The Family Kitchen

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As the kitchen becomes the place where families gather, designers respond with novel approaches to make it all work.

THERE’S NO DISPUTING THAT THE KITCHEN HAS BECOME THE HUB OF family life: a place to gather and entertain, cook and eat, do homework, even surf the Internet and watch TV. No longer is the stereotypical mom isolated in the kitchen cooking and cleaning while everyone else has fun elsewhere. The kitchen of today may be open to a family or great room, serve as the primary dining space, accommodate multiple cooks, and incorporate a wider variety of appliances than our ancestors ever envisioned. But with the expansion of roles (and square feet) in the modern-day kitchen, ideas about the best and most functional layout need to be adapted as well. Some of the most sacred rules no longer apply.

“The infamous work triangle is an outdated concept,” says kitchen designer Sara Busby, Certified Kitchen Designer (CKD), in Elk Rapids, Michigan, a past president of the National Kitchen and Bath Association. Though the sink-refrigerator-stove trinity was once the holy grail of efficient kitchen design,“Now there’s often more than one person cooking; there are more appliances, such as the microwave, and new tasks, such as recycling. There are more kids cooking and helping,” says Busby. “Maybe there are two intersecting triangles, with the sink as a common point, or maybe the triangle isn’t as relevant anymore.”

One thing is certain, however: With more people, activities, and time spent in the kitchen, good layout and design become even more important—to keep everyone out of the cook’s way while still allowing for interaction and open communication. Here are our design experts’ four key areas to address in creating a functional family kitchen.

Island living

 One of the most popular and simplest ways to help zone the kitchen is through the introduction of an island. “The vast majority of people we work with want an island,” says Busby, “and it’s a wonderful solution to help divide areas of activity, but still have the kitchen feel open. It’s more family-friendly than a peninsula, which only has one way in and out and causes congestion.” A well-designed island can provide an extra workstation for additional helpers, and can also encourage kids and guests to congregate on one side, and insulate the cook, and cooking activities, on the other side.

How much space do you need in your kitchen to have an island? One of the most important considerations is allowing for ample walkways and room around the island. The minimum size for a comfortable island is about four feet long and at least two feet deep, so unless your kitchen is at least 8’ x 12’, an island probably isn’t an option, though you might consider a rolling cart on casters or a tall pub table where you can both eat and prep food. In terms of minimum clearances and adequate traffic flow, it depends on the function of the island and the appliances around it. See “Sizing the Island,” opposite, for guidelines.

Once you’ve determined the size and location of the island, you can design its function and storage to help reinforce traffic patterns and activity zones. For example, on the outer side of the island, away from the cooking area, place drawers, cabinets or open shelves designed to store kids’ snacks and art and homework supplies. (These ideas can also apply to kitchens without an island.) Kitchen designer Jennifer Howard, of Rye, New York, who is herself a mother of five, likes to establish “a kids’ zone that will function whether the children are 3 or 13, where kids and guests can help themselves so they’re not in the work area. Ideally we’ll put in some kind of beverage fridge. Refrigerator drawers are expensive; it can just be a 24-inch under-counter mini fridge that holds drinks, yogurts, even popsicles if there’s a freezer compartment. We’ll add a snack drawer for the Goldfish, pretzels, granola bars, etc. I put plastic cups and plates; sports bottles, paper plates and napkins in those cabinets as well. The microwave can also go nearby, so when the kids are old enough to make popcorn or heat up a snack, they can do it without getting in the way.” Sara Busby likes the Sharp microwave drawer, which is easy to house and access from an island or base cabinet.

A second sink, whether full-size or a bar/prep sink, can help make an island more functional as a second workstation, where a spouse or kids can help wash, peel and chop food, or help with dish rinsing and clean-up. Again, think about the activities that will take place there and plan accordingly. Store or incorporate cutting boards, paring knives, or dishwashing supplies near the island sink so everything needed is right at hand. Dishwashers can also often fit comfortably into a large island. One appliance that most designers agree probably should not go in an island, at least in family kitchens, is the cooktop, because it’s too easy for stray hands to get burned.

“If it’s a smaller island, with an active family, I won’t put anything on the island surface,” says Busby. “That way it has the most flexibility, to work for dining, food prep, homework,” or a serving buffet for entertaining.

Finally, many families like to add bar seating at the island if it’s large enough. “Stools are great for young families because kids like to climb up and sit, but baby boomers and older folks are less likely to use them,” finds Busby. Both she and Jennifer Howard recommend placing seating along two sides of a corner if possible, so everyone isn’t “lined up like soldiers, but able to have eye contact,” says Busby. For the most comfortable seating, choose stools with upholstered seats. “You don’t need stools for the whole family,” advises Howard. “Have one for each kid, or have a couple for friends to sip wine and chat while you’re cooking. If you have room for a kitchen table, that’s a much more comfortable place to sit and eat meals.”

Appliance Arrangements

Even though the work triangle may be outmoded, and whether you have an island or not, where you place your appliances in the kitchen is still crucial. “Keep the sink and refrigerator close to each other and out of traffic,” advises designer Lyn Peterson, author of Real Life Kitchens (Clarkson Potter). “The sink is the single most-used element in the kitchen; the average family of four opens the refrigerator 68 times a day! Lesser-used appliances like the oven and cooktop can be placed farther afield.” Sophie Dassesse-Cowles, a Larchmont, New York, mother of three, zoned her kitchen so cooking (cooktop, oven, refrigerator, main sink and microwave) is concentrated at one end, and clean-up (dishwasher, island sink, plates and glasses) is clustered at the other. “That—and a beverage fridge—keep us out of each other’s way,” she says.

Open Flow

 In addition to an island, what most families want when renovating or building a new kitchen is openness— which can mean a connection to the family room or great room, so mom or dad can keep an eye on kids watching TV or doing homework on the computer, as well as a feeling of light and airiness. “The kitchen itself is becoming a family room,” says Minnesota designer and stylist Barb Schmidt. It might even have a loveseat or upholstered chairs, a fireplace or TV. “Natural light is important to a feeling of openness and flow,” says Schmidt. “Upper cabinets are going away, to allow room for more windows. Walk-in pantries are one of the most requested features now, to reduce the number of cabinets needed for food storage. So instead of dark wood-filled walls, the kitchen now looks more like other rooms in the home.”

Some designers are encountering a backlash against total openness to a great room, however, because noise, light and odors tend to travel through the space, and cavernous spaces can lack intimacy. Generous door-ways, half walls or pass-throughs can create a feeling of openness while still providing some separation. In an open room, “proper ventilation and lighting are key,” says Schmidt. “Lighting should be task-oriented and directional, not a huge flood of light everywhere. And there are great new ventilation options that come up out of the counter or hang discreetly from the ceiling.”

Satellite Spaces

SEPARATE SPACES FOR SPECIFIC FUNCTIONS,  placed away from the hard-working heart of the kitchen, can also help make kitchens work better for families. For example: A WALK-IN PANTRY provides generous storage in a cost-effective way because it’s less expensive than building in cabinetry. In addition to dry food and paper-goods storage, a pantry can also serve as a home for large platters and serving pieces, entertaining supplies, less frequently used appliances (such as a mixer, blender, bread maker or panini maker), and recycling. “The pantry shouldn’t have open food in it, though,” advises Howard. “That just invites kids to make a mess, and you end up with open, stale boxes of food and mice. Once the boxes are opened, there needs to be space to store them in the kitchen proper.”

A DESK OR COMMUNICATION STATION. A home office in the kitchen tends to be a clutter magnet, but ideally there should be a landing space, either in the mudroom or kitchen, with drawers for school/office supplies, perhaps a file drawer or baskets for papers in transition, and a bulletin board (or the inside of a cabinet door) to post calendars and school notices. Equally important these days is an ample-sized charging station. Jennifer Howard likes to put this in the mudroom if possible, and place an outlet in each child’s cubby, so she can see at a glance who’s forgotten their cell phone or who’s snuck their iPod up to bed with them. Lyn Peterson espouses the “desklet”—“not a serious desk, more like a message center—a place to check the schedule, albeit an electronic one. Just room for the laptop—not the printer and fax—with perhaps a bulletin board or bookshelves above.” If you need serious workspace, create a separate home office rather than trying to shoehorn it into the kitchen.

THE BOTTOM LINE: “There’s so much time spent in the kitchen that if it’s not comfortable and functional, it compromises not only your home but its resale value,” says Barbara Schmidt. By making it open, organizing it around function, and directing traffic flow well, you can create a kitchen that everyone can be in without driving each other crazy. As the cliché goes, “Everyone always ends up in the kitchen,” so why not plan for that and make it a pleasure?