The wonderful thing about rebuilding or revamping a house is that you can produce that dream kitchen you’ve always dreamed about. It can be a relief when you have nightmares of the cramped kitchen that was laid out by a blind person whose taste in kitchen appliances was medieval.
The Floor Plan
Before pulling out those tools to start creating your perfect kitchen you should consider starting with a floor plan. This will assure that you have enough room for all of your dream appliances without losing valuable counter space that could make Thanksgiving dinners a pain to cook.
If you’ve never created a floor plan, be sure to browse some professional floor plans to get the creative juices flowing and all of the technical aspects down. If you doubt your drawing skills, there are websites that allow you to create floor plans for a cheap monthly fee. You can also hire someone to come in,
The Triangle
When creating a kitchen floor plan, you should remember to think in triangles when it comes to the refrigerator, sink, and stove placement. The idea is to be able to maneuver between any of the three locations without much excess walking. It is also recommended that you leave counter space between each of the three points in the triangle. This will allow you to work directly beside each main part of the triangle. If you think back you will no doubt discover that most of the efficient kitchens that you have enjoyed working with utilize the work triangle.
Counter Arrangement
The way that the counter is arranged will provide many positive and negative aspects.
A U shape that takes up three walls will provide your kitchen with many work areas so that multiple people and projects can take place at once. Multiple sinks can be included in one kitchen to accommodate more cooks. It can also create multiple work triangles which will make your kitchen more efficient.
On the other hand, this arrangement will not provide many positions for people to sit if you are entertaining while cooking. And the space inside the kitchen could be cramped if the room is not big enough.
Counters arranged in an L shape allow for the conservation of space. All of the major appliances are located along the two walls. The L shape also makes it easier to entertain guests as it leaves an open space that can be filled with tables, chairs, or a movable island.
What is gained in efficiency and entertainment value is lost in the availability of workspace? Two walls do not typically provide a lot of workspaces when space is eaten up by refrigerators and stoves.
The Island Counter can compensate for some of the cons of both the U-shape design and the L-shape counter arrangement.
In the U shape, an island can be used in place of one of the regular walls to provide additional seating arrangements for guests. This can limit the space that the U shape takes because people will need a few feet to sit at the counter comfortably. It will also provide an easy location for a cook to sit and work on longer projects.
In the L shape kitchen, a movable island can be used to temporarily modify the shape in order to produce an additional work area. This will cut down on the maneuverable area inside the kitchen, but the island can be removed when more people need to maneuver the kitchen at once.
Islands can be used as additional storage areas. Appliances like the stove or the dishwasher can be built into the island. Additional sinks can also be built into the island.
The kitchen is an important part of your home. By creating a floor plan and considering the work triangle, counter arrangement, and kitchen islands, you will go a long way in creating a solid kitchen. Throw in some state-of-the-art kitchen appliances and the kitchen can achieve perfection.
Wade Myer grew up under the watchful eye of his father, a contractor, who taught him the tools of the trade. Even though he can swing a hammer with the best of them, he’s always been drawn to the written word where he can frame sentences rather than walls. Currently, he writes on behalf of Steiner Homes LTD. which builds Valparaiso homes
