Everybody dreams of a spacious kitchen. A kitchen is a room used for food preparation. Kitchens that cook: it;s the busiest room in the house-but it may be the least efficient. Make a few simple changes, and you can savor the sheer pleasure of preparing and sharing food. The article focuses on the criteria of designing kitchens by following steps that should be considered before designing and new kitchen and modifying the existing one. A kitchen should honor the ritual of cooking," says kathleen cox, author of the power of vastu living.
There is a saying goes that "To way to a man's heart is through his stomach", so kitchen is the only place from where one can win anyone's heart. For a house wife , this is a place where she has to spend the maximum of the time and for a working woman , it should be so that, she feels fresh as she enters the kitchen, tired . There is no ambience in the home more loved and lived in by all the members of the family, the best of the family , the best place to savour the pleasure of being together with all the tastes , memories and daily habits of the family . These are feelings which need a suitable ambience , where the warmth of wood combines with the strong character of the stony materials , such as marble and granite of table tops and the counter . Every family has different expectation of their kitchens as they follow different cultures. While the basic function of the kitchen is to serve as an area for the preparation of the food , the need of each individual household differ and often the kitchen has to cater to additional and varying requirements. A kitchen layout should be customized to the specific requirements and needs of the users . Hence , it is important to ascertain the individual preferences overall lifestyle and eating habits of the direct users . There are various practical points that must be considered and discussed before commencing the designing of a new kitchen or the modification of an existing one .
· DESIGNING : Before designing the kitchen , one should identify the tasks to be performed in the kitchen. A kitchen should be designed to match the preferred style of the individual user and the general décor of the rest of the house . It may be designed in a country / farmhouse , contemporary , colonial / English , laboratory , futuristic / high-tech , European / Mediterranean or ethnic style with matching decor and finishes .
· PLANNING : Kitchen planning revolves around the three main work centers -storage , washing and cooking. These form three corners of the triangle . These centers should be connected with the work counters. The work pattern generally moves from the décor to the functional flow of traffic in the kitchen.
· STORAGE : The most important aspect of the kitchen design is a well planned storage. It can facilitate or impede the main task of cooking and keep the kitchen either tidy or a mess at the end of the day. Storage units have a variety of internal arrangements and dimensions to suit the items they are going to contain.
· FLOORING : Flooring should be non slippery , resilient , hard wearing and easy to clean. Marble is the most common choice but one can also go for Kotah stone too. Granite tends to be slippery when wet.
· LIGHTING : Kitchen lighting should be bright and functional . Care should be taken to ensure that the light does not cast shadow on the major working areas. Light fitted on the underside of the overhead cabinets light up the counters effectively.
· VENTILATION : Ventilation is the most important aspect that should be taken care of properly. Kitchen is a area which generates lot of odour and smoke , thus this has to immediately emmited out. An exhaust fan is a considerable help in dispelling smell and for air circulation also.
· The hob also has a central position with a canopy formed by its hood, which destroys odours and fills the ambiance with light at the same time. The electrical appliances are carefully concealed beneath the worktop . Function and harmony should be the dominating characteristics of the present collections. · Kitchen walls should be able to withstand all kinds of fumes and splashes. The walls in most kitchens are usually painted. Good quality plastic emulsion paint for areas under the sink and near the wash area. · The sink plays an important role in overall efficiency of the kitchen, linking cooking accessories. Even if you have a dishwasher, a roomy, easy to clean sink is still essential.
· The counter top is the most wear tear area. Materials such as stones, glazed enamel tiles, stainless steel, laminates can be used for counters and each has its own pros and cons. Thus, the basic concept is to finish this ambiance which is the most lived in the entire family with the aim of making it a place in which it is pleasing to be together . To create , therefore , a little domestic paradise in which several people , all there together will find it easy to move about among extremely functional articles . There is no need for large spaces , but it is attractive and welcoming , perfectly in tune with the surroundings with the reminder and exaltation of stories , traditions and rediscovered family values.
There is a saying goes that "To way to a man's heart is through his stomach", so kitchen is the only place from where one can win anyone's heart. For a house wife , this is a place where she has to spend the maximum of the time and for a working woman , it should be so that, she feels fresh as she enters the kitchen, tired . There is no ambience in the home more loved and lived in by all the members of the family, the best of the family , the best place to savour the pleasure of being together with all the tastes , memories and daily habits of the family . These are feelings which need a suitable ambience , where the warmth of wood combines with the strong character of the stony materials , such as marble and granite of table tops and the counter . Every family has different expectation of their kitchens as they follow different cultures. While the basic function of the kitchen is to serve as an area for the preparation of the food , the need of each individual household differ and often the kitchen has to cater to additional and varying requirements. A kitchen layout should be customized to the specific requirements and needs of the users . Hence , it is important to ascertain the individual preferences overall lifestyle and eating habits of the direct users . There are various practical points that must be considered and discussed before commencing the designing of a new kitchen or the modification of an existing one .
· DESIGNING : Before designing the kitchen , one should identify the tasks to be performed in the kitchen. A kitchen should be designed to match the preferred style of the individual user and the general décor of the rest of the house . It may be designed in a country / farmhouse , contemporary , colonial / English , laboratory , futuristic / high-tech , European / Mediterranean or ethnic style with matching decor and finishes .
· PLANNING : Kitchen planning revolves around the three main work centers -storage , washing and cooking. These form three corners of the triangle . These centers should be connected with the work counters. The work pattern generally moves from the décor to the functional flow of traffic in the kitchen.
· STORAGE : The most important aspect of the kitchen design is a well planned storage. It can facilitate or impede the main task of cooking and keep the kitchen either tidy or a mess at the end of the day. Storage units have a variety of internal arrangements and dimensions to suit the items they are going to contain.
· FLOORING : Flooring should be non slippery , resilient , hard wearing and easy to clean. Marble is the most common choice but one can also go for Kotah stone too. Granite tends to be slippery when wet.
· LIGHTING : Kitchen lighting should be bright and functional . Care should be taken to ensure that the light does not cast shadow on the major working areas. Light fitted on the underside of the overhead cabinets light up the counters effectively.
· VENTILATION : Ventilation is the most important aspect that should be taken care of properly. Kitchen is a area which generates lot of odour and smoke , thus this has to immediately emmited out. An exhaust fan is a considerable help in dispelling smell and for air circulation also.
· The hob also has a central position with a canopy formed by its hood, which destroys odours and fills the ambiance with light at the same time. The electrical appliances are carefully concealed beneath the worktop . Function and harmony should be the dominating characteristics of the present collections. · Kitchen walls should be able to withstand all kinds of fumes and splashes. The walls in most kitchens are usually painted. Good quality plastic emulsion paint for areas under the sink and near the wash area. · The sink plays an important role in overall efficiency of the kitchen, linking cooking accessories. Even if you have a dishwasher, a roomy, easy to clean sink is still essential.
· The counter top is the most wear tear area. Materials such as stones, glazed enamel tiles, stainless steel, laminates can be used for counters and each has its own pros and cons. Thus, the basic concept is to finish this ambiance which is the most lived in the entire family with the aim of making it a place in which it is pleasing to be together . To create , therefore , a little domestic paradise in which several people , all there together will find it easy to move about among extremely functional articles . There is no need for large spaces , but it is attractive and welcoming , perfectly in tune with the surroundings with the reminder and exaltation of stories , traditions and rediscovered family values.
