How to design the ideal kitchen
by ian tham
The kitchen is one of the most important places in the house.
This is where your creative juices at your work creating your new dishes or pastries.
Here are my thoughts of planning the ideal kitchen. Here are my kitchen design tips I have learnt through experience over the last 20 years.
Ideally there should be easy access between the kitchen and the doorstep or main door of the house.
This means easy delivery of your groceries and also easy disposal of garbage and waste.
Ideally the stove should be located as near as possible to the wide open spaces air and outdoor and yet within the confine of shelter from wind and rain.
This serves two purposes. Firstly when you fry oily food this allows the oil and grease vapour to escape into the open air instead of settling onto the walls of the kitchen cabinets . You have to spend much time cleaning these areas. Secondly, this will be a safety measure. In case of leaking gas from gas pipe or cylinders the cooking gas will be emitted to the outdoors rather than filling the whole home with gas and potentially killing everyone due to gas poisoning .
Put the cabinets and refrigerator upon the platform. This means that it will be easier to wash , mop or clean the kitchen floor without wetting and corroding the kitchen cabinets . It will also prevent the electrical appliances from being damage by water seeping in.
Next , there should not be spaces or gaps between the cabinet ,stove and sink and the floor. By removing the space this prevents cockroaches and other pest from residing in the dark corners.
Your kitchen should be heavy duty and water proof and use hard grade materials so that it will not rot and break. This is especially so in the area surrounding the sink. Things can get easily corroded and spoil due to the water splashes and spilling from the sink. Do not used wood for your cabinets below the sink. If possible construct the area around the sink and stove using concrete for the base and stone, or granite tiles for the surface for maximum durability.
I prefer a built in oven placed at work top level height so there is no need to bend over to look at the state of the cooking . It is also easier to place the meat in the oven and to take it out the cooked food.
Most importantly, there should always sufficient worktop space between the sink and the hob so that space can be used for food preparation.
You must plan the kitchen design carefully. Review and check everything before proceeding . If you intend to cover water pipes and sewage pipes during renovation, please inspect and check for leaking pipes and repair before proceeding to renovate . Otherwise water from the faulty pipes will spoil the kitchen cabinets.
Also consult your kitchen designer on the location of your electrical outlets . These should be located where the appliances will be positioned. For example your kettle , microwave oven, dish water , oven, hob and hood, refrigerator and rice cooker. Before renovation , also take note of existing electrical sockets which needs to be re located.
Revamping your kitchen costs money. With a little luck, you could get your kitchen perfect without any cash worries with these kitchen renovation resources.
About the Author
You can find all you need for your kitchen at www.allkitchen.info