Archive for the ‘Kitchen Floor Plans’ Category

4 Popular Kitchen Floor Plans

Wednesday, April 21st, 2010

There are endless ways you can design your kitchen and there are always suitable kitchen floor plans for every space – big, small or super-small. Here we look at the 4 most popular kitchen floor plans based on four configurations. Find the one that suits you best.

1. Galley Kitchens:

If you own a small kitchen then Galley Kitchens can be suitable for you. These are long and narrow kitchens with counters or workspaces on either side of the central pathway. The best part of these kitchen floor plans is that they allow your kitchen to extend from wall to wall and have ample storage in the counters. Appliances, the sink, and other such items can be fitted between the counters.

Galley kitchen floor plans make good use of the kitchen triangle concept. You also have ample space to walk around. The disadvantage of galley kitchens is you need to keep it basic as you cannot have a central kitchen island for want of space.

2. U-shaped Kitchens:

These kitchen floor plans have cabinets and counters along three walls of the kitchen. U-shaped kitchens are much like Galley Kitchens but with one end closed. This closed end provides extra space for a sink or a range. U-shaped kitchen floor plans provide ample storage even without a central island. If your kitchen is narrow and you want more workspace, these plans will suit you best.

U-shaped kitchens are great for workflow by making use of the kitchen triangle concept. But make sure your kitchen is big enough to accommodate the U-shaped design.

3. L-shaped Kitchens:  

These kitchen floor plans are space efficient and use the kitchen triangle to good effect. L-shaped kitchens are extremely popular for the workspace they provide and the room space they save. These designs have an ‘L’ shape and hence the name. The longer side of the ‘L’ can accommodate two workstations while the shorter side can accommodate one.

Cooking can be done along one side where all the cooking equipment can also be kept. Washing can be done along the other side where you can have the sink and dishwasher. You need to have a decent sized room, though, for these L-shaped kitchen floor plans.

4. Island Kitchens:

Island Kitchens are the most preferred kitchen floor plans for large kitchens. A freestanding island sits in the center of the kitchen, allowing access from anywhere in the kitchen. The advantages of Island Kitchens are enormous. You get extra storage space, extra workspace, extra electrical outlets, another sink, and with some innovation you can also turn it into a dining table.

Small kitchen floor plans cannot afford an island at the center, but you can think of removing the wall separating the kitchen and the living room, and place the island in its place to create a great room. Another option for small kitchens is to have a small island or a mobile one.

 

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Flow And Kitchen Design

Saturday, April 3rd, 2010

Let’s take a look at some common flow plans for food preparation that you’ll discover inside the kitchen. The most basic, and most desirable, flow plan is the straight line, also known as the assembly-line flow. Materials move steadily from 1 procedure to another in a straight line. This type of style minimizes backtracking; it saves preparation time and confusion about what’s going out of the kitchen area and what’s coming back in.

The straight-line arrangement functions nicely for little installations because it can be placed against a wall and adapted to the cooks’ duties. Wherever there isn’t enough room to arrange food preparation in a straight line, a well-liked and efficient option is the parallel flow. There are four variations of the parallel style:

1. Back to back. Gear is arranged inside a long, central counter or island in two straight lines that run parallel to every other. Sometimes a four- or five-foot room divider or low wall is positioned between the two lines. It’s primarily a safety precaution, which keeps noise and clutter to a minimum and prevents liquids spilled on 1 side from spreading onto the other. Nevertheless, placement of a wall here also makes cleaning and sanitation a lot more hard. The back-to-back arrangement centralizes plumbing and utilities; you may not need to install as many drains, sinks, or outlets, as both sides from the counter can share the same ones. A back-to-back arrangement in which the pass window is parallel to (and behind one of) the production places is sometimes recognized as a California-style kitchen. When the pass window is located perpendicular towards the production line, it might be referred to as a European-style kitchen area style. The benefit from the European style is that each cook on the line can see the progression of multiple dishes that make up 1 table’s order.

2. Face to face. In this kitchen area configuration, a central aisle separates two straight lines of gear on either side from the room. Sometimes the aisle is wide sufficient to add a straight line of worktables among the two rows of gear. This setup works well for high volume feeding facilities like schools and hospitals, but it doesn’t take benefit of single source utilities. Even though it’s a great layout for supervision of workers, it forces individuals to perform with their backs to one another, in effect, separating the cooking from the food from the rest from the distribution procedure. Therefore, it’s most likely not the best style for a restaurant.

3. L-shape. Wherever room isn’t sufficient for a straight-line or parallel arrangement, the L-shape kitchen design is nicely suited to access several groups of gear, and is adaptable for table service restaurants. It gives you the ability to place more equipment inside a smaller room. You’ll often find an L-shape design in dish washing areas, using the dish machine positioned at the center corner from the L.

4. U-shape. This arrangement is seldom used, but it’s ideal for a little room with one or two employees, such as a salad preparation or pantry area. An island bar, for example the ones in T.G.I. Friday’s restaurants, is an additional example of the U-shape at perform. There are also circular and square kitchen area designs, but their limited flow patterns make them impractical. Avoid wasted room if you can, by making your kitchen area rectangular, with its entrance on one of the longest walls to save steps.

The a lot more foodservice establishments you visit, the more you’ll realize that the back from the house is really a separate and distinct entity from the rest of the business, with its own peculiar difficulties and unique solutions.

Correct flow planning occasionally means breaking each kitchen area function down into a department, of sorts, after which deciding how those departments ought to interact with every other. They must also interact using the other, external departments from the facility: your dining room, bar, cashier, and so on. A great way to begin the design process-both for the overall company and for the kitchen-is to create a bubble diagram. Each region (or workstation) is represented being a circle, or “bubble,” drawn in pencil within the location you’ve decided may be the most logical for that function. If two different workstations will be sharing some equipment, you might let the sides of their circles intersect slightly, to indicate where the shared equipment might greatest be located.

The finished diagram will seem abstract, but the exercise permits you to visualize every perform center and think about its needs in relation to the other centers. You are able to also lay a kitchen out utilizing a diamond configuration, situating the cooking area at one point of the diamond form, and other crucial areas in relation to it at other points. Notice that this layout minimizes confusion (and accidents) with a separate kitchen entrance and exit. This allows the people who bus the tables to deliver soiled dishes towards the dishwashing area without having to walk via the entire kitchen to do so.

An alternative to drawing diagrams is to list every perform center and then list any other work middle that should be placed adjacent to it. Conversely, list any perform center that ought to not be next to it. For instance, it is most likely not a great idea to have the ice maker and ice storage bin adjacent to the frying and broiling center.

Franco Zinzi has been involved with online marketing for nearly 3 years and likes to write on various subjects. Come visit his latest website which discusses of Restaurant Fridges and Jenn Air Fridges for the owner of his own business.

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Designing The Perfect Kitchen Floor Plans

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

The kitchen is the central hub of most homes. Whether it’s a family gathering or just a normal day this is usually where most families come together. Having kitchen floor plans that function inside of the family lifestyle is not about pretty décor and fancy appliances, but having a well designed floor plan to compliment the family lifestyle.

 

When designing the kitchen floor plan, you’ll likely hear the phrase “work triangle” which is the area defined by the location of the refrigerator, the range or cooktop, and the sink. If you keep the triangle compact, you’ll limit travel time between these central appliances. As you see design styles and products change you should be able to use the following labels for floor plans to remain relatively unchanged.

 

 

Types of kitchen floor plans

 

The design of your new kitchen and choosing the best cabinetry should only be considered after determining the layout of the kitchen.  There are five basic layouts found in today’s kitchens defined as – the L, G, U, Single, and Galley.  Many kitchen floor plans can create an efficient flowing design, and can be further enhanced with the right cabinets and accessories.

 

L Shape- The L-shape kitchen, the most common plan, requires less space and offers more flexibility in the location of workstations. The benefit of this kitchen floor plan is that it not only provides the cook with an efficient work area, but it typically opens to a nearby room, making it easy for the cook to talk with guests.

 

G Shape- The G-shaped kitchen is a version of the U-shaped kitchen layout, with the same amount of counter space and storage options that surround the cook on three sides. However, the difference with the G-shaped kitchen floor plan is the peninsula or partial fourth wall of additional cabinets.

 

U Shape- The U-shaped kitchen is the most versatile layout for kitchens because the layout offers continuous counter tops and sufficient storage, which surrounds the cook on three sides. In larger kitchens, this floor plan is spacious enough to be divided into multiple work stations for cooks to easily prepare a meal together without getting in each others way. Pay particular attention to your work triangle here; if the appliances are too close together, you’ll be hemmed in at the corner. Consider a half-wall to open the room to an adjacent space.

 

Single-Wall- The single wall kitchen floor plan is ideal for smaller homes. The work triangle in this kitchen layout is less like a triangle and more of a work line with all three kitchen zones along one wall. You can enhance a single wall kitchen by adding additional storage and maximize the space by stacking cabinetry such as the wall pantry pull-out above the base super storage.

 

Galley “Corridor” Shape- The corridor layout has a workspace large enough for one cook. In this kitchen floor plan, the work stations face each other on parallel walls, creating a small work triangle. With this “corridor” plan, try to consolidate counter space near the appliances used most often. To create storage space, consider a bank of base cabinets or a pullout tower pantry. Use restraint — it’s easy to close this plan in.

 

Designing the kitchen floor plan

 

Start the process of determining which style of kitchen floor plan most resembles your current layout. When looking at your kitchen, focus on the work triangle created in the room. You may actually determine you can change the floor plan from you existing layout. You also want to keep in the back of your mind that you can also enhance the layout of your kitchen with the right cabinetry and avoid making significant structural changes.

 

7 Tips For Designing Your Kitchen Floor Plans

 

1.      Consider the traffic that moves throughout the house and what role the kitchen plays in that movement. Research the different styles you want your kitchen to look like by examining different magazines and visiting different showrooms to get ideas.

2.      Consider the lighting as integral to the design of your kitchen. A well-lit kitchen has different types: task, ambient, accent and decorative.

3.      Design the kitchen so that the work triangle of the kitchen is very easy to maneuver and work in. The work triangle is based on locating the sink, the cooktop range, and the refrigerator so that each of the three legs of the triangle measure between 12 and 26 feet.

4.      Locate the refrigerator so that the door can swing clear and can give two people access to the inside at the same time. It should not be up against a corner or block the entryway into or out of the kitchen.

5.      Locate the sink underneath the window whenever possible. Ideally the sink should be located first and then the other appliances can be placed around it.

6.      Installing the cook top range on an exterior wall will allow for easy installation of the hood and ventilation systems.

7.      Locate the sink in a place where you can have at least 36 inches of free space on one side and 24 inches on the other to allow for a place to put dishes. This also creates space for a dishwasher to be located next to the sink underneath the countertop.

 Whatever you decide a little thought and creativity that revolves around your family lifestyle will ultimately end up in a kitchen design that works best for you. 


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Open floor plan (kitchen, family room) colors?

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Okay so I have a very open floor plan in my home. My kitchen and family room are connected, practically one big room, seperated by the carpet ending and the kitchen floor begins. We just moved in and are looking for a new paint scheme. Our current carpet is like a darker rose color and everywhere there is oak colored trim. In my kitchen my cabinets are oak, along with my island. My countertops are like a burgandy type color, but compliment my carpet. So I need some ideas of a paint scheme for my kitchen and family room. Should I do two seperate colors that compliment each other, or the same color for continuance? I need some ideas for a paint scheme, thanks in advance!

Sherman Williams has a great web site. You can pick a room similiar to yours on their simulated home and begin choosing colors painting them on your computer and seeing how it looks before you buy anything. We did our home this way and we also have an open kitchen dining and living area. It is really a great site. Check it out. And mostly have fun in your home and congrats. granmatictac