As you begin the design of a new home, I believe it is best to spend time in careful consideration of your future kitchen and how it is layed out. It deserves special attention because it is where the family meal is prepared and there is nothing more important than the family coming together for a well cooked meal to keep unity in the family.
One of the best layouts includes a bar built into the counter space or better still, a breakfast nook which is directly connected to the kitchen for morning meals. The bar or table located in the nook is a wonderful place for the kids to do school projects or homework. It is also a great place for mom and dad to balance the check book or some other task.
If you pay enough attention to the appeal of the kitchen, it can also help you control how tidy the rest of the house is if you have little ones. If the kids are content to spend a majority of time in the kitchen and nook area, there is less chance they will be spreading chaos into the rest of the house. With that said, there should be a bit of a buffer area between the noon and kitchen area for them to play. Not much, but enough where they will have a bit of play area so that they can be watched while you complete tasks in the kitchen. Just make sure that area is safely away from the stove to avoid burns.
A well designed kitchen should also be easy to work in. For example, we should design it so that there is a twelve to fourteen foot triangle between the stove, sink, and refrigerator. No more, no less. This allows for less steps which equals less work and more food preparation and cooking.
Plenty of natural light should also be considered. A nice sized window maybe placed directly over the sink if possible would help illuminate the area. If it is not possible to place a window over the sink, maybe install large windows in the nook area to reflect light into the cooking area.
There ought to be plenty of storage space if possible, including a pantry integrated into a closet. Make sure it is in easy reach of the cabinets. In corner cabinets, a Lazy Susan should be installed. The “Lazy Susan” is a rotating set of shelves installed so that everything can be reached by turning it like a carousel.
Don’t underestimate the importance of drawers. Drawers are very handy for storing silverware and a good designer will make sure that there are some deep drawers for those miscellaneous things that always seem to show up in the kitchen. If the truth be known, junk drawers are not a bad idea for keeping the kitchen uncluttered. 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 and trash compactor should be installed near the sink. Other appliances to be considered would be a built in microwave for quick snacks and warming up meals.
About the Author
Tim Davis is an experienced architectural designer who specializes not only in residential house plans, but also commercial.
Residential Home Design: http://customhouseplans.8m.com
Commercial Building Design: http://buildingdrawings.8m.com
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