Featured Article:
Kitchen Floor Plans
Kitchen Floor Plans
Gone are those days when kitchens signified just the cooking room of a house. Today lifestyle has changed a lot, and so has the usability of the kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of the home now, serving multiple functions. Food preparation may be the main activity, but it is not the only one. Today, the kitchen serves as a family gathering spot, meal-planning area, computer base, and social center. A good kitchen plan includes all these in the planning phase itself.
Kitchens are often the most used area in houses, thus the kitchen floor plan should be made accordingly. In urban areas, the boundary between dining space and kitchen has almost diffused and often kitchens and dining rooms are in the same room. In such a scenario, the kitchen floor plan must also be in sync with the dining room.
There are three stages to planning a kitchen:
- Measuring up and noting the position of the existing services, windows and doors;
- Working out the plan to get the appliances, worktops and cupboards where you want them;
- Deciding on any changes to the services (electricity, water, drains) you need.
Typically the principal activity zones in the kitchen are food preparation, cooking and serving, and finally washing up. Each activity zone needs to include not only the worktop(s) and appliances required for that activity, but also storage space for the utensils, ingredients etc. required for it. A good kitchen floor plan has ample considerations for all these individual activity zones. A kitchen also has separate zones apart from the ones mentioned above, for example cabinets in which one keeps utensils and other items. The cabinets in a kitchen are like the furniture of the room. The style of cabinets sets the style for the kitchen. As most kitchens are an extension of the other living space, they should reflect the style of the rest of the home.
Storage space is yet another important component of the entire kitchen floor plan. Often the storage space is at a premium in a kitchen. A good kitchen floor plan tries to utilize as much space as possible in a manner so that it has an ample store space. If possible it is always better to have large storage models like large deep drawers which would make it easy to find and grab pans. Pullout shelves also offer easy access to the space. An island in the center of a large space provides added storage and workspace. Drawer dividers are also a good idea for proper planning of the space. A good kitchen floor plan should also include the lighting component, for lighting plays a critical role in the entire functioning of the kitchen.
