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The National Kitchen and Bath Association Guidelines

© Brian Mahoney

Several months ago, I mentioned the NKBA Guidelines for kitchen design. The NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association) sets out fairly explicit standards for it’s designers. In principle this is an excellent idea since kitchens, as well as being fun and full of life if designed correctly, are also work areas where one would find both very hot things and very sharp things.

In principle, this is a very noble concept. In fact, kitchens can only be designed around the space that architects and builders allot for them and this is, all to frequently, far too small and poorly laid out. Take a look at some designs in the ads for new homes and condos in your area. I think what you will find is that the kitchen area is seemingly left to the last in the design process and compared to other living areas is very small.

Traffic patterns which are created by placement of doors and ancillary rooms, also create havoc in the kitchen design process. Traffic affects islands, peninsulas and eating areas as well as placement of cooking appliances and microwaves. You simply don’t want your cooktop or range in the middle of a traffic area, but you do want your refrigerator and microwave near the traffic area so as to minimize interruptions in the cooking routine.

What does all of this have to do with the NKBA? Well, if you read the guidelines at their site,

http://www.nkba.com/trade/BusManDT_KBPla...

you’ll find all the details you need to lay out your perfect kitchen. Spacing of appliances, how to design the famous triangle of cooktop, fridge and sink plus details on traffic areas, widths and so on are all covered in detail.

The easiest and fastest way to review the guidelines is to read them in the PDF format which requires that you have the free Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your computer. You can also follow the links as you would on any site but the PDF format is much simpler and faster, in my opinion.

Hopefully, if you are designing your new home from scratch, you will take my advice and design your kitchen first. Planning the house around your kitchen will make your life so much easier when all is said and done. Additionally, you will the thrill of knowing that you have designed your home in exactly the opposite manner from most designers!

I hope you have enjoyed this month’s article. See you next month!

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