The best layout for new kitchens depends both on the room space you have to work with, and also on how you plan to use your new kitchen.
Will it usually be one person cooking solo, or will several cooks be working in tandem? Do you want the kitchen to become the social Mecca of the household? Or are you a genius chef who simply wants the perfect cooking space in which to create your masterpieces?
Once you have worked out how you want the kitchen to function, you can begin to look at some general layouts to check which designs would work best.
A Galley Kitchen Design
One popular kitchen design is the galley kitchen. A galley kitchen has two parallel lines of benches, cabinets etc. forming a corridor or galley through the middle. This style, if well designed, can create the perfect efficient kitchen space for everyday chefs.
The Golden Triangle
One benefit of a galley kitchen is that the golden triangle is easily incorporated into the design. Just imagine tracing your footsteps walking from the sink to the oven, to the fridge in your kitchen; does this form a triangle? The theory is that placing these three kitchen hotspots within easy range of each other, particularly in a triangle, makes the kitchen easy to work in.
Positioning the most used kitchen areas within an easy range of each other creates the most efficient workspace. Too close, however, can result in bottlenecks in kitchen traffic. If for example the fridge and sink were adjacent, one person getting a drink out of the fridge and another using the sink would cause unnecessary crowding.
While such practicalities might not be foremost on your mind when planning your new kitchen, they will make all the difference in your day-to-day experience once you are living in it.
As well as being a cook's haven, a galley kitchen has the advantage of abundant bench and storage space.
Two Disadvantages Of A Galley Kitchen
The disadvantages of a galley kitchen are that the walkthrough traffic can cause problems if cooking is in progress. Also, this design does not incorporate a space to sit and chat with a cup of tea in the kitchen.
When planning your new kitchen, the room space available and how you envisage your kitchen working day to day should be uppermost in your mind. A galley kitchen can make cooking a breeze but does not have a space for sitting and chatting. Discussing your needs with an expert in new kitchens is usually the best course of action, and will provide a range of options to consider.
