When designing a new home, it is always a good idea to spend some time carefully considering the kitchen and its layout. After all, this is where the family meal is usually prepared and there’s nothing more important than the family meal to keep the family as a unit.
The most popular layout today includes either a bar built into the counter space or a breakfast nook directly connected to the kitchen for the morning meals. That bar or the table in the nook is a great place for the kids to do home work or school projects, not to mention a place for mom or dad to balance the check book or some other task.
A properly designed kitchen also shouldn’t be hard to work in and around. For instance, we should lay it out so that there’s no more than a twelve to fourteen foot triangle between the stove, sink, and refrigerator. This method allows for less steps and more cooking.
Natural light should also be a major consideration. A good sized window should be placed directly over the sink if possible. If it is not possible to place it over the sink, then there should be large windows in the nook area to reflect light back into the cooking area.
There should be plenty of storage space whenever possible that would include a pantry integrated into a closet in easy reach from the cabinets. In corner cabinets, A Lazy Susan should be installed. A Lazy Susan is a rotating set of shelves installed so that everything can be reached by turning a carousel of shelves.
Drawers are very important for storing silverware and a good planner will make sure there are some deep drawers for those catch all things that always seem to show up in the kitchen. Actually, junk drawers are not a bad idea for keeping the kitchen tidy. Some cabinet companies have racks built into special cabinets that pull out like drawers for storing pots and pans that are hung on special runners for saving space.
Time and labor savers like a dishwasher should always be installed near the sink. Other appliances to be considered would be a built in microwave for quick snacks and warming meals.
My husband Tim Davis, is a designer with 30 years experience in architecture. Please visit his site at http://residentialdrafting.net/.
I love cooking, being a housewife, gardening, sewing along with quilt making, being a grandma, and my cats. I'm the pianist at my church and just so happens, my husband is my pastor.