KITCHEN LAYOUTS

In last week’s post we looked at the idea of applying the kitchen triangle in designing a kitchen, but noted that, while still a useful idea, developments in kitchen design in the 70 or so years since the concept was introduced have complicated things somewhat. In this week’s post we will examine some of these developments, and look at the influence they have had on kitchen design.

Perhaps the biggest change has been that the kitchen has taken centre stage in the social life of the house. With the rise of the informal Living-Dining-Kitchen plan, the importance of the kitchen within this open space has only grown, and so has its size. Often a central consideration in kitchen design is laying out the ‘stations’ of the space in a way that allows social interaction between the person or people doing the cooking and other family members ‘hanging out’ in the space.

One consequence of kitchens getting larger is that the idea of a kitchen triangle is not always applicable. Whereas in the past the kitchen was more or less exclusively the domain of the housewife or even a paid cook, in many modern households there may be multiple people involved in food preparation, and if this is the case the kitchen has to accommodate them - often by dividing the space up into two or more zones, with separate areas for food preparation and/or socialising. The single-wall kitchen, the L-shaped ‘corner’ kitchen, and the U-shaped or C-shaped layouts, though efficient in their use of space for smaller kitchens, are not always amenable to use by multiple people, or to socialising. One way around this is to include a breakfast counter ‘peninsula’ as one leg of the L or U, with high chairs or stools, so people have a place to sit and talk with the person preparing meals/washing up etc.

The gold standard for a ‘social’ kitchen within a larger open plan space is the kitchen island. The island serves as both preparation area and entertainment area, and can be added to a single-wall kitchen to form a ‘galley’ kitchen, or to a corner kitchen. In both cases, the kitchen island opens up the possibilities for using the kitchen socially, by reorienting the space towards the living area, but if space is limited the kitchen island may not be a practical possibility - although you can get away with as little as 1.0m clear distance between your kitchen counters and kitchen island in a single-person kitchen, you need at least 1.2m if the kitchen is to be used by two people at once - enough for them to ‘sidle’ past each other - and at least 1.5m to allow people to pass each other without going sideways.

THE KITCHEN TRIANGLE

The kitchen triangle or kitchen work triangle is a simple rule of thumb useful in kitchen design, first developed by ergonomists in the mid 20th century, who wanted a way of measuring and maximising efficiency of movement (and thus minimising space and thus cost) between the three main centres or ‘stations’ of activity in the kitchen: food storage (the fridge and pantry), food preparation (the sink) and food cooking (the stove/oven). Generally the sink, the most used part of the kitchen, should be in the centre of the arrangement, i.e. between the other two stations. The idea is that if you draw a triangle with one of these three stations at each of its three corners, then the total length of the sides of the triangle should be between four to six metres (some sources cite five to seven metres or other figures). At any rate, anything less than the lower figure probably means your kitchen will be too cramped; and anything higher might suggest that your kitchen is probably going to be too large and you will be spending too much time and effort walking between the three stations.

The kitchen triangle is also useful in making sure that no pedestrian traffic crosses any part of the working space of the kitchen- people going through the kitchen to bedrooms, laundry, etc. should not have to cross paths with or dance around a person using the kitchen. Also, the lines of movement and sight between stations should ideally not be ‘broken up’ with tall cabinets, wall ovens, and the like- there should be open countertop between each station.

As a general rule of thumb, the kitchen triangle is still a valid way of evaluating the basic functionality of your kitchen, even seventy odd years after the concept was first introduced. Of course, each design situation and brief is unique, the kitchen triangle is not appropriate for all kitchens, and these days things like kitchen islands can complicate matters- next week we will look at some of these factors in more detail.

21 DESIGN RULES FROM 1855

The following is taken from The Register of Rural Affairs, published in America in 1855.  I think it holds up pretty well :)

1.  Always compare the cost with the means, before deciding on the plan.  It is much better to build within means, than to have a large, fine house, hard to keep in order, and encumbering the owner with a heavy and annoying debt.  A great error with many is an attempt to build finely.  Attend to real wants and substantial conveniences, and avoid imaginary and manufactured desires.

2.  Study a convenient location rather than a showy one: a house on a lofty hill may make a fine appearance, but the annoyance of ascending to it will become greater on each successive day.

3. Build of such good materials as are near at hand.  An interesting index is thus afforded to the resources and materials of that particular region, with the addition of great economy over the use of such as are “far brought and dear bought."

4. Prefer lasting to perishable materials, even if more costly.  A small well built erection, is better than a large decaying shell.

5. Discard all gingerbread work, and adopt a plain, neat, and tasteful appearance in every part.  Far more true taste is evinced by proper forms and just proportions than by any amount of tinsel and peacock decorations.  A marble statue bedizened with feathers and ribbons, would not be a very pleasing object.

6. Proportion may be shown in the smallest cottage as well as in the most magnificent palace - and the former should be carefully designed as well as the latter.  However small a building may be, let it never show an awkward conception, when a good form is more easily made than a bad one. 

7. Where convenient or practicable, let the plan be so devised that additions may be subsequently made, without distorting the whole.

8. More attention should be given to the convenient arrangement and disposition of rooms in constant daily use, that those employed but a few times in the course of a year.  Hence the kitchen and living-room should receive special attention.

9. In all country houses, from the cottage to the palace, let the kitchen (the most important apartment,) always be on a level with the main floor.  It requires more force to raise a hundred pounds ten feet upwards, whether it be the human frame or an assortment of eatables, than the same weight one hundred feet on a level.  To do it fifty times a day is a serious task.  If the mistress superintends her own kitchen, it should be of easy access.  For strong light and free ventilation, it should have, if possible, windows on opposite or nearly opposite sides.

10. There should be a set of easy stairs from the kitchen to the cellar.  Every cellar should have, besides the stairs within, an outside entrance, for the passage of barrels and other heavy articles.

11. The pantry, and more especially the china closet, should be between the kitchen and dining room for easy access from both.

12. The bathroom should be between the kitchen and nursery, for convenience to warm water.

13. Let the entry or hall be near the center of the house, so that ready and convenient access may be had from it to the different rooms; and to prevent the too common evil of passing through one room to enter another.

14. Place the stairs so that the landing shall be as near the center as may be practicable, for the reasons given in the preceding rule.

15. Every entrance from without, except to the kitchen, should open into some entry, lobby, or hall, to prevent the direct ingress of cold air into rooms, and to secure sufficient privacy.

16. Let the partitions of the second floor stand over those of the lower, as nearly as possible, to secure firmness and stability.

17. The first floor of any house, however small, should be at least one foot above ground, to guard against dampness.

18. Flat roofs should be adopted only with metallic covering.  Shingles need a steeper inclination to prevent the accumulation of snow, leakage and decay - more so than is frequently adopted.  A steep roof is, additionally, cheaper, by admitting the use of a less perfect material for an equally perfect roof, and giving more garret room.

19. The coolest rooms in summer, and the warmest in winter, are those remote from the direction of the prevailing winds and from the afternoon sun.  Hence parlors, nurseries, and other apartments where personal comfort is important, should be placed on this side of the house where practicable.

20. Always reserve ten per cent. of cost for improvement and planting.  Remember that a hundred dollars in trees and shrubbery produce a greater ornamental and pleasing effect than a thousand in architecture.

21. Lastly, never build in a hurry; mature plans thoroughly; procure the best materials, and have joiner-work done at the cheaper season of winter, and the erection will be completed in the most perfect manner, and with the greatest practicable degree of economy.