Independent homes
Kitchen Work Zones for Independent homes
Arrange preparation, cooking and washing around the way meals are actually made, including more than one cook.
Explore the ideas
Plan in this order
- Map the route from food storage to preparation, cooking and serving.
- Keep landing surfaces beside the appliances and sink that need them.
- Test two people working at once and remove crossing paths where possible.
Worked example
Two cooks make breakfast together, but one must cross behind the other to reach the refrigerator.
Map the actual food-to-prep-to-cook sequence and move the most-used ingredients closer to prep, leaving a separate pass-through.
How to test it
Rehearse a typical meal with cabinet doors and appliance fronts open.
Apply it to this space
- Layout
- Separate hot cooking, wet cleanup and pantry access; keep the yard route clear of the work zone.
- Detail
- Use robust counter surfaces, task lighting and a ventilated pantry for dry goods.
- Trade-off
- An open kitchen improves connection but carries cooking noise and smells into living space.
- Trace grocery and waste routes
- Check daylight and exhaust outlet location
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