By Lois O’Malley
It’s not impossible to design a kitchen that will serve both as an intimate gathering place for your family as well as the stage for big parties.
The secret lies in the optimization of the layout and the use of the island.
LAYOUT OPTIMIZATION
The kitchen should be designed with three function stations in mind: the Prep Station, the Cooking Station and the Clean-up Station. In the Prep Area you want to have the refrigerator, ample counter space (with a cutting board and a good set of knives) and a prep sink in close proximity. The Cooking Station should be relatively close to this area and should include cooktop, oven, and storage space for pots, pans and cooking utensils within arm’s reach (or at least as close as possible, depending on the size of the kitchen.) The Clean-up Station can be on the other side of the kitchen and should include the main sink, trash and recycling bins and the dishwasher.
If these stations are clearly delineated, your kitchen will be well equipped to handle as few as two people and as many as two hundred; it’s all about the functional setup and flow of the kitchen.
For example, during large gatherings you may have “help” working in the kitchen. With clearly defined stations, you can easily assign people to certain areas of the kitchen based on their tasks. This will ensure that all kitchen activities will run like an assembly line, with certain people solely responsible for preparation, cooking or clean-up. When people are assigned to specific duties, they focus on them only and, providing they have everything they need within reach, they stay in one place, which makes each station more efficient and the whole kitchen less chaotic.
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