Trends in Kitchen
Design
By James Garland
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Refrigerator
Drawers |
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Dishwasher
Drawers |
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Warming
Drawer |
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Microwave
Oven |
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Double
Oven |
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Refrigerator |
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Cooktop/Updraft
Ventilation |
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Wine
Cooler |
There
is a quiet, ongoing revolution in kitchen design. Busy adults, stressed
for time by increasingly demanding schedules, are sharing kitchen
duties. In a survey done by the University of Minnesota in 1987, while
only about 50% of existing kitchens could accommodate more than one
person, responders reported that over 95% of the time more than one
person was in the cooking space. According to the National Kitchen
and Bath Association, 30% to 35% of all kitchens being planned today
are for more than one cook. The trend towards more people working
in the family kitchen is well documented, and the traditional standards
for designing the functional kitchen are being revised as a result.
The “work
triangle” has long been the measure of efficiency of a kitchen
arrangement. During the 1950s, the University of Illinois Small Homes
Council developed the work triangle. It is a line drawn from the center
of the sink space to the center of the range area to the center of
the refrigerator space and then back to the sink area. These lines
formed a balanced triangle, a measure of distance traveled between
the major work areas in a kitchen space. A designer, or homeowner,
could project the efficiency of a proposed kitchen plan by analyzing
the triangle.
In today’s
typical kitchen, with the inclusion of more appliances and more work
centers, some experts are questioning the validity of the work triangle.
It’s estimated that up to 90% of American kitchens include a
microwave oven, and in many cases this appliance alone creates a fourth
leg onto the work triangle, stretching the activity areas into a work
rectangle.
Depending on how
the duties are divided in a two-cook kitchen, it may be necessary
to create two work triangles, with adequate preparation space and
clear work centers for each person in a layout that carefully avoids
traffic jams. The traffic pattern of each cook should be free from
interruption, allowing each to work without bumping into the other.
There are several ways to establish work zones in a two-cook kitchen:
• Increase
walkway clearances, providing each cook with adequate passing space
when both cooks are in the kitchen. Walkways expand from 42”
in a one-cook kitchen to a minimum of 48” in a two-cook space.
•Expand countertop
space to accommodate the needs of both cooks, with an eye to the accessibility
of the equipment and material to be shared by each person.
•Create a
special work center adapted to the specialized needs for one of the
cooks: a baking center or barbecue area separate from the primary
cook’s triangle.
•Vary countertop
heights to accommodate the variety of heights of the current or future
users, providing raised counters for taller users, dropped counters
for shorter cooks. A dropped countertop, set at table height, is also
a convenient height for a baking area, ergonomically favorable for
rolling and kneading dough.
•Include
a work island to create a separate workspace apart from the primary
cook’s activity centers.
An island offers
the unique opportunity for two people to share the use of an appliance
and work facing each other. An island is, of course, dependent upon
available space within the kitchen, and careful attention should be
paid in the planning of any island installation. An island crowded
into too small a space, or an oversize island that cramps passageways
and work and preparation centers, instantly becomes a hindrance.
There are several
ways people cook together. In some families, the cooks take turns.
The responsibility of meal preparation is a function of home management:
the delegation of cooking responsibility perhaps resides with the
first person to arrive home. Another couple might enjoy team cooking,
sharing preparation responsibilities, and exchanging tasks. A third
couple might practice specialty cooking, with each cook pursuing his
or her specialty; for example, one cook enjoys barbecuing while the
other might be a baking specialist. Still another method of cooking
together is the couple with a primary cook and the other a “cook’s
helper.” Each of these is an example of people cooking together,
and each case uses a different set of activity centers and design
considerations.
The sink area
is the most frequently used of the kitchen’s activity centers.
There is a strong trend towards the inclusion of a second sink in
the kitchen space. Whether set into an island or a peninsula, the
second sink offers a work area for either a preparation or cleanup
helper. The secondary sink need not be as large as the primary sink,
though if it is to be a cleanup and prep center care should be taken
when selecting the bowl size. Too small a sink won’t provide
the room necessary to wash and rinse a platter or plate. It’s
also becoming common to find more than one dishwasher installed in
a gourmet kitchen, and the secondary sink area is a natural spot to
include a second cleanup appliance. Another possibility is the use
of stackable, multiple dishwasher drawers (an appliance specialist
can advise on the application of these).
Installing the
cooking area in the island space is also a frequently used option
when expanding the work centers in the kitchen. Whether a cook top
or slide-in range is specified, the question of venting has to be
addressed, which can sometimes be tricky in a remodeling situation.
Choices include downdraft ventilation systems, which draw air taken
from the cooking surface down under the floor to be ducted outside,
and “updraft” systems, which remove smoke and grease through
an island hood located over the cooking surface. In either case, your
kitchen designer, appliance provider, or general contractor will be
able to advise which system will best suit your needs.
Appliance options
abound. A larger kitchen might accommodate secondary refrigeration,
in the form of under-counter fridge drawers, built-in mini-refrigerators,
or a wine cooler. Warming drawers aid in a cook’s ability to
prepare and serve several courses, or to keep food hot while the family
assembles for the evening meal. Indoor grilling, steamers, wok cooking,
deep fat fryers are more options available to today’s cooks.
It’s small
wonder that the enthusiasm for two-cook kitchens steadily grows. And
it’s a welcome revolution, this shared kitchen duty. When my
wife and I work together in the kitchen, I like to think of our movement
through meal preparation as a kind of a dance. This time is never
drudgery, but a time to discuss the harried day, a time to plan, to
catch up with each other, and to gather together. Sometimes we can
even get the kids involved, and that’s all the better. Today’s
kitchen, now more than ever before, has become the home’s family
room.
James Garland
is a kitchen designer. He can be reached at 503-835-5019. |
