A wooden kitchen can help to create a welcoming environment, but a homely character doesn’t mean a domestic-style kitchen is the right choice in a church or community centre. Heavily used communal spaces need to be more robust, so if wood is your material of choice, make sure you choose a design that is suitable for the environment.

The ‘semi-commercial’ environment and kitchen design

A shared kitchen, like you would find in a church hall or a community centre, sees much heavier and more varied use than a kitchen in a domestic dwelling, and needs more thorough and more regular cleaning.

Aside from regular use by congregation or community members, external bookings mean visitors come and use the space, increasing usage and accelerating wear. That means the kitchen needs to withstand more ‘stress’, and needs to be constructed in such a way as to make cleaning a straightforward task.

There is also a chance that the kitchen area is larger than a typical home kitchen, and in that case, there will be more joints, doors, and worktop surface area; without a suitably robust design, that just means more things to experience wear and tear, and more frequent repairs.

The trouble with domestic style wooden kitchens for semi-commercial environments

A typical domestic style wooden kitchen uses screws and glues in the assembly system. While those are generally adequate in a home, they are not suitable for a mixed use, multi-user communal kitchen.

The volume and type of use that the kitchen endures means that those points of vulnerability can easily weaken, and very soon will. Joints with screw fixtures or adhesive can separate after sustained use, which makes the kitchen less pleasant, less safe, and less hygienic.

What type of wooden kitchen is suitable for semicommercial environments?

For your shared kitchen, it is vital to eliminate those points of vulnerability, so if wood is your material of choice, then make sure you choose the right manufacturing construction assembly.

The positive design feature of Woodplan units is that a tongue and groove system interlocks along the entire length of all assembled sides, meaning the kitchen carcass is sturdy at all points, and doesn’t create the stress points of a screw-together based system.

A Woodplan kitchen, for example, uses exactly that system, which is certified for heavy use with Gold Level H from the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA). Aside from robust build quality, the choice of finishes offers a timeless elegance, with a choice of seven fascia styles and over 70 fascia colours to complement the aesthetics of your building and the character of your community.

To explore the choices for your kitchen, you can read our combined Steelplan and Woodplan literature at the following link colour brochure, which offers further detail on the available combinations of carcass colour, fascia style, and finish colour.

You can also speak to one of our friendly team if you would like to discuss your ambitions for your kitchen renovation. We can even offer a free, no-obligation design and consultation service to help you visualise and realise your plans. Email [email protected], or call 0208 254 0090.