How to Build a Smart Baking Center with IKEA Cabinets

Baking solutions for the chef in your family using IKEA cabinetry

Baking is a precise art so you’ll want your IKEA baking center to work smarter not harder.

As experts in IKEA kitchen design, our design team at IKD knows the space that will be dedicated for this purpose has to be really thought through. And we know the best ways to use IKEA cabinetry – and the available space in your kitchen – to make it happen.

You can utilize the space under a window for example, or make a section of your kitchen island a bit lower, or even dedicate a full wall to your own home baking center.

As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want your baking station to be close to your kitchen appliances like your stove or oven.

So if you are an IKEA customer looking to create a dedicated baking center in your kitchen, we’d like to share some real-world examples to help you get started.

And these IKEA kitchen design ideas will show that regardless of your kitchen’s style or layout, we have a design solution to meet all your baking needs.

Let’s take a look!

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Get the Space Under Your Windows Working

One kitchen design option is to take advantage of the space under a window lower than counter height.

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.

Therefore Patricia’s IKEA SEKTION base cabinetry needed to be 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.

A Baking Center As Part of Your Kitchen Island

Another option is seen in the baking station we created for IKD customers Mark and Karen from Tampa, FL.

They had lots of cookbooks they wanted to display and a large center island with which to work with in their IKEA kitchen.

To accommodate their design wishlist, 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.

In addition, part of the island was designed with a lower counter top to be used as a baking station and open cabinets were used as bookshelves to hold their cookbooks.

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.

“We love our baking station and marvel at how much it holds – and holds up!” Mark concludes.

A Dedicated Baking Station

Of course, some IKEA baking stations deserve to stand on their own as well.

This was the case for IKD customers Charles and Christie from Long Beach, NY, whose modern IKEA kitchen was ideal for baking.

“Our kitchen had a great little nook to build a dedicated baking station in, plus it was conveniently close to the oven, so it was perfect,” Christie says.

To establish the clean, modern look they wanted, the IKD design team recommended IKEA’s BODARP Gray Green doors which are complemented by IKEA’s PINNARP countertops in Walnut.

While the area is sleek and modern, it is also highly functional.

Specifically, the cabinets feature internal rollout drawers that frame out the space while the base cabinets (which were hacked to the appropriate height) provide plenty of storage options for baking appliances and other utensils like rolling pins and baking trays.

“Our IKEA baking station is our favorite part of our kitchen: Sleek, stylish and so convenient to use,” Christie says.

Remember, IKD will maximize your kitchen’s potential and design a smart IKEA baking center that will have you cooking in no time!