Take a look around the kitchen you have at the moment. Is everything exactly as you would like it to be?
The chances are that unless you have just had your kitchen completely ripped out and replaced, it isn’t quite as you would imagine your ideal kitchen to be. But if you are thinking about replacing it or sprucing things up in the future, it is worth paying more attention to how easy you find it to use the various appliances in your kitchen. Doing this now will enable you to find the best layout for them in the future.
So where do you start? Well first of all it is vital to understand that some kitchens do not offer you a lot of choice when it comes to fitting all those appliances in. Let’s face it, unless you have an additional utility room in which your washing machine and possibly a separate tumble dryer would go in, you have to fit those in your kitchen.
Now you can get an all in one washer dryer of course. But it doesn’t solve the problem of your other appliances. There will still be a cooker and a fridge freezer, so the tiniest of kitchens might just have to put up with them exactly where they are positioned now.
But supposing your kitchen is bigger? If it is and you can accommodate more units, then you can look forward to having more of a say in where everything goes.
There are certain things you should bear in mind though. The first one is that the dishwasher (if you have one) should be nice and close to your sink. You don’t want to be traipsing around further than you have to between the two if you rinse things off before putting them in the dishwasher to go through its cycle.
Secondly there is the kitchen triangle to think about. This consists of three points – the cooker, the sink and the fridge freezer. So basically you have the area you get the food from, the area you cook it in and the area you wash up in afterwards. This is a simplified idea, but you get the point. If you struggle at the moment, this could be why. Perhaps your triangle isn’t quite as efficient as it should be.
In addition to this there are more practical matters to think about as well. If you don’t like the idea of having a tall fridge freezer, think about whether you have the room to get a separate under counter integrated fridge and freezer instead. In addition you might prefer a tall cabinet with the oven in so you can position your hob elsewhere.
Every single one of these aspects represents a decision to be made. The more time you spend working out your options and figuring out which one would be best for you, the more successful the end result will be. And that makes for a kitchen full of appliances you will be delighted to use.