Do you have a pass-through kitchen? It can be convenient for the kitchen to serve as a walkway between the main home and the back door or garage, but it often turns out to be very inconvenient. How can you reduce or control the extra foot traffic of people coming and going while others work in the kitchen? Here are a few ways to manage it.
1. Widen the Aisles
One of the easiest ways to make pass-through traffic less annoying is to add space for everyone to pass comfortably. In a galley kitchen, for instance, you might simply add a couple of feet to the width to make things better. Square-shaped kitchens may need to reconsider the value of the island instead.
2. Move the Work Triangle
If you can't keep people from walking through the kitchen, why not move the work away from traffic? The kitchen work triangle consists of the stovetop, sink, and refrigerator. Can you move your work triangle to a different side of the kitchen—perhaps utilizing the other half of an island—to reduce conflicts during food prep?
3. Reroute Foot Traffic
Perhaps you can't (or don't want to) move the location of the kitchen work triangle. In this case, consider ways to shunt foot traffic to where it's less inconvenient. A strategically-placed peninsula, for example, forms an organic barrier that moves people to a route you want them to take. Use such a device to shift foot traffic to the other side of the island and out of the way of the cooks.
4. Move the Exit Door
Don't overlook the option of keeping traffic out of the kitchen entirely by moving the exit door that everyone uses. This may be a more complicated solution than redesigning the kitchen layout, but it can also be a simpler solution depending on your home. You might find that shifting a single doorway or wall could solve the problem.
5. Streamline Traffic
Finally, can you accept the need to have foot traffic but make it fast and easy? Streamlined traffic paths help people get in and out with as few potential conflict points as possible. For instance, a straight line is the most efficient and fastest route between two points. If you move the exit door to a location where people can access it in a straight line from the kitchen entry point, everyone wins.
Where to Learn More
Solving a problem like a choke point in the kitchen can be complicated. It may take some creative thinking. Get help with yours by meeting with a residential kitchen design remodeling contractor in your area today.
