When planning a kitchen, like any other room, it is necessary, first of all, to follow some basic rules regarding the location of functional areas and the placement of equipment.
Workplaces in the traditionally equipped kitchen.
One of the main requirements when planning a kitchen is its convenience and functionality. So everyone knows that when cooking, a certain sequence of actions is required: food is taken from the refrigerator, washed, cut, and then placed in a pot or pan. This sequence of actions is taken as a basis by experienced designers, which allows you to design a comfortable and functional kitchen. With this layout, all kitchen work is carried out in a certain working triangle – storage – cutting (cutting) – directly cooking.
Usually the corners of this working triangle are the refrigerator, sink and hob. When cooking, you repeatedly move between these items and cutting tables. In order for you not to wind extra kilometers, these items must be placed not too far from each other, at an optimal distance. So, the recommended distance between the main items of kitchen appliances is a distance of no more than 120 – 210 cm.
Solid placement. Sometimes in small kitchens, a solid arrangement of kitchen furniture and appliances is used. In this case, when arranging equipment, it is difficult to apply the “triangle” rule, but if you follow a certain order, you can find a compromise solution in which the convenience of work will be guaranteed. So, for example, you can place a refrigerator in the corner, next to it is a countertop for laying out purchases, then a sink, then the main work surface at least 80 cm wide, bordering the hob, and a small countertop for dishes set aside from the stove. As you can see it is compact and functional.
L-shaped placement. With this arrangement of equipment, optimal compliance with the “triangle” rule is achieved, and it is possible to increase the surface area of working areas.
Double row placement. If the width of your kitchen allows, then it is best to use a two-row placement of equipment and work areas. This solution will be optimal only if there is a passage between the two rows of cabinets within 90 – 120 cm. When using two-row placement, it is possible to allocate the maximum area for the working surface.
U-shape placement. This layout allows more efficient use of the entire kitchen space, while maintaining small distances between various kitchen items and at the same time allowing you to separate two separate places for cooking.
Workplaces in the kitchen with a modern spatial solution.
As you can see, the so-called “triangle principle” justifies itself when placing equipment in a small traditional kitchen. Can we apply this principle in a kitchen with a large area and advanced functionality?
Currently, modern kitchens present completely different principles for the distribution of workspace. The new kitchens are more open, have more capacity, and are full of a wide variety of kitchen equipment. They provide for a different lifestyle, as well as new ways of cooking.
More kitchen items. In the old days, only three things influenced the convenience of kitchen layout. There are many more at present. So many people add a closet, a freezer to the refrigerator in the kitchen. In professional kitchens, the division into a dirty and clean zone has become widespread, which in turn led to the appearance of two sinks instead of one: one – as before, traditional for washing dishes, and the second – for rinsing and washing food. Now even hot dishes can be cooked in several places: on the hob, in a gas or electric oven, or in a microwave oven.
A wide variety of new products. Recently, in many homes, along with traditional cooking, semi-finished products have become very popular. In order to cook them, you just need to get them out of the refrigerator and bake or reheat. This principle of cooking completely violates the usual order: in order for the dish to get into the oven or pots, there is no need to use the sink, there is no need to wash or rinse.
Kitchen with an island. Large kitchens allow you to abandon the standard arrangement of kitchen items along the walls and place them directly in the middle of the kitchen, on the so-called “island”. Since access to some equipment is possible from different sides, then, for example, a sink and a hob on the “island” can be placed next door.
The principle of placement is everything separately. When planning a modern kitchen, more and more often they are moving away from the usual continuous connection of cabinets, furniture and kitchen appliances. Household equipment and furniture are placed separately from each other. Independent work places are created near the oven, stove, refrigerator, microwave, cutting boards, pantry, in most cases some of them are placed using mobile cabinets or tables. With this placement in the kitchen, work areas can be moved and changed, depending on the needs and the specific situation. With this layout of the kitchen, it is not always possible to apply the “traditional triangle” rule, but depending on the specific individual needs, you can create the optimal placement of items in the kitchen, according to your desires and needs.
Consider several options for the location of workplaces in the kitchen with a new spatial solution:
Kitchen with sink “on the peninsula”. With this layout, the “peninsula” divides the kitchen into two parts. The first part contains a stove and provides for traditional cooking, while the other part of the kitchen contains a microwave and an oven for heating dishes and cutting sandwiches.
Kitchen with an island. If, in addition to the island, two working rows are designed, say, at the window and at the wall, then this will create several places to work.
U-shaped kitchen with an additional working row. With this layout, it is possible to add a closet and an oven to the main composition of the kitchen equipment, and the oven with an adjacent worktop will create a separate place to work.
Kitchen with separate equipment and furniture. When planning this type of kitchen, its main elements are permanently placed – a stove, a sink and a refrigerator. The rest of its elements have some mobility, they can always be rearranged.
Large family kitchen. When planning such a kitchen, the best solution is to place a large table in the middle of the kitchen, and place all its elements against the walls around the perimeter. Although with such a layout, on the one hand, the distance between household appliances increases, on the other hand, the table can be used as an additional work surface.
functional zones. Regardless of the size of the kitchen and what kind of arrangement of kitchen equipment you have chosen, the kitchen must have several functional areas, without which the normal functioning of the kitchen is impossible.
The main kitchen areas are:
- food storage area
- area for washing dishes and products,
- food preparation area
- working surface.
Let’s consider each of these zones in more detail.
Food storage area. Often, we store food not only in the refrigerator, but also in the freezer, utility room, locker, pantry or just on the shelf. We have dedicated storage areas for sweets, drinks, fresh fruits, baked goods. In an ideal kitchen, directly next to the food storage area, there should be a special countertop for easy unpacking of products, as well as a small place for preparing cold snacks. In any case, when planning a kitchen, your individual habits and needs must be taken into account.
How much storage space you need mostly depends on how often you shop. If you shop for groceries once a week, you will naturally need more space to store them. In this case, it will not be superfluous to equip the kitchen with a storage cabinet, spacious kitchen cabinets or the presence of a special pantry in close proximity to the kitchen. It is also recommended to provide special storage facilities in the cellar, garage, but only if they are not too far from the kitchen.
What kind of storage (cabinet, freezer, etc.) for food should be in the kitchen mainly depends on what kind of food you buy the most. If your family buys frozen food in large quantities, then a large and spacious freezer is best for storing them. If you buy a lot of canned food, then a closet in the kitchen or pantry located in close proximity to it is best suited for these purposes. If you prefer to eat fresh vegetables, then the best thing for this is either a cold pantry, say in a garage, or a cellar.
In addition, you must not forget about the place of storage of cooked dishes. Depending on whether you cook in reserve or not, the availability of food storage space will also depend. So, if you usually cook dinner for the whole family for several days or receive guests with an enviable frequency, then you will need a lot of space for storing cooked dishes, where you could place both pots of food and various glass jars. In this case, you will need a large and roomy refrigerator with a convenient arrangement of shelves or a comfortable and roomy cold pantry bordering the kitchen.
Area for washing dishes and products. One of the “dirty” areas is the area for washing products. Recently, a dishwasher has been installed in the place of washing, and sometimes a standard-sized sink is understaffed with another smaller sink. As a rule, the kitchen sink must be located in close proximity to the main work surface, since the cooking process constantly requires washing food, dishes and other kitchen utensils. It is recommended that at least one of the sides of the sink has a special place for clean or dirty dishes. How the sink is connected to other work surfaces and its dimensions, as well as the presence of a dishwasher or a second sink, directly depend on your individual needs. The need for a dishwasher depends on the amount of dirty dishes. If you have a large family, the constant presence of guests, then for you it will be simply irreplaceable. The dishwasher will free you from some work and will also allow you to reduce the size of the sink. The dishwasher must be located next to the sink, since before placing the dishes in it, the dishes must be cleaned and rinsed from large food residues. When choosing the size of the sink, you need to pay special attention to what kind of dishes and what sizes you use. So, if you usually cook food in large pots, then the sink should be of the appropriate size so that you can put and wash the largest pot in use in it. The size of the sink can directly affect the size of the worktop. If the sink has a cutting surface, there have been a lot of these on sale lately, then it can be considered as an additional work surface. The use of such sinks will significantly save space in a small kitchen.
Food preparation area. Recently, on worktops, we chop, cut, knead the dough, grind, peel, beat, etc. Previously, it was customary to read that the workboard should be at least 80 cm long and be located between the sink and stove. In a modern kitchen, it can change its location. In order to quickly make cold snacks, salads and sandwiches, it is necessary that it be located between the refrigerator and the sink. In addition, kitchen worktops, in addition to their main purpose, serve to unpack products, we put the necessary utensils and ready meals on them, so it is highly desirable that they be in close proximity to each of the kitchen appliances. In most modern kitchens, utility tables, additional tables, or even special mobile tables or cabinets on wheels are often used as work surfaces. Food preparation area. Recently, instead of the traditional stove with an oven, separate hobs and ovens are increasingly being used. We cook a lot of food in convection ovens and reheat in microwaves. The microwave oven in most cases is mounted in a separate rack, hung on a wall, or simply placed on a work surface. When choosing a place for the hob, you must not forget about the need to install a special hood above it. Next to the hob, it is necessary to provide a place where you can put plates with dishes or pots of food. How to optimally place them and connect them with other work areas in the kitchen depends to a large extent on your individual needs. Before you start planning the placement of food preparation areas, you must answer one question for yourself: do you cook food yourself more often, or do you only heat up ready-made dishes? This will determine which of the household appliances must be placed closer to the main work surface. If you often bake, then the oven should be placed at eye level, as this will greatly simplify the process of cooking and its maintenance. The freed up space under the hob can be used to store pans, pots and baking sheets. If you cook often and a lot, as well as make seasonal preparations and canning, then it is best to choose a stove with a width larger than the standard one. Now on sale in a large assortment there are both cookers and hobs 80 – 90 cm wide, with five or six burners. The placement of the hob is also affected by the number of people who take part in cooking. So, if one or two people are involved in cooking, then the location of the stove in the same row with the cabinet will be sufficient, but if the whole family cooks, then it is best to place the hob on the “peninsula” or even on the “island”.
In addition, when planning a kitchen, you need to remember the following points:
— storage of foodstuffs must be planned in convenient and easily accessible places. Avoid narrow and deep stationary shelves. Shelves with great depth should be easy to pull out, it is best to replace them with drawers;
- when using hanging cabinets, it is necessary to take into account the height of a person. As a rule, the lower edge of the cabinets is placed no higher than 1.35 meters and equipped with no more than two shelves, which will make it easy to get or fold products;
- in most cases, the sink is placed on the same level as the work surface, but it is best to individually select its height depending on the height of the person. The criterion for choosing the height of the sink is convenience during work, so that you do not have to bend over or reach out. The optimal sink height is taken 5 cm below the bent elbow;
- the width of the countertop, which is located next to the sink, must be selected depending on the location of the sink and the size of the kitchen. In a small kitchen or when installing a sink on an “island”, the countertop can be replaced with a drip board, which is an integral part of the sink. If the sink is located in a continuous row of buildings, then the countertop must have a width of at least 30 cm;
- the stove or hob can be placed lower than the work surface, but at the same time it is necessary to choose a height at which you would not have to bend down to watch the cooking process in the pan. The optimal level of location of the hob is considered to be one that is located 10-17 cm lower in height from the height of the bent elbow;
- the microwave and oven must be positioned so that the dishes do not have to be raised above chest level. In this case, the upper edge of these devices will be at a height of no more than 160 – 170 cm from the ground;
- the best option for a countertop adjacent to the stove is one in which it will have a width of at least 40 cm from each side of the hob.
We hope that our advice on choosing the right kitchen layout will help you optimally place all kitchen equipment, conveniently arrange all functional areas, taking into account your individual needs. Take full responsibility for the design of the kitchen, as even the smallest miscalculations will be very difficult to correct.