142 Kitchens

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The location of the

kitchen on the floor plan


The kitchen is one of the busiest and most is important and depends
expensive rooms in the home, and it should be upon several factors:
planned to save time and energy for those who
work in it. The well-planned kitchen can prevent Convenience to yard or
hazards that might cause accidents, and it can also outside work area.
provide a pleasant environment for family members.
Where does the
homeowner want the
kitchen window? Do
they want to look out at
the street or in the back
yard?

Convenience of
unloading groceries and
disposing of garbage and
trash.

Easy access to the front


or back door.
A kitchen can be more
than just a place to
prepare meals. For many
families, it's the heart of
the home and the "nerve
center" where family
members gather to talk,
work, eat meals, and
sometimes entertain
guests.

The term “great room” refers to the open


floor plan concept, and usually includes the
kitchen. There are no full-height walls
between living, dining, and food preparation
areas, so interaction between the areas is
promoted. This is not a good plan for the
cook who prefers to work alone, or keep the
kitchen messes “hidden”.
When planning the kitchen consider your family size, the number of persons
who will use the kitchen, the type of entertaining the family does, and where
dining will take place. Will the kitchen include a laundry, home office center,
gardening center, fireplace, or areas for rest and relaxation, child care,
sewing, home business, or pantry storage? What type and amount of
cooking, baking, or food preservation will the family do?

A kitchen, without a dinette area, should


have 80 to 100 square feet of usable floor
space, as smaller kitchens may pose
safety hazards. Areas greater than 150 to
160 square feet, however, may become
too large to manage efficiently. You will
use unnecessary time and energy on
tasks in a kitchen that is too large.

Small kitchen
8 feet by 10 feet to 10 by 10
Medium kitchen
10 feet square to 10 x 12
Large kitchen
10 feet x 12 feet and up
Each kitchen has 4 major
work centers that must be
considered when designing
the layout.
Refrigerator Center
This taller appliance is best located

68” minimum for height clearance


so it will not block movement from
one work center to another, so is
usually at the end of the work area.
One common fault in this area is
not providing counter space on the
handle side for convenience of
putting in or removing things from
the refrigerator. An 18-inch counter
should be beside the door handle.
The swing of the refrigerator door
should not interfere with food
transfer to other work centers or
the dining table. It is helpful to
locate this center near the entrance
where you will bring groceries into
the home. 33” width 34” depth
36” for side x side incl. handle
Cook and Serve
Center
This center is planned
around the range or cook-
In this area supplies, tools and top, and is the work area for
equipment should be stored for cooking and serving
food preparation that begins at this Convenience to the dining
point. It is most desirable to store area is desirable.
serving dishes in this area. In
planning this center, avoid having a
window — this can be dangerous,
takes away needed storage space,
and makes venting or hood
installation difficult. 15 inches of
counter space on either side of the
range or cook-top is the minimum.
Space is also needed to set serving
dishes and to use as work area
when cooking. Heat-proof counter 30” depth
space is an asset. incl. handle
Electric Gas
Burner Burner

30” width
Newer technologies have been added to the kitchen
cook and serve centers… Convection ovens
are similar in looks
and function to a
conventional oven,
but use fans to
circulate the heated
air and reduce
cooking time. They
are faster than
Microwave ovens can sit on the conventional
countertop, be built into a cabinet or ovens, but slower
be installed over the range (usually than microwaves.
incorporating a ventilation fan). They do brown
Waves of energy cause molecules to food.
vibrate, and the resulting friction
creates heat within the food. Halogen ovens cook with powerful
Cooking time is shortened, but they halogen lights in about 1/4th the
are not effective for browning foods. conventional oven time. They are
Microwaves and built-in ovens expensive.
should have at least 15" to 18" Rapid cook or combination ovens are
counter space on the handle side. also widely available.
Sink Center
The sink center is the most
frequently used area in the
kitchen and should be
central to other major
centers you plan. In this
center, you will have sink,
water and drainage for food
preparation and kitchen
clean-up jobs. You may
want to include a food
waste disposer, an
automatic dishwasher and
water heater. Ideally, there
is at least 18 “ on the left
33-36” width side and 24 inches on the
24” depth right side of the sink.
Poor storage space is usually a problem in the sink center because of the
plumbing fittings, disposer and dishwasher. Items usually stored here include
tools to clean food (brushes, etc.), storage supplies for leftovers, dishwashing
supplies and tools, pitchers, coffeemakers, cutting board and wastebasket.
Cleaning supplies stored in this area should be non-poisonous to small children.
The dishwasher and garbage disposal
are part of the sink center…

The dishwasher
should ideally be
located next to the
sink.

The most common type of garbage disposal is the


continuous-feed type. It operates from an electric
switch, and cold water is run while the food is
being ground up and flushed away. The less
common batch-feed type of disposal operates only
D when a lid is closed and latched.
Mixing Center
The mixing center or food preparation
center is ideally located between the
refrigerator and sink center. If it is
between the sink and range, it will
involve more travel by the user. If
possible avoid a window in this area so
you can have the needed wall storage.
Most packaged, canned and bottled
foods should be stored in this center as
well as equipment, baking pans and
tools used for food preparation. Length
of counter recommended for mixing is a
minimum of 36 inches.
When it is possible, a lower counter in Many homes have a “pantry”
the mixing area makes a more cabinet or room in the kitchen
comfortable working height for most area. It should be located near
homemakers. either the cook & serve or the
mixing center.
Kitchen layouts are based on a concept called the work triangle. The
work triangle consists of imaginary lines that connect the middle of
the refrigerator, with the middle of the range and the middle of the
sink. For maximum comfort and efficiency, the three legs of the work
triangle should total a minimum of 12’ and a maximum of 26'.

Cross-traffic

Each leg of the triangle should not be


The work triangle should not be
longer than nine feet or shorter than
set in areas of pass-through
four feet. Ideally, the placement of a
traffic, which could interfere or
kitchen island or peninsula should
cause safety concerns for the
not interfere with the work triangle.
cook.
There are four basic
kitchen layouts: the one-
wall, the two-wall, the L-
shaped and the U-shaped.

Work Triangle
The L-Shaped kitchen provides a work area largely
unbroken by traffic. The L-shape plan has two
workstations on one wall and the third on an
adjacent wall. One of the most common kitchen
designs, it provides excellent flexibility in the
placement of major appliances.
The U-Shaped kitchen is the most popular and
efficient design. This design gives you a good
working environment since no traffic pattern cuts
through it. This kitchen offers a great amount of
counter space and one area of the "U" may be used
to separate the kitchen from the dining area.
Shown in the picture to the left…
one wall of the arrangement is
formed by an island.

The Two-wall kitchen is an efficient use of small space.


Also known as the Corridor or Galley kitchen, it allows
for convenient access to the cabinets and appliances
on both walls. Allow for the corridor to be at least 48"
wide. Closing one end off will cut down on traffic,
which is the disadvantage of this layout.
In the One-wall or Pullman
kitchen layout, the
appliances should be at
least 48" apart (measure Work Triangle
from center to center of
the appliances).
Popular for use in
apartments and
smaller homes, it is
also used to
compliment the
"open space"
concept used in
modern homes. It
is, however,
considered the
least efficient.
A kitchen island has obvious
advantages: it provides more
work space, may improve
overall efficiency of the
A kitchen island is a free-standing unit, kitchen's work triangle, and
composed of one or more cabinets. It acts as a room divider by
is sometimes incorporated into the diverting traffic away from the
work triangle, when it houses either a work triangle. Kitchen islands
sink or cooktop. also serve as an obvious focal
point of the kitchen, making it
a prime spot for gatherings.
It does, however, require more
space.
The kitchen peninsula has many of the same
advantages as an island, but it is not free-standing. It
is either attached to other cabinets or to the wall.
Since it only requires walking space on 3 sides
instead of 4 like the island, it requires less space.
Cabinets designed for peninsulas have toe kicks on
both sides and doors may open from both sides.

The peninsula is often used, as on


this floor plan, to separate the Countertops should overhang 12-15”
kitchen from the dining areas. to allow adequate seating knee space.
When you initially draw your house plan, you
may just plan the general location of the
appliances and cabinetry, without detail.

Eventually,
you start
thinking in 3
dimensions.
You have to
visualize the
plan.

Next you draw up the room measurements,


and decide exactly what cabinets will go
where. The cabinets available will depend on
whether they are custom made or not, and
what company they are manufactured by.
12” Wall Cabinet
Cabinets can be planned to go all the
12” Soffit
depth way to the ceiling. A 42” tall cabinet
will do this with 8’ ceilings.
The soffit area can be open or
8’ or 96” standard ceiling height

closed. Open soffit areas can be


decorated, but may attract grease
near the range area.
18” is the preferred space between
base and upper wall cabinets. It
allows for tall coffeemakers and
other countertop appliances.
A 30” high base cabinet would be
used only in the mixing center.
Standard height for all base cabinets
is 34 ½”. With the countertop, it
evens out at 36”.

24” Base Standard cabinet width usually starts


Cabinet depth at 9” and increases in 3” increments
Toe Kick
up to 48”.
Label refrigerators with REF and dishwashers with DW. Use
architectural symbols for the range and sink. Label special
appliances such as trash compactors.
Use W for wall cabinets. Label the width first followed by
the height. A 30” tall wall cabinet that is 24 inches wide
would be labeled W2430. Wall cabinets above ranges and
refrigerators may only be 12-15” tall…allow 24” over range
minimum. Special cabinets over refrigerators are 24” deep.
Use B for base cabinets. Base cabinets generally have
drawers on top and doors on the bottom. Label them
according to width, such as B24.
Use DB for drawer units, preceded by the number 3 or 4 to
indicate the number of drawers and followed by the width.
3DB18 is 18 inches wide and has 3 drawers.
Use BB to add a breadboard to any base cabinet, such as
B24BB or 3DB18BB.
Use RT to indicate that roll trays are used instead of
stationary shelves in base cabinets. B24RT
A corner can potentially
represent wasted space in a
kitchen. Specialized cabinets
can take advantage of corners.
Both wall and base cabinets
can have “blind corners”.

Corner cabinets
might have
different types of
“lazy susan”
Corner wall units take 24” on revolving features
each wall; base units take to use space
36”…shown by the wisely.
Think about the
amount of storage
needed in each
kitchen area. The
dinnerware, flatware,
and glassware is
best stored close to
the dishwasher.
Pots, pans, cooking
utensils and
potholders go next
to the range. Mixing
bowls, mixer,
bakeware, flour and
spices go in the
mixing center.
Kitchen towels, the
coffee maker, and
storage bowls got
next to the sink.
Store the frequently
used items within
easiest reach.
Your turn to draw…

Back door to garage Patio

B27
REF
DW

12 x 22’
B24BB

B18 Pantry
36 x 84

Living Room
Add the wall cabinets; labeling all of them…

Back door to garage Patio

B27
REF
DW

12 x 22’
B24BB
W3630

B18
Pantry
W2430

Draw and label work triangle


with linear feet of each leg Living Room
Name:___________

Due: __________
Draw this “great room”. The
measurements given are interior
10’

8’
dimensions of the room. Be original
and creative...but include all the
required features listed below.

20’
26’
Kitchen work area showing and labeling all cabinetry, informal dining space for 4
people, family room area, windows as desired, door out to balcony, door to laundry
room, door to formal living/dining room combination, work triangle with each leg
labeled with linear feet

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