The basics of kitchen design.

Kitchen organisation ideas –

Are You Designing Your Kitchen?

A kitchen is the central headquarters for the family. The kitchen is often the showplace of the home, and yet it is required to function well for a wide variety of tasks. A well-equipped, beautifully clad kitchen provides both a sense of well-being and a statement in the home. As you plan your new kitchen, you should consider practicality and style

Kitchen organisation ideas – choose the one that suits you best!
When thinking of ideas for your new kitchen, you could either study one part of the kitchen at a time or pick up a complete theme. A complete theme could be something like a organisation based on Feng Shui which incorporates all its principles. Feng shui concerns the art of placement and could support you to arrange your kitchen in a way that enhances its Chi. For instance, according to Feng shui, the cook’s back should never face the kitchen entrance so you must plan your kitchen accordingly.

Now according to the other way, you could choose a particular style for the kitchen floor, the walls, kitchen storage places etc. these could be finished in various materials depending upon the amount of money you are willing to spend, the lay out of the kitchen and your taste. Here are a few specific organisation ideas for your kitchen –

* Kitchen floor- Your flooring could set the tone for the whole kitchen. The textural quality of the floor always appeals to eye and has a radical effect on the kitchen as a whole. For kitchens, the most elegant floors are tiles, stone and laminated or hardwood floors. Ceramic tiles are a premium product for a kitchen and represent an impressive upgrade over any other floor. The only disadvantage is the cold feel but this can be negated with underfloor heating.
* Kitchen Worktops – While choosing your worktop, select a color and texture that compliments your cabinetry, floor or paint selection. Don't be afraid tp combine one or more worktop materials. Complimentary colors and textures on adjacent surfaces create visual interest. Also remember, it pays to select a material, which will resist years of use without extraordinary maintenance and is easily repairable should an accident occur. Marble and granite worktops are strong options.
* Kitchen lighting – you might have a large ceiling fixture, equipped with energy-efficient fluorescent tubes that cater plenty of well-diffused general lighting. However it may overshadow the sink, range, and worktops. These areas in your kitchen may need task lighting.
Kitchen organisation layout –

The perfect arrangement

Kitchen design is very subjective, a layout that might be perfect for one home may be disastrous for another. This is primarily peoples tastes, habits, and requirements are vastly different. Thus kitchen layouts should be finished according to the necessities and specifications of the prime user of the space, who has definite ideas most how he/she would like their working space to be organised. But apart from this subjective outlook, there are certain steps that you should follow in your kitchen plan or layout.

Stages in kitchen planning.

Follow these simple steps in order to get an ergonomic kitchen with a desirable look
1. Measure your kitchen in a detailed manner, the position of the doors, windows, electric points, drains and sinks etc.
2. Demarcate the kitchen areas into three – Storage, cooking and cleaning. Plan the space, keeping these three aspects in mind.
3. Make a list of the kitchen appliances that you require in the kitchen, and provide room for them according to their dimensions.
Keep these three points in nous and then organisation your kitchen in a style that suits your tastes. Following are typical kitchen organisation layouts that are used –

Kitchen organisation layouts – Types

These are the 4 basic kitchen layouts that are generally followed when planning a kitchen –
1. Galley layout – This a narrow kitchen, where there are kitchen cabinets facing each other. One for storage and the other for cleaning and cooking. Make sure there is a minimum 1200mm expanse between the cabinet rows.
2. L shaped layout – This is a layout, where the rows are diagonal to one another, thus forming an L shape.
3. U shaped layout – this is the best pick for small kitchens and very practical too.
4. Island layout - This one on the other hand is meant for large kitchens. Here the cooking area can be completely seperate from the storage and preparation areas These are the different structures in which you could plan your kitchen layout. Make changes and alterations according to your preferences.