Some people are born to entertain….other people are born to cook and if you are one of those you’ll need to know how to organise your kitchen to make the most of your space.
First when designing your kitchen is to understand the Kitchen Work Triangle, the ergonomic principle that is the basis for an efficient and functional kitchen. The points of the kitchen triangle are the three main areas in the kitchen: the fridge, the sink and the stove. When designing your kitchen, you should make sure you place these areas at a distance that is neither too far away so that you don’t spend too much time moving from one area to the other, nor so close that you don’t have enough space to work comfortably. The sides of the kitchen work triangle should be free from obstacles so that you can move freely and always place the triangle in an area that other people will not have to cross to get somewhere else.
A diagram depicting the kitchen work triangle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When planning a cooks kitchen you will need to take into account a wider range of cooking activities than those using the kitchen for basic tasks. If this is your case, use a zone design approach, grouping activities together for an easy workflow. Apart from taking into consideration the basic primary zones of preparation, cooking and cleanup areas,with zone design you can plan for other aspects such as additional preparation and cooking areas, positioning of extra kitchen appliances and storage.
If you have a big square shaped room, introducing an island will allow you to work more comfortably and efficiently making the interaction between main zones easier. Islands are a good spot to place the sink or even better your cooking range since you can be facing your guests while cooking – or wow them by flambéing your crêpes suzette if you are a bit of a show off!
If you are a keen baker it is worth planning an area with sufficient worktop for mixing, kneading and appliances like your stand food mixer and breadmaker. To make it really functional plan for drawers and cabinets storing baking utensils, mixing bowls, baking trays, cake tins, baking ingredients – I would recommend having your chocolate chips in a secret drawer to make sure they don’t dissapear before you need them!
It is very important to plan your storage space carefully – this will help you save time when working through your recipes. Make sure each zone should include storage space for its own utensils and ingredients. Store your knives, cutlery and chopping boards in the preparation area and place deep drawers for pots and pans, shallow drawers for cooking utensils and shelves for seasoning and spices within easy reach of your cooking zone.
Designing a cooks kitchen adapted to your style and space can appear a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. There are many showrooms where you can bring your ideas and see in computarised design programs how they can be adapted to the dimensions of your kitchen and lifestyle.
We’re always being told that we have to make our lives more eco-friendly and it’s true because if everyone lived the way we do in the western world there wouldn’t be much world left. So we’ve tried to come up with a few interesting and novel ways to make your kitchen more of a green place to be.