Remodeling your kitchen is a great investment for your home. Make sure you do it right the first time with some help from this three-part blog series.

3. PART I: KITCHEN TRAFFIC AND THE WORK TRIANGLE
There’s a certain flow to how traffic moves in your kitchen and it’s
important that this flow is not disrupted when you do a remodel.
Fortunately, it’s easy to maintain order, requiring that you pay attention
to the kitchen work triangle.
What is the kitchen work triangle?
The concept of the kitchen area as a “work triangle” originated in the
1940s, revolving around a person’s movement as cooking-related tasks
are carried out. As you work in the kitchen, you will invariably move
around three main areas: the refrigerator, the sink, and the cook top.
These three areas form the three points of the so-called kitchen work
triangle.
General principles
A big factor in designing your kitchen’s work triangle is the space
involved: too little space between the points and the room will feel
cramped; too much space in between and it becomes burdensome to
movefromonepointtoanother.Asageneralruleofthumb,thedistance
between the points should be no less than 4 feet, and no more than 9;
additionally, the sum of all three sides of the work triangle should not
go beyond 26 feet.

4. PART I: KITCHEN TRAFFIC AND THE WORK TRIANGLE
Additional considerations
The kitchen’s layout should not be designed without taking the rest of
the house into consideration as integrating the room into the flow of
traffic throughout the home can have tremendous impact on kitchen
tasks. For instance, a garage located close-by can be attached through
a mudroom to the kitchen, providing not only a staging area into and
out of the house but making it easier as well to move groceries into the
kitchen.
Keepinmind,also,thattoomanypeoplepassingthroughthekitchento
get to another part of the house, or going through the work triangle can
and will disrupt the activity in the kitchen. Plan accordingly to ensure
that efficiency in your kitchen is not negatively affected.
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In the next part, we’ll be talking about how you can enhance your kitchen
remodel by making the most out of integrating appliances in the room.
Read on to learn more!

6. PART II: COMPLEMENTING A KITCHEN REMODEL
With flow in and around your kitchen plotted out, it is now time to add
detailstotheworktriangle,ensuringthateachpointhaswhattheyneed
to function right. Failing to provide the right complements will affect
how you use your kitchen, leaving a negative impact on your remodel.
THE REFRIGERATOR
The refrigerator should have clear space for its door to swing open. To
ensure this, check that there are no cabinet doors in the refrigerator’s
immediate area to interfere with its operation. Ideally, there should also
be room for two people to access the appliance at the same time and
counter space beside it to facilitate putting in and taking out items from
the fridge.
THE SINK
The sink is your main area for washing and drying, and counter space at
either side of the sink should be allocated for these, whenever possible.
Typically, one side will be used for stacking dirty dishes, while the other
will be relegated to drying or making room for prep work. Because a lot
of prep work will occur a lot in a kitchen, the“dry”side of a sink should
be located between the sink and the cook top.

7. PART II: COMPLEMENTING A KITCHEN REMODEL
Your dishwasher will be best placed close to the sink, but you are free to
decide on which side to have it installed. Keep in mind as well that the
areas immediately above the sink, and in between the range and the
sink, are great places for cabinets for storing dishes and glassware, as
well as hooks for hanging pots and pans.
THE COOK TOP
You will typically want to install the cook top along an exterior wall to
make it easy to install a hood and ventilation system. Additionally, the
stove should have between 21 and 30 inches of overhead clearance for
accesstorearburnersandtohelptheventilationsystemworkefficiently.
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You’ve got your kitchen plotted and decked out, but what about your
storage spaces? In the next part, we’ll be dealing with pantries, an essential
part of your kitchen.

9. PART III: PANTRIES AND KITCHEN STORAGE
No discussion of kitchen remodeling would be complete without a
discussion of storage space. After all, not everything that you cook will
come from your refrigerator. Depending on the size and layout of your
kitchen, you may need more than one pantry for storing your groceries.
While certain items can be stored in shelves or cabinets near or around
your food prep or cook top areas, a dedicated storage space is still ideal.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
There are three things to keep in mind when designing or designating
pantry space: convenience, visibility, and accessibility. Convenience
refers to the pantry’s location. A pantry doesn’t have to be in the kitchen
itself, but it should be close enough, preferably adjacent to the room.
Visibility is concerned with how easy it is to spot the things that you
need from the pantry, while accessibility pertains to how easy it is to
get at those things. Ideally, you’ll want a pantry that’s nearby, fitted with
sufficientlightingtofindwhatyouneedquickly,andeasyenoughaccess
that taking items from the pantry will not impede kitchen activity.
PANTRY LOCATIONS
For ease of access, you’ll want a pantry close by where the items stored
in that pantry will be used. In certain instances, this may mean multiple
pantries, such as if you have a separate baking area from your “main”
kitchen. If that is the case, consider smaller pantries that you can put up
in several locations to facilitate access instead of one big pantry catering
to several food preparation areas.

10. PART III: PANTRIES AND KITCHEN STORAGE
LARDERS
Depending on how big you’re going to need your storage to be, you
may end up with a walk-in pantry, or larder, a room ideally adjacent
to your cooking area, for storing majority of items in your kitchen. For
more immediate food preparation needs, however, it may help to have
a trolley in your kitchen so you can easily access items, like herbs and
spices, that you commonly use.
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A remodel can open up your kitchen to a number of possibilities, each
one making your use of the room more enjoyable. Work with a reputable
contractorandyou’lldefinitelyfindsatisfactionindoingakitchenremodel.

11. Kitchen Tune-Up
of Riverside County
1231 S. Buena Vista, Suite K,
San Jacinto, CA 92583
(888) 761-0240
(951) 331-3090
KitchenTuneUpRC.com