Kitchen Planning and Design

Basic Guidelines For Planning Your Kitchen

1. Plan for wide aisles . 42″, 48″, or 60″ if an appliance will open into it. Never less than 36″.  
2. Try to follow the Work Triangle configuration for proper placement of appliances.
3. Try not to place a side by side refrigerator next to a wall on the left side, without leaving several inches of clearance on the left side. The narrow freezer door will not open fully making it very difficult to access freezer side.  
4. Don’t place 2 appliances next to each other. Always have a cabinet between them. Not only does a stove directly next to the refrigerator not look good, but it throws the design out of balance, plus you only have counter space on one side.  
5. Always plan plenty of free counter space around both sides of the sink & the range or cook top. Plan free counter space on at least one side of the refrigerator & an oven cabinet.  
5. Microwaves are usually most handy placed close to the refrigerator. Most of the time foods come out of the refrigerator & go directly to the microwave for warming or defrosting.  
6. Plan for plenty of drawer space. 3 or 4 drawers are not enough. Evaluate both your drawer & total storage needs. Drawer bases are good to have beside the stove and sink, to the right when possible.  
7. Remember, for smaller or closed in Kitchens, lighter colors will make the room feel larger.  
8. Roll-Out Trays in base cabinets, especially near the range, make accessing the cabinet much easier.  
9. Convenience items, such as roll-out trash units & tilt-out trays under the sink help organize hard to place items like the trash-can & the small scrubbing pads that usually wind up littering your sink.  
10. Using moldings around the top, like large crown or galley rail, add a great deal of appeal to your Kitchen. Using fluted columns & staggering the height of cabinets will also create interest.

Download and fill out the Design planner below, then you can send it to us for help in planning your kitchen:

NEXT: How to Measure and Layout your kitchen.