Critical Design Issues in Kitchen Remodeling

Your kitchen may be the most popular room in your home, so you want it to work right. And if your kitchen is designed properly, it will become an area where family and guests will naturally gravitate. This article offers you ways to make sure your kitchen space functions well.

The work triangle formula

Creating a smooth workflow should be a primary objective in a kitchen redesign. And the best way to have a smooth flow is to create a work triangle between the sink, stove, and refrigerator that makes a kitchen either usable or a room to avoid. No leg of the triangle should be shorter than 4 feet or longer than 9 feet and the total of the triangle's three legs should be no greater than 26 feet.

Making sure your workspace is separate

Being interrupted when working in the kitchen because you're standing in the normal flow of traffic is a real headache. To avoid this frustration, make sure the work triangle is out of the flow of the main traffic. You need to have an alternate way to move through the kitchen without interfering with the cook. Your walkway doesn't have to be a large space, but you do need enough room to avoid bumping into other people in the kitchen.

Installing adequate doors

It's the scene that creates a lot of laughter in the movies: Two people coming from opposite directions head through a doorway that's too narrow. You know what's coming, but it's not funny if it happens to you. To avoid a potentially messy and dangerous collision, make sure the doorways are wide enough. All doorways should be at least 32 inches wide. Anything narrower and you'll feel like you're walking through a cramped tunnel. Besides, narrow doorways create the real possibility of collisions and spilled food!

Avoid knocking knuckles when opening doors

Smashing your knuckles between two doors is painful. To avoid knocking knuckles, follow some simple, yet logical design concepts. Be sure that no entry doors, appliance doors, or cabinet doors interfere with each other when opening. Check this stuff out early on in the design process. You'll be glad you did.

Easy dish loading

Don't make moving dishes from the sink into the dishwasher seem like a long-distance excursion. The edge of the dishwasher should be within 36 inches of the sink. Any greater distance and you have to take a short stroll just to load the dishwasher. Not a big deal, but it can get frustrating after a while.

Situating one sink

Most kitchens have only one sink, so remember that its position is crucial. The sink should be located between or across from the cooking surface, preparation area, or refrigerator. That way, you can quickly and safely move items to and from the sink with little worry about having a food-transferring accident. Remember, convenience leads to safety.

Considering countertops at different heights

A 6-foot, 2-inch volleyball-playing sister doesn't have the same viewpoint on a countertop as her 7-year-old brother, yet both enjoy working in the kitchen. Or maybe you have an elderly parent living with you who needs to sit while cooking. Because of examples like this, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) recommends two work-counter heights in a kitchen to make the kitchen more accessible for people of all ages. One counter should be between 28 and 36 inches above the finished floor and the other between 36 and 45 inches above the floor.

Storing those dirty dishes

No one likes dirty dishes piled high and left for days. But you do need enough space to temporarily stack the dishes while you're cleaning up after meals. To do this efficiently, you'll want at least 24 inches of countertop space on one side of the sink and 18 inches on the other. Anything less and you can expect to lose a dish or two if you try to stack them to clean them.

Grocery resting area

Just as having enough space for stacking dishes is important, you also need adequate space for placing items that you're moving from the grocery bags into the refrigerator. You need at least 15 inches of clear counter space on either side of the refrigerator so that you can safely set a bag of groceries down while loading the refrigerator.

Microwave oven safety

Kids love the speed and convenience of a microwave oven. But if they're young children or not very tall, removing hot food or liquid from the microwave oven could be a problem. For safe use, especially for younger or shorter people, all microwave ovens should be placed so that the bottom of the oven is 24 to 48 inches above the finished floor.

Plenty of floor space

You want to be able to move easily and smoothly around and in front of the appliances in your kitchen and not have to worry about becoming a contortionist! There should be a clear floor space of 30 x 48 inches in front of the sink, dishwasher, cooktop, oven and refrigerator. These spaces can overlap — if they couldn't, we'd all have kitchens the size of most garages!



Source: Housekeeping Channel

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