Gone are the days of extensive mansions and expansive rooms the size of football fields. In these days of almost pigeonhole-sized apartments, kitchens and bathrooms get the worst deal, with just bare minimum spaces allotted for them. Thus kitchen layouts for small homes assume the utmost importance with interior decorators and homeowners alike.
The kitchen is nowadays not just a place for cooking. You have breakfast here, do your laundering and washing here and the children may even do their homework so that mommy can keep an eye on them whilst she rustles up a quick meal. So while designing kitchen layouts for small homes, you have to keep in mind that your available space has to suffice for such versatile tasks.
Kitchen layouts for small homes will be primarily decided by the space available. Thus an island kitchen plan is a strict no-no where space is at a premium. As is the U-shaped plan, though it provides the maximum storage space, if there isn’t much space between the parallel arms of the U. For constricted spaces, a L-shaped open kitchen plan is the ideal, providing the cook with easy access to the various working areas and ample storage space below the countertops.
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The single-line kitchen is preferable for small kitchens where it makes for maximum floor space. The storage space should be ideally above the kitchen counter with the appliances below. But you have to bear with its one drawback. The working areas lie side by side so it involves lot of walking on the part of the cook.
An alternative is the two-way galley kitchen where you have an optimal utilization of space. The cabinets are both behind and in front of you so that the walk from the refrigerator to the sink isn’t similar to a marathon race.
While designing kitchen layouts for small homes, equally important is the positioning of the various work areas, namely the preparation, cooking and washing zones. Ideally these three segments should be housed around a triangle to minimize the distances between them. On the other hand, the distance should be such that they are not crowded for space either.
Thus while planning the kitchen layouts for small homes, ideally keep the refrigerator near the counter top and also near the entrance so that it is easy for all to access it.
While drafting the layouts for small kitchens, keep in mind the stature of the person who will be spending most of the time here and design the cabinets, overhead lockers and countertops accordingly. The heights of these should be such that the cook is forever having to stoop low or almost standing on tiptoes to get to things. Remember an irritated cook with a sore back is apt to put too much pepper in your soup.
Designing kitchen layouts for small homes isn’t all about functionality and aesthetics only. There’s the safety factor too, that has to be taken care of and especially if you have kids and pets. In such cases, it will be worthwhile to raise the height of the kitchen counter and have locks on the cupboards.
Kitchen layouts for small homes should be carefully chalked out so as not to end up with a junkyard.
by Manuel Kupka
