The following information is from doityourself.com How To Plan a Kitchen http://www.doityourself.com/stry/h2plankitchen :
- Do you need an island (and have room for it), a peninsula or a breakfast nook?
- Would you fill a pantry?
- Would you rather have a stainless steel sink or enameled cast iron?
- Do you use a microwave for major cooking or just to heat up cups of tea?
- Do you prefer cooking with gas or electricity?
- Do you want a combination oven-and-range or a cook top with a wall oven?
- Do you use enough small appliances that you could use an appliance garage to store them?
- Do two or more cooks typically work at the same time? If so, you may want extra counter space and/or an extra sink.
- Do you entertain frequently–and do you typically have formal or informal gatherings? If you entertain a lot, you may want to open up the kitchen/living room area into a great room that lets you be part of the party while you're working. (I'd thought about connecting kitchen and dining area, for ease of serving, but it makes sense to connect kitchen to entertainment area - not necessarily living room - instead or as well. However, for 'formal' occassions I don't want to show off the kitchen to formal guests - I think I consider the kitchen an intimate area - the heart of the home - maybe a half-wall cutout with large shutters? So that I could have it open for informal and closed off for formal 'hide the kitchen' times. I wonder if shutters are the best way to do that... something to look into. Also, if there will be tv/film viewing in this neighboring room, place large screen directly across from the kitchen view, so that if you run in for a drink you don't miss anything.)
MOST KITCHENS ARE DESIGNED AROUND FOUR WORK CENTERS
- THE CLEANUP CENTER around the sink should have at least 18" to 30" on one side, and 48" to 54" on the other, to allow enough room to stack dishes, pans and utensils. Always plan for at least 12" between the sink and the nearest corner, measured from the front of the counter. (I don't see a real problem with placing the sink on a corner, like my gramma's is, it facilitates two people using the sink/washing dishes.)
- THE COOKING CENTER around the range requires 12" minimum on one side of the range, and 15" to 24" on the other side, again with 12" minimum to the nearest corner. Microwaves and built-in ovens should have at least 15" to 18" counter space on the right side (assuming the door is hinged on the left side). (Having the ability to have people stand around the stovetop facilitates group cooking, so I'm good with a stove being on a corner - not in a corner - or freestanding.)
- THE STORAGE CENTER around the refrigerator needs 15" to 18" on the handle side of the refrigerator, to set food.
- THE MIXING/PREPARATION CENTER should be handy to pans, bowls and utensils, and should consist of at least 42" to 84" of free counter space.
If space permits, some designers also include a serving center–another 36" to 84" of free counter space to set bowls and pans.
As you design, you'll also want to plan for the following minimum clearances so you'll have room to work:
- There should be at least a 42" clearance from the front edge of the counter top to the nearest table or island.
- Leave at least 20" from the front edge of the dishwasher door (when open) to the nearest obstruction, so you'll have room to load and unload.
- Plan for at least 26" between the kitchen work area and the nearest traffic path.
- Allow 36" between the nearest obstruction and an eating table, so there is room to pull a chair away from the table.
cabinet: A sink base is open below, with a door below a single false drawer front. In some brands, the drawer front tilts out to provide storage for sponges and cleaning supplies. (Burch household has this - excellent feature, make sure to include it!)
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Z-series metal sinks, available in bronze, copper, brass and pewter, are made of a combination of metallics and polymers. The metallic material gives you the look of real metal; the polymers make maintenance easy. All you need to use is a product such as Bar Keeper's Friend, a sponge and water. That will remove any surface tarnish or discoloration off the surface of the sink. (Something to keep in mind, although it needs serious looking-into before I'd feel confident with it, and anything higher maintenance might not make the most comfortable fit for my home.)
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Color can influence the mood of a room. For example, studies have shown that red can quicken the pulse and breathing rate, as well as increase appetite. Yellow, especially soft yellows can make people feel happier. When used as a accent bright yellow can attract attention and brighten up a kitchen. (Red for a dining room? Yellow in the kitchen? I'm happy with Bright Yellow trim and accents; that was the color scheme of my room at mom's when I was little - and you know what, I was really happy in those rooms.)
- It is considered a good idea in using color in a room to have a 60-30-10 split between three colors, 60% representing the main or dominant color, probably on the walls or cabinets. 30% of a secondary color used in the flooring or rugs, as well as window treatments. 10% for accents such as, dishes, artwork, pillows and other soft items.
The Classic Work Triangle
Placing your sink, range and refrigerator in a convenient arrangement that fits in your space will naturally result in a "work triangle". Your job is to make that the best triangle possible. Here are some factors to consider:
- The length of the three sides added together should be less than 26 feet, with each side being 4-9 feet. This will give you a work area which is not too cramped, but not so large that you waste time and energy hiking from one place to another.
- Main traffic route should not pass through the triangle. Sometimes this is impossible to achieve, but redirecting traffic outside the triangle is much safer and more convenient for the cook.
- An island or peninsula should not interrupt the triangle. A "barrier island" between major work areas or appliances causes a lot of extra walking (and maybe bumped hips as you swing past the corners of the island on the way to somewhere else).
Contemporary Planning: Work Centers
Nowadays the work triangle is not always enough to describe how a kitchen will function. Adding appliances (extra sink, dishwasher(s), separate cooktop and oven(s), microwave oven, etc.) adds extra work stations which the simple triangle can't account for. Adding cooks to a single triangle is a recipe for tripping over each other. The concept used to solve these problems in design is that of work centers or zones.A work center groups everything needed to do a specific type of task into a single area. The three major ones are:
Food Prep Center
Near fridge, near sink (may have its own sink separate from the main cleanup sink), near trash and compost containers: needs counter space, knife storage, cutting boards, measuring and mixing utensils, small appliances such as food processor or blender, casseroles and baking dishes, flavorings, cookbook storage, graters.
Cooking Center
Range (stove) or cooktop and ventilation: oven may be located separately if it's not part of a range (possibly near the baking zone). If you cook using your microwave, you might include it in this zone (possibly mounted over the range), but if you mainly use it for heating up snacks it could be better located outside the main work triangle where non-cooks can access it without getting in the way. Close to the food prep center so that food can go directly from prep to cooking. If you do a lot of cooking involving large pots of water (pasta for 12, canning, etc) a faucet nearby can be very useful. Small cooking appliances like the toaster, toaster oven, convection oven, deep fryer etc might be located here or in a separate snack center. Storage for frypans, possibly saucepans, pot lids, cooking utensils, salt, pepper and spices (away from heat), oils, vinegars and other flavorings, oven mitts and gloves, fire extinguisher.
Cleanup Center
Main sink, dishwasher, garbage disposal, trash and compost bins, recycling bins, waste compactor; storage for cleaning materials, dishtowels, food storage containers and materials, paper towels, garbage bags, colanders and strainers, possibly everyday dishes and flatware (near dishwasher), possibly saucepans (near water source).
Depending on your cooking and eating style, you may have other work centers too:
Baking Center
Counter space (may include marble or stone slab for rolling pastry): cookie sheets and baking tins, cookie cutters, rolling pins, electric mixer, food processor, food storage for baking ingredients, cake decorating equipment, cookbook storage, measuring and mixing utensils, mixing bowls.
Snack Center
Close to refrigerator, cup and dish storage: includes microwave and toaster ovens, popcorn maker, coffee and tea making equipment and materials, water cooler, microwave-safe dishes and dish covers, oven mitts, snack foods.
Eating Center
Eating surface and seating (could be a table and chairs, breakfast bar and stools, or built-in nook); storage for dishes and flatware, napkins and placemats, condiments.
Clearly, there is some overlap between the equipment and materials needed in each work center. Where you choose to keep what depends on your cooking style and needs, the size of your kitchen, and placement of centers near each other. You might also choose to duplicate some items (anything from measuring cups to dishwashers) in several zones if you have the space and it makes work more convenient.
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The main advantages of the L-shaped plan is that it's easy to keep traffic out of the work triangle, it can be compact, and the area opposite the corner of the L can be the perfect place for a table and chairs or an island. If the L gets too big, though, it can mean a lot of walking. You also have the "corner problem": whether to put the sink or range there (which restricts usage to one person at a time) or a cabinet which either has dead space inside or requires special fittings to use the space. (Hm, instead of putting in a lazy susan cupboard, what about no cupboards at all in the corner? Put a big plant there? have a nice window corner?)
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From the Mississippi State University Extension Service http://msucares.com/pubs/publications/p1492.htm :
The location of the kitchen is also important and depends upon several factors:
- Convenience to yard or outside work area. Does a window look out into the yard or work area?
- Convenience of unloading groceries and disposing of garbage and trash.
- Easy access to the front or back door. (I also think having the first floor 'guest bathroom' by the kitchen/ backdoor/ entertainment area is a good idea for when you rush in the door and gotta go!)
Activity Centers
Efficient use of kitchen space is more important than the amount. Every kitchen should be organized around distinct centers of activity. Besides appliances, each center should have counter space and storage space. Centers are best arranged so that work moves in one direction. Storage and counter space can serve two appliances and reduce the space required for separate centers.
To combine centers, a guideline for amount of counter space is to use the counter dimensions required for the larger center plus 12 inches. The sink and refrigerator centers often are combined to provide counter space for the mix center. Recommended counter surface dimensions are identified in Table 1.
Storage and Cabinets
A kitchen should have at least 50 square feet of storage in wall and base cabinets. Six linear feet of base cabinets, with wall cabinets above, will give you 50 square feet. Four drawers, or 11 square feet of drawer space, are minimum requirements. Cabinets should have at least one shallow drawer.
Cabinet sizes are fairly standard. Wall cabinets are 12 to 13 inches deep and from 12 to 36 inches high. Base cabinets are 24 inches deep and 34 inches high. When the countertop is added, the base cabinet will be a standard 36 inches high. However, if you are very tall or short, you can place your cabinets at a more convenient height.
Cabinet widths range from 9 to 48 inches in multiples of 3 inches. Special base and wall cabinets are available for corner installations. in addition to standard sizes, there are many specialized cabinets: revolving shelves, built-in wine racks, partitions for lid and tray storage, waste basket and trash can concealment, and pantry cabinets for quality storage of staples.
Table 1
| Recommended Amounts of Kitchen | ||
| Storage and Work Space | ||
| Kitchen Industry Recommendations | ||
| Sink Center | Counter surface on one side | 24-26 in. |
| Range Center | Counter surface on one side | 15-24 in. |
| Refrigerator | Counter surface at latch side | 15-18 in. |
| Mixing Center | Counter surface | 36-42 in. |
| Total Counter | 72-109 in. | |
| When work centers are combined, the counter should be equal to the longer of the counter tops being combined plus 12 inches. | ||
| Total Base | 72-120 in. | |
| Wall Cabinets | 72-120 in. | |
| Each inch of frontage in a full height storage wall of at least 20 inches deep is equal to 2 inches of base cabinet; if 12 inches deep, it is equal to 2 inches of wall cabinet. | ||
Cabinet Dimensions
| Wall Cabinets: | Depth | 12-13 inches |
| | Height | 12-33 inches |
| | Width | 9-60 inches |
Clearance between upper cabinet and counter should be 15-18 inches; over sink, 24-30 inches; over range, 27-30 inches (24 inches if cabinet is fire protected).
| Base Cabinets: | Depth 24 inches |
| | Height normally 36 inches with toe space or 4 inches |
| | Width 9-60 inches (available in 3-inch modules) |
Standard counter height 36 inches; counter should be 3 inches below elbow for most tasks, 6 inches below elbow for rolling out or kneading tasks.
Sitting down work surface: 30 inches from floor.
The work area should not be split by traffic. Normally, the largest number of trips during meal preparation occurs between the sink and range top. Many trips also occur between the mix center and the refrigerator.
Do not install the range next to the refrigerator; it will make the operation of the refrigerator more costly and reduce its lifetime.
Kitchens designed to be used by more than one person need more space for movement and efficient use of equipment.
Space Requirements
Corner clearances are:edge of range and corner cabinet -- 12 inches.
edge of refrigerator to corner cabinet -- 15 inches.
edge of sink and corner cabinet -- 9 to 12 inches.
Other Considerations
When developing the design of the kitchen cabinets, consider the following suggestions:
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Your kitchen layout is critical and kitchen space planning needs to be right - there is a lot to consider if you are to ensure your kitchen is cook-friendly:
When designing a kitchen layout, traditionally people talked about the kitchen triangle rule, described as an imaginary straight line drawn from the centre of the sink, to the centre of the cooker top, to the centre of the fridge and finally back to the sink. Getting these units as close together as possible is said to make your kitchen more user friendly.
However in many households, two or more people now share the cooking. Kitchens are growing in size and tend to feature more than three workspaces; therefore the regular kitchen work triangle isn't always practical.
So now people are talking about kitchen layout in terms of "zones". When kitchen space planning, think of a kitchen's functions and work these into zones in your plan. Food preparation, cooking, serving and washing-up are the four main jobs all kitchens need to fulfil. A kitchen layout with two work triangles (linking the zones) can maintain and direct traffic flow while keeping the cooks from being in each other's way.
If possible, fit your sink under a window to make the most of the natural light - this will help prevent head banging on cupboard doors
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Try using the 'store, prepare, cook, wash' rule. Place the appliances you use in a line, according to the order you use them as you prepare and cook a meal, then wash-up and put-away.
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3-feet is typically the optimal and most ergonomic height for a kitchen counter. It may not be the best for a specific task, but it is the best overall compromise for the majority of tasks done in the kitchen.
For most people, a kitchen counter top height of 3-feet provides a comfortable work station. Extremely short or tall people, or those with special needs, may want to modify that height to better suit their needs. (Remember to design at least one counter section short enough for wheelchair/child use - I plan to design wheelchair accessibility - just in case - in the whole house from the ground up.)
