There is no ambience in the home more loved and
lived in by all the members of the family, the best of the family,
the best place to savour the pleasure of being together with all
the tastes, memories and daily habits of the family. These are
feelings which need a suitable ambience, where the warmth of wood
combines with the strong character of the stony materials, such as
marble and granite of table tops and the counter.
The hob also has a central position with a canopy formed by its
hood which destroys odours and fills the ambience with light at
the same time. The electrical appliances are carefully concealed
beneath the worktop. Function and harmony from the dominating characteristics
of the present collections.
The basic concept is to finish this ambience which is the most
lived in the entire family with the aim of making it a place in
which it is pleasing to be together. To create, therefore, a
little domestic paradise in which several people, all there
together will find it easy to move about among extremely
functional articles. There is no need for large spaces, but it is
attractive and welcoming, perfectly in tune with the surroundings
with the reminder and exaltation of stories, traditions and
rediscovered family values.
The marked personalities of these modern and innovative kitchen
brings into the home the soothing atmosphere of colourful and
lively activity. There are as many as four colours which gladden
the eye and communicate a note of joyful serenity of the ambience
which they furnish, creating together a happy scene.
A kitchen layout should be customised to the specific requirements
and needs of the users. Hence, it is important to ascertain the
individual preferences overall lifestyle and eating habits of the
direct users.
The kitchen should be in the
south-east portion of the house. The door of the kitchen should be
in the north, east or north-east direction opening clockwise. The
lady should face east while cooking, for it brings good health to
family members. If the lady faces west while cooking it may lead
to health problems to ladies; while cooking with the face towards
south may lead to financial problems in the family.
Cooking Gas/Range
should be in the south-east part of the kitchen. Sink in the
kitchen should be installed in the north east. Big windows and
ventilators should be in the east direction, while smaller windows
should be in south. Exhaust fan should be installed on the eastern
wall in the south-east corner. A dishwasher can be placed in the
north west of the kitchen. If any storage cabinets are made in
the north east, use these cabinets for light weight storage only.
Soft pink and orange color can be used in the kitchen. Drinking
water should be placed in the north-east; water filter will be
installed in the north east, if required.
Refrigerator
should be in the south-east corner. No toilets and bathrooms
should be adjoining and above or below the kitchen. If the
kitchen is adjoining a bedroom, the wall between them should be
thicker than other walls. Food should never be served in the
center of the kitchen i.e. no dining table should be placed in
the center of the kitchen. Dining table should be placed in the
north-west corner of the room. If a dining table is placed in the
kitchen one should only face east or north while consumption of food
as it is good for digestion.
Ideal Kitchen
The kitchen is probably the most used (or
misused !!) room in any home, requiring an efficient combination
of storage spaces, working counters, seating areas and free
passages. It has to be functional, practical, elegant and
comfortable, all at the same time and hence, great emphasis should
be laid on the overall layout design of the kitchen, especially
the small (and seemingly minor) details.
There are various practical points that must be considered and
discussed before commencing the designing of a new kitchen or the
modification of an existing one.
-The style of cooking (which varies greatly due to influences of
country, state, religion, health and personal choice) would
greatly influence the design and layout of a kitchen. Importance
must be given to the type of materials, ingredients and mediums
used as well as the appliances and working space required for that
particular style of cooking.
- A kitchen should be designed to match the preferred style of the
individual user and the general decor of the rest of the house. It
may be designed in a country/farmhouse, contemporary, colonial/english,
laboratory, futuristic/high-tech, European/Mediterranean or ethnic
style with matching decor and finishes.
- A minimal, modular, straight lined, no-fuss work-area where the
emphasis is on efficiency, workability and cleanliness. There are
no wasted spaces and no unnecessary display of items or clutter.
Most of the appliances are built-in and the work areas are easy to
maintain and clean .
- According to the theory, an efficient and practical kitchen
layout is one where ideally the three major elements: sink/washing
area, refrigerator, cooking range are conveniently located so that
the user can work and move about easily. The distance between the
refrigerator, the cooking range and the washing area should not be
less than 6 meters. This working should not be broken by full
heights, fitments doors or passages.
- The flooring, mostly used are mosaic, ceramic
tiles, marbles. Stone flooring or ceramic tiles are recommended
for Indian conditions, keeping in mind the surrounding dirt and
dust since the material is impermeable, hard and stain/scratch
resistant .
- The walls in most kitchens are usually painted. Good quality
plastic emulsion paint for areas under the sink and near the wash
area .
- Cabinets are usually made of 19 mm commercial block boards with
laminate or enamel/duco paint.
Useful
Tips
*Adjacent to the
kitchen platform, another L shaped platform near the south wall
for keeping micro even, mixer, grinder etc. will be very useful.
*The main kitchen
platform should be in the east and the south-east corner. The
platform should not touch the east and the south walls of the
kitchen. It should be at least one to three inches away from the
walls. We can also take a projection of 1 to 2 inches while
constructing the kitchen.
*Stove or gas
burner should be in the south-east corner, a few inches away from
the wall.
* The kitchen should
be in the south-east corner of the main building or flat.
* The washbasin
(sink) of the platform should be in the north-east corner as far
as possible. Pitcher of water and utensils for drinking water
should be in the north-east or the north side.
* Essential
commodities like boxes of grain, spices, pulses etc. should be in
the south or the west direction.
* The entrance door
of the kitchen should not be in any of the corners. Kitchen doors
in the east, the north and the west are useful.
* The gas burner
should not be in front of the main door of the kitchen.
*There should be
one or two windows or air holes in the east and the west direction
of the kitchen. An exhaust fan in this gap is useful.
*If there is a
dining table in the kitchen, it should be in the north west or the
west side.
*Light weight
articles can be kept in the east or the north.
*Mezzanine floor in
the kitchen should be in the west or the south.
* While cooking, the
face should be towards the east.
*The colour of the
floor and the walls of the kitchen should be yellow, orange, rose,
chocolate or red. However, it should not be black or white as far
as possible.
*A kitchen in the
west direction can be tolerated. However, if the kitchen is in the
north-east direction mental tension increases and one may suffer
great losses. If the kitchen is in the south-west direction, life
at home becomes difficult because of clashes.
* If a freeze is in
the kitchen, it should be in the south-east, the south, the west
or the north direction. It should not be in the north-east
direction. If it is in the south-west direction it should be a
feet away from the corner otherwise it always gets out of order.
