Rental homes

Kitchen Work Zones for Rental homes

Arrange preparation, cooking and washing around the way meals are actually made, including more than one cook.

Explore the ideas
Straight kitchen with sage base cabinets, white wall units and under-cabinet lighting
Kitchen inspiration: a single-wall arrangement with task lighting.

Plan in this order

  1. Map the route from food storage to preparation, cooking and serving.
  2. Keep landing surfaces beside the appliances and sink that need them.
  3. 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
Keep movable prep and pantry storage clear of appliance access and the cooking route.
Detail
Use freestanding carts, removable shelf liners and plug-in task lights where appropriate.
Trade-off
Portable additions avoid permanent changes but can reduce already tight aisle space.
  • Confirm what may be attached or altered
  • Measure appliance access before adding carts
White L-shaped kitchen with gold-tone handles, under-cabinet lighting and a chimney
Kitchen inspiration: an L-shaped work surface and integrated lighting.

The Elixir portfolio

Details worth a closer look

Photographs for design inspiration
Parallel kitchen with teal cabinets, a pale backsplash and profile lighting
Kitchen inspiration: two opposing work runs in a compact plan.
L-shaped kitchen with pale green lower cabinets, white upper cabinets and a tiled backsplash
Kitchen inspiration: a light palette and continuous counter run.

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