Kitchen create can be as easy as a level countertop with minimalist appliances, or as sophisticated as many sinks, dishwashers, cooktops & ovens in islands, under islands, over islands and more. Wine coolers can fit in the space of a dishwasher or be as tall as a pantry. Sinks can be troughs to be filled with ice to cool bottles, dinky for an entertainment center, double or triple bowls and an infinite collection of materials. Materials vary enormously, you can go green with countertops made of compressed recycled paper, clear glass, concrete, granite, limestone or the old standbys. Even within materials, such as granite, prices vary enormously depending on the exact stone chosen, and you can find some very inexpensive and beautiful stone if you look around. There's an infinite world of possibilities in the kitchen.
First we can start with some create basics. How much room do I need for a kitchen? Well, that depends on what you want in it. At it's most mini, you could fit a kitchen into a space 5'-4" x 7'-5", but there wouldn't be much beyond some very small appliances without a dishwasher. Let's look at some acceptable appliance and fixtures size ranges.
3 Inch French Door Refrigerator
Sinks: sinks come in many sizes, depths, materials and prices. You can get them as narrow as 11" wide, but you probably want to plan at least a 30" - 36" cabinet, which can adapt a wide range of acceptable size kitchen sinks from 25" to 33" in a collection of styles (drop-in, undercounter, or exposed front cut out). You will also need to conclude if you like a single, double or triple basin sink, as that will impact available sizes. There is also the option of putting the sink in an island, or putting an entertainment sink or trough sink in a secondary location.
Dishwashers: dishwashers are pretty easy because they are pretty acceptable at 24".
Cooking: again we have many choices, but sizes are a dinky easier. You have a option of a free-standing or slide-in, in which the unit fits in between two cabinets, which is ordinarily 30" wide; a cooktop with separate ovens, (either below or in a separate cabinet), which comes acceptable in 30" or 36" sizes and fit into that size cabinet (although you can get pro style rangetops up to 48"); or a pro style range made by associates such as Viking, Wolfe or Ge Monogram which range from 24" all the way up to 60", and require essential ventilation. If you choose a separate oven in some kind of wall oven arrangement, acceptable oven widths are ordinarily 27" and 30", although they can be found up to 36".
Refrigerators: Choices, choices! Refrigerators are kind of two basic style decisions. Do you want one which is shallow (around 2') and is known as built-in or counter-depth, or do you want the slightly deeper original style where some of refrigerator sides are exposed. The shallower built-in's ordinarily come in 36", 42" & 48", while the deeper styles can be found just below 30" wide and up.
Faucets: Kitchen faucets, besides an practically infinite collection of styles, materials and colors, also have evolved. Faucets are now available just to fill the pots on your stove, have a option of pull-out sprayer heads or separate sprayer, singular or many handles, they are available with remote two button controls for a prep sink which allows for a quick sink rinse or a more faultless cleansing flow, and can fit any decor from ultra contemporary to renaissance.
How much countertop is enough? according to the National Kitchen and Bath relationship (Nkba) a total of 158 inches (13'-2") of countertop frontage (not in corners) is needed to adapt all kitchen uses. Try to allow a continuous section of countertop of at least 36 inches wide by 24 inches deep next to your original work area. The Nkba recommends that you allow at least a 15 inch countertop area next to your oven and on the handle side of your refrigerator.
When talking about storage, the Nkba recommends a total shelf/drawer frontage of 1400 inches for a small kitchen (less then 150sf), 1700 inches for a medium kitchen (151 to 350sf) and 2000 inches for a large kitchen (over 350sf). What does this mean? Does this mean that I need over 100' of shelves for a dinky kitchen? Well, yes, but, each drawer or each personel shelf should be counted towards the total. So if you have a 24" wide cabinet, 30" high with 3 shelves, you already have 6' of shelving. And if there were a 24" base cabinet with 4 drawers, there's another 8', so this one 24" area of your kitchen already has 14' of shelving.
What is "the work triangle"? The work triangle represents the three major work stations of the kitchen: the cooking area, the refrigerator and the sink. Measuring from the center of each, the maximum total length of the triangle should not be greater then 26 feet with the maximum leg no greater then 9 feet and the minimum not less then 4 feet. At 3D Home Decorator, there are genuinely 9ft and 4ft arrows that you can place in your floor plans to test distances.
Eating areas are not dinky to tables! Islands can adapt eating areas, cooking areas, washing up areas, or just prep areas. A typical kitchen counter is 34 inches to 36 inches high. A table is typically 30 inches high. So in planning kitchen eating areas, part of an island eating area can be dropped to table height or a table can be built as an extension of an island, left at counter height with stools, or raised to 42 inches for a high countertop eating area, which is often used to hide the work exterior of the counter behind it when viewed from the rest of the room.
How much space is ideal between a table and the wall? The Nkba (National Kitchen & Bath Assoc.) recommends a minimum of 32 inches if no traffic needs to pass. 36 inches will let someone squeeze by, and 44 inches will let a someone walk by. If a wheelchair needs to pass, allow 60 inches.
It is best to vent your stove to the exterior if possible, but there are recirculating fans which will draw odors from the air if exterior venting is not available Do not put cooking surfaces under operable windows. If you are lucky sufficient to have an operable window above countertop height in your kitchen, place your sink under it instead of your stove. You can put a microwave with a fan compound over your stove, either exhausting to the outside, or recirculating the air.
Do not waste your kitchen corners. Upper cabinets can be decorative open shelving or have a two part door which opens both sides of the cabinets. Blind base cabinets can have lazy susans, which rotate for access, or base cabinets can have shelves which pull out, swing to the side and allow deeper shelves to be pulled out into accessible locations. While it is the hardest to access, the least costly clarification is just to have deep shelves or a easy lazy-susan (the rotating shelves). If you have an L shaped kitchen or island with a peninsula setup, doors can be located on both sides for accessibility.
Don't forget the space between the upper and lower cabinets. If you have more then sufficient countertop, the space between the upper and lower cabinets (even in the corners) can have tambour doors (rollup doors) which can hide appliances or the space can be filled with open wine racks, leaving half the countertop exposed for the usual purposes.
Cabinets come in all sizes. Base cabinets come in every width from 3 inches up, and depths from 12 inches to 24 inches and larger, so they can fill all kinds of needs. 9 inch and 12 inch base pullouts for soda bottles and cans are overwhelming and effective for filling in narrower spaces. There are base cabinets with pullouts for garbage and/or recycling, or with shelves that lift up for a Kitchenaid Mixmaster type of appliance. A 12 inch deep cabinet at the end of an island can be used for cookbooks or designed for wine storage. Don't forget full height pantries, which can have shelves, roll-out drawers, door attachments for spices or other specialty storage. Both lower and upper cabinets can be decoratively open for wine, books, glassware, and more. An 18" or 24" base could have a small wine or soda refrigerator built in. There are 6" high drawer cabinets or open shelves which can fit under your upper cabinets to furnish warehouse for smaller items. Base cabinets too can have glass doors and fancy faces, which can be used to display special dishes. With warehouse at a premium, kitchen cabinets have come to be very clever about gift maximum efficiency in minimum space.
Kitchen develop Tips & Updates - Space Requirements & Recommendations
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