Baking Should (Literally) Be a Piece of Cake

We can help you design the perfect baking station for your IKEA kitchen

If you, like many of us, discovered a passion for baking in the early days of the pandemic, you probably also discovered your kitchen is less than optimized for the production that baking can be – especially if you have a kitchen with a smaller footprint. From messy ingredients to large appliances and accessories like industrial mixers and cooling racks, configuring a dedicated space for baking can be quite a challenge. With so many people embarking on kitchen renovations – and the holidays right around the corner – now is the time to consider how to create a special space in your design plan to accommodate and help you show off those new baking skills. Read on to get the top tips from our design team for the best ways to use IKEA cabinetry – and the available space in your kitchen – to make it happen.

1. Reconsider your kitchen island design.

If you have the space for a larger center island, this can be the perfect solution to fit many needs. A center kitchen island can be configured with a higher level for a breakfast bar with stools, and a second, lower tiered countertop or baking surface with plenty of space and open shelving to house cookbooks and appliances. The baking station section can feature a durable, butcher block surface for rolling out doughs and plenty of space for cooling racks.

A tiered kitchen island

IKD customers Mark and Karen from Tampa, FL did exactly this with their center island which features both a breakfast bar and adjacent baking station. To accommodate their design vision, we used custom fronts from Semihandmade in Super Matte Shaker Night Sky in the island. This contrasted with the light gray of the perimeter in the kitchen. And as tidy as the baking station is, it is equally durable as it features (non IKEA) butcherblock countertops and a mixer lift from Rev-A-Shelf.

Check out more of our IKEA kitchen designs featuring multi-purpose large center island here, here and here. Learn more about IKEA kitchen island sizes here.

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2. Materials Matter

When you are choosing countertops and surfaces for a baking station, it’s important to choose the right materials for your prep area. Marble (pictured above) is a good choice because it stays cool when you are working with butter, chocolate and other ingredients that have a tendency to melt. It’s relatively easy to clean and, best of all, remnants can be found for reasonable prices at stone yards. Another option is a butcher block counter top with a poly finish, which can also be a great alternative if you work with a lot of dough. IKD’s Install Connect is a vetted database of certified IKEA kitchen installers, many of whom can help you source surface materials for your baking station.

3. Don’t Forget About Ergonomics

Most people are thinking about the word that starts with an “E” and ends with “mics” when it comes to their kitchen renovation plans (hint: economics) – but planning an ergonomically correct kitchen can save you years of trips to your chiropractor. One design option is to take advantage of the space under a window lower than counter height which can create a perfect standing station for kneading dough, rolling out pasta and decorating cakes.

This was precisely what we did for IKD customer Patricia from Milwaukee, WI.
“As an avid baker, I wanted a dedicated baking center that enabled me to produce a lot of goodies for my family and friends,” she says. Good design says that the counter for a baking center shouldn’t be higher than 30” to 31” and a standard IKEA cabinet’s height is 30” (plus the 4-1/2” of the toe-kick and 1-1/2” of the counter for a total of 36”).

So, in order to meet Patricia’s needs it required some ingenuity on our part. That meant an IKEA hack: Patricia’s IKEA SEKTION base cabinetry was cut to 25” to reach a total height of 31” along with the toe kick and counter top.

The result? A unique IKEA baking station that features IKEA KASKER Quartz countertops and IKEA AXSTAD Matte White fronts to complement the rest of the traditional kitchen perfectly. “The baking station is so much easier to clean with the quartz countertops and I have so much space to roll out dough and still have space for my blender and spices!” she concludes.

The takeaway?

With the right design, incorporating a baking station into your kitchen plans CAN be as easy as, well, pie – and it can make your baking endeavors much more sweet if you have a dedicated space that is efficiently laid out and optimized for your needs. Remember, IKD will maximize your kitchen’s potential and design a smart IKEA baking center that will have you cooking in no time!

Get custom design plans for (almost) every room in your home, starting at $395. Click here to get started.