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Cooking From The Heart

Healthy Eating & Living Guide
Kitchen Life

Kitchen Life

Some people prefer large kitchens while others are quite happy in smaller ones. How big should your kitchen be and does size matter? It gets down to the size of the family. Certainly what suits a couple may not suit a family of, say, five. Basically you need room for the cabinets, the under sink storage, a refrigerator, some benches and shelves, and most importantly, plenty of room to prepare meals. If an individual likes a lot of elbow room, then size does matter.

All is not lost if your kitchen is smaller than you would like, as there are lots of ideas for space savers. If you want a bit more room, use your kitchen walls. There are ranges of compact appliances you can use as well that will blend into the room.

Dining or meal preparation

Some people like to eat in the kitchen as well, so you might want a dining area or a dinette, for example. The space you need for dining depends wholly on the amount of people that reside in the house and will eat together. Some kitchens are set up so you can have a snack bar for a light breakfast, or quick meal, but have a formal dining room for regular meals.

Multi-Purpose Kitchen

Modern day homes are built on versatility which allows rooms to have more than one function. In the UK and France the style is large kitchens that serve as dining areas as well. In your own home, if this is the case, then it’s important that you create two distinct areas. Without a clearly defined kitchen space, the most important area of your home, you may lose the benefits that this area can provide.

Rushing meal preparation may result and the kitchen work areas end up being storage areas. All this will distract the cook’s attention from the job at hand. Perhaps a room divider, such as a barrier with plants or a decorative screen will work. As long as you get the effect of there being two separate areas.

Your Kitchen Triangle

A work study carried out in a kitchen showed that your oven, fridge, and sink should be at three auspicious points. By that, we mean think of these as points of a triangle with the oven as the focal point, at the top. The fridge and the sink are the other two points. This helps the work flow within the kitchen.

Keeping your kitchen fresh and clean

Your kitchen should always be clean and fresh, well maintained and look neat and tidy. When it’s like that you get positive energy and it promotes creativity with meal preparation.

A clean and fresh kitchen means bench tops, floors and appliances are kept free of crumbs and stains. Broken appliance should be repaired, particularly frayed electrical cords, and cooking smells got rid of as quickly as possible. Having herbs and spices around the kitchen is a good way to maintain fresh, kitchen smells.