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A modern kitchen does not simply follow the classic layout pattern of a triangle. In fact, if you hear any kitchen planner mention the word triangle, run out of there as that formula went the way of the Leave it to Beaver moms. It simply doesn‘t work for how we work and use our kitchens today. So, no triangle layout schemes. Now we ask ourselves: Where do we start the planning process, what do I need to know and where do the best kitchen design ideas come from? Hang on and I‘ll walk you through some ideas and a lot of food for thought to use during the planning stage. First of all, don‘t plan to do this in an afternoon or even a weekend. Remember, you‘ll live with this kitchen for a long time – it‘s a lot more permanent than a new sofa. Today, we take our design cues for a great kitchen from commercial kitchens. Think about more than one chef in the kitchen (we have a husband, kids and friends who want to all help cook), easy access to pots and pans and tableware (think open shelving), multiple ovens and sinks, and ergonomically positioned appliances (think elevated dishwashers and bottom freezers). Today‘s kitchen is designed with the way you like to cook and entertain in mind. For example, if you are a pie queen, then we need a section of countertop that is marble (pastry chefs love marble for rolling their pastry). You‘ll also want a section of butcher block countertop, perhaps a raised bar so that the rest of us with wine in hand can marvel at your culinary skills, and then perhaps some granite or stainless steel for sparkle and elegance. So many decisions and that was just for the countertop. If you don‘t take it one step at a time you can have major regrets. One of the first steps is to commit to your appliances. How many ovens? Is the freezer separate from the fridge? Wine fridges? Drawer dishwashers? Drawer microwave oven? TV? Computer? Fireplace? Coffee maker? How about a customized cook top? Many appliance manufacturers allow you to custom-build your cook top. You can design the elements all gas or gas plus induction, grill, wok, even a deep fryer. This is just too much fun these days! You need to know what appliances you want and their required space before we can actually lay out the kitchen plan. The next step will be to space plan, to make enough space for your spices, knives, utensils and all other cooking essentials. Plan each area as a zone. You may have many zones and within each zone plan enough space for all that will be needed. For example, in the coffee zone you‘ll need space for coffee, the coffee maker, cups and saucers, flavours, and sugar. We are not done with the zones yet. There is also the prep zone, the baking zone, the clean up zone, the garbage zone (we need bins for compost, garbage, glass and recycling materials), the cooking zone, the wine zone, the baking zone, the eating zone, the lean-on-the-bar-and-watch-the-cook zone and, of course, the dog zone. (I have under-cabinet beds in our kitchen and a permanent spot for their dinner dishes. Zoned out? I know it can be overwhelming, but it really does make a lot more sense and the results are worth all the effort – you‘ll love to ‘zone out‘ in your new kitchen. Now, the fun part – you get to choose all the pretty stuff such as flooring, lighting, back splash, cabinet style and material. Again, you can mix and match here, no reason to stick to one colour, material or even style. It won‘t be easy, but then as mom would say, nothing worth while comes without a price. So take your time, do the research and then be sure to invite me over for that first dinner party. I love hanging out, leaning on the bar with a glass of wine and watching you work in your zone. DESIGNER THOUGHTS In the bath, open storage continues to be more widely used because it lends a feeling of spaciousness to the bath, although I see mixing open and closed storage as optimal, since it provides both enhanced visual space while still minimizing clutter. WEEKEND PROJECT Go and order yourself the most fabulous roll of wallpaper and line the back of your bookcase with the paper. Wow! - Cheryll Gillespie is a syndicated home advice columnist and Kelowna resident. Her column appears every Friday in eVent! Top of Page |
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September 7, 2010, 5:47 am |