better than anyone. Tell them what you need to store, what frustrates you about your current kitchen and even the seemingly small everyday things you'd love to have a better solution for.
A well-designed kitchen shouldn't only find a home for your food, cookware and crockery. It should consider all the things that naturally become part of everyday life in the kitchen.
The goal isn't to fill every available centimetre with cabinetry. It's to use the space intelligently, uncover opportunities you may never have considered and create the right storage, in the right place, for the way you actually live.
Is a walk-in pantry worth including in my kitchen?
For many homes, a well-designed walk-in pantry can be one of the most useful additions to a kitchen, but only when the space genuinely allows for it.
The greatest advantage of a walk-in pantry is the amount of accessible storage it brings together in one place. Everyday food, larger packets, bottles, baking ingredients and less frequently used kitchen items can be organised away from the main cabinetry, helping to keep the kitchen itself calmer and easier to manage.
A pantry can also work harder than simply providing shelving. Depending on its size, it can incorporate worktop space, drawers, closed cabinetry, open shelving and storage for small appliances, allowing items that might otherwise occupy valuable kitchen worktops to have a dedicated home.
Think Beyond the Size of the Pantry
A bigger pantry isn't automatically a better pantry. What matters is how efficiently the available space is planned.
In some kitchens, a corner pantry can make excellent use of an area that might otherwise become difficult-to-access corner cabinetry. In larger rooms, a dedicated walk-in pantry can become a distinct storage and preparation zone connected naturally to the main kitchen.
However, creating a pantry means giving some of the room's footprint to a separate space. Your designer will consider whether those same square metres could work harder as additional cabinetry, worktop space or improved circulation within the main kitchen.
Consider Where It Sits
Position is equally important. Ideally, your pantry should be easily accessible from the main preparation area and food-storage zone. Think about the everyday journey too — being able to bring groceries into the kitchen and put them away efficiently can make a surprisingly significant difference.
You may also choose whether the pantry becomes a feature that's visible from the kitchen or a more discreet space concealed behind cabinetry, depending on the overall look you want to achieve.
Ultimately, a walk-in pantry is worth including when it improves the way your kitchen functions rather than simply adding another room. Your designer can assess the available space, understand what you actually need to store and determine whether a walk-in pantry — or a beautifully organised run of pantry cabinetry — will give you the greatest value from your kitchen.
What is a breakfast station, and is it worth including in my kitchen?
A breakfast station is a dedicated area designed to bring together the appliances and everyday essentials you use most often, typically your coffee machine, kettle, toaster, cereals, mugs and breakfast ingredients, while allowing them to be concealed when they're not in use.
Usually incorporated within tall cabinetry, a breakfast station can feature bi-fold or hide-and-slide doors that open to reveal a generous worktop and storage within. When breakfast is finished, the doors close and everything is neatly tucked away, helping to keep the main kitchen worktops clear.
Why Do Breakfast Stations Work So Well?
It's not simply about hiding small appliances. A well-planned breakfast station creates a dedicated everyday zone within the kitchen.
Coffee can be made or breakfast prepared without occupying the main cooking and preparation areas. In a busy household, this can allow several people to use the kitchen at the same time without constantly crossing into one another's space.
The internal layout can be designed around what you actually use. Sockets can be positioned where appliances will sit, drawers can accommodate cutlery and smaller items, while shelving can keep mugs, cereals and everyday ingredients within easy reach.
Think About Where You Position It
Position is important. If the breakfast station will be used several times every morning, it should be easily accessible without interrupting the main cooking zone. In an open-plan kitchen, it can also be positioned so family members can use it independently while someone else is preparing food.
Your designer will also consider the depth, internal storage, electrical requirements and door mechanism, ensuring the station is practical when open but integrates seamlessly with the surrounding cabinetry when closed.
A breakfast station is particularly valuable if you like a calm, uncluttered kitchen but want the appliances you use every day to remain readily accessible. Everything has a dedicated place, without having to pack appliances away after every use.
For many households, that's what makes it such a successful addition: it isn't storage for things you rarely use, it's carefully planned storage for the things you use every single day.
Should kitchen cabinets go all the way to the ceiling?
They can, and in the right kitchen, taking cabinetry all the way to the ceiling can completely transform the look and functionality of the room. But like every design decision, it should be driven by the proportions of your space rather than treated as a rule.
More Storage Without a Larger Footprint
One of the clearest advantages is additional storage. By using the full height of the room, you can gain valuable cupboard space without taking up any more floor area.
The most accessible cabinetry can hold the things you use regularly, while the highest cupboards are ideal for occasional-use appliances, large serving dishes, seasonal tableware and items you only need a few times a year.
It also removes the open space above cabinetry where dust can gather, creating a cleaner, more considered finish.
It Can Change How the Room Feels
Full-height cabinetry can create a strong, streamlined look, particularly across a bank of tall units containing integrated refrigeration, ovens and pantry storage.
But ceiling height and room proportions matter. In some spaces, taking every cabinet to the ceiling could feel too dominant. Your designer may instead use extra-tall cabinetry selectively, combine different heights or introduce open space to create better visual balance.
Standard or Extra-Tall Cabinetry?
This is also a decision that can influence the overall cost of your kitchen.
During the design process, your designer can show you how standard-height and extra-tall cabinetry would change both the appearance, storage capacity and investment required. Where appropriate, you may be presented with alternative quotation options so you can understand the difference and decide where the additional height brings the most value to your design.
Think About What You'll Store Up High
More storage is only useful if it has a purpose. Before automatically choosing the tallest cabinetry available, consider what will actually live in those upper cupboards and how often you'll need to access it.
For some households, that additional capacity is invaluable. For others, the decision may be primarily about creating the floor-to-ceiling look and proportions they want for the room.
Your designer will consider ceiling height, room size, storage requirements, cabinetry style and budget before recommending the right approach.
Ultimately, cabinetry doesn't need to reach the ceiling to create a beautifully resolved kitchen. But where the room and design suit it, using the full height can provide valuable additional storage while creating a strong, beautifully finished look.
Where should I put my bins and recycling in a new kitchen?
Bins may not be the most exciting part of planning a new kitchen, but where you position them can make a surprisingly big difference to how well the kitchen works every day.
In most kitchens, we recommend integrating waste and recycling within the cabinetry rather than relying on a freestanding bin. Pull-out systems can accommodate separate compartments for general waste, recycling and food waste, keeping everything organised, easy to access and neatly concealed when not in use.
Position Them Where You Actually Need Them
The best position isn't necessarily under the sink.
Think about when you use your bin most. During food preparation, you want to be able to clear peelings, packaging and waste quickly without walking across the kitchen. Positioning bins close to your main preparation area can make cooking and clearing up much easier.
There's also value in considering the relationship between your sink, dishwasher and bins. When clearing the table, being able to dispose of food waste, rinse where necessary and load the dishwasher within the same general zone can create a much more natural workflow.
Think About the Whole Household
In a busy family kitchen, bins are used by everyone, not just the person cooking. Where possible, positioning them so they're accessible without someone having to enter the main cooking zone can prevent people constantly crossing paths.
If your kitchen opens onto a dining or living area, this can be particularly useful when clearing away after meals or entertaining.
Plan for the Recycling You Actually Have
Recycling requirements vary from household to household. Rather than simply specifying “a bin unit”, think about how many separate waste streams you regularly use and the capacity you need.
Your designer can then recommend an internal system and cabinet size that works for your household, rather than discovering after installation that the compartments are too small for the amount of recycling you generate.
It's a relatively small detail within an entire kitchen design, but it's exactly the kind of detail worth resolving early. Good kitchen design considers the everyday tasks you perform without thinking, and makes each one a little easier.
Style, Colour & Finishes
How do I choose the right kitchen style for my home?
The right kitchen style is the one that feels at home in your space and reflects how you want to live with it. While the age and character of your property can provide a starting point, you don't have to choose a particular kitchen style simply because you live in a new build, period property or contemporary home.
At Mark Lohan Kitchens, our kitchen collections span Contemporary, Modern, Classic and In-Frame, each offering a different approach to door style, detailing, materials and finish, with the flexibility to bring together the colours, textures and design details that will make your kitchen uniquely yours.
Contemporary Kitchens
Contemporary kitchens are defined by a flat-panel door, clean lines and refined simplicity. Cabinetry can be handleless for an even more streamlined appearance, or handles can be introduced to add definition and another layer of detail.
The simplicity of the door allows colour, worktops and materials to take greater prominence. Natural wood accents, contrasting cabinetry, statement stone and considered lighting can all bring warmth and individuality while retaining the clean overall aesthetic.
Modern Kitchens
Modern kitchens introduce more definition through a slim Shaker-style door, combining the character of a framed door profile with a cleaner, more pared-back look.
They work particularly well with luxury stone, natural wood and other tactile materials, allowing layers of texture and detail to be introduced while maintaining a fresh, current feel. The result can be warm and understated or more dramatic, depending on the colour palette, worktop and finishing details you choose.
Classic Kitchens
Classic kitchens bring greater detail through the door profile, cabinetry and finishing touches, creating a timeless look that can work just as successfully in a new build as it can in an older or period property.
Colour and detailing can completely change the character of a classic kitchen. Soft neutrals can create a calm, elegant scheme, while deeper greens, browns and richer tones can give the cabinetry greater presence. Worktops, handles, natural wood and the level of decorative detailing can then be used to shape the overall look.
In-Frame Kitchens
In an In-Frame kitchen, each door and drawer sits within its own visible surrounding frame, giving the cabinetry its distinctive construction and furniture-like appearance.
The style offers considerable freedom in colour and detailing, allowing the kitchen to be tailored closely to the character of the home and the look you want to achieve. Within our In-Frame collection, bespoke colour matching is available at no additional charge.
Start With What You're Drawn To
You don't need to know the name of a door style or arrive at your first consultation having decided which collection is right for you.
Bring photographs, saved images, mood boards or even individual details and materials you love. Your designer can begin to identify the common threads, perhaps it's the simplicity of a flat-panel door, the subtle detail of a slim Shaker, a particular colour, natural timber or a statement stone, and use these as the starting point for your design.
Your designer will then consider those preferences alongside the proportions of your room, natural light, flooring, surrounding interiors and how you want the finished kitchen to feel.
The aim isn't simply to choose between Contemporary, Modern, Classic or In-Frame. It's to understand what you're naturally drawn to and bring those elements together in a way that feels considered, individual and right for your home.
Find Your Style in Our Kitchen Collections
Still discovering what you're drawn to? Explore over 50 kitchens from real homes across Ireland, showcasing Contemporary, Modern, Classic and In-Frame designs in a wide range of colours, layouts and finishes.
Browse our Kitchen Collections, discover the styles that inspire you and explore individual kitchens in more detail to see how different design ideas have been brought to life in real homes.
What kitchen colours and finishes can I choose from?
Colour is one of the most personal decisions you'll make when designing your kitchen, and with over 30 standard painted and natural wood finishes available, there's plenty of scope to create a look that feels completely at home in your space.
Our standard collection includes a broad palette of whites and soft neutrals, warm taupe’s and earthy tones, greens, deeper statement colours and natural wood finishes, giving you the flexibility to create anything from a calm, understated kitchen to a richer, more distinctive scheme.
If you have a particular colour in mind that isn't within our standard collection, bespoke colour matching is also available at an additional cost. This can be particularly useful if you'd like your cabinetry to complement an existing interior scheme or you have a specific paint colour you want to carry through into your kitchen.
For our In-Frame Kitchens, bespoke colour matching is included at no additional charge, giving you even greater freedom to select exactly the shade you want for your cabinetry.
Of course, choosing a colour isn't simply about finding a shade you like on a sample. Your designer will help you consider how it works with the natural light in your room, flooring, worktops, hardware, surrounding materials and adjoining living spaces. You may also choose to introduce a second cabinetry colour or natural wood finish to an island, tall cabinetry or feature area to create contrast and balance.
Our Galway and Roscommon showrooms are an invaluable place to explore colour. Seeing cabinetry at full scale and alongside different worktops, handles and materials gives you a much better sense of how colours and finishes work together in a completed kitchen.
Explore Our Colour Collection
Want to start exploring from home? Our complimentary Kitchen Brochure includes our colour collection and swatches, alongside kitchen inspiration to help you begin considering the combinations you might love in your own home.
[Get Your Complimentary Kitchen Brochure]
With such an extensive palette available, the aim isn't simply to choose a beautiful colour, it's to find the combination of colour, material and finish that feels right for your home and that you'll continue to enjoy for years to come.
Can I mix colours and materials in my kitchen?
Absolutely. Some of the most successful kitchens bring together more than one colour, material or finish, creating depth and interest while still feeling beautifully balanced.
The key is knowing where to introduce contrast and where to allow the design to remain quiet.
A second cabinetry colour can be used to define an island, a bank of tall units, a breakfast station or a particular feature area. This can help break up a larger kitchen, give an island greater presence or introduce a deeper colour without committing to it throughout the entire room.
Introduce Natural Materials
One of the most striking ways to introduce natural wood is through the kitchen island. Pairing painted cabinetry with a stained oak island creates warmth, contrast and a natural focal point within the room, while allowing the grain and character of the timber to become part of the overall design.
You don't need to introduce timber on such a large scale. Natural oak can also be used more selectively through open shelving, an oak surround, slatted panelling to the back or sides of an island, a breakfast bar or feature cabinetry.
Stone adds another layer. A beautifully veined worktop can become a feature in its own right, particularly when carried onto a splashback or waterfall island end, while a quieter stone can provide balance where the cabinetry or natural timber is intended to take greater prominence.
Consider Your Metals Too
Handles, taps, sinks and lighting introduce another material into the room. Brass and gold tones can pick up warmer veining within a stone, while black or stainless-steel finishes can create a completely different feel.
These details don't necessarily need to match exactly. What's more important is that they feel considered as part of the overall palette.
Creating Balance
The aim isn't to introduce as many finishes as possible. It's to establish a clear palette and allow each material to have a purpose.
Your designer will consider how cabinetry colour, natural wood, worktops, flooring, metals and surrounding interiors relate to one another, helping you decide where contrast will enhance the design and where simplicity will create better balance.
When it's done well, mixing colours and materials shouldn't make a kitchen feel busy. It should create depth, warmth and individuality while allowing the entire space to feel beautifully connected.
See How We Bring Materials Together
Explore over 50 kitchens from real client homes across Ireland and discover how our designers have combined painted cabinetry, natural wood, stone, metals and contrasting finishes to create kitchens that are unique to each home.
From statement stone and stained oak islands to subtle material combinations and finishing details, our Kitchen Collections are filled with ideas to inspire your own design.
What is the difference between a solid painted and an engineered kitchen door?
Both solid painted and engineered doors can create a beautiful kitchen, but there are important differences in material, finish and colour choice.
Our solid painted doors are made from natural timber, giving them a depth, texture and character that's difficult to replicate. The natural grain of the timber remains part of the beauty of the finished door, while the painted finish gives you access to our extensive colour palette. For many of our clients, it's the look and feel of a solid timber door that makes it their preferred choice.
An engineered door offers a more uniform finish and is available across a selected range of colours and woodgrain effects. While the colour palette is more limited than with our solid painted collection, there is still an excellent choice of finishes available, making it a versatile option across many different kitchen styles.
Ultimately, the choice often comes down to what you're naturally drawn to. You may love the natural grain, painted finish and greater colour choice of solid timber, or prefer the consistency and finish of an engineered door.
You don't need to make that decision before your consultation. Visit our Galway or Roscommon showroom to see and feel both options at full scale, compare colours and finishes, and explore how each could work as part of your kitchen design.
Worktops, Appliances & Lighting
How do I choose the right worktop for my kitchen?
Your worktop is one of the hardest-working surfaces in your kitchen and one of its most visually influential features. The right choice needs to balance how you use your kitchen, the look you want to create, the level of maintenance you're comfortable with and your overall budget.
Colour and veining will naturally catch your eye first, but understanding how different materials perform is just as important.
Quartz
Quartz is an engineered stone surface and one of the most popular choices for kitchen worktops. It combines durability and relatively easy maintenance with an extensive choice of colours, patterns and veining, from quiet, understated surfaces to expressive marble-inspired designs.
Consider: Quartz is durable and non-porous, but it isn't completely heat-proof, so care should be taken with very hot cookware.
Porcelain
Porcelain offers excellent resistance to heat, scratching and staining, making it particularly well suited to the demands of a busy kitchen.
It also offers enormous design potential, ranging from subtle stone effects to dramatic marble-inspired veining.
Consider: Porcelain is extremely hard-wearing, although the material and specialist fabrication can represent a higher investment depending on the surface and specification chosen.
Granite
Granite is a natural stone, meaning every slab has its own pattern, colour and variation. It's exceptionally hard-wearing and can range from relatively understated to highly distinctive.
Consider: The natural variation is part of its character, so the slab you choose is important. Some granites may also require periodic sealing and appropriate care.
Natural Marble
Few materials can replicate the individuality of natural marble. Every slab is unique, with its own veining, movement and variation, making it particularly beautiful when you want the worktop or island to become a defining feature.
Consider: Marble is softer and more porous than many engineered surfaces and can scratch, stain or etch. It requires more care, and for some households a marble-effect quartz or porcelain may provide a more practical alternative.
Timber
A timber worktop introduces natural warmth, grain and texture and works beautifully alongside painted cabinetry and stone.
It doesn't need to be used throughout the kitchen. Timber can be introduced selectively on a breakfast bar, feature area or section of an island, creating warmth and contrast against stone elsewhere.
Consider: Timber requires ongoing care and needs to be properly protected from moisture, heat, scratching and staining.
Other Engineered Worktops
There are also engineered surfaces available in a wide range of stone, concrete, timber and solid-colour effects, offering additional choice at different investment levels.
Performance varies between products, particularly in relation to heat, scratching and moisture, so it's important to understand the characteristics of the particular surface you're considering rather than choosing on appearance alone.
See Your Worktop at Scale
A small sample is useful for comparing colours and textures, but it can't always communicate the full character of a surface, particularly natural stone or designs with significant movement and veining.
Where possible, view a larger section or full slab. It allows you to appreciate how the pattern travels across the material, how much variation exists and how it could look across a large island or run of worktop.
There isn't one worktop material that's best for every kitchen. Your designer will help you balance appearance, performance, maintenance and investment, while considering how your chosen surface works alongside the cabinetry, flooring and other finishes.
The best choice isn't simply the surface you fall in love with on a sample. It's the one that looks beautiful within your design and performs in a way that suits how you actually live.
Explore Worktops in Our Showrooms
Visit our Galway or Roscommon showroom to see a wide selection of worktop materials alongside over 35 full-size kitchen displays. Experience the colours, textures, veining and finishes at scale and see how different surfaces work alongside cabinetry, flooring, handles and other materials before making your choice.
Can my kitchen worktop and splashback be different?
Absolutely. Your worktop and splashback don't have to be the same material, and intentionally combining two different surfaces can create a beautifully individual kitchen.
Using the same stone across the worktop and splashback creates continuity and a more seamless look. This can be particularly striking with a beautifully veined surface, where the pattern becomes a defining feature of the kitchen.
But contrast can be equally effective.
Let One Surface Take the Lead
A quieter worktop can be paired with a more expressive stone on the splashback, allowing the vertical surface to become a focal point without overwhelming the room.
Alternatively, a statement stone might be used across an island while a more understated surface is chosen for the main run of cabinetry.
The two surfaces don't need to match, but they should have a relationship. Your designer will consider their colour, undertones, veining, pattern and scale, ensuring they complement rather than compete with one another.
Think Beyond the Splashback
Stone can also be carried onto upstands, window sills and waterfall island ends, creating opportunities to repeat a material in selected areas rather than using it everywhere.
You might choose one stone for the main worktops and another for a statement splashback, or use a feature surface only on the island to distinguish it from the rest of the kitchen.
There isn't a rule that says every stone surface within your kitchen has to match. What matters is creating a considered relationship between the materials, allowing each to contribute to the overall design.
See the Combination in Person
When you're combining two surfaces, seeing them together is particularly important. Small samples can help, but viewing larger sections allows you to appreciate the true colour, scale and movement of the veining and understand how the materials interact.
Visit our Galway or Roscommon showroom to explore worktop and splashback combinations alongside over 35 full-size kitchen displays and see how different materials have been brought together within complete kitchen designs.
What worktop thickness and edge profile should I choose?
The material and colour of your worktop may attract the most attention initially, but thickness and edge profile can have a significant influence on the finished look.
These are relatively subtle details, yet they can make a worktop feel more streamlined, substantial, contemporary or decorative depending on how they're specified.
20mm or 30mm?
A 20mm worktop creates a slimmer, more streamlined appearance and works particularly well where you want a more contemporary look with clean lines and a lighter visual profile.
A 30mm worktop has greater visual weight and can give an island or run of cabinetry a more substantial presence.
Neither is inherently better. Your designer will consider the cabinetry style, worktop material, proportions of the room and the overall look you're creating before recommending the most appropriate thickness.
Choosing an Edge Profile
The edge is another opportunity to refine the character of the worktop.
A pencil edge creates a subtle, softly finished profile and works across a wide range of kitchen styles.
A bevelled edge introduces a more defined angled detail while retaining a clean, refined appearance.
An ogee edge is more decorative, with a shaped profile that works particularly well within Classic and more traditional-inspired designs, where the additional detail complements the cabinetry.
Your Island and Main Worktop Don't Have to Match
You can also use different edge profiles within the same kitchen.
For example, an ogee edge on a statement island can give it a more decorative, furniture-like quality, while a restrained bevelled edge along the main run of worktop creates a cleaner finish.
This can be a subtle but very effective way of giving the island its own identity without introducing another worktop material or colour.
Your designer can help you decide how much detail the design needs. Sometimes the simplest edge allows a dramatic stone to take centre stage; in another kitchen, a more decorative profile can become an important finishing detail.
See the Difference in Person
Edge profiles and thicknesses are much easier to appreciate when you can see and feel them at full scale rather than trying to judge them from an image or small sample.
Visit our Galway or Roscommon showroom to explore different worktop thicknesses, edge profiles and materials across over 35 full-size kitchen displays, and see how these seemingly small details can change the character of a completed kitchen.
When should I choose my kitchen appliances?
You don't need to have every appliance selected before your first design consultation, but it's important to start thinking about them early. Your appliance choices can influence the entire design of your kitchen, from the layout and cabinetry to where your key working zones are positioned.
In some kitchens, an appliance can even become the starting point for the design.
Think About How You Want Your Kitchen to Look
If you've always wanted a range cooker, tell your designer from the outset. Its size and position can determine the proportions of an entire run of cabinetry and create a natural focal point within the room.
If you prefer a more streamlined look, you might choose a hob on the island, perhaps with integrated downdraft extraction, allowing the surrounding cabinetry and sightlines to remain much cleaner.
Refrigeration has a similar impact. An American-style fridge freezer creates a very different look and requires different planning from integrated larder refrigeration, where a full-height fridge and freezer can be concealed behind cabinetry for a more seamless finish.
These aren't decisions that simply fill spaces within a finished kitchen, they help determine what those spaces need to be in the first place.
Think About How You Cook
Your designer will also want to understand how you actually use your kitchen.
If you love to cook or bake, a single oven may not give you everything you need. You might benefit from two ovens, a combination microwave, steam oven or warming drawer, with each positioned at a comfortable height and close to the areas where you'll use them.
If coffee is an important part of your day, you may want a built-in coffee machine incorporated into an appliance bank, or you may prefer a freestanding machine within a dedicated breakfast station.
The aim isn't to include appliances simply because they're available. It's to understand which appliances genuinely support the way you cook, entertain and live and then design the kitchen around them.
You Don't Need to Have Every Model Chosen
At your initial consultation, knowing the type of appliances you're considering is generally more important than having every make and model finalised.
Tell your designer if you're thinking about a range cooker, island hob, American-style refrigeration, integrated larder fridge and freezer, multiple ovens, wine cooler, built-in coffee machine or any other appliance that's important to you.
As the design progresses, the final models and dimensions can be confirmed at the appropriate stage before your kitchen goes into manufacture.
You can choose to purchase appliances through Mark Lohan Kitchens or source them independently. Either way, your kitchen needs to be designed around the appliances that will ultimately live within it.
See Appliances Within a Full-Size Kitchen
One of the best ways to understand appliance choices is to see them in the context of a complete kitchen rather than in isolation.
Across more than 35 full-size kitchen displays in our Galway and Roscommon showrooms, you'll find the appliances required for a modern home incorporated into complete kitchen designs. See ovens positioned at different heights, compare integrated and freestanding refrigeration, experience hobs within islands and understand how appliances sit alongside cabinetry, worktops and storage.
It gives you the opportunity to appreciate scale, positioning and accessibility in person — and begin to understand which arrangements could work best in your own kitchen.
A good kitchen design doesn't begin by finding spaces for appliances afterwards. It considers how you cook, which appliances matter to you and how they can be integrated into the layout from the very beginning.
What is a BORA hob and is it right for my kitchen?
A BORA hob combines the cooking surface with integrated extraction, drawing cooking vapours and odours downwards at source rather than relying on a conventional extractor positioned above the hob.
For many homeowners, one of the biggest advantages is the design freedom this creates.
A More Open Approach to Kitchen Design
If you'd like your hob positioned on the kitchen island, a BORA can remove the need for a large overhead extractor. This helps preserve open sightlines across the room, particularly valuable in an open-plan kitchen where the island connects the cooking, dining and living areas.
It can also be used along a main run of cabinetry, allowing you to keep the space above the hob clear. This can create opportunities for open shelving, feature stone or a cleaner, more streamlined backdrop behind the cooking area.
How Does the Extraction Work?
Rather than allowing cooking vapours to rise towards an extractor above, BORA captures them directly at the cooking surface.
Depending on the system and kitchen design, extracted air can either be ducted outside or filtered and recirculated back into the room.
The extraction is integrated into the hob itself, creating one appliance for both cooking and extraction and removing the visual interruption of a traditional cooker hood.
What About the Storage Below?
A common concern is whether integrated extraction means losing all of the cabinetry beneath the hob.
The system does require space within the unit, but with the right model and cabinetry design, useful storage can still be retained below the cooking surface. Your designer will take this into consideration when planning the island or hob run.
Which BORA Is Right for Me?
BORA offers different hob sizes and configurations, so the right model depends on how you cook, the size of your kitchen and the space available within your cabinetry.
You don't need to know which model you want before beginning your kitchen design. Your designer can explain the different options and consider the appropriate BORA as part of the overall layout.
Experience BORA Before You Decide
Mark Lohan Kitchens is a BORA supply partner, with working BORA hobs incorporated across our full-size kitchen displays in our Galway and Roscommon showrooms.
Seeing BORA within a complete kitchen allows you to understand much more than you can from an appliance specification. You can see the extraction working, understand how the hob sits within an island or worktop, explore the cabinetry below and visualise the difference removing an overhead extractor can make to the entire room.
EXPERIENCE BORA IN OUR SHOWROOMS
Is a Quooker boiling water tap worth it?
For many of our clients, a Quooker becomes one of the most-used features in their new kitchen. By providing boiling water directly from the tap, it can replace the traditional kettle while keeping the worktop clearer and making everyday tasks quicker and easier.
Beyond making tea and coffee, boiling water is immediately available for cooking pasta, preparing vegetables, filling pots, blanching food and countless everyday kitchen tasks.
Depending on the Quooker model and configuration you choose, you can also combine your everyday hot and cold water with boiling, chilled and sparkling water, reducing the need for additional appliances and bottled water.
A Style and Finish for Every Kitchen
Quooker taps are available in a wide range of styles and finishes, allowing them to complement everything from a streamlined Contemporary kitchen to a more detailed Classic or In-Frame design.
From polished and brushed metals to black, stainless steel and warm metallic finishes, your tap can be selected to work alongside your sink, handles, lighting and other details throughout the kitchen.
Different tap designs also allow you to choose a look that feels right for your cabinetry, whether you want something clean and understated or a tap with a more classic profile.
Experience a Working Quooker Before You Choose
Mark Lohan Kitchens is a Quooker supply partner, with working Quooker taps incorporated across our full-size kitchen displays in our Galway and Roscommon showrooms.
Rather than choosing from a brochure, you can use a Quooker for yourself, compare different styles and finishes and see how the tap looks and functions as part of a complete kitchen.
EXPERIENCE QUOOKER IN OUR SHOWROOMS
How should I plan lighting in my kitchen?
Good kitchen lighting should do much more than illuminate the room. It needs to provide clear, practical light where you work, while also helping to create warmth, atmosphere and highlight the materials and features you've chosen.
The most successful schemes use different layers of light rather than relying on one central source — and ideally, lighting should be considered while your kitchen is being designed, not once the cabinetry has been finalised.
Start With Task Lighting
Think first about where you'll actually work.
Preparation areas, the sink and cooking zones all need good task lighting. Under-cabinet lighting can illuminate worktops beneath wall units, while carefully positioned ceiling lighting can ensure key working areas are properly lit without creating unnecessary shadows.
Your kitchen layout should inform the lighting plan. Once the position of your island, cabinetry, sink, hob and main preparation areas is established, lighting can be positioned around how those spaces will actually be used.
Create Atmosphere With Layered Lighting
The brightest lighting isn't always the best lighting. Some of the most effective kitchen lighting is integrated almost invisibly into the cabinetry itself.
LED strip lighting within glass display cabinets can create a soft glow and bring glassware or decorative pieces to life in the evening. Lighting positioned beneath an island worktop can subtly highlight its form and materials, while low-level lighting beneath cabinetry can illuminate the walkway and floor, creating a softer alternative to switching on the main ceiling lights.
In an open-plan kitchen, dining and living space, these layers become particularly valuable. The kitchen may need to be brightly illuminated while you're preparing dinner, but later in the evening you may want the entire space to feel warmer and more relaxed.
Using separate lighting circuits and dimmers allows different layers to be controlled independently, helping the kitchen transition from a practical working space during the day to a more atmospheric setting in the evening.
Use Feature Lighting With Purpose
Feature lighting can add another dimension to the kitchen and draw attention to particular materials or design details.
Pendant lights over an island can create a focal point while helping to define the island within a larger room. Lighting within open shelving or a breakfast station can make these areas feel more considered while also providing useful illumination.
Lighting can also be used to highlight the texture of natural timber, the movement within a statement stone or a beautifully styled display area, allowing these details to take on a different character after dark.
Consider the Colour of the Light
Colour temperature can have a surprisingly significant effect on how your finished kitchen looks.
A warmer light can enhance natural timber, warm neutrals, brass and gold finishes, while cooler lighting can alter the appearance of painted cabinetry and stone.
When you've spent time carefully selecting cabinetry colours, worktops and finishes, the lighting should allow those materials to look as they were intended. Your designer can help you consider how the overall palette will respond to both natural daylight and artificial light.
Plan Lighting Early
One of the most important pieces of advice is simply: don't leave your kitchen lighting until the end of the project.
Pendant positions need to relate precisely to the final island. Under-cabinet, low-level and integrated feature lighting require appropriate electrical provision, while sockets, switches and circuits all need to work around the cabinetry.
Planning these details early creates opportunities you may otherwise miss, whether that's illuminating a glazed cabinet, introducing subtle lighting beneath an island, lighting a walkway or adding illumination within a breakfast station.
A well-planned kitchen should work beautifully in bright morning light, on a dark winter afternoon and when the main cooking is finished for the evening. Layering task, ambient and feature lighting gives you the flexibility to change both how the kitchen functions and how it feels throughout the day.
Experience Kitchen Lighting in Person
Lighting is difficult to judge from photographs alone. Visit our Galway or Roscommon showroom to experience lighting across more than 35 full-size kitchen displays and see how pendants, task lighting, illuminated cabinetry and integrated feature lighting work within a complete kitchen.
It's also an opportunity to see how different lighting choices interact with cabinetry colours, natural wood, stone and metallic finishes, and gather ideas for your own kitchen.
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