Design Reveal : Kitchen

Hey guys!

I'm taking my first studio course, the first of many! I will have two studio courses at community college and then two more at university. Studio classes are the heart of any interior design major. They are the courses that really allow your design capabilities to be discovered and challenged.

Studio 1 is all about that free hand! This means everything is done by hand, no computers and, sadly, no straight edges or t-squares. All of my lines must be drawn by hand and beware... I don't possess a steady hand yet. But it's ok! I'm not getting discouraged. This is part of the process!

For our first assignment we are studying NKBA's Student Competition 2018 and their partnership with Habitat for Humanity, an international non-profit organization created to provide people of need with safe shelter and homes. It is not required by our professor that we submit our projects into the competition, but we are given the option to. I personally don't feel like I am ready for student competitions yet, but I feel like I will be after this course ;)

The deliverables and requirements are explained here by NKBA, National Kitchen and Bath Association. 

After reading about which appliances are required, which windows and walls can be altered or moved, what the budget is, and the size of the kitchen, I could begin designing. The first challenge I came across was the size. This is a fairly small kitchen so I ran across some spacial issues when it came to including each and every appliance I wanted, staying within residential code, and providing extra space for food-prep and dining. Below you can see different layouts I went over. 

There are certain requirements within kitchens that must be met such as 3' of space between the edge of a table with the wall and 42" - 47" between a counter and island. The dining nook in the second option helped me push the dining (between 4 to 6 people) into the corner, providing more space for prep. But as I played with the concept of a kitchen island, the more I favored the linear layout and "triangle". The triangle refers to the walking path between the fridge, the stove, and the sink. NKBA recommends that each kitchen have a "triangle", because it is the most efficient use of a kitchen. 

The next obstacle I came across was the budget. My professor wasn't requiring a schedule (list of all products and prices) for this assignment since the purpose was to explore our creativity. But I wanted to stay within the budget regardless, because:

a. this is a real student competition that reflects future ones I aim to participate in

b. it's a home for Habitat for Humanity and the end result should reflect that

& c. a budget is a real obstacle that designers have to handle in a day-to-day reality

If I don't start learning now, then how am I supposed to know the art of budgeting in the future? Luckily, small spaces and small budgets go hand in hand! I was able to do some online shopping and find really small appliances for cheap. When it came to furniture, I looked at places like Target and Houzz. The only thing I really splurged on was the tile for the backsplash, but that's because the tile is always the star of the show! Below you can see the material board.

Once I settled on a floor plan, I began designing the RCP, Reflected Ceiling Plan. This is mirrored view of the kitchen from 5' above the ground. This means that we see everything above 5'. The upper cabinets, vent hood, and ceiling lights are shown in mine. I also decided to include a recessed light cove to create some visual presence in the ceiling. The light cove is centered above the island and has three pendant lights hanging as the anchor. When I was selecting the pendant lights, I wanted to choose a size that wasn't overbearing since the kitchen is so small, so I went with 10" diameter.

Next was my elevations! Elevations are important, because you can begin to see how everything will look in 3D. This is where I decided how high I wanted to place the toe-kick, window, upper cabinets, and black splash.

This is an axon which is a stretched out version of the floor plan. This axon is at 30 - 60 degrees and allows me to see further into a 3D view.

I hope you guys enjoyed seeing this project. I will try to share all of my projects with you and give you a glimpse into the life of interior design. See you next time!