Because homes can have different available areas and orientations, there’s no such thing as the ultimate kitchen design. However, that doesn’t mean any kitchen design will work for your home as long as it’s different from the old one. Here are a few tips on getting the most efficient kitchen design for your remodel:
Orientation
Ideally, it’s good to have the kitchen facing east, where the morning sun will fill it with light without warming it too much. If creating a new opening is out of the question, however, that’s okay. If your kitchen is facing west and receiving a lot of heat from the sun, don’t forget to include the use of blinds, shades, and the like in your remodel. Window treatments can also benefit from receiving upgrades.
The Kitchen Triangle
An efficient kitchen design has a fine balance between keeping everything within reach and still having enough room to move around in. A simple way to achieve this is by considering the “kitchen triangle,” where the sink, the range, and the fridge make up the points of the triangle.
All three “legs” of the triangle should have a total of around 12-26 feet for enough room, and no foot traffic should pass through it to avoid distracting kitchen activities. To keep access open to the fridge, have it placed at the outer corner of the triangle to minimize disruption.
Storage
Your kitchen is home to many items, from all things edible to heavy duty equipment. A remodel makes your kitchen more functional and that means finding a place for everything. While this may also mean taking stock of what you truly need, a kitchen remodel always makes room for ample storage. There are more than a handful of storage solutions available though and what you should get should depend on what will best address your needs, like easy access to the items you most frequently use.
After covering some design foundations, it’s time to move on to more specific kitchen additions. Head on over to Part 3 to learn more!