Designing a Functional Kitchen

The kitchen is a special place in the home. It's mainly a place where we prepare meals for the family, but for many people, it serves as the place where we spend time with the family. Many couples and families cook together, especially during special occasions like holidays or birthdays. Whatever it means to you, a kitchen must be designed with function and ease in mind. Whether you are starting from scratch or remodeling a new kitchen, keep these tips in mind.

Major Areas

When it comes to cooking, the major areas of your kitchen are the sink, stove and refrigerator. All these things should be in proximity to each other. For example, what if you're taking a pot of pasta to drain? You don't want to walk across the kitchen to get to the sink. You might accidentally trip over something, or drop the pot if your arms get tired. If you're cooking something and you need something fast from the fridge, you'll want easy access, instead of having to walk 10 feet back and forth. You should place these areas near each other ( no more than a few steps) and start designing your kitchen around them.

Cabinets

The next part is storage or your cabinets. Think of the things you'll need for cooking - cooking implements, utensils, plastic ware, cookware, ingredients etc. Make sure these are placed strategically so you can reach for those things you need. Aside from the outside, make sure you maximize your space inside the cabinets, with some cabinet organizers. Sliding shelves and pull-out racks will make your life easier. For corner cabinets, a round sliding shelf can make use of space that otherwise would have been wasted. Make use of vertical space with stackable shelves.

Consider Adding an Island

If you have enough space in the center, an island can really make a difference. This gives you an area for prepping, and a nice seating area for having breakfast or informal meals. You can also use this area as a storage for wine, books, flower arrangements or fruits. It also allows for a good workflow in the kitchen, and with this extra space you can have more than one person cooking at a time, just make sure you have at least 42 inches of space around the island. Also, you can make use of the space above and add a rack, so you can hang your most often-used pan and pots for easy access, and a beautiful display.

Form follows function, or so they say. If you design your kitchen to allow for a better workflow from the beginning, it really isn't very hard to do. Then you can easily prepare healthy and delicious meals for your family and guests.