Designs
Kitchen designs range from green to country to modern and everything in between. The common design element is the way in which designers use “zone design” to begin the design process. Older kitchen designs employed a technique called the “work triangle,” which focuses on the positioning of the range, refrigerator, and sink.
Zone design is a practical (and increasingly popular) way to group kitchen activities together in organized spaces, depending on size allowing for multiple cooks and work centers.
Zone design focuses on:
- prep, cooking and cleanup areas
- baking, beverage and communication centers
- the full scope of appliances
- plumbing fixtures
- gadgets
- activities—entertaining, doing homework, charging cell phones and more
A few tips:
- Prep and cleanup zones work well together
- Baking and cooking zones work well together
- Islands can host multiple zones
Let’s break down the kitchen design zones:
Cooking Zone—Kitchen Design
The cooking zone is “hot” part of your kitchen’s design. Centered around the range or cooktop, this is the area where stir-frys, spaghetti, and sauces sizzle. It’s likely you’ll want to place your microwave and toaster oven here as well. When thinking about your kitchen design elements, be sure to consider these ideas:
- Deep drawers for pans
- Shallower drawer(s) for pot lids
- Spice drawer or place to hide a spice rack
- Microwave cabinet (conceal and saves countertop space)
- Utensil drawer for spatulas, spoons, peelers, and more
Cleaning Zone—Kitchen Design
Located by your sink and dishwasher, the cleaning area is where all water flows. It makes sense then to plan your kitchen’s design to keep “water dependent products” like your coffeemaker, juicer, and salad spinner nearby. This is the space where you’ll also be scraping your serving plates’ leftovers into containers, so it also makes sense to plan your design to keep storage supplies nearby. When thinking about your kitchen design elements, be sure to consider these ideas:
- Space for cleaning and drying supplies
- Pullout rack for tucking dishtowels
- Plate rack for storing daily or occasional dinnerware
- Undersink pullout for dishwashing detergent and cleaner
- Tray for sponges and scrubbers (a tilt out tray would be fancy!)
- Foil box rack or drawer for aluminum foil, paper, and plastic wrap storage
- Pullout drawer for Tupperware, divided for lids and containers
Dining Zone—Kitchen Design
Depending on space, there’s a lot more flexibility involved with designing your eating area. When thinking about your kitchen design elements, be sure to consider these ideas:
- accessible storage for tablecloths, placemats, napkins, dishware or your fine china
Food Prep Zone—Kitchen Design
The food prep zone is where your household chef slices and dices dinner. If your kitchen is large enough to accommodate an island, the food prep zone is best placed there.
If you’re really spatially lucky you might design your kitchen to include a second sink for rinsing fruits and vegetables, as well as a refrigerator drawer for storing milk and eggs if your main refrigerator isn’t easily accessible.
When thinking about your kitchen design elements, be sure to consider these ideas:
- Butcher block pullout (if you aren’t working on a butcher block surface)
- Drawer for knives
- Pullouts for mixing, measuring and serving items
- Pullout trash center
Baking Zone—Kitchen Design
The baking zone is where cookies, breads, and casseroles become your favorite edible masterpieces. Aside from the appropriate countertop space and material (marble slabs work best for rolling dough), you’ll need to keep a number of supplies within easy reach. When thinking about your kitchen design elements, be sure to consider these ideas:
- Apothecary drawers for storing small items like cookie cutters
- Bins for flour and sugar
- Tray divider rollout for baking sheets and pizza pans
- Pulldown cookbook rack
- Drawers for rolling pins, measuring cups, and teaspoons
- Easy-to-reach cabinet space for heavy casserole dishes and mixing bowls
- Storage for oven mitts, pot holders, and trivets
- Divided utensil storage for spatulas and wooden spoons
- Pop-up stand for your mixer
