12 Signature Characteristics of a DOCA Designed Kitchen

While every custom DOCA kitchen is unique, they all feature signature characteristics. These qualities make DOCA kitchens stand out for their design and quality. The designers at DOCA strive to create beautiful and functional kitchens. This gives homeowners the best of both worlds. In addition, using high-quality materials ensures that the finished kitchens are built to last, making them a worthy investment. As you plan your home kitchen remodel, consider these 13 unique DOCA kitchen characteristics.

1. High-End Materials

A DOCA kitchen will feature a combination of high-end materials. These materials are carefully and ethically sourced to ensure they are of the highest quality without sacrificing the environment or other social standards. When used together, they are expertly crafted and assembled to build a beautiful custom kitchen. The woods commonly used in DOCA kitchens include walnut, chestnut, oak, beech, and ebony. For metal, anodized aluminum and steel are go-to materials. Finally, marble and other high-end stones are commonly used.

2. Cooking Functionality

The designers at DOCA understand that a beautiful kitchen must also be functional. This is why each custom DOCA kitchen features professional quality appliances. It is common to see chef’s kitchens with multiple food prep countertop spaces, ovens, and food storage. Basic kitchen design principles are also used. When standing in a DOCA kitchen, you will see the triangle theory in use. This places the sink, fridge, and cooktop in a triangular configuration. This enables the homeowner to naturally move about the kitchen while preparing meals.

3. Innovative Technology

The team at DOCA is dedicated to finding the latest technology. Its materials, hardware, and technology inventory is updated at least yearly. Homeowners who design a custom DOCA kitchen benefit from this effort. Each kitchen is outfitted with the latest innovative technology. However, these kitchens are not simply packed with technology for the sake of adding it. Instead, designers artfully incorporate the technology. With this approach, you don’t immediately see it. However, when needed, the technology makes the homeowner’s life easier. This could be an additional cooktop mounted in a shallow pull-out drawer. It could be an integrated sink in a natural stone cooktop that expertly channels water into a hidden slit drain.

4. Creative Lighting

Custom lighting is a hallmark of DOCA kitchens. Designers use three types of lighting when creating a homeowner’s kitchen. First, ambient lighting supplements the amount of natural light coming in through the windows. This general lighting could be mounted on the ceiling or hung as a chandelier in the center of the kitchen. Task lighting is added to illuminate the countertop workspace throughout the kitchen. This could be pendant lighting or a low-hanging chandelier over a kitchen island. It could also be LED strip lighting mounted on the underside of wall cabinets. Finally, accent lighting highlights the unique features of the kitchen. This is artful lighting that elevates a DOCA kitchen. This is the lighting mounted inside glass cabinets, behind crown molding at the top of cabinets, along floating shelves, or in the architectural shaping of the ceiling.

5. Organized Storage Solutions

One of the most desirable features of a DOCA custom kitchen is hidden. Open a cabinet or drawer, and you will see an impressive organizational storage solution. These small details are from a large inventory of accessories that DOCA has. Large and deep cabinet drawers store plates, bowls, and cups more effectively. However, you need an organizational system to keep these items neat and organized. DOCA’s custom cabinets have the option of coming with this system. This elevates these custom kitchens because you do not have to retrofit a standard system, while DOCA custom kitchens are custom-made to fit the drawers perfectly. Other common accessories include knife blocks, spice organizers, and flatware trays.

6. Ergonomic Design

A home kitchen should be a comfortable room to be in. Homeowners spend time in their kitchens preparing meals, socializing, and living life. Because of this, the kitchen should be ergonomic. DOCA custom kitchens take this to heart with ergonomic designs. This reduces the pressure and stress on the body. For example, the shape of the pulls on the cabinets fit human fingers. The height of the countertops fits the homeowner’s height. Cabinet storage solutions place the most used and heaviest items in a comfortable-to-reach location.

7. Integrated Appliances

While some homeowners do not mind seeing or want to see their appliances, others feel the opposite. DOCA custom kitchens are able to customize the cabinetry to integrate the appliances. Homeowners are able to purchase their preferred appliances. Designers then integrate the appliance into the custom kitchen design with a matching cabinet front. The finished look hides the appliances, creating a cohesive look. The homeowner gets the appliances they want without having to detract from their custom kitchen design. The DOCA custom cabinetry can effectively integrate a fridge, dishwasher, trash compactor, cooling produce bins, and many other appliances.

8. Warm Accents

A stylish and sleek kitchen may look impressive when seen on TV, in magazines, or posted on social media. However, these innovative and modern kitchens lack an essential feature, livability. A sleek and modern kitchen isn’t comfortable to be in. They do not feel like home. This is where DOCA custom kitchens stand out. Homeowners can have the stylish and sophisticated features they love in those show kitchens. They can also have homey and warm accents that they love about the kitchens they grew up in. The result is a kitchen that is the perfect blend of contemporary, modern, and classic.

The use of wood in DOCA kitchens is important. Wood is a natural material that adds a natural warmth to a custom kitchen. This is why it is commonly used as a flooring material or for cabinets. Depending on the look the designer and homeowner desire, more or less wood can be used. In addition, DOCA offers several wood finishes, from light to dark and from grey to deep reds and browns. This enables designers to control and temper the amount of warmth added to a kitchen.

9. Open Floorplan Layout

Modern home design dictates that open layouts and floorplans are the most desired. However, this is slightly changing as more people embrace a zoned approach. DOCA custom kitchens commonly have open floorplans with kitchen islands that create more intimate spaces. This keeps DOCA kitchens in line with modern and changing kitchen design trends. Traffic flow patterns are considered when creating a custom kitchen design. The goal is to allow people to continually move forward no matter how they enter or leave the kitchen. This avoids forcing someone to enter, stop, and then double back. In addition, traditional kitchen design principles are also considered. This ensures that the food storage, prep, and clean-up areas are placed in the best position for the home’s kitchen.

10. Durable Construction

Investing in a full custom kitchen remodel can cost a significant amount of money. This is especially true when designing a custom DOCA kitchen. Homeowners will want their new kitchen to last for years to come. DOCA kitchens do not disappoint. Only the highest quality materials are used when crafting the components of a kitchen. Wood is responsibly sourced with a traceable supply chain line from farms that are properly managed for reforestation. Only the highest quality metals are used to ensure it does not tarnish and corrode over time. Finally, DOCA works with top manufacturing suppliers from around Europe to source the best quality hardware and accessories. This ensures that a DOCA custom kitchen is durable from the largest to the smallest components.

11. Custom Details

When a Divine Design Centre designer works with one of our clients, they listen to the homeowner. They learn about their budget, lifestyle, interests, entertaining, and cooking habits. This is crucial information to learn because it ensures we design a kitchen with custom details that suit the homeowner. DOCA custom kitchens are perfect for accomplishing these details. After all, a custom kitchen should be just that, custom to the homeowner. For example, you will see kitchens that have extra wine storage, additional storage for serving dishes, or glass-enclosed cases for displaying a china collection.

12. Large Kitchen Island

A large kitchen island is a hallmark and staple feature of a DOCA custom kitchen. These centrally located cabinets and countertops create additional work and storage space. They also break up large square footage into more intimate spaces. What makes DOCA islands stand out is their width and length. They are often much wider than a standard island and will run the entire length of the kitchen. Modern kitchen design is trending in favor of two kitchen islands. This is also seen in DOCA kitchens. Dual islands create even more countertop space while also dividing up the cooking stations. This enables more than one person to utilize the kitchen simultaneously without interfering with each other. Because DOCA kitchens are custom designs, you will also see islands at a 90-degree angle or are a perfect square.

Design Your DOCA Custom Kitchen

Our team of designers at Divine Design Center is familiar with the many options DOCA offers when designing a custom kitchen. With a vast inventory of materials, hardware, and accessories, homeowners can create a custom kitchen that perfectly suits their taste, lifestyle, and home. Your beautiful finished kitchen will embody these signature characteristics of a custom DOCA kitchen.

12 Signature Characteristics of a DOCA Designed Kitchen