Travertine Backsplash: Get the basics right
Using travertine in your kitchen could be a really good idea. It looks gorgeous, elegant and classy. And it can protect your kitchen's walls from moisture and food splatters for years. It's both functional and beautiful, making it an ideal choice.
That said, here are a few ideas that will help you design a pretty backsplash, and keep it that way for a lifetime.
The very first thing you might want to remember when it comes to designing kitchens is that the food preparation area should be very easily accessible. To some, this might seem ridiculous. After all, everyone does that, right? No. Not all kitchens are designed in this way. This is especially true when amateurs try their hand at designing kitchens. You would want to read some material on designing kitchens - specifically, about the work triangle. Get this right, and working in your kitchen will not be a hassle.
Now, what does this have to do with your backsplash? More than you may think. If working in your kitchen is a hassle and you hate doing it, do you think you will take the time to clean the backsplash each time you prepare food? Not a chance.
Travertine is a kind of limestone. It's beautiful, but it is also porous. It's easy to damage it with food stains if you do not clean it right after preparing food.
Which is why you will want to get the basics right. Make it very easy to work in your kitchen, and chances are your backsplash will last for a lifetime.
The Work Triangle
The triangle formed between the cooking range, dishwasher / sink and the refrigerator in your kitchen is referred to as the work triangle. Of course, this does not apply if your kitchen is single walled.
There are several rules of thumb to be followed when designing the work triangle. These are primarily designed to make single cook kitchens efficient and easy to work in.
* No side of the triangle should be less than 1.2m or more than 2.7m in length.
* The sum of the individual sides should be between 4.0m and 7.9m.
* Traffic through the work triangle should be as low as possible.
* You wouldn't want to put obstacles like tall cabinets on any side of the triangle.
Kitchen work zones
The kitchen triangle works beautifully for single cook kitchens, where the kitchen is relatively small. This concept was developed in the 1940s when the kitchens were much smaller than today. For designing larger kitchens, you would want to lean about the various zones that exist in today's kitchens.
The kitchen may be divided into zones based on the work that gets done. Designing your kitchen this way can help make your kitchen a lot more efficient. Primarily, you could say any kitchen needs to have three zones -
* food preparation / baking zone : This is where you clean / rinse food, cut, mix, process and more. You may want to know that you spend nearly 70% of your time in the kitchen in the food preparation and baking zones. So all the appliances you need to prepare and store food should ideally be placed in this zone. That includes you blender, refrigerator, cutting board, trash can, recycle bin and the like.
* cooking zone : This is where you cook the food. The oven, cooking range, frying pan and so on belong here. The cooking zone needs to be right next to the food preparation zone.
* cleanup zone : This is where the dirty work gets done! Experts say you may spend about 20% of your time here. Needs to be separated from the othet two zones.
Work flow in the kitchen
While designing your kitchen, you may want to ensure you keep zone crossing to a minimum. That way, you will end up moving around a lot less and thus make your kitchen a lot more efficient. You would want to list out all of the appliances you will nbe having in your kitchen and arrange things in a way that boosts efficiency by making work easier. You would want to pay very close attention to the work flow as well. This is really what makes working in your kitchen a lot easier.
By making work flow smooth and efficient, you also reduce the stress. This makes it easier for you to give your kitchen the care and attention it needs. This can ensure that your kitchen - and your backsplash - stays in good shape for a long time. All because you took the time to get the basics right.
That said, here are a few ideas that will help you design a pretty backsplash, and keep it that way for a lifetime.
The very first thing you might want to remember when it comes to designing kitchens is that the food preparation area should be very easily accessible. To some, this might seem ridiculous. After all, everyone does that, right? No. Not all kitchens are designed in this way. This is especially true when amateurs try their hand at designing kitchens. You would want to read some material on designing kitchens - specifically, about the work triangle. Get this right, and working in your kitchen will not be a hassle.
Now, what does this have to do with your backsplash? More than you may think. If working in your kitchen is a hassle and you hate doing it, do you think you will take the time to clean the backsplash each time you prepare food? Not a chance.
Travertine is a kind of limestone. It's beautiful, but it is also porous. It's easy to damage it with food stains if you do not clean it right after preparing food.
Which is why you will want to get the basics right. Make it very easy to work in your kitchen, and chances are your backsplash will last for a lifetime.
The Work Triangle
The triangle formed between the cooking range, dishwasher / sink and the refrigerator in your kitchen is referred to as the work triangle. Of course, this does not apply if your kitchen is single walled.
There are several rules of thumb to be followed when designing the work triangle. These are primarily designed to make single cook kitchens efficient and easy to work in.
* No side of the triangle should be less than 1.2m or more than 2.7m in length.
* The sum of the individual sides should be between 4.0m and 7.9m.
* Traffic through the work triangle should be as low as possible.
* You wouldn't want to put obstacles like tall cabinets on any side of the triangle.
Kitchen work zones
The kitchen triangle works beautifully for single cook kitchens, where the kitchen is relatively small. This concept was developed in the 1940s when the kitchens were much smaller than today. For designing larger kitchens, you would want to lean about the various zones that exist in today's kitchens.
The kitchen may be divided into zones based on the work that gets done. Designing your kitchen this way can help make your kitchen a lot more efficient. Primarily, you could say any kitchen needs to have three zones -
* food preparation / baking zone : This is where you clean / rinse food, cut, mix, process and more. You may want to know that you spend nearly 70% of your time in the kitchen in the food preparation and baking zones. So all the appliances you need to prepare and store food should ideally be placed in this zone. That includes you blender, refrigerator, cutting board, trash can, recycle bin and the like.
* cooking zone : This is where you cook the food. The oven, cooking range, frying pan and so on belong here. The cooking zone needs to be right next to the food preparation zone.
* cleanup zone : This is where the dirty work gets done! Experts say you may spend about 20% of your time here. Needs to be separated from the othet two zones.
Work flow in the kitchen
While designing your kitchen, you may want to ensure you keep zone crossing to a minimum. That way, you will end up moving around a lot less and thus make your kitchen a lot more efficient. You would want to list out all of the appliances you will nbe having in your kitchen and arrange things in a way that boosts efficiency by making work easier. You would want to pay very close attention to the work flow as well. This is really what makes working in your kitchen a lot easier.
By making work flow smooth and efficient, you also reduce the stress. This makes it easier for you to give your kitchen the care and attention it needs. This can ensure that your kitchen - and your backsplash - stays in good shape for a long time. All because you took the time to get the basics right.