On the way to your individual, ergonomic kitchen planning, you must make critical preliminary considerations. Your individual needs are decisive: factors such as your life situation or your habits when preparing food, cooking, or washing up. In this way, the actual space and storage space requirements can be better estimated, and the equipment of the kitchen areas can be appropriately selected.
Ergonomic kitchen planning ensures enough space to move around and for storage in your everyday kitchen life. The prerequisite for this is that you are aware of your habits and processes in the kitchen.
The following are decisive for ergonomic kitchen planning:
- Your space requirements in the kitchen
- Your workflows when working in the kitchen
QUESTION 1: HOW MUCH SPACE DO YOU NEED IN YOUR KITCHEN?
Even small kitchens with just a few square meters offer enough space for a one-person household. The more people live together, the greater space requires. A home with children has different criteria for planning a family kitchen from a couple.
For older adults or those people with limited mobility, on the other hand, it is necessary to pay attention to accessibility when planning the kitchen.
Different life situations call for different planning concepts.
QUESTION 2: WHICH TASKS ARE REPEATED IN YOUR KITCHEN DAILY LIFE?
The kitchen work or everyday kitchen life consists of regularly recurring activities. To that end, kitchen planning should be optimized, and you become aware of your daily habits in the kitchen.
- Do you cook a lot and need groceries and utensils within easy reach?
- Or do you attach great importance to regular breakfast and need all the equipment under your control?
In a need-oriented and functionally planned kitchen, routine activities are run at will by users of the kitchen themselves.
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QUESTION 3: WHERE DO YOU NEED TO CREATE STORAGE SPACE, AND HOW MUCH STORAGE SPACE DO YOU NEED IN YOUR KITCHEN?
If you know your processes in the kitchen, you can also plan where you need to create storage space and how much storage space you need. Thanks to foresighted planning, storage space can be created in the kitchen where required. These requirements flow into the planning of the kitchen zones and the selection of the kitchen equipment.
The built-in fittings and furniture functions are essential for optimum storage space because they make opening and closing the kitchen cabinets more accessible. Ergo, you can get what you need more conveniently and faster.
The interior of the kitchen furniture is also an essential ergonomic factor because it allows you to better organize the space inside the kitchen cupboards and create more storage space in a small area.
Each kitchen zone should be planned according to individual usage habits for simple work processes. In any case, let your kitchen consultant or planner know about your individual needs and habits.
4 PRACTICAL PLANNING TIPS FOR ROUTINE TASKS IN THE KITCHEN
TIP 1: Dishes near the dishwasher
The dishes should be kept near the dishwasher to speed up emptying the dishwasher. Short distances are guaranteed if the base or wall cabinets are placed cleverly.
TIP 2: Storage space near the hob or stove
If you cook constantly, it makes sense to plan enough storage space to accommodate your cooking utensils near the hob or stove. Depending upon how much storage space you require for this, you can choose the depth and height of the kitchen cabinets, i.e., the storage volume, when planning the kitchen.
TIP 3: Storage space near the work surface
For example, when preparing a salad, you should keep the necessary kitchen utensils close to the work surface where you prepare the salad. As a result, use wall cupboards above the worktop as storage space or the rear wall. For example, set up a railing system as additional storage space.
TIP 4: Keep breakfast items near the fridge
Anyone who eats breakfast should heed the following tip: Keep everything you need for breakfast conveniently close to the fridge, so everything is easily and immediately available ready to hand. Then, you would have more time to enjoy your breakfast. The size of drawers or pull-outs depends on the number of breakfast utensils.
