By Keith Vaughan
Planning a Kitchen Remodel for Optimal Usability and Functionality
In addition to solid, attractive cabinetry, performance appliances, stone counters, and customized finishes, usability and functionality are essential when planning a kitchen remodel. If the kitchen does not flow properly with your lifestyle or cooking needs, you may find yourself avoiding the so-called heart of the home altogether, even after a significant remodel.
A home’s kitchen must serve you and your family to store, prepare, cook, and eat healthy meals and snacks. And to entertain friends, if that’s a goal. It’s nearly that simple. The kitchen space is not always just a kitchen. It is often used as a multi-purpose area that encompasses drop zones, dining, pet hubs, study desks, charging stations, wet bars, and casual social or family sitting spaces – which can all easily lead to disorganization.
There are thousands of articles, pictures, and showrooms displaying unique designs for creating a glamorous kitchen, but many simply do not function well. A more favorable outcome – and certainly of utmost importance – is for a kitchen to be fully functional for the art and community of preparing and sharing meals while spending quality time at home.
The functional areas that you need should work efficiently and collaboratively. To do this, you must deep dive with your designer and fully consider how you will use your kitchen area once it is remodeled in order to get the prioritized features you need. It will also help you determine if you need additional space or to tear down walls to meet your wants and needs. At the end of the process, this will enhance the quality of your life, meals, and well-being.
Why Planning for Usability and Functionality Before a Kitchen Remodel is Important
The kitchen is often considered the heart of the home, and it is meant to bring people together and serve your family’s unique needs. This is why proper planning is crucial for actually enjoying your kitchen after a remodel. Many homeowners make fundamental mistakes when planning a kitchen remodel that they may regret later when they find it difficult to use their kitchen for meal preparations, in-kitchen eating, or family gatherings. Common mistakes include improper layout, bottlenecks, not enough space to prep or cook, poor ventilation or lighting, insufficient space for storage of fresh fruits and vegetables, countertops full of clutter, and difficult to access food, spices, pots, and pans. How frustrating! A layout focused on your needs will allow the kitchen to produce real meals, real food, real snacking, real gatherings, and real health.
Using Work Zones to Plan a Kitchen Remodel
Rather than the notion of a traditional working kitchen triangle (i.e., fridge, sink, cooking) it is better to think of your kitchen in terms of your required uses, often referred to as work zones. Every kitchen is different. Kitchen work zones can vary depending on your use needs for each area. Typical work zones used when planning a kitchen remodel include:
- Food Prep
- Cook Stations
- Storage for Pots, Pans, and Utensils
- Pantries and Other Storage for Dry Goods and Unrefrigerated Foods
- Refrigeration and Freezing
- Clean-up and Recycling
- Wet Clean-up
- Eating-in and Casual Dining
- Beverage or Coffee Stations
- Drop Zones
- Study and Office Areas
- Pet Hubs
- Family Communication Hubs
The work zones you plan for and need should allow for more than one person to cook or clean at the same time, and even better, enough room for the whole family to prepare a meal together! Always remember that your guests and children will congregate in the kitchen – or right next to the kitchen – while you try to prepare a meal or entertain. In other words, think through the flow of people standing, walking, sitting, working, or just visiting and sharing time together. This helps to avoid bottlenecks!
Think, plan, dream, design, and then remodel. But, if you want a kitchen that cooks, you must really think through your various kitchen zones to bring the home alive. Learn more about our remodeling process and how we take you step-by-step to collaborate and plan a space that fits your needs and lifestyle as a forethought instead of an afterthought.
