10 tips to set up an ergonomic kitchen
Cooking can be more fun and stress-free if you have a well organized kitchen where you don’t have to bend, stretch, twist or turn to reach out to things. Even your modular kitchen can give you trouble sometimes (e. g. if you have cupboards instead of drawers beneath your kitchen counter, sometimes it will be difficult to keep smaller kitchen accessories in the cupboard).
A well-designed kitchen makes a huge difference. By applying some modern techniques, you can transform your regular kitchen into an ergonomic kitchen. An ergonomic kitchen is nothing but a well designed kitchen that makes your job easy and increases your productivity in the kitchen. Here are few tips on how to set up an ergonomic kitchen.
10 tips for Ergonomic comfort in the kitchen
Decide on counter heights – If the counter height is too high or too low, it makes the cutting and cooking task difficult. You can decide the height of your kitchen counter according to your height, or depending upon the average height of your family members.
Say yes to drawers, no to doors – The only drawback of a door is that you have to crawl inside the cabinet to get the required item; instead you can have different sized drawers to keep the small appliances, cookware, plates and crockery separately. You can opt for doors for the cabinet for the upper part of the kitchen.
Have more counter space near the stove – If you don’t leave any space near the stove, it is difficult to keep the vessels. Suppose, you are preparing three/four food items, you need to have enough space near the stove to keep both the cooked and non-cooked items.
Have enough light – A bright, well-lit kitchen can boost your enthusiasm to cook or do things.
Keep plates/utensils on both sides of the sink – It’s easier to keep and manage the utensils. As soon as you clean the utensils you can keep at both sides.
Keep less used items on the upper cupboards – Less used items can be kept in the upper cupboards and frequently used things can be kept in the drawers.
Wooden or rubber flooring – You should choose a flooring which is easy on legs and feet such as using wood or rubber materials for flooring rather having ceramic tiles or marbles. Also, you can keep small mats or rugs at different strategic areas such as near the sink, counter or store.
Multi-layer storage – If you store all your kitchen items in one drawer, it will make your job tough. Have multi-layered storage facilities. The multi-tiered storage racks can save you from bending down or leaning too deeply into the lower or upper cabinets.
Be creative about your storage – You can store the heavy items in the lower cabinets to avoid over-stretching. And also, you can keep the frequently used items in the front and the less used items in the back of the cupboard or drawer.
Keep/Install electric appliances at strategic places – You can install a wall oven as per your convenience and height. Also, you can choose a bottom-freezer refrigerator for better access of refrigerated items or vegetables.
