The kitchen is the second most popular project after bathrooms when planning a remodel, but at Natachees we love Food. So a kitchen is normally the focal point of many homes like ours, so it is essential to plan thoroughly before remodelling your kitchen and perhaps speaking with an Interior Designer in Bangkok. Below are a few tips to follow to assist you through this process.
1. Wasted space/steps
The way to eliminate wasted space/steps in a kitchen is to consider everything you need when preparing a meal, whether breakfast, lunch or dinner. You will have to ensure your design cuts down on the number of steps you have to take to reach for something while cooking. For example, you should keep breakfast ingredients and bowls near the breakfast nook. It would help if you also kept storing containers in a spot where you could easily sort the leftovers.
2. Walkways
The worst thing in a kitchen is when everyone keeps bumping into one another while they’re busy. The remedy for this would be to ensure your aisles are wide enough, at least 36 inches (91 cm) wide. At the same time, walkways in the cooking area should be 42 – 48 inches (107 – 122 cm) wide.
3. Kitchen traffic
Another way to minimize traffic in the kitchen is to plan your space accordingly. This will be dependent on how many people live in the house and when guests are present. One place to start can be to have the refrigerator in a spot where someone accessing it won’t disturb the person who is cooking and needs to access the fridge.
4. Landing space near appliances
The key to keep in mind is that the kitchen is for practical use, so you will have to consider what suits your daily life in the kitchen. When placing appliances, you should accommodate a landing space where you will place your cooking and preparation items. Appliances to keep in mind are microwaves, air-fryers, coffeemakers, or toasters.
5. Considering countertops
The determiner for counter space is to consider whether you are a frequent or an infrequent cook. You would need more counter space if you are a frequent cook, and less if you aren’t.
6. Range area
Placing cooking essentials and tools in the area directly within range is essential. Ideas like adding shelves in the cooking range where cooking oils, utensils, and spices are. In addition, you can keep everyday pots and pans on hooks within the cooking range as well.
7. Organizing items smartly
When organizing food storage areas like the pantry area, organize frequently used ingredients and snacks within reach. You should also keep other family members’ favourite snacks within reach.
8. Accommodating electrical outlets
All the planning and organizing for your appliances would be wasted if you do not plan where your electrical outlets will go.
9. Considering kitchen clean-up
You should also keep different ways in mind that you can cut down on cleaning time. Some ideas would be to use glass shelves in the refrigerator rather than wire shelves or matte finishes instead of gloss finishes as they don’t show dirt as much.
10. Small spaces
Remember, if you have a small kitchen space, you should use light colours as using darker colours will make the small space look dark and cramped.