Kitchen 2

With my post, people told that there is an optimal kitchen design. Not sure this can be implemented in an apartment, but it is good to work from this “template”. I shall implement this in our new kitchen where it has an island.

If you understand the basic principles of kitchen layout will help take much of the mystery out of the design process. The most basic layout principle is the work triangle. The work triangle is the line drawn from each of the three primary work stations in the kitchen – the food storage, cooktop, and sink. By drawing these lines, you can see the distance you’ll walk to move to and from each area.

The sum of the ideal triangle is supposed to be between 15 and 22 feet, putting each of the three appliances within two or three steps of one another.

Restroom Door

I wonder why all the restroom doors open inside… meaning there is a handle inside the bathroom. (Maybe I am not aware of the ones that open by pushing from inside, so let me know if anybody sees it!) You have to wash your hands and then you have to pull a handle to open the door. I hope everybody washes their hands,  but especially at a public restroom where they don’t look so clean, I hate to touch the handle. I wonder if there is any regulations about which side the door has to open, but I wonder if the sanitation and user experience was considered for designing doors of public restrooms.

Kitchen

We have been complaining about our kitchen space for a while. It’s too small for two people to do any major cooking. But as I thought about it more carefully, the flaw is not only on the layout and design of the appliances, but it is also on how I placed and stocked utensils, pots and pans, cooking materials and seasonings in this kitchen….  

Our kitchen while cooking is happening.

our kitchen

Structurally, it’s not much space. And the stove is placed at a corner which does not allow much space for cutting or keeping ingredients. But let’s think about the placement of all the cooking materials in this kitchen. The left shelf, I use it for a pantry and stock things like pasta or chicken stocks. The next two, I place things like glasses and coffee cups, but I also store seasonings because while I am cooking I have to reach out to them. And on top of the stove, I place things that I don’t use at all (or something I occasionally use), and on the right I place plates. Under the stove, I store all the pots and pans and seasoning like oil, vinegar, and soy sauce (because we buy big bottles, they do not fit on cabinets that are three levels). It seems reasonable placement, but it becomes such a chaos as one is always trying to reach out either the seasoning, pots, or dishes (to try to set a table) while the other is standing right in front of the stove cooking the meal. This provides distractions to the workflow of the chef, but multi-tasking is necessary. This becomes even more chaotic if we have to open a dishwasher while cooking. 

Since we will be moving to a new apartment at the end of the summer, what I am determined to do is try to use the new kitchen and cook some meals first, trying to understand how I would use the kitchen before deciding where to place all my utensils, pots and pans, and seasonings. I have to understand my own workflow and needs to create a me-friendly environment for our own kitchen. 

Hakusan Tea Cup

Tea cups that were given as gifts are modern and useful. It has indentations to place your fingers to hold a cup better.   I found a website that shows similar design.

hakusan tea cup

 

 

However, one thing doesn’t work well. In terms of ergonomics, you can’t pore any hot tea into this. The cup is so thin that it gets too hot to place fingers as designed!!! So although it is beautifully designed and feels very cool, it can’t be used as an everyday tea cup.