Kitchen usually is over shadowed by the aura of a drawing room and some very trendy bed rooms. However the very functionality of a kitchen does not makes it unique but a very important factor of a house design. Since kitchen still in India is by and large associated with either the female member of a family or a service provider like cooking maid.
itchen however finds its importance not merely because it is intended to be used by specific person(s) but also it has perhaps it is one area where literally nearly all the complicated services find their conjunction. Technology ever since has evolved and disrupted our day to day life finds its intervention in kitchen as well. It is time we learn and adopt the technology domain within the sphere of our home and kitchen in particular.
Here we are providing certain aspects related to kitchen and that should be kept in mind either on a design stage or even making a selection viz a viz different properties.
Layout
Perhaps a more layman term would be the plan of a kitchen. How it is oriented and in what shape or geometry we could find the kitchen walls and the slab to be. Yet no matter what the layout of a kitchen is, anybody can make a logical deduction when overviewing the layout of a kitchen.
If the kitchen is in a house and not an apartment, then in most probability the kitchen size will be good enough. Going by the rule, the triangle functioning of a kitchen is proved method of the optimal usage of space. That is to say on one wall there could be stove/ burner on the other the refrigerator and the sink on another. While this is an ideal scenario, it may not always be the case, especially in prime urban spaces or the metros. Yet the basic rule perhaps is universal. With the constraints of the spaces such areas usually account for parallel wall kitchen or a simple single wall kitchen. Whatever be the case, do ensure to have the refrigerator and the stove/ burner on opposite walls.
Circulation :
This is perhaps very much generalized, especially for apartments. Since the users are not defined in the conceptual stage of planning and designing individual spaces for multistory apartment is just irrational. However few nuances can be looked into especially from a buyer’s perspective. Little imagination could be utilized if by any reason you happen to study an unfinished or bare shell structure. The movement spaces should not include the functional aspect of the kitchen. Implying that one must look how much working space a user would get in the scenario when below cupboards are opened for usage. Any compromise here may turn to be a disaster. If you don’t have an idea then allocate 450mm or 18” to 600mm or 24” as the space for the shutter to open and the required working.
Countertops :
The debate of countertop material just does not seems to die out. With new technology and developments, market every now and then offer new materials and products for this domain. Nevertheless one can make an informed decision if he/ she knows what kind of cooking is going to happen. Indian conditions vary vastly not only globally but also internally. Apart from the cultural aspect the lifestyle changes too have forced people from adopting new kind of cooking. Yet in India, cooking oils, and spices still hold their prime importance. So while selecting the material type for the countertop, do ensure the selected material is easy to work with the kind of cooking you intend to do. It should be oil resistant, maintenance free, easy available and also that fits your budget. One important aspect though can be checked if the kitchen top is having adequate space or depth. Normally we do find 600mm or 24” to be optimum, yet one can go for customization if the requirement is so.
Wall cabinets :
In ideal scenario, not much attention is given to this section. We maintain that wall cabinets should be well defined with the kind of kitchen utensils/ products it is going to house. If you are hiring a designer for you house and kitchen in specific, do convey well your requirements and also understand fully the solution the designer is providing at the time of design presentation. Any overlook in this stage can make your working in the kitchen quite tedious. Normally the below counter storages are either raised from the ground or in some cases a base of approx. 4” is provided on which the storage rests. This aspect is vital if one knows how the kitchen would be maintained. For any rough usage it is advised to have a brickwork/ casted base instead of stands.
Lighting :
This is game changer aspect if used properly. Light selection create and destroy ambience. Use lights meticulously. A good light selection and equally good its placement can create aura where one would like to go and enjoy the experience. Do have variety of lighting levels for various kind of working. It is recommended to go for cooler light especially in the cooking areas so that one gets a true texture of the dish being prepared. For other areas warm lights can be attributed. As a trend where usually the owner is the prime user of the kitchen areas, the profile lighting is quite a trend.
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