Straight-Line Kitchens: Getting a Single Run Right

A straight-line kitchen suits studios, serviced apartments and open-plan rooms where the kitchen should recede rather than dominate. With everything on one wall the room reads larger, and the opposite wall stays free for living.

Left to right, the sequence that works is tall storage, fridge, prep, sink, prep, hob, landing. Breaking that order is what makes single runs feel cramped, because you end up carrying things past each other.

A single run gives up the corner storage an L-shape provides, so it has to go upward. Full-height units at one or both ends, internal drawers and a tall larder recover most of what the layout costs you.

Because the whole kitchen is one visible wall, the elevation is the design. Handleless fronts, a continuous worktop and a single splashback material keep it quiet enough to live beside.