Smart kitchen design

Big is not always better. The same can also be said of our kitchens: what counts most is not size but efficient design, to allow the person preparing the meal as well as other family members to perform a variety of tasks at the same time without getting in one another's way. The ideal kitchen is designed so as to minimize the distance travelled in order to accomplish tasks. It also offers ample work surfaces for specific activities as well as sufficient storage space and food preparation and serving areas suited to individual needs. The starting point for an efficient kitchen is a functional floor plan.
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THE TRIANGLE PRINCIPLE
NEW OPTIONS: WORK STATIONS

THE TRIANGLE PRINCIPLE

For the past fifty years, kitchen designers have touted the merits of the triangle principle when laying out a practical, efficient kitchen. Indeed, the merits of these guidelines are well founded. The idea is that the three most important elements in a kitchen are the refrigerator, cooktop and sink and that each represents one of the points of a triangle. The combined distances between the three, i.e. the total perimeter of the triangle, should be between 15 and 26 feet. The concept further recommends that no distance be longer than 9 feet and that the shortest distance – the one between the sink and the cooktop – should be between 4 and 6 feet. Ideally, traffic flowing through the kitchen should not pass through the work-triangle area.
As kitchen design has developed over the past twenty-five years, so designers have attempted to rethink the triangle principle, in particular by proposing to install two sinks instead of one, or to have more than one work surface to allow several people to help prepare meals. The use of microwave ovens and the popularity of islands and L-shaped counters have also influenced the way the space is configured. A shift to less formal dining has affected kitchen design, too. The traditional dining room, usually adjacent to the kitchen, has undergone major changes in recent years; increasingly, homeowners prefer to combine both rooms or to create an eat-in kitchen area or family-room dining area that’s part of an open-plan kitchen.
This type of arrangement often means that an island or L-shaped counter acts as the separation point between the meal prepping and eating areas, so it is important to utilize this space wisely. In some instances, the cooktop and possibly a sink are installed here. In others, the surface is used as a breakfast or lunch counter. In both scenarios, the area beneath the countertop is best designed to be accessible from both sides to enable you to store dishes and table linens nearer the eating area and cooking equipment nearer the kitchen.
A raised portion on the dining side of the island will keep messy prepping utensils out of sight during mealtimes, while the top surface can be used for setting out dishes of food. If the island or L-shaped counter is high enough to tuck stools under, meals can be eaten there.

NEW OPTIONS: WORK STATIONS

While kitchens fifty years ago consisted of a lone sink and two appliances, today’s kitchens have taken on a whole new look, often boasting two sinks, more appliances and the latest high-tech equipment.

With women working outside the home and today’s hectic lifestyles creating new needs, kitchens have come a long way over the years. Contemporary kitchens are more spacious and contain innovative, high-performance appliances that are designed to make our lives easier as well as being more ergonomic and attractive. In our desire to save time and be more efficient, we are now looking to double up some pieces of equipment such as the oven, refrigerator, dishwasher and, more frequently, the sink. We want to optimize all the available space through a generous amount of intelligent storage. Work surfaces and counters also need to be large enough to work comfortably.

All this is in response to the desire of homeowners to create a multifunctional room in which the whole family can gather and where each person can help prepare meals or attend to their affairs with ease.

Designing a functional kitchen that can accommodate more guests, more cooks, more appliances and more functions, as well as offering maximum style, can be quite a challenge! As a result, designers have been led to rethink the traditional working triangle concept in order to come up with new options for today’s families. Their solution? To think in terms of work stations.

The principle of work stations, or work centres, is to create distinct zones within the kitchen that allow several family members to be in the room doing different activities, according to their schedule, without stepping on each other’s toes. Though in some respects it does tend to follow the key guidelines of the classic triangle principle, the concept of work stations is intended to be more informal and tailored to the lifestyle habits of the home’s occupants. The idea is to have the work station accommodate the specific features that will enable the person using it to perform their tasks as efficiently and effectively as possible. To achieve this, every detail counts: the materials, the layout, the storage solutions, the type of work surface, and so on.

With this new approach, each basic function carried out in the kitchen is performed around a particular piece of equipment or appliance and includes the necessary amount of counter space to go with it. From the outset, kitchen designers identified three main work stations: one for clean-up and storage, one for meal preparation and one for cooking, each obviously intended to fulfil a typically essential kitchen task. Other more specialized stations can be added, depending on individual lifestyles, to meet specific needs or to enable the pursuit of a particular interest – for example, an eating area, a baking area, or an office or computer area.
Clean-up and storage area
The clean-up and storage area includes the sink, a place to put dirty dishes, a cupboard to keep cleaning and dishwashing products, and storage for everyday utensils and tableware. Ideally, at least 2 feet of counter space should be left on one side of the sink for dirty dishes and at least 20 inches on the other for the dish drainer. And of course it’s important that the counter in this area be completely water-resistant.

In addition to these basic elements, the dishwasher and trash can are also found in this area. With recycling playing an increasingly important role in our lives, this is also the best place to put a recycling system that could include one bin for glass, cardboard and paper, another for compostable waste, and perhaps a third to hold bottles and cans to be returned to the supermarket.

Since the focal point of the clean-up zone is the sink, this area can also hold all the small appliances that require water, such as the coffee maker and the salad spinner. What's more, it’s likely that you will use this area to handle leftovers and prepare your lunchbox for the next day, in which case it’s a good idea to reserve some storage space for plastic pots, plastic wrap, aluminum foil and freezer bags. Finally, a paper towel holder will be very useful, as will a napkin holder.
Food preparation area
The food prep area should be well thought out and include a work space that is large enough to let you work efficiently with various foods and utensils. For some people, 30 inches of counter will suffice, but for maximum comfort 36 to 60 inches of work surface is recommended. This zone should be as close as possible to the cooktop and the sink. A kitchen island is often used for this purpose, but any suitable work surface between the storage and cooking stations will do just as well. This is also the most practical area for a second sink if you plan to have one, to rinse fruit and vegetables, for example.

This is where you should keep knives, utensils, bowls and small appliances like hand mixers within easy reach, in dedicated drawers or cabinets. Likewise, certain ingredients are used regularly to prepare most meals; you’ll therefore find it practical to have all your favourite oils, spices and condiments nearby. If you’re thinking of installing butcher-block countertop, then the food prep area is the perfect place to put it.

Space permitting, a small refrigerator could be fitted into the kitchen island to store milk, eggs and other ingredients that need to be kept cold and are used often. A slide-out trash can or a waste chute might also come in handy, as well as a small container to hold vegetable scraps for the compost pile.
Cooking area
The cooking area is laid out around the cooktop and oven. The countertop here must be heat resistant in order to safely hold hot dishes. Ideally, this stretch of counter should be at least 2 feet long.

In larger kitchens, it is increasingly common to see two cooktops or two ovens, the advantage being to let you cook several dishes at once and therefore save time. If space is at a premium, however, you may want to consider installing warming drawers instead, which allow you to pre-heat plates or keep dishes warm when they come out of the oven.

You will appreciate having near at hand all the equipment and utensils you use to cook with, whether for the oven or the cooktop, such as Pyrex dishes, cast-iron enamel cookware, pans, skillets, spatulas and ladles. There’s a good chance that you’ll want to season your dish while cooking, too – so don’t forget a herb and spice rack.

If possible, plan to have the microwave built in, or on a shelf, so as not to waste precious counter space.
B>Specialized areas
Depending on your lifestyle, you may wish to have a fourth or even fifth work station, which could be for eating, working or a special interest.

For example, if you like to bake bread and pastries, you will probably pay close attention to details that will allow you to set up a “baking” station. A large work surface is imperative for this purpose. The counter should ideally be made of stone, being both heat resistant and naturally cool. This part of the counter should be about 3 to 6 inches lower than a standard counter, to allow you to roll pastry or knead dough more comfortably.

Since you will probably be using small electrical appliances, it would be practical – and more aesthetically pleasing – to plan a convenient storage space for them in this area.

With telecommunications now an important part of our everyday lives, it’s not surprising that more and more of us are setting aside a corner of the kitchen especially for work purposes. This counter or desk area typically holds telephone, pens and paper; however, it is increasingly serving as a computer station – for keeping track of the accounts and paying bills – as well as a spot for the kids to do their homework, where parents can keep an eye on them.

If you like to have guests round then you’ll love the idea of having an area specifically designed for entertaining. Preferably, this area should be situated away from the food preparation zone so as not to interfere with that activity, but still near enough to the kitchen.

Equip this station with a sink and bar faucet, a small built-in refrigerator under the counter or simply a refrigerated drawer. You might also want an ice dispenser. A warming drawer will keep your appetizers nice and hot. A small wine cellar or a wine rack is a must for storing your best bottles. Also remember to plan additional storage space for napkins, placemats and table linens. If you have room for it, a comfy nook with a bench or chairs is a relaxing place to sit and chat, and can double up as a breakfast corner for everyday use – you’ll especially appreciate this if you have youngsters.
Observing natural flow patterns
We’re increasingly hearing the term “food flow” in kitchen design, referring to the natural sequential order in which food is handled in the kitchen. Some designers are now trying to configure the room so that the work stations follow the logical sequence in which food is handled and prepared, from the grocery bag to the table. When you come home from shopping, you place the food in the fridge and the pantry. Later, you take it out to prepare it: for example, you rinse it in the sink and cut it in the prep zone before cooking it. Then, you serve the meal. If the work stations are arranged to follow this order, your kitchen tasks are made easier because you’ll save unnecessary trips back and forth between the various areas.

Does all this mean that the triangle principle is outdated? Not at all! In fact, year after year it has proven its worth as a relevant and enduring concept. With the trends that are emerging today to meet families’ new needs, this principle will continue to be applied, but in a different way. What we are now seeing, in fact, is the traditional triangle split into several smaller triangles within the same room, depending on the number of work stations and the number of people cooking at the same time. Therefore, even when laid out in the form of work stations, contemporary kitchens are still benefiting from the tried and tested principles that have been successfully applied to kitchen design for many years.
Once our kitchen experts have studied your sketches and the measurements you took using the RONA Renovating the kitchen planning guide, they will discuss a wide range of options with you and explain how best to create a kitchen that fits your needs. After making an appointment, therefore, you should prepare a list of your requirements, the special options that interest you, and any ideas you might have concerning the various functional aspects of your new kitchen. Our experts will then be able to take these criteria into account when drawing up the floor plans and give you valuable advice in designing a kitchen that’s suited to your needs, your lifestyle and your interests.
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