Continuing with the series focused on health & wellness called, Ergonomics.
In the previous series you read about –
- It is dangerous if you neglect this One thing
- How to have proper posture while reading, writing & watching
- Best practices to increase work efficiency
- Whether to push or pull a load & now the most important part in a house, the kitchen.
A kitchen is a cooking place, store room, dining room, family room, working place & thus an important place in the house.
The kitchen is said to be the heart of the house.
But do you feel exhausted after working in the kitchen?
It could be either you are moving a lot or standing still.
There are guidelines to minimize the stress in a kitchen & enjoy cooking.
In general, kitchen counter top height is between 28 to 34 inches. If necessary, customize it as per your height.
Kitchen is divided into 3 areas & are collectively called as “kitchen work triangle” in architectural terms.
Let us see them in detail & their relation with each other.
1. Storage
Cook top includes stove/cooking range, microwave, oven, etc.
It also includes preparation area which in turn includes chopping, kneading, grinding, etc
This area needs to be clutter free as it requires more platform space.
Points to remember:
- Towels, dish soap, and sponges should be near the sink.
- Oils, spices, pots, pans, and cooking utensils should be within reach of the stove.
- Knives, peelers, and cutting boards should be near the food preparation counter.
In kitchen work triangle, when an imaginary line is drawn connecting three of them it should form a triangle as shown in the pic.
The distance between refrigerator (storage), sink (washing) & stove (cooking) should be between 4 to 9 feet apart.
The total length of all three must not be less than 13 feet & not more than 26 feet.
There should not be any obstacle along the triangle.
When kitchen is planned as per ergonomics,
- It helps to reduce work fatigue
- It helps to prevent accidents
- Helps the cook to be more organised
- Kitchen would be much cleaner & easier to work
Along with the work triangle, there are many other important things included in an ergonomic kitchen which I will cover in the next blog.
So keep watching this space..
Reinforcement time:
Why there should not be any obstacle along the work triangle?