When deciding on the layout of your kitchen, you may not know where to begin. One long trusted method is taking into account the kitchen work triangle, and while this is still a great tool to use, another idea has become prevalent in the recent past, kitchen work zones.
Thinking of your kitchen in terms of zones can help you to plan out your kitchen in an organized way, no matter the layout of the room and the space you have available.
While everyone’s kitchen layout does not match the above image, it can give you a good idea of what these zones are, and allow you to visualize zones in your own kitchen. As seen in the image above, you should divide your kitchen into 5 zones: consumables, non-consumables, cleaning, preparation, and cooking. No matter the size of your kitchen, you will most likely have at least a small amount of space that you dedicate to each of these categories when using your kitchen.
-Consumables will be the zone where you store your food, such as the fridge and the pantry.
-Non-Consumables will be the zone where you store dishes, glasses, silverware, etc.
-Cleaning will be the zone that contains the dishwasher and sink.
-Preparation will be the zone that you use to prepare food, like an area of your counter or kitchen island, if you have one.
-Cooking will be the zone that contains the microwave and stove/oven.
The reason that we divide the kitchen into these zones is to improve functionality and work flow within the kitchen. You would want to store items in the kitchen within their zones as much as possible. For example: you may wish to store dishes and glasses near the dishwasher, to improve efficiency when unloading clean dishes. You may also consider keeping cooking utensils and your food prep area as close to the stove as possible. Think about how you use the items in your kitchen, and strive to keep them in the zones that make sense for you!
This system won’t be perfect, because kitchens come in many different sizes and layouts. But if you stick to the main ideas of creating these work zones, you can simplify working in your kitchen!
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