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Tips on remodelling
Tips and tools for remodelling your kitchen from the National Kitchen and Bathroom Association.
National Kitchen and Bathroom Association >

Remodelling tips - the work triangle
It isn’t long before anyone involved in planning a kitchen comes across this phrase. The "Work Triangle" refers to the relative positions of the sink, cooker and refrigerator. Much of your kitchen life is spent to-ing and fro-ing between these three things. Too little space between them, and you will feel restricted. Too much space, and you will get fed up with tramping from one to the other. For a rough guide, the three sides of the triangle should add up to between 3.5 and 8 metres.

The key units in your Work Triangle may be arranged in an actual triangle; or two units may be on one wall with one facing them; or, as in a galley kitchen, they may all be positioned in reasonable proximity on the same wall. If you can, avoid positioning your Work Triangle where you will constantly be bothered by other people walking through it: to reach the refrigerator, say, or to get at the table or back door. It makes sense to make the refrigerator the most accessible part of the triangle for non-cooks, and the oven/hob the least accessible, for reasons of safety.

Thinking about an island in the kitchen?
If you have room in your kitchen, an island can have a multiple role, creating separate work, relaxation and eating spaces, and keeping family out of the cook’s hair.

It can house your hob, oven, sink and/or dishwasher. But an island that is really too big for your kitchen, or one that is misplaced, will result in you and your family forever edging past it and each other, or having to detour around it to get to the cooker or fridge.

Before you commit yourself, set up a dummy island in your kitchen. This can consist of chairs with boxes on, or a sheet of plywood of the correct size propped up on bricks. Anything that will give you a realistic feel for whether that big piece of furniture in the middle of your kitchen will be a convenience and not a hindrance...

Illuminating advice on kitchen lighting
Lighting can make or break your kitchen design. The four different types of lighting that you need in a kitchen are natural light, ambient light, task lighting and accent lighting.

Natural light will come from the kitchen windows, and may also flow through from adjacent rooms. Depending on the size and position of the windows, you might need to supplement the available daylight with ambient lighting, from ceiling or wall lights, as well as providing sufficient lighting for the evening. If your kitchen is anything other than very small, it’s wise to avoid a single central light, instead spacing a number of lights across the ceiling to reduce shadows and spread the light level through the room, helping to create a feeling of space.

You need task lighting to illuminate your work surfaces. Cooking rapidly becomes tiring when your activity is obscured by your own shadow. Think about lights under your wall cupboards, and a spotlight or decorative hanging light over an island.

Accent lights provide atmosphere and style. Twinkling ropes of tiny lights run along shelving, sparkly lighting nets on a wall, halogen lights inside a cabinet to set off your glassware… This is where you can get creative.

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