7 campervan kitchen ideas

Here we’ll look at an important aspect of a van conversion – campervan kitchen ideas. Having a functional cooking space in your van has many advantages for van life: it’ll help you to save money on food costs, it means you’re not reliant on restaurant opening times, and it’s a great way to go off-grid and still meet your foodie needs!

Below, we round up the top campervan kitchen ideas for you to consider for your build.

7 of the best campervan kitchen ideas

1. Sidewall kitchen

A fixed kitchen against one sidewall of a van is the most common and one of the most simple campervan kitchen designs. While it’s fixed, most van layouts will easily allow for plenty of space for a folding bed alongside, as shown in Blue Vinnie above.

It’s simple to add drawer storage underneath too, like this4-berth hire in Preston shows.

• Biggest pro: common layout, therefore easy to fit

• Something to consider: as a fixed kitchen, will permanently take up space

2. Behind-cab kitchen

Another common style in campervan kitchen layouts is to have the kitchen directly behind the front seats, as in Franny above. This style of kitchen can be completely cut off from the cab, perfect for stealth or city camping.

Or keep it visible for even easier installation, easy access, and a greater sense of interior space, like inHarry the HiAce. Both options should give a decent amount of room in the rest of the campervan.

• Biggest pro: one of the most discreet kitchen ideas – can be set to be not visible when opening either cab door

• Something to consider: could feel claustrophobic if the cab/front window isn’t visible when inside the van at night

3. Outwards-facing kitchen

If you want to save space in your campervan, consider a kitchen style like Mrs Hiace, above, where a compact little kitchen space is placed by the side door to face outwards. This is a fab space saver, and as a smaller style kitchen is an inexpensive option too.

• Biggest pro: saves space

• Something to consider: only suitable for outdoor cooking, so not ideal for rainy days

4. Outdoor kitchen

The ultimate in space-saving! Even handier than an outwards-facing kitchen is a fully outdoor cooking space/slide-out kitchen as shown in one of our Aussie campervans The Blue Bus.

Check out the photo to see the ingenious use of space in this van – the fridge is also outdoors, set on a sliding drawer, and the space includes a countertop, cooking hob and even a small sink. A quirky use of space like this is a popular feature with campervan hirers.

• Biggest pro: perfect use of space in a campervan conversion

• Something to consider: as with the outwards-facing kitchen above, can only be used in food weather

5. Double-wall kitchen

Okay, this one is more of a bus than a campervan per se. But we just had to share anyway! Bilby, above, combines practicality and style in a 1990 Toyota Coaster conversion to add kitchen space on both sides of the van, rounding it all off with a smart white and beach blue colour scheme.

• Biggest pro: double the space – have the hobs on one side and the sink on the other; both areas can include food prep/cutting board space

• Something to consider: will leave less room for living space

6. Storage kitchen

All campervan conversions should make clever use of space! We highly recommend building storage and shelving room into your campervan kitchen from the start, so that what could be a basic sidewall kitchen becomes a smart storage kitchen instead.

The van above does this perfectly – practically every inch of wall space above the kitchen is utilised, plus there’s extra storage space on the kitchen counter.

• Biggest pro: plenty of space for your kitchen bits and pieces

• Something to consider: some creative thinking is required to do this practically and attractively!

1. Portable kitchen

Most outdoor kitchens for campervan conversions work on a slide-out or pull out basis. But there’s no need to even add drawers if you want to keep things super simple – just have the kitchen portable so you can move it outside.

The Shogun conversion in Glasgow has a 2-burner hob and foldable kitchen, connected to the van’s gas bottle.

• Biggest pro: can use indoors and out

• Something to consider: might not look as attractive as a fitted indoor kitchen

More campervan kitchen ideas

You’ve decided on your campervan kitchen type, now it’s time to make it look good. Here are a few of our favourites from our campervan for hire listings:

If you think you can’t fully show off your cooking skills in a campervan conversion, think again! Bonnie in Edinburgh is set up to cook for a king.

Speaking of cooking skills, the chefs among you might want a full-size oven in your campervan kitchen. No problem, as Nel in Harrogate shows.

Make your campervan kitchen as stylish as a full-sized domestic one by adding a tiling backsplash. The 3-berth campervan in Kent, above, uses a black and white theme throughout.

A retro VW with a fully modern feel, Blossom in Cornwall maximises room by only using part of the space behind the front seats.Stan in High Wycombe does similar, this time placing the kitchen facing the side rather than the back wall.

Many campervan conversions these days use vent fans in the roof, a handy way to aid ventilation and get rid of cooking smells in the van. For maximum effect, include an additional fan wall mounted in the kitchen.

Things to consider with campervan kitchen layouts

It’s tempting to jump straight into designing your dream campervan kitchen, but like all things van conversion, you’ll need a workable layout first! The “floor plan” for your kitchen depends on several factors, not least how it’ll fit into your layout overall.

Think about what you’ll use the van for – for example, off-grid adventures far from shops and supplies, or campsite stays close to supermarkets and restaurants. What sort of meals will you make in your van, and what kit will you need?

Also, think about:

Access

Do you want easy access to the kitchen area from the campervan cab? Where will you place your kitchen in your van?

Cooking

A 2-ring gas hob is surprisingly effective for whipping up fairly elaborate meals. But will you also want an oven? How about a grill? Will you use gas or electricity?

Water

Will you install running water or just use a portable refillable tank?

Cooling

Will you fit a fridge? If not, how will you keep your food (and beers) cool? Not so much a consideration for UK winter campervanning, but an essential consideration for perishable items, meat, fish etc.

Storage

How do you want to store food and equipment? If neatly out of sight in drawers, do you have room to add these?

Countertop

A big but often overlooked part of campervan kitchen aesthetics! What type of countertop would you like to use, and how will you source it? Will you fit it yourself or get a professional in? What material will you use? Remember you’ll probably have to cut into it to fit your sink!

Budget

Another big part of your campervan kitchen considerations! As with other aspects of a van conversion, it’s really up to you how much you spend here. Sourcing free, scrap or recycled materials can keep a campervan kitchen budget under £100, especially if you fit a simple sink/water system and 2-ring gas hob.

But if you like making your van cosy, and/or know you’ll want to conjure up three-course meals in your van, the sky’s the limit when it comes to campervan kitchen fitting and equipment.

Campervan kitchen appliances and equipment

This is where things get really inventive! The kitchen kit for campervans covers two main categories – appliances/gadgets and cooking/food equipment. For each, think about budget, space and ease of use, i.e., can the appliance be easily connected to your power system? Is there room for a particular piece of kit and can it be stored or secured safely when the van’s on the road?

Our top suggestions are:

Fridge

Pretty much essential if you want to do any type of cooking or food storage in your van. You’ll need to look for a specific RV-style fridge designed to run on the 12V system most vans have, as your battery will drain fast if you use a standard domestic fridge and an inverter. Campervan fridges run to the expensive end of the campervan equipment market, but we think a good one is a must-have.

Coffee machine

We’ve seen full-size Nespresso machines in campervans – something you might consider if you’re a true coffee fiend! A more portable option like an AeroPress is a popular campervan kitchen pick.

Magnetic strips

These are a great way to keep kitchen equipment handy and looking stylish. Magnetic knife strips, which can go over the hob, and magnetic spice jar holders, to fit into any spare strip of space, are both among our faves.

Cutting board/chopping board

An essential piece of campervan kit, especially as a wooden board can fit over the sink to give extra counter space. Or go for plastic and get a foldable chopping board.

Pots and pans

One saucepan and one frying pan should be enough for most campervan kitchen kits; you could add a smaller pan for heating beans, soup etc. It’s worth spending a little extra to get pans with folding handles.

Collapsible kit

Collapsible plastic boxes and items like strainers are perfect for van life and tiny home living. You can even get a collapsible sink if you don’t want to plumb one in!

Hammocks

Not the sleeping kind, but tiny ones to string up around your kitchen. Fruit hammocks look great and keep everything secure and neat.

And don’t forget crockery (non-breakable), cutlery, sturdy plastic glasses, sealable containers for pasta and rice… and the true essentials – a tin opener, a bottle opener and a corkscrew.

Get started with your campervan kitchen today

Now you have some brilliant campervan kitchen ideas to work with, have a look at ourcampervan water system article to see how it’ll all fit together! Ourcampervan sink ideasand campervan table ideas guides should also give you plenty of inspiration too.

Spend as much or as little on your campervan kitchen as you like – either way, it’s easy to make your money back by becoming a Camplify owner!

Earn extra income from your campervan

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If you still have questions, want to discuss your income potential with an expert or get more information on how to list your vehicle, call us on ☎ 0330 808 1811 or visit www.camplify.co.uk. We’ll be happy to help you with anything you need!