Kitchen Facilities
Standard kitchen layouts
During the last fifty years, most designers were building on three types of kitchen layouts: the L-shaped kitchen, the U-shaped kitchen and the gallery kitchen. The gallery layout was very suitable for small kitchens. All these three layouts had one thing in common: the work triangle concept. They all placed the three main kitchen components (the refrigerator, the stove and the sink) in a triangular position.
Modern trends
Another research study conducted more recently showed that the trends have changed. Nowadays, most women are working outside the house. Men started get involved in the cooking process. Most people use semi-prepared food and need to store about 800 items. These conclusions led to new trends in kitchen designs to respond to the changes in house working trends.
Modern kitchen layouts focus on multiple working centres. The standard designs don't allow for more than one person to be working in the kitchen. In order to allow multiple work stations inside the kitchen, designers have come up with the idea of an island layout. In this layout, the counter top is placed in the middle, thus providing up to four small work stations. These can turn into major work stations if you add an extra sink or set the cook top into the island.
However, you can make more work stations even without an island, by placing the cook top and the microwave oven in opposite parts of the sink. This way you can make counter space for two people to cook food each at one appliance.
Finish materials
Flooring
Floor styles include sheet vinyl, ceramic tiles and wood. The old linoleum is definitely out of fashion. Sheet vinyl, however, is a popular choice for moderately priced kitchens. Ceramic tiling is more popular for high-end kitchens, while wood floors are becoming popular in both moderate and high priced kitchens.
Kitchen sinks
Sinks come in a wide range of materials and shapes: solid surface, stainless steel, cast iron or
During the last fifty years, most designers were building on three types of kitchen layouts: the L-shaped kitchen, the U-shaped kitchen and the gallery kitchen. The gallery layout was very suitable for small kitchens. All these three layouts had one thing in common: the work triangle concept. They all placed the three main kitchen components (the refrigerator, the stove and the sink) in a triangular position.
Modern trends
Another research study conducted more recently showed that the trends have changed. Nowadays, most women are working outside the house. Men started get involved in the cooking process. Most people use semi-prepared food and need to store about 800 items. These conclusions led to new trends in kitchen designs to respond to the changes in house working trends.
Modern kitchen layouts focus on multiple working centres. The standard designs don't allow for more than one person to be working in the kitchen. In order to allow multiple work stations inside the kitchen, designers have come up with the idea of an island layout. In this layout, the counter top is placed in the middle, thus providing up to four small work stations. These can turn into major work stations if you add an extra sink or set the cook top into the island.
However, you can make more work stations even without an island, by placing the cook top and the microwave oven in opposite parts of the sink. This way you can make counter space for two people to cook food each at one appliance.
Finish materials
Flooring
Floor styles include sheet vinyl, ceramic tiles and wood. The old linoleum is definitely out of fashion. Sheet vinyl, however, is a popular choice for moderately priced kitchens. Ceramic tiling is more popular for high-end kitchens, while wood floors are becoming popular in both moderate and high priced kitchens.
Kitchen sinks
Sinks come in a wide range of materials and shapes: solid surface, stainless steel, cast iron or