The latest issue of 15-501 Magazine features an article by Mary Liebhold, CKD titled "Kitchens 101, Back to the Basics" . Read the article below.

KITCHENS 101 - BACK TO THE BASICS

While style, color and form take center stage as the first impression, many of those magazine cover kitchens have serious flaws. Stunning good looks have trumped function at times and the preparation of a meal could be frustrating and more time consuming than it should be.

I believe that above all, a kitchen should be designed for the cook or cooks at work and play in this all-important room.

Granted, not everyone is a chef or even has desires to be one, but anyone can appreciate the convenience of a well-laid-out kitchen, if only to get the popcorn from the cabinet to the microwave or the smoothie ingredients to the blender.

Taking the time to analyze traffic patterns, storage need, family and personal preference should be the first step in a kitchen plan. As kitchens are less frequently an out-of-sight, dead end room, traffic patterns are critical.

No doorway, interior or exterior, should interfere with an appliance or a person in front of the appliance. Look at the swing of all room doors and appliance doors. Many plans are drawn without the door swings shown. A clear floor area of 60 inches on the inside of the door and 18 inches beyond the knob side would be ideal. The 60 inches can be reduced to 48 inches on the push side of the door.

Work centers and their spacing are most critical element of the design. Appliances should be chosen early in the planning process as the configuration of the door swing, control placement and overall size is predetermined by the manufacturer.

Refrigerators are big - literally and figuratively. Many plans show a space for the homeowner to insert a refrigerator/freezer. A standard slide in unit may measure up to 34 inches deep. That is well past the cabinetry and can impede traffic. Even the newer cabinet depth units have several inches of door thickness and handle to consider.

If a side-by-side unit is preferred, be aware that, with a couple of custom exceptions, the refrigerator door is always hinged on the right. If that unit is at the left end of the kitchen counters, all of the landing area is behind the door, making unloading groceries, grabbing a quick glass of juice or finding a spot to return a dish to the fridge a bit more challenging. Many top and bottom model have reversible door but not all do. Even the built in models may need to be ordered with the correct swing.

When planning the space for a range or cooktop, consider the aisle ways for ease of use. Try bending to oven or stooping for a pan under the cooktop. Measure how far your body extends from the counter edge. A narrow aisle could hamper those movements.

A minimum of 42 inches between appliances and countertops in a one cook kitchen and 48 inches in a two cook household is a good guideline. A walkway without functional equipment should be a minimum of 36 inches wide, but increase that to 45 inches if there is seating involved, i.e. chairs on the back of an island.

All too often an island is squeezed into an existing kitchen. While some extra counterspace may be gained, the island may become an obstacle to circumvented. Leaving some breathing room, space to turn with a hot dish, room to bend, reach and turn is critical to a safe environment.

There are guidelines for every part of the kitchen published by the National Kitchen and Bath Association and a Certified Kitchen Designer with experience can help avoid some common errors. Personal habits and goals for the space make every room unique, while still allowing for a well thought out plan.

In the words of Julia Child: "You want to be able to find and stash everything easily."

Bon appétit!