7 Tips For Designing An Indian Kitchen

Kitchen designing is crucial for any house. As it involves a lot of movement. Things should be in proper place which would help it to be more accessible while cooking. Even a kitchen that is too narrow or too small could be smartly designed to avoid unnecessary tension or clumsiness while cooking.

Indian cooking involves usage of a lot of oils and spices in our kitchen. We also need proper spacing as we use a lot of appliances regularly. We need the traditional mixie, grinder and fridge, as well as the modern appliances like microwave, OTG, induction stove, dishwasher, and the list is endless...

7 Tips For Designing An Indian Kitchen

1. Studying the layout

First, trace your steps for each task as you layout the kitchen. This would help you to know what to put where. This would also ensure that you have space for everything that you already have and for things that you may need in future. For example, if you have a microwave, refrigerator and a grinder/ mixie. You may have to create space for each of it to enable the effortless use of each appliance. If you plan to get any other appliance like an OTG or a Dishwasher, you may have to create the space while planning the layout. This is the thing that decides

2. Design thumb rules that you shouldn’t ignore

After studying the layout, you need to understand certain thumb rules that are necessary for a kitchen. There is something called as “working triangle” that would help you to put the hob, the fridge and the sink at the right place. Understanding the work triangle is really important, it is based on the type of kitchen you have

Parallel kitchen - An equilateral triangle (same distance in all three areas.)

Straight kitchen - Perpendicular (aligned two areas same and fridge perpendicular)

L-kitchen- 90-degree angle triangle.

Island Kitchen: Hob or serving area is considered on a different platform termed as an island. Then leave the same distance from the island to the sink and hob to form a triangle.

3. Things to avoid in kitchen

There are many things that you really need and things that you don’t in a kitchen. Now, the modular kitchen offers innovative solutions to many challenges that we face in a kitchen. For example, it is really difficult to handle corner space in a kitchen. Magic trays are designed to help us to use the corner space effectively. But, if you have more than one corner in the kitchen, having two magic trays would add up to the budget.

Moreover, it may seem unnecessary if you are not familiar to handle these type of cabinets. So, leaving it as a shelf would actually double up the purpose. We can store a lot of things in a corner space without the magic trays.

4. Size of sink and drain board

This depends on the size of the family. If you have a big family, then it is advisable to go for a big sink. If you have separate service area in your kitchen, then it is better to have two sinks. This would really ease the flow of washing dishes. It is really important to have a drain board, if you do not want water to seep into the cabinets below the sink!

5. Double lip slabs

Kitchen slabs help in preventing excess water or any liquid from seeping onto the cabinets below. In this design, instead of adding a granite skirting on the slab, it is attached below the slab. This avoids dirt or insects from entering the joints of the skirting. It also looks aesthetically pleasing.

6. Wood Vs Steel

I would strongly recommend steel kitchen for it is easy to maintain, prevents insects and long life. One of the main disadvantages of a steel kitchen is its price. It is far too expensive than the wooden kitchen. Another disadvantage in steel kitchen is the lack of choice when it comes to colors.

Wooden cabinets are the best if you want a colorful kitchen. It is a little difficult to maintain the wood, even though is water resistant, would give a bad stench in a long run. The Wooden kitchen also serves as a breeding place for insects. So, it is better to have spray insect repellents every month.

Though wood is widely used, there are many other materials that could be used for a modular kitchen. This infographic deals with the top 5 types of modular kitchen cabinets that are widely available in Chennai.

7. Hob, Chimney, and Exhaust

These three play a very important role in a kitchen. It is mandatory to have a chimney in a modular kitchen. Indian cooking involves a lot of oils, You do not want oil deposits everywhere in your kitchen, do you? So, it is advisable to buy chimney (buy chimney online Chennai). We get a lot of  chimney and hob combo offers. If you have decided to buy both, then look for best combo offers from many brands.

Another important thing is an exhaust fan, though not compulsory. It is advisable to have an exhaust fan in the kitchen. This helps in getting rid of hot air in the kitchen. If your kitchen is too small and hot air gets trapped easily, then it is best to install an exhaust fan as well.

One thing that we completely ignore, is the water that goes as wastage from our RO plants. If we can create a provision to store the water and use it for other purposes like watering plants or washing clothes. This would make us a responsible citizen and also is a small contribution to the environment from our side.