Designing your Kitchen with Zones

Special to the Okanagan Weekend

When it comes time to design your kitchen, most homeowners immediately start collecting images of how the space will look. The lure of shiny quartz counters, pro appliances and modern cabinet doors are hard to resist. However, taking a step back and focusing on the function of the space first can produce a better final design. This doesn't mean that aesthetics don't matter because they do, but a kitchen that doesn't function will never be your dream kitchen.

Using the concept of Kitchen Zones will produce the most functional space. This concept entails locating five essential zones into each kitchen design. They include the Food Storage Zone, the Prep Zone, the Cooking Zone, the Serving Zone and the Clean-up Zone.

Each one of these zones needs to be included in a functional kitchen design. The first step in the design is to identify appropriate locations for each zone. A good rule of thumb is to try and place them in sequence. Think about how you would move through preparing a typical meal to help with this. Normally you would gather your food from the refrigerator and pantry (Food Storage Zone), move these items to the sink area to be cleaned and prepared (Prep Zone), transfer to the range for cooking (Cooking Zone) and then moved to the eating area (Serving Zone). After the meal is finished everything needs to be put away (Clean-up Zone). The Food Storage Zone The Food Storage Zone is where you store your refrigerated and non-refrigerated foods. To make unloading groceries easy, locating a pantry system near the refrigerator makes a lot of sense. The pantry can be a cabinet with internal accessories or a walk-in one with shelves.

Base and upper cabinetry can also store dry goods. Adding extra shelves in the upper cabinetry and equipping the base cabinets with rollouts can accommodate most food storage needs.

The refrigerator will always house the fresh produce that needs to be cooled, but non-refrigerated fruits and vegetables also need a dedicated storage space. Storage solutions that allow the items to “breath” is the best solution. Many cabinet accessory manufactures produce woven root baskets that pull out of a base cabinet and are perfect for this type of storage. The Prep Zone The Prep Zone should include a minimum of 3' of continuous countertop with a water source nearby. This is the area where food is prepared by cleaning it, chopping it and/or mixing it. Storage in this area needs to accommodate knives, cutting boards, utensils, small tools, mixing bowls and some small appliances. Interior cabinet accessories are available to organize all of these items in the prep zone.

Adding a prep sink to your design can free up the main sink for clean-up activities. There are a variety of shapes and sizes of prep sinks on the market and often they are available with built-in colanders and cutting boards to streamline food preparation.

Specifying a lower counter in the prep zone can also add function to the space. Prep activities such as mixing and rolling out dough can benefit from a lower counter surface. The Cooking Zone The Cooking Zone revolves around the range. Good ventilation is always a must for this zone along with specialized storage for all of your cooking equipment. Even though most of your food should be stored in the Food Storage Zone it is best to store your oils, vinegars and spices in the Cooking Zone. A condiment pullout is the perfect interior cabinet accessory for these items.

Pots and pans should also be stored in this area and can be accommodated in deep drawers or rollout shelves.

In some kitchens the cooktop and wall oven are separated. In most cases the cooktop will then become the center of the Cooking Zone with the added bonus of storage below the appliance. The Serving Zone Once your food is cooked it needs to be transferred to the dining table. The Serving Zone is where all of your tableware should be stored. Planning a Serving Zone away from the main work zones in the kitchen allows a helper to be in the kitchen, setting the table without interfering with the main cook.

Glass door cabinets or floating shelves are a nice touch for dinnerware storage and can add a decorative element to the space. Bringing your upper cabinetry down to the countertop can make accessing tableware easier so even the children can help set the table. The Clean-up Zone Clean-up at the end of a meal for most people is an unwelcome activity. By designing an efficient Clean-up Zone this chore can be accomplished efficiently and swiftly. The Cleanup Zone at a minimum needs to have a main sink and a dishwasher.

Adding a trash/recycling center will take this zone to the next level.

Little details like under-mounting the sink in the counter allows for quick wiping down of the counters into the sink with no ledge to stop you. Installing a trash can on a cabinet door that flips up the lid when opened will also save time.

Kitchen Zoning is the best way to ensure you plan the most functional space possible. The system works for large multicook spaces and one cook kitchens. By including each of the kitchen zones in your new kitchen design you will have a functioning space that will truly make it your dream kitchen!