Kitchen Design

The layout of your kitchen is basically where you place your appliances, your counter tops, and your storage.

This will determine how user-friendly your kitchen is.

Here are some things to consider:

- How far will I have to walk to get water from the sink to the stove?
- How much counter space do I need to slice, dice, julienne fry, and otherwise prepare stuff for meals?
- Do I have a place for the olive oil near the stove or will I have to go across the room to get it?
- Will two or more cooks be able to work in the space without bumping into each other?
- Will I be able to easily rinse the dishes and load them into the dishwasher?
- Why do I insist on rinsing dishes before I load them into the dishwasher?
- Maybe I need a new dishwasher!
- Do I prefer a range or a separate cooktop and oven?
- Is my room big enough for a separate cooktop and oven?
- Do I want/need a separate prep sink or a cleanup sink?
- How much of an ordeal will it be to add plumbing for a prep sink or a cleanup sink?
- Do I want/need an eating area in the kitchen?
- If I have an eating area in the kitchen, is there room in the dining room for a piano?

Of course, if you're remodeling, the structure of your existing home will limit your layout options. You'll have considerably more flexibility with a larger space or if you're building a new home or adding on.

When remodeling an existing kitchen, always remember; if nature had intended for there to be an island in the kitchen, there would be one. If there isn't an island, it's probably because there isn't enough room.

Common kitchen plans include the one-wall kitchen, the corridor or galley kitchen, the L or double L kitchen, the U-shaped kitchen and the G-shaped kitchen.

See the triangles drawn in the sample kitchens above?

An imaginary triangle is the Holy Grail of a kitchen's design and functionality.

The "work triangle" is defined by the National Kitchen and Bath Association, the benchmark in American kitchen and bath design, as an imaginary straight line drawn from the center of the sink, to the center of the cooktop, to the center of the refrigerator, and back to the sink.

The NKBA even has suggested guidelines for work triangles:

- The sum of the work triangle's three sides should not exceed 26 feet, and each leg should measure between 4 and 9 feet.
- The work triangle should not cut through an island or peninsula by more than 12 inches.
- If the kitchen has only one sink, it should be placed between or across from the cooking surface, preparation area, or refrigerator.
- No major traffic patterns should cross through the triangle.

Efficiency is the triangle's main goal. It keeps all the major work stations near the cook without placing them so close together that the kitchen becomes cramped. The work triangle is also designed to minimize traffic within the kitchen so the cook isn't interrupted or interfered with.

That's why it's more of a guideline.

Keep in mind that the concept of the work triangle was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture in, like, the 1940's. I'm not kidding. Everyone knows that male government bureaucrats in the 40's were the most qualified people to design modern kitchens, right?

For one thing it assumes everyone is right-handed. Think about it.

I don't want to knock the work triangle too hard, though. I have been accused in the past by certain colleagues of "dismissing" the work triangle, but this is simply not so. The work triangle is an excellent starting place for developing a workable, efficient, user-friendly kitchen.

However, one problem is that it assumes that a kitchen will only have three major work stations and one person cooking. As kitchens grow in size and feature more than three workspaces, the regular work triangle isn't always practical. Furthermore, in many households today, two or more people share cooking duties.

Because of these issues, designers can't always follow the work triangle rules when it comes to planning kitchens. All I'm saying is that creating a work triangle just for the sake of having one isn't the best thing to do when designing a kitchen. The goal is to have the most functional kitchen possible.

The point is, your family's lifestyle should determine the functionality of your kitchen, not the other way around. The work triangle is a helpful tool, but it's okay to think outside the triangle when it comes to designing your kitchen.

I prefer to design and plan in terms of zones. Think of zone design as an enhanced work triangle approach. It's a way of grouping kitchen activities together in appropriately organized spaces that allows for multiple cooks and for more than three work centers.

While the work triangle focuses on the positioning of the range, refrigerator and sink, zone design addresses the full scope of what your appliances, plumbing fixtures, and gadgets are actually used for.

It also considers the many activities other than cooking that occur in the kitchen, like entertaining, doing homework, charging cell phones, paying bills, and everything else that makes today's kitchen the nerve center of the home.

Zone design also lends itself well to the fact that kitchen size is growing and that modern floor plans leave the kitchen more open to the rest of the home.

You don't have to have a distinct area for every activity, though. Very few kitchens are THAT big. Preparation, cooking and cleanup areas are the primary zones, and they're mandatory, but other zones, like baking, beverage, and communication centers, for example, are not necessary and are therefore called "auxiliary" zones. By combining some zones into one area or eliminating zones that you either don't need or won't fit into your layout or lifestyle, you can make your kitchen zones multi-task for you.

Like this:
- Preparation and cleanup zones combine well
- Baking and cooking zones combine well
- Islands can host multiple zones, if you have room for an island
- Add a desired element of an auxiliary zone, like a key appliance or a critical specialty storage cabinet, to a primary zone

The Cooking Zone is centered around the range or cooktop. You may also want to keep your microwave and toaster oven here as well.

Include:
- Deep drawers for pots and pans
- A shallow drawer for pot lids
- A spice drawer (or those cool spice racks in pull-out corbels that flank the cooktop)
- A microwave cabinet for saving countertop space
- Utensil drawers for spatulas, spoons, and other cooking weaponry

The Cleaning Zone is anchored by your sink and dishwasher, but you want to keep your other water dependent products, like your coffeemaker and salad spinner, nearby. You'll also be emptying the leftovers into containers here, so keep your storage supplies nearby, and remember to include space for cleaning and drying supplies.

Include:
- A pullout towel rack
- A plate rack for storing daily or occasional dinnerware
- An undersink pullout for dishwashing detergent and cleaner
- Tilt out sink trays or undersink shelves for sponges and scrubbers
- A rack or drawer for aluminum foil, paper, and plastic wrap storage
- A pullout drawer for Tupperware, divided for lids and containers

Don't forget about the "dining zone." There's a lot of flexibility involved in designing your eating area, but consider adding easily accessible storage for tablecloths, placemats, napkins, or infrequently used china.

The Food Preparation Zone is where it all begins. You slice and dice your way toward dinner. If your kitchen is big enough for an island, that would be a great place for the food prep zone. It's helpful to include a second sink for rinsing fruits and vegetables and a refrigerator drawer for storing milk and eggs if your main refrigerator isn't closeby.

Include:
- A pull-out cutting board (if you aren't working on a butcher block surface)
- A drawer for knives
- Pullouts for mixing, measuring and serving items
- A pullout wastebasket or recycling center

The Baking Zone is where cookies, breads, and such happen. Besides the appropriate amount of countertop space and suitable countertop material (marble slabs work best for rolling dough), you want to keep a number of supplies within easy reach.

Include:
- Apothecary drawers for storing small items like cookie cutters
- Bins for flour and sugar
- A tray divider rollout for baking sheets and pizza pans
- A pull-down cookbook rack
- Drawers for rolling pins, measuring cups, and teaspoons
- Easy-to-reach cabinet space for heavy casserole dishes and mixing bowls
- Storage for oven mitts, pot holders, and trivets
- Divided utensil storage for spatulas and wooden spoons, etc.
- A pop-up stand for your mixer

Here is a guide for drawing and measuring your kitchen.

Step 1) Start by making a rough outline of your kitchen.

If you are remodeling, do not include current cabinetry or other furniture that will not be kept, like the kitchen table.

All of your measurements should be in inches. If you measure a wall that is 10 feet, write it as 120".

Step 2) Use these symbols for doors and windows.

For doorways with doors, draw the doorway according to which way the door swings.

Draw in any obstructions like radiators, pipes, sink plumbing, etc., that you either can't move or don't want to move.

Step 3) Starting at the top left corner of your drawing, measure from the corner to the first window, door, or wall, then measure the width of each window and/or door. Continue clockwise around the room until each wall, window and door has been measured.

When measuring doors and windows the trim is considered part of the door or window. Measure from the outside of the trim on one side to the outside of the trim on the other side.

Step 4) Measure the ceiling height and write it in the center of your drawing. Sometimes, especially in older homes, it's a good idea to take measurements in a few different places. Ceiling heights, even in the same room, can sometimes vary by as much as a few inches, and that can make a BIG difference.

Step 5) Measure from the floor to the bottom of each window and measure the overall window height.

Step 6) Beginning at the top left of your drawing, label the windows "Window #1", "Window #2", etc. in a clockwise order.

Step 7) Again beginning at the top left of your drawing, label the doors "Door #1", "Door #2", etc. in a clockwise order.

Step 8) Next to each wall, write the name of the adjacent room. If the wall is an "outside wall" write "exterior wall."

Step 9) Measure any obstructions such as radiators, pipes, etc. that you either can't move or don't want to move. If the obstruction is close to a wall, measure out from the wall to the edge of the obstruction.

Measure from the second closest wall to the edge of the obstruction.

If the obstruction does not span the full height of the room, measure the height of the obstruction.

Check your measurements. If your room is rectangular, add up the measurements of the parallel walls and make sure they match or are at least very close. For example, in our sample drawing, you would take the overall measurements of the top wall and add them together. Then do the same with the bottom wall. Once you have added each wall's measurements, check the totals to see if they match.

Top Wall: 24" + 42" + 24" + 12" + 42" + 12" = 156"
Bottom Wall: 12" + 40" + 104" = 156"
Left Wall: 21" + 42" + 52" = 115"
Right Wall: 18" + 97" = 115"