Merillat Masterpiece Fairlane in Maple Burnished Praline

If your family is like most, your kitchen is more than just another room. These days, life happens in the kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of your home, the center of all the day’s activities. And even if you have a showcase dining room, you may actually eat most meals in the kitchen.

With your family’s busy schedule, things tend to overlap. Cooking, homework, bill paying, small talk…it’s all going on across the kitchen counter or at the kitchen table. The eat-in kitchen is the new normal, and when renovating your space you need to design accordingly to make it as family friendly as possible.

To begin, put some thought into how you want your kitchen to function – your lifestyle will dictate the design.  Ask yourself what will help make your space operate efficiently and comfortably. Consider all of the ways in which you currently use your kitchen, where your children or other family members hang out, and then develop your solutions around these factors.

For example, how much seating do you need to accommodate your family members? What kinds of activities are performed in your kitchen? Do you do a lot of cooking? Do your kids like to help?  Who else spends time in your kitchen? Don’t forget to consider how your needs may change over the years.

Whether accommodating little ones, hungry teens, busy parents, seniors, or physically challenged persons in your space planning, there are many ways to create an environment that works for everyone.  Here are a few ideas to help you along the way:

• If small children are a consideration, install countertops with rounded corners to prevent painful bumps and bruises.
• Incorporate a lower height area of counter space that provides easier access for children – and also seniors or physically challenged family members.
• Choose cabinets with durable finishes that will take the bumps in stride.
• Consider cabinetry options like Merillat’s SoftAction™ drawers that help slow down the moving parts as excited kids open and shut them. Self-closing concealed door hinges help prevent pinching and keep doors from hanging open.
• To help keep things clean, choose higher gloss furniture finishes that are easy to wipe off. This concept applies to walls too: “the higher the sheen, the easier it will clean.” Satin or semigloss wall paints are going to be your best bet.
• Upholster chairs with washable fabrics or slipcovers for those eventual spills. Plan on replacing in five years or so.
• Make your kitchen warm and inviting with bright, cheerful paint colors and fabrics.
• Microwave ovens, foods and dishes can be positioned at a lower level where less reaching is required.  Installing our Masterpiece® base microwave cabinet is one great way to put that appliance within easy reach.
• Carve out a comfortable niche for homework, games and just hanging out. This might also be a great spot for bill paying or plugging in a laptop.
• For toddlers you might set aside a small area for their own little table and chairs to keep them occupied and within sight while you’re cooking.
• Varnished hardwood flooring (like maple) will stand up to the abuse of an active family. Linoleum and sealed cork are other good options.
• Make the seating area in your kitchen welcoming by providing plenty of room to spread out for the whole family.
• Hang a pendant lamp over your breakfast nook or table to make a focal point that provides task lighting.
• An island or peninsula is a great way to combine informal dining with ample storage space.  Or you might invest in a rolling island to increase storage and work space.
• With so many people coming and going, you might also consider an entryway area or “drop zone” for things like keys, mail, coats, backpacks and purses. Merillat offers a number of family-friendly accessories to help you customize your space, including drop zone and entryway ensembles.

Ultimately, what you’re striving to create is a space that everyone feels comfortable in and can easily utilize on a daily basis. These are just a few ideas to help get you there.  Have additional ideas you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them!

Kitchen Work Triangle

In a small kitchen we know how hard it can be to keep things organized and flowing smoothly. It seems like stuff piles up everywhere, from the week’s worth of mail on the counter to your kids’ after-school clutter.  Combine this with existing storage and work flow issues and things can get out of hand quickly. Take heart; you don’t have to put up with daily clutter and limited storage space.  When planning a redesign, a few simple considerations can help make your kitchen a “clutter-free” zone and feel larger than it actually is.

Layout Options

The first thing to do when redesigning a small kitchen is to choose a layout that fits your space requirements and needs. Here are some options to consider:

L-Shaped Kitchen – This is the most popular design, appropriate for any size kitchen. The L-shaped kitchen is made up of two walls (or legs) and gives you the possibility of having a center island depending on your available space. In general, this design will have 2 or 3 appliances on one wall with the refrigerator typically at one end, the range or cooktop at the other end with the sink located in the middle. This shape of kitchen generally provides good traffic flow.

U-Shaped Kitchen – This design features three walls, with the sink usually located in the middle wall section. The refrigerator and range or cooktop are typically on the side walls opposite each other. The U-shaped kitchen design allows for ample countertop space and cabinetry, and creates a very efficient work triangle.  Using skylights, large windows, under-cabinet task lighting and light colors will help keep the kitchen bright.

G-Shaped/Peninsula Kitchen – This type of kitchen shape is becoming very popular, as it gives you a fourth wall or peninsula to use.  It is usually not suitable for a very small kitchen because there may not be room for the fourth leg.  The G-shape is especially nice if you have more than one cook in the house. The fourth wall section can be used for extra counter space, a cleanup zone, a cooktop, or added seating.

Galley Kitchen – Often called the corridor style, the galley kitchen design is more common in apartments or in smaller homes. Cabinets and appliances can be located on opposite walls for easy work flow.  Placing the range or cooktop on one side of the kitchen along one wall and the refrigerator and sink on the opposite wall also allows better flow.

Single-Wall Kitchen – If you have very little space for anything but a single-wall kitchen, try to place the sink between the refrigerator and the stove for added efficiency. Locate the refrigerator so that the door opens away from the kitchen sink. This is a very common layout for small kitchens with narrow spaces.

The Work Triangle

Whichever layout you choose, it’s important to also follow the basic “work triangle” method in kitchen design.  This is a triangle formed between the sink, refrigerator and stove/oven with no more than 9’ between two areas, and no less than 4’. For more info, check out this condensed view of NKBA guidelines for kitchen space planning around the work triangle.

Cabinets and Lighting in a Small Kitchen

For extra storage, install tall kitchen cabinets that extend to the ceiling, placing the items you use less often on the top shelves. Built-in or fitted cabinets can increase available storage. There are also an abundance of cabinet accessories available that can help you store your kitchen essentials more efficiently.

Both natural and artificial lighting are important in creating the illusion of a larger, brighter kitchen. The best setup involves “light layering” where accent, ambient and task lighting are combined; this can be done inexpensively.  See our recent blog post on choosing the right lighting for your kitchen design to learn more.

These are just a few tips when considering a redesign of your small space to make it as efficient and clutter-free as possible.  Which floor plan fits best with your available square footage and kitchen orientation?

Merillat Masterpiece Hadley in Cherry Cinnamon

Over the years, the kitchen has become the hub of life in many homes. Sure it’s for cooking and eating, but its function can serve much more – a conversational area, a work place for adults and kids – the possibilities are endless.  The right design should reflect these needs. Considering how you want to plan the design or redesign of your kitchen, you’ll want to ask yourself a few basic questions:

• How much space is available?
• Does my family eat in the kitchen, or do I entertain in the kitchen? If so, countertop seating at an island, or built-in seating might be handy.
• How important is having a recycling station in the kitchen to me?
• Do I need a workspace for paying bills, household paperwork or homework?
• Is there space for a wastebasket near a food prep and cutting area?
• A designated breakfast area, with coffee maker, toaster and microwave, can free up other valuable kitchen space.

Determining how much space you actually have is a fundamental aspect of any kitchen design, as you decide what features will be included and how they can best be arranged to fit your needs. One primary reason for remodeling your kitchen is expansion. Kitchen cabinetry, counter space, and general storage space are always at a premium, particularly in smaller kitchens.  Expanding the kitchen allows more room to work, gather, socialize and eat.

Options for enlarging your kitchen are to expand the house outward around the kitchen or to take space from elsewhere in the house. Consider your options carefully, as knocking down structural walls can get expensive, although this is often less expensive than expanding outward.

Open floor plans have become very popular as the kitchen’s entertainment and gathering needs have increased. Merging food preparation and social areas is essential for many families today.

If the kitchen is large enough, it can also accommodate a kitchen island or peninsula – a valuable tool not only for food preparation, but for additional storage as well. You also might consider adding a pantry or pullout pantry near the refrigerator for easy access.

Be sure to include more cabinetry space than you think you need, because kitchen cabinets are always filling up and clutter is inevitable! You can reduce this clutter by making sure you have ample storage. For example, installing taller cabinets that reach to the ceiling creates an illusion of having a larger more spacious kitchen, with extra storage as a bonus. You can also create a drop zone near the kitchen entryway to help organize clutter before it reaches your countertops!  According to the National Kitchen and Bath Association’s (NKBA) Kitchen and Bath Planning Guidelines, when replacing a countertop or changing the shape of your kitchen, a total of 158″ of countertop frontage, 24″ deep with at least 15″ of clearance above, is needed to accommodate all uses, including landing area, preparation/work area and storage.

If space planning is thought out well beforehand, creating an attractive, efficient kitchen that enables you to perform various functions is simple. It’s important to enlist the help of a kitchen design professional, as they can best advise you on how to maximize your space to meet your needs.

Check out our inspiration gallery and our planning resources as you start your kitchen remodel planning; the NKBA’s website has wonderful resources too.