The Kitchen - Page 2


Major Project Article
JAN/FEB 2004 Volume 47/Issue 1 *IN THIS ISSUE* Project Articles • A New Kitchen • Wooden Utensil Rack & Knife Block/Cutting Board • Gallery Rail Paper Towel Holder *DEPARTMENTS* • Ask Smitty • Owner’s Gallery • Letters from Owners • New Baby Workshop Calendar Academy Notes Clean Cuts - Pt. 4- Using Oriental Waterstones Service Pointers Keeping Your MARK V Running Smoothly Safety Tips Router Safety What's New Bandsaw Cover and 6" Drum Sander Sleeves *EDUCATION* • Find A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You • National Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH *ONLINE CATALOGS* • Online Accessory Catalog • Request Printed Accessory Catalog • Online Replacement Parts Catalog *MARK V INFORMATION* • Find A Shopsmith MARK V Demo Near You • Request MARK V Information Package *LINKS* • Links Worth Visiting • Free Woodworking Tips *FEEDBACK* Contacting Shopsmith Copyright 2003. Shopsmith, Inc. All Rights Reserved
	The Kitchen - Part One Kitchen Design Tips

	It's often been said that “man cannot live without a kitchen”. Whether it be a clearing with a campfire along a gurgling stream or the most modern, up-to-date kitchen imaginable, we depend on kitchens for our daily sustenance. It is for this reason that your kitchen is likely to be your most important - and most revealing - room in the house. Kitchens help us satisfy our most basic human desire - SURVIVAL - and they have always reflected our lifestyles. During the “pioneer days”, kitchens were set up in the backs of wagons, providing mobility as we marched Westward. Later, as pioneers became settlers, the kitchen became the focal point for many family activities. This was especially true during he Winter months, as it was often the only source of heat for the household. A study of an authentic early American kitchen would disclose some interesting details about the lives and lifestyles of its inhabitants. As houses grew in size, kitchens began to reflect a more independent lifestyle. They were often set at the back of the house to isolate smoke and the smells of garbage while the home's occupants were busy elsewhere. In many cases, separate “Summer kitchens” were built apart from the main residence to contain the heat of cooking. In those days, kitchens were rarely visited by more than the cook, the iceman and the servants. Today, we spend more of our waking hours in the kitchen than any other room in the house. As always, modern kitchens reflect our personal tastes and habits. So, if you're thinking about remodeling your kitchen, here are some guidelines to help you tailor a kitchen to suit you and your family's lifestyle. Begin with an evaluation If you haven't already done so, you should start your re-design with a careful evaluation of your normal kitchen activities. Is there more than one cook in your household? Does your family gather here for three meals a day...or in a separate dining room? Is your kitchen well-trafficked - or perhaps too well-trafficked? Are your dining habits informal or formal? Do you have a regular dining schedule, or does it vary significantly from day-to-day? Do you do a lot of entertaining...with many people in attendance or just a few? Don't forget to consider the appliances you'll need to make meal preparation convenient for you. Large capacity oven or small? What kinds of specialized countertop appliances will you need and how much space will you need to store them? Pasta-maker? Bread-maker? Toaster Oven? Now is the perfect time to plan for the accommodation of any new appliances you have been wanting. As you evaluate your objectives and the resources you have to work with, your kitchen design should begin to come into focus for you. The Work Triangle As any expert will tell you, optimal kitchen efficiency depends on a Work Triangle composed of the three primary kitchen areas...the stove, the refrigerator and the sink. The total distance around this Work Triangle should be between 12 and 22 feet. Designers recommend 4 to 7 feet between the sink and the refrigerator; 4 to 6 feet from sink to stove or cooktop; and 4 to 9 feet from cooktop to refrigerator. Such a triangle arranges the appliances, countertop and storage spaces carefully to minimize travel around the kitchen during food preparation...and maximize efficiency. This design process can be simplified by transferring your kitchen layout to graph paper containing 1/4" squares, with each square representing one foot. If you're planning to use this approach, we suggest that you also cut out scaled-to-shape appliances that you can move around from location-to-location on your layout without having to re-draw it. An excellent alternative, of course, is to get your hands on one of the great, inexpensive computer software programs developed especially for kitchen design. They make easy work of creating an exciting and efficient design. Continue . . .
		View Plans & Assembly Drawings • Work Triangle Diagram • Fig. 1 • Fig. 2 • Fig. 3 • Fig. 4 • Fig. 5 • Corner Joint Detail • Cabinet Door Frame Assembly • Assembly of Molding on Penn. Dutch • Penn. Dutch Pattern • Punched Tin Pattern Printer Friendly PDF copy of Instructions (776K)