Redesigning your kitchen is a large undertaking that involves a long period of time where you’re unable to cook or eat in your own home and where everything is covered in dust and debris… That’s why it’s incredibly important that kitchen layouts be well designed – so you don’t have to go through it all again! Furthermore a kitchen is one of the main selling points of a house so it’s paramount that yours is practical and attractive so that it can help rather than hinder the value of your property. Below are some basic tips and ideas that can help you decide on your kitchen layouts.

When designing kitchen layouts you first need to take several things into consideration. Step one is to measure up and note the position of all existing appliances, surfaces, windows, doors and walls etc. You need to decide which you want to keep and which you want to replace and make sure you know exactly how much space you have to play around with when looking for your new fittings. You may also decide that now is a good time to change some of your services such as electricity, water and drains. If so then take this into account too and look at which changes you intend to make and how.

The basic activities that take place in a kitchen are food preparation, cooking, serving and washing up. These can be considered activity ‘zones’ and each needs a good work surface near the necessary appliances along with storage for utensils. This means you need a space for an oven, hobs and microwave in one area, chopping bored in another, surface for plates in another and sink with room for a draining bored in another. These are the bare essentials for kitchen layouts and depending on the size of your room you may also be able to eat in your kitchen if you leave space for a dining table. Alternatively you might want to include a window into the dining room for serving though this again is optional and certainly not crucial.

When you design these zones it’s important to arrange appliances and worktops into a good order – normally alternating between worktops and appliances. This way you have created a ‘work triangle’ which allows you to multitask and reach items from the other zones.

Crucially however kitchen layouts will need to be designed to work with the space they’re given and with your own working style. There are four basic kitchen layouts that are commonly used and that describe various methods of arranging surfaces and appliances and the two factors mentioned will dictate which one you pick.

The first of the four standard kitchen layouts is the corridor layout. This basically describes a narrow passage where you have surfaces opposite each other with you working in the middle. This obviously works best for more narrow rooms and may in fact be your only option where room is scarce. It also suits those who like to have several things on the go and long stretches of work surfaces (perhaps suitable for big families). On the other hand it is somewhat cramped and less attractive and can become rather claustrophobic for long periods of time.

The second of the four kitchen layouts is the L-shaped layout. Here the layout fits into the corner of the room with two walls providing the main work stations (with perhaps part of a third). This has the opposite benefits to the corridor layout and requires more movement to reach surfaces and leaves shorter areas for dishing up. However it is far more spacious and open and leaves more freedom for other items to be placed in the room.

The U shaped kitchen layout should look a lot like the L-shaped layout but utilising three of the walls fully. Here you work down the end (a great position for the sink as it allows you to place items on either side) and offers a somewhat even balance between open space and work surfaces. However the U shaped kitchen requires that three walls are fully available so if the room is connected to two others, or has an awkward radiator/window on one side it may be tricky to implement without serious renovation.

Island layouts are the final of the kitchen layouts and requires a fairly large room though offers quite a luxury if you can afford the space. Island designs utilise a lot of space (with the walls used up as much as necessary) with a small cabinet/work surface situated in the middle of the room. This ‘island’ may then contain your utensils or simply work surfaces. The great thing about the island is that it doesn’t take away from the feeling of space, but at the same time gives you a station that can be reached from all points within the kitchen. One tip if you can afford it is to make the island in the middle rotate thus allowing you to reach any corner or side of it with ease without having to travel too far.

While these are the four basic kitchen layouts, you can of course experiment with your own unique designs so long as you’re careful to measure up every element and make sure they’ll fit together easily. If you have enough space you might be able to utilise several of the classic kitchen layouts within one room, or even have two islands. The sky’s the limit but the thing to remember if you want your design to work is to give yourself a triangular work station and to ensure you have the four zones. From then on it’s a matter of picking the correct balance of room to work space.

Mack LeMouse

Copyrighted material; do not reprint without permission.

 

View all articles by Mack LeMouse