Split-Level Kitchens – A Growing Trend

Last Updated on September 12, 2024

Split-level kitchens have soared in popularity in 2024, and there’s good reason for this. With their ability to help ease the transition between other areas of your home, whilst also making the most of the space available within your kitchen and dining area. The team at House of Worktops take a closer look at what makes split kitchens so popular, and why you might want to consider one for your home!

What is a Split-Level Kitchen?

A split-level kitchen is exactly what the name suggests, a kitchen that is split over two or more levels. This may mean that you have extended your kitchen up or down a flight of stairs to create a larger kitchen area.

As homeowners look for more ways to better utilise the space in their homes, split-level kitchens have become increasingly popular as they not only make the most of the space in their homes, but they can also increase the overall value of your home.

Splitting your kitchen over two levels allows you to have more defined areas for cooking and eating if you are looking to make your kitchen into a kitchen diner, and also allows for a more seamless transition through your home into living areas.

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Along with kitchens that are split over two or more floors, you’ll also find that many homes are beginning to install split-level kitchen worktops too. We’ll discuss how you can incorporate both into your home, later in this piece.

Benefits of Split-Level Kitchens

There are plenty of benefits that having a split-level kitchen can bring to your home, from increased home value to vastly improved aesthetic appeal. Here are a few of our experts’ views on the biggest benefits of split-level kitchens:

Aesthetic appeal and design – having a kitchen design that doesn’t conform to the norm is a real benefit, as split-level kitchens draw your eye. This is especially true if you opt for different worktops or a different colour cabinet in the two various levels of your kitchen.

Improved space utilisation – make the most of the available vertical space in your kitchen by opting for a split-level kitchen design. If you have limited floor space in your kitchen, but have plenty of counter space, you could opt to include a mounted worktop on your existing worktop space to make the most of the vertical space your kitchen has to offer. But if floor space isn’t an issue, you can maximise the space available to you, by having your kitchen set across multiple floors.

Clearly defined kitchen areas – splitting a kitchen over multiple levels is a great way to easily define specific areas for dining, cooking and relaxing. You might want to have the upper area specifically focused on cooking and cleaning, whilst the lower area is tailored toward dining, entertaining and relaxing.

Improved kitchen flow – Utilising different colour pairings throughout your cabinets, walls, tiles and worktops can help transition to other areas of the home. It also allows homeowners to bring out more personality throughout their home, as more stylistic choices can be incorporated into the kitchen than in a conventional kitchen set-up.

Increased home value – by adding a split-level kitchen to your home you can easily add significant value to your home, with research suggesting that a kitchen redesign can add up to 8% more value to your home if you come to sell it. By splitting your kitchen over multiple levels, you’ll be making the most of your home’s space and maximising its overall value.

Design Ideas & Split-level Kitchen Inspiration

How can you best incorporate a split-level kitchen into your home? Here are some of the key things to consider when you are considering a split-level kitchen design for your home:

Incorporate islands – islands have been a staple in kitchen designs for many years now thanks to how effectively they can use wasted floor space. Just because you’re opting for a kitchen to be split over multiple levels in your home, doesn’t mean that islands are obsolete. We’d recommend incorporating a kitchen island in any viable floor space, and you could even use this space as a breakfast bar if you have enough surrounding space.

Breakfast bars & dining spaces – having ample space for dining within your kitchen is a must, and split-level kitchens lend themselves to expansive areas to enjoy your meals. A great way to make the most of the split level look for your kitchen is to add seating space close to the steps down from your kitchen’s upper level, making the most of the space available in your kitchen.

Combining complementary colour pairings – split-kitchen layouts are all about being bold in your design choices, so don’t be afraid to mix it up with different colour combinations for worktops, cabinets and tiles. We’d recommend complimentary colours for each level of your kitchen, but be brave and ensure each level has its personality, as this is one of the major benefits of this style of kitchen.

Split-level worktops

Along with split-level kitchens, you could also opt for a split-level worktop, which could be incorporated into your kitchen over two levels. By utilising two different worktops in your kitchen, you can benefit from particularly striking aesthetics.

A particularly strong pairing that we’d recommend is Oak worktop & White sparkle worktop – the distinct contrast in styles between these two worktops is particularly striking and catches the eye. We’d recommend that you install white sparkle worktops in areas for food preparation and where the sink will be placed and have oak worktops on the level of your kitchen for entertaining and dining. Combining two tones that are contrasting, with a completely different style worktop is sure to catch the eye of anyone who visits your home.