This blog is about an aspect in your kitchen you probably didn’t even know existed – the all mighty toe kicks. The toe kick for those who don’t know is a small panel located under your cabinets where the doors usually end, the toe kick covers the space from then to the flooring. It turns out that paying a little attention to this hidden away spot can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your kitchen.
There’s a reason the toe kick exists to begin with, the next time you’re standing in front of your kitchen sink or working at the benchtop, take a look down at your toes, chances are you won’t be able to see your toes because they’re actually positioned underneath the front edge of your cabinets, in the toe kick.
When you stand at your kitchen sink or cook at the bench, chances are your feet are positioned so that your toes are in the toe kick, without this little foot cubby hole you’d either bang your toes into the front of your cabinets, or have to learn over awkwardly to reach things at the back of your benchtop. It’s a helpful little ergonomic detail that’s so common that most people don’t think about it at all. (Bathroom cabinets that go all the way to the floor also have these.)
The toe kick can actually be more than just a practical thing in the kitchen – in most kitchens the toe kick is either painted black or the same color as the cabinets, to make it as invisible as possible. Although, some people like to make a statement out of these toe kicks, there is many different colors you can make these (you can even get a mirrored one! how snazzy is that?) reason being is it can actually be a good, simple way to tie in the color scheme of your cabinetry with the benchtop right up to the handles.
So there you have it, a toe kick is pretty much a tiny compartment for your feet to sit so you have a lot more comfort while working in the kitchen.