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Kitchen Design and Layout
Choosing
the right kitchen isn't always a question of taste. Personal
preferences sometimes clash with the spatial characteristics of the
room. Not only the space available, but the shape of the room can
vary a lot, so consider all the possible
arrangements.
 Linear
arrangement
If the kitchen is very narrow, it would be
better to reserve just one wall for the working area of the kitchen.
If the furnished area seems not enough you can always increase it
vertically using practical wall or suspended units. That way the
rest of the room will remain open enough for easy
movement.
 "Railroad" arrangement-also
known as "Galley"
It's the same principle as the
previous example, but with the furniture built up along two parallel
walls. This arrangement is recommended when the kitchen is wide but
not particularly long: one of the walls will be dedicated to the
"working" part of the kitchen (washing and cooking areas), while the
other can become a convenient area for preparing meals. The center
of the room will stay free to permit easy movement between the two
sections (as long as extra people stay out, I grew up in a house w/
a tight galley kitchen and my mom spent a lot of time saying "Get
out of the kitchen"--I swore I would never build a house w/ that
type kitchen.
 Peninsula or Island
arrangement
A peninsula might be the ideal choice for
anyone who wants to have an area for eating a quick snack or who
simply wants an additional place to prepare food. Whether you want
it equipped with accessories or not, a peninsula is always modern
and captivating and doesn't disrupt a classic corner arrangement:
the important thing is to leave enough space for people to pass by
easily and to sit down (a passage of 90 to 110 cm).
Availability
of space is even more important for an island: located in the center
of the room it goes well with a linear arrangement of kitchen and
amounts to a modern composition.
 Corner
arrangement
Should you decide to place the table in the
center of the room, the ideal would be to put the kitchen furniture
in the corner. This arrangement is also the best if you have a
kitchen which opens without dividing walls onto the dining or living
room. The corner where the kitchen furniture will be installed
should always be that which is opposite the dining
room.
 "Horseshoe"
arrangement
If your space is large enough to creatively
furnish without worrying about problems of dimensions, you could opt
for the three side arrangement: the table stays in the center, food
preparation and conservation are distributed to the two parallel
sides while washing and cooking share the internal
side.
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