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kitchen layout? - kani-lehua - 05-22-2008
is there a standard layout for a kitchen or can one just put the stove, refer and sink (appliances) wherever?
malia paha o lohe aku
perhaps they will hear
RE: kitchen layout? - DanielP - 05-22-2008
My Favorite layout:
Refer on Left end, then 5' counter,then sink (corner?), then 4' counter, then range, then 5' counter in a U shape or island. Reduce counters for L shape or smaller space.
Dan
RE: kitchen layout? - Hotzcatz - 05-22-2008
You can put the major appliances anywhere you'd like them although there are some requirements for flat space on either side as well as usually a hood over the stove. Also some other minimum dimensions to adhere to but you've got to get pretty far out of "normal" to run afoul of those.
Kitchen design is pretty important, though. The health of you and your family (or whoever will be living in the house) will be drastically impacted by how well the kitchen works. Write down the menu of the biggest daily meal which will be made in the kitchen. Write down the menu of the biggest annual meal made in the kitchen (usually a holiday meal of some sort.) Plan out how the kitchen could address both those meals in an efficient manner and you will have a kitchen which works.
Here's an article I wrote about kitchen designs on a different webpage:
(It is easier to cut and paste than to write it all over again)
"When one has finished building one's house, one suddenly realizes that in the process one has learned something that one really needed to know in the worst way - before one began."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Who was it that said "Follow the money"? Well, who said it doesn't matter - this is a kitchen so our mantra to efficiently design our kitchen is to "Follow the Food!"
The basic underlying purpose of a kitchen is to prepare food. For an efficient well designed kitchen anything else is subservient to that. To achieve a properly functioning kitchen the best designers study the efficient flow of food preparation and can use this same design process to create your own efficient kitchen. To have the most efficient kitchen for your meal preparation it is best to not only "follow the food", but follow your food. Each kitchen prepares different meals so your properly designed kitchen will be set up with you or your chef in mind.
Your kitchen will have a series of paths the food follows during the preparation process. Placing the various areas of the kitchen in proper relationship to one another so the food path flows easily will enhance your kitchen's efficiency. When your kitchen is properly designed, you can easily prepare the largest meal served over the course of a year which is frequently a holiday meal. Also, and more importantly for the ease of your daily living, your properly designed kitchen can easily and efficiently handle your daily food preparation, serving the efficiently prepared food and with an easy clean up afterwards. Properly prepared meals will enhance you and your family's health and well being so proper kitchen design can affect your family in profound ways.
The beginning of the food path is the acquisition of food.
How will it arrive in your kitchen? Are you ultra-urban with food delivered to your door or are you rustically rural with food growing in the garden out back? Many people are somewhere between these two and the food arrives in their family vehicle. Proper and efficient kitchen design starts with placing the kitchen close to or easily accessible to the food delivery. If your food arrives at your door then having a delivery door in your kitchen would make sense. If you are supplying food from your garden then a mud room or utility room with a sink between the garden and the kitchen would make sense so the vegetables could get a rough cleaning before being brought into the food preparation area. If you are bringing food in with the family vehicle then make the path between the kitchen and the car easy to navigate. A place to unload the car directly adjacent to the kitchen will save you a lot of effort over the years. If the kitchen is above the garage you could consider installing a dumbwaiter between the two. However it is done try for the easiest route since it will be a path traveled frequently.
The next step of the food path is the storage of food.
Where will it be stored? There is usually at least some refrigerated storage as well as dry storage. Occasionally a separate freezer or bulk storage area will be incorporated into your kitchen design. When storing food, think of where the food will be prepared and store the food as close to the beginning of the food preparation path as possible. Flour doesn't get washed and it usually put in the mixer or a bowl so store it near the mixer or food prep location. Spices don't get washed and frequently get added either during the preparation or the cooking phase so store them between the food prep and cooking area. Many vegetables are stored in the refrigerator and most of them either get peeled or washed during their preparation so having a sink near or at the vegetable food prep area would be useful and efficient.
The next step on the food path is to prepare the food.
Will it be washed? Frequently it is. Will you want more than one sink in your kitchen? Having a small sink at your food preparation area could be handy and allows the larger sink to be used for clean up duty which will keep used utensils out of your current work area. Store the bowls, whisks and mixers, knives, cutting boards, measuring cups and spoons and all other food preparation items within easy access to the food preparation area. Having a food preparation surface deeper than the standard 24" deep kitchen counter creates an area to store appliances such as mixers, toasters, blenders and choppers while still having a flat workspace in front of them. Having a food prep surface with space for people on more than one side allows for more helpers in the kitchen.
Frequently the next step on the food path is from the food prep area to the cooking area, the refrigerator or the serving area. For each of these destinations, have all the equipment used in that area easily available either in or to that area. Pots and pans should be stored between the food prep area and the cooking area. Oven mitts, spatulas, spoons and all other handling of hot food item utensils should be within easy reach of the cooking area. Having a water source near the cooking area can be very handy since frequently water is added to food as it is being heated. Some kitchens have a pull down water spigot over the stove.
Food serving is the next and one of the most enjoyable steps on the food path.
After the food has been prepared and cooked the next step in the food path involves serving dishes and serving. To keep the food path efficient the serving dishes should be stored near the food prep and the cooking areas or have the serving dishes easily available to those areas. Further along the food serving portion of the path there will be a need for tables, chairs, plates, bowls, glasses, place mats, silverware, chopsticks, napkins and condiments. Store all these items near to each other and near where they will be used so they can be assembled efficiently.
Finally, the epitome of the food path! Now is the time to feast upon the tasty morsels and nourish the body and soul with properly prepared and served food.
The ease and efficiency of a properly designed kitchen will allow this to happen with a minimum of effort and allow for joy in food preparation and serving. Food is much more than mere sustenance. Sharing food - especially well prepared food in a pleasant setting is one of the basic bonding ties amongst humans. Linger at this point in the food path to enjoy your efforts; however after this pleasant interlude the food path continues.
The food path continues even past the food.
At this point in travel along the food path the food is either all gone or will need to be stored again. The serving dishes go to the clean up area, the preparation and cooking utensils go to or have already gone to the clean up area. There should be storage containers for leftover food nearby.
A place for collecting scraps for the pets, the chickens, the compost heap or another way of disposing of wet kitchen garbage would be the next step on the path. Wet garbage should be disposed of frequently and immediately would be preferred. The dryer trash does not become foul with the speed or to the extent that the wet garbage does so the dry trash can be a separate system.
The cleaning area should be large enough to allow for ease of cleaning. A helpful detail here would be a forceful spray head for an initial water spray if you have the space to install one.
The storage of serving dishes, preparation utensils and cooking utensils will complete the food path. To maintain the efficiency of your kitchen their storage areas should be easily accessible to the clean up area. A floor drain is frequently found in commercial kitchens which makes the floor clean up much easier. If you are able to design your kitchen from the ground up, you may want to consider incorporating one in your efficient kitchen design.
The actual design process can begin with the different areas designated by balloons drawn on a piece of paper. Place the balloons adjacent to each other and imagine the food paths until you find an arrangement which allows the easiest flow. Different colored arrows and lines showing the path of the food and utensils are helpful here. Some areas will have multiple arrows such as an arrow for food from food prep to the cooking area, an arrow showing food from the food prep area going to the serving area and an arrow for utensils from the food prep area to the clean up area. Make the arcs and lines with more items or effort wider or darker so you will know to keep them as short as possible. In each bubble you can make a short list of the main items in each area. After you have settled the bubbles into an efficient design, then it is easy to see the most efficient placement of the large kitchen appliances such as the sink, refrigerator, cooktop, freezer, etc. After those items are placed, then work on the details of each area such as size and placing of work top areas, storage areas, etc.
Finally, at this point if you have followed the food paths you have designed an efficient and effective kitchen. Now you can factor in the decorative elements such as surface and floor treatments, colors, styles and such things that make your efficient kitchen attractive. If you have designed your new kitchen by following the path of food through your new kitchen, the design will be efficient no matter what style accentuates the built in efficiency you have created by using the mantra of "follow the food".
RE: kitchen layout? - kani-lehua - 05-23-2008
quote:
Originally posted by DanielP
My Favorite layout:
Refer on Left end, then 5' counter,then sink (corner?), then 4' counter, then range, then 5' counter in a U shape or island. Reduce counters for L shape or smaller space.
Dan
thank you that is the layout i have for the two homes i currently own.
hotzcatz: wow! very insightful! who would have thought that there was so much involved in planning a kitchen layout?! ease, functionality and convenience....follow the food path. got it.
malia paha o lohe aku
perhaps they will hear
RE: kitchen layout? - Kapohocat - 05-23-2008
A short builder put in 42" tall lower cabinents in our house. Every day we just want to rip them out and start over.
RE: kitchen layout? - csgray - 05-26-2008
Don't forget space for your recycling! We find that other than newspapers most of our recyclables originate in our kitchen, but very few kitchens have the right kinds of storage areas for recycling. Think about how often you take away your recycling, where you store it between trips, how much do you need to separate, and how can you make it easy to recycle, especially for guests. It seems like garbage cans are always easy to access but the recycling is often tough to find.
Carol
RE: kitchen layout? - DanielP - 05-26-2008
I also like 42" high x 16" deep upper cabinets. 50% more storage. Also a roll-out garbage/recycle lower next to the sink. Roll-outs in lowers and 3 drawer banks mixed in.
Dan
RE: kitchen layout? - Hotzcatz - 05-26-2008
Ah, but da Cat said it was LOWER cabinets which were 42" tall. That's too tall for lowers.
Deeper upper cabinets sound useful but how does it impact the lower cabinets? Do deeper upper cabinets seem to "loom" above the lowers? It is nice to have deeper lower cabinets, too. 30" deep instead of the usual 24" makes room for appliances to set at the back.
RE: kitchen layout? - DanielP - 05-26-2008
Hotcatz,
I have been doing kitchens this way for 20 years with many thanks from clients. I have asked this question, in particular, and have never had a client mention any lack of functionality. I am 6'-0 and do much of the cooking. If I were 6'-4, there might be an issue.
I do like the idea of deeper lowers if space allows.
I think that Cat should try the roller skate option with those 42" lowers.
Dan
RE: kitchen layout? - Fishboy - 05-26-2008
quote:
Originally posted by Hotzcatz
Ah, but da Cat said it was LOWER cabinets which were 42" tall. That's too tall for lowers.
I set the ones I installed at 35". Isn't that standard? I suppose the final height would depend on several factors, including the height of the user. Is there a standard height for wheelchair access?
Mahalo nui loa,
Brian and Mary
Lynnwood, WA\Discovery Harbour