Learn to design island kitchens
Right ambience: Let the cooking area develop a personality of its own
Would you fancy a work atmosphere where the wall looms down on you just a couple of feet from your nose? Not many would get inspired to bring out their best when facing the wall. Well, a good number of us feel the same way - pushed to the wall - while cooking.
Perhaps it is the ambience and the infrastructure of the place that is to be blamed, rather than the process of cooking itself.
And should a kitchen be reserved for cooking alone? Should kitchen counters be necessarily pushed to the walls? Not necessarily, and in today’s time-cramped milieu, island kitchen counters provide you just the right ambience to use both your kitchen and your cooking time to the hilt.
Design
Island counters can be set in kitchens measuring at least 15 X 15 sq. ft. As for the dimensions of these counters themselves, an area of 5 X 2 sq. ft. is the benchmark. The counter need not necessarily span a rectangular area. It can be circular, boat shaped, or even wavy.
The design depends on the purpose, depending on whether you intend to reserve this space as the cooking hub, the sink and the food processing area, or to use up the space as a breakfast counter which could double up as a study table for the children to do their homework on while you whip up their dinner.
A breakfast counter should have both leg space and storage areas underneath. Storage should be planned for books and/or cutlery, and the ingredients required to make up a quick breakfast.
The counter need not be very broad, and can be functional with just four feet by two feet of space. Electrical wiring can be drawn from underground to power appliances such as coffee pot and toaster.
When you reserve the island counter for the sink and food processing, you designate this area the wet zone, which can go a long way in keeping the rest of the kitchen dry.
If the idea is to use this space as the cooking hub, add an overhead chimney suspended from the ceiling to take care of the smoke. Provide storage space underneath the counter for the dust bin and gas cylinders.
The counter can be topped with granite, corian or tiles. For more space, you can place a glass tier over the counter top, held by stainless steel supports.
HEMA VIJAY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Property Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Kochi
Thiruvananthapuram
