Kitchen Shape & Cabinet Placement For A Smooth Functioning Kitchen

Kitchen Shape & Cabinet Placement

Although kitchens have evolved into true living spaces, there are still “tried and true” principles of kitchen design that haven’t really changed over the years.

Even with all of the guidelines, keep in mind that it is important to leave your personal stamp on your kitchen.  Don’t be afraid to get creative.  Bend the rules a bit here and there to create a kitchen with interesting eye appeal.  Your designer will be happy to make suggestions, like using cabinets with varying heights and depths, open shelving and see-thru door fronts, mouldings and other features that will give your kitchen its own personality.

Kitchen Floor Plans

There are really only five fundamental “shapes” of kitchens.

• U-Shaped – Cabinets and appliances are arrayed along three walls.  This works best with the sink in the center of the “U” and the refrigerator at one end of a counter.
• L-Shaped – Cabinets and appliances on two walls that meet on a corner.
• Corridor – Cabinets and appliances on two facing walls.  It’s helpful here to have the sink and the stove on the same counter.
• Open plan – The traditional kitchen area is enlarged to include the family room, a dining area, and other spaces for relaxing or entertaining.
• One wall – Also known as a galley kitchen, all cabinets and appliances are along a single wall.

One of the principles of kitchen design is creating an efficient and comfortable pattern of movement through the kitchen.  The “work triangle,” as it is known, is the shortest walking distance between the three primary work points-the refrigerator, primary cooking surface, and primary food preparation sink.  It is important to emphasize “primary” because many kitchens today feature multiple cooking surfaces and sinks.

The Kitchen Work Triangle

Experts recommend that the work triangle should cover a route of no more than 26 feet, with no single leg of the triangle shorter than four feet or longer than nine feet.  If the kitchen features islands or peninsulas, they should not intersect the work triangle by more than one foot.  If the kitchen has only one sink, it should be located between or across from the cooking surface, preparation area or refrigerator.  And, if two cooks are working at a time, two work triangles should be in place, although one leg of both triangles can be shared.

A kitchen design professional will advise you on the many, time-tested guidelines to help ensure efficiency, safety and comfort.  These basic planning principles run the gamut and include how much space to leave for walkways, work aisles, seating and counters.  They also cover minimum cabinet frontage depending on kitchen size, appliance placement, ventilation, counter heights, work center configurations and a host of other important considerations.

For example, if you follow these guidelines for a smooth-functioning kitchen, you will leave at least 18 inches of counter space on one side of the sink and 24 inches on the other.  You’ll be sure the dishwasher is positioned within three feet of the sink and you will give yourself at least three feet of countertop for food preparation.

Like all products, cabinets come in various price ranges depending on the quality of materials, finish, construction, workmanship, and the degree of customization.

Just as a custom-made shirt is produced to meet your exact measurements and color preference, custom cabinetry is produced on a job-by-job basis to fit unique specifications. Custom units can be made in virtually any wood species or color, and in any door-style or design you wish.  A skilled cabinet maker can include all sorts of special accessories, like inserts, shelves, drawers, etc. that meet a specific requirement for your use.

Love Your Kitchen But Hate The Cabinets? Don’t Replace, Reface It!

What is Cabinet Refacing?

It’s an affordable kitchen makeover that can deliver stunning results while adding value to your home.  When Cabinet Refacing is performed, professional installers remove all existing cabinet doors, drawer fronts, hinges and drawer boxes.

Dingy, dirty, scuffed or yellowed kitchen cabinets are the first thing in the line of sight of potential buyers as they walk into your kitchen not only the first, but every-time so it’s important to improve that negative impression before it ever gets made.  A remodeler may encourage you to replace aged cabinets and doors but that can be exorbitantly expensive.  Refacing

Cabinet Handles & Knobs

cabinets on the other hand can be achieved with much less fuss and expense and provide surprising results more quickly than replacement.

Once a professional cabinet maker determines whether or not your home is a good candidate for kitchen cabinet refacing, (don’t worry, most kitchens are, and most professional kitchen cabinet refacing companies will do the estimates for free) you can have a completely

Cabinet Hardware Options

‘re-styled’ kitchen at about 50% less than new cabinets.

They then encapsulate the frames with a matching material.  New custom made wood or thermofoil doors in your choice of various styles and finishes are installed.  Custom made drawer boxes and drawer fronts with whisper quiet hinges can then installed.  Your newly refaced kitchen will include all new hinges, handles and knobs.

Euro Hinge

Choosing New Hinges For Your Kitchen Cabinets

Choosing New Hinges For Your Custom Cabinets

Cabinet Hinges

Choosing new hinges when you’re refacing kitchen cabinets offers more options than you might think.  The door hinges you choose may depend in part on the cabinet frames that are already installed in your kitchen because they don’t change in a reface.  So before you start shopping, read on to learn what type of cabinet box you have, what type of doors you want, and what type of cabinet hinges you need to go with them.

Cabinet Refacing Tips: Frame Styles

There are two basic cabinet styles–face-frame cabinets and frameless or European cabinets.  Face-frame cabinets have a frame on the front of the cabinet box and the doors must be attached to this frame.  Frameless cabinets do not have a frame so the doors are attached directly to the cabinet box.  You have to choose doors that match your cabinet box and the doors you choose determine the hinges you need.

Frameless Cabinets:

• Full Overlay Door: This type of cabinet door lies on top of the edge of the cabinet box and covers it completely.  You need a hinge that is fully concealed, such as a European hinge.
• Half Overlay Door: The half overlay door is attached to the cabinet frame, but does not completely cover its sides. For this type of door, you need a European overlay hinge.
• Inset Door: An inset door lies inside the edges of the cabinet box, its surface flush with the cabinet box edges.  For this type of a door, you can use a European hinge.
  

  Cabinet Hinges

Face-Frame Cabinets:

• Overlay Door: These doors are attached to the front of the cabinet box frame, covering it partially or completely.  For these types of doors, you can use European overlay, knuckle, or knife hinges, depending on how much of the frame the door covers.
• 3/8″ Inset Door: A 3/8″ inset door lies partially on top of the cabinet frame.  There is a rabbet, or small recess, cut into the end of the cabinet door so it creates a type of joint with the edge of the cabinet frame.  This type of cabinet door requires hinges specifically for 3/8″ insets.
• Flush Door: An flush door lies on the inside of the cabinet frame, the closed door surface flush with the surface of the kitchen cabinet frame.  With a flush door you can use an H-style hinge, a butterfly hinge, or a partial wraparound hinge.

Once you know what type of cabinet frame you have and the doors you want, then you can start considering color and style in hinges.

Happy shopping!

Going “Green” With Your Cabinets

Green Kitchen Cabinets

If you are in the market for new kitchen cabinets and would like to make as “green” a choice as possible, the good news is that it is getting easier all the time.  More manufacturers are turning out increasingly greener products, and the choices keep improving—in both style and price.

It’s also pretty easy to identify green cabinets; the list of specific features to look for is short and, usually, clear cut.  Here are the most important things to look for.

Low or No Formaldehyde
Urea formaldehyde has been used in adhesives that are found in a wide variety of wood and wood-based products for many years.  Although low levels of formaldehyde may not pose a threat, the substance has been identified as a human carcinogen by the World Health Organization, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has developed strict limits on occupational exposure, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends limiting your exposure in the home.

Ask about the formaldehyde content of pressed wood products, including building materials, cabinetry, and furniture before you purchase them.

Low VOC Finishes
Green cabinets should also have low-VOC finishes.  These can include paints, stains, natural oil finishes and waterborne clear finishes that release few volatile organic compounds into the environment.  One of the most important things you can do when looking for eco friendly wood kitchen cabinets is to pay close attention to the finishes that are used on the cabinetry that you are considering.  Look for non-toxic finishes that have low or no VOC’s.

Sustainable Materials
One way to cut down on the need for adhesives is to use solid wood, and a good way to ensure that you are getting responsibly grown and harvested wood is to look for Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification.

Green materials other solid wood include bamboo, wheat board and formaldehyde-free plywood and MDF.

It is pretty easy to find kitchen cabinets that have been manufactured with minimal levels of formaldehyde.  But if you want to buy kitchen cabinets that are entirely free of formaldehyde, the search can be more difficult.  One option is to find a local cabinetmaker who is willing to build custom cabinets using formaldehyde-free materials.

Source: about.com

3 Generations Of Custom Cabinetry

Custom Cabinets & Accessories For 3 Generations

When looking to make your kitchen the most functional, we often think of looking at layout.  And layout is a great way to start, it truly is the foundation.  Consider the working triangle.  If you have it, you know that it makes the flow of the kitchen truly fabulous.  Once you have this established, if you really think about what makes a space functional it will all come down to one thing: storage.   The most beautiful, elaborate kitchens are nothing, if they don’t have great storage solutions.

Custom Cabinets

One of the most dramatic ways to give your kitchen a new look is to change your cabinets. When you start to plan your upcoming project that involves cabinets, take the time to visit a cabinet shop.  The owner will gladly offer suggestions for your custom cabinet design.  You want to glean from him any tips, suggestions and clever solutions he’s accumulated over the years, as he has solved problems for other customers.  Many custom cabinet builders have a vast amount of photos of the cabinets they have built.  Looking at those photos may stimulate an idea or two.

Cherry Cabinets

Custom cabinetry means having choices about the features and customized accents you want.  Quality cabinetry might not be as expensive as you think.  When you deal with a smaller cabinetmaker, his passion is greater and you might get a better cabinet for less money than what you would pay at a fancy store.

Cherry Wood Cabinets

Just as seasoning brings out the full flavor of a fine meal, the accents available can add flavor to your custom cabinets. There are many other advantages to custom cabinets.  A skilled cabinet maker can include all sorts of special inserts, shelves, drawers, etc. that meet a specific requirement for your use.

Happy Shopping!