It doesn't have to be big, just smart

People sometimes think that a good kitchen design means restaurant style stoves, huge refrigerators, or granite counters.

But there is a much more important feature which every well designed kitchen has to have. That is a food prep area, 30” to 48” wide, that is but a step or two away from the sink, and but a step or two at most to the cooktop. The spatial relationship is essential.

This work area will have a counter at the right height, and usually a set of drawers below, where the most-used gear is stored. Often above this counter will be convenient storage for the most-used ingredients: salt, pepper, oil, and so on.

If your kitchen has this, it can be a pleasure to work in, large or small. If not, no granite tops or restaurant style stoves will make it an efficient workplace. When I design kitchens, I start here.

I see a lot of kitchens, including new, expensive ones, that don't have this. Often the stove and sink are jammed close together, and the work counters are somewhere else, out in the wings of the layout. Sometimes this happens because people believe that the stove has to be on the outside wall (to have a hood), and that the sink has to be under a window. Neither of these things are true. I say, get the layout right, move a window if that's called for, and get the new stove, or new floor, later.

If you have this well organized food prep area, you have a pretty good kitchen. If you have a second prep area (also handy to the stove) and a “well organized cleanup-and-dish-storage center” at the sink, you are on your way to a great kitchen, that will be a pleasure to work in.