The kitchen is a busy space, an active space and a much-loved space. It's also hot, sharp, hard and slippery, which can make the kitchen a dangerous space if occupants aren't careful. With a continuing focus on accessible and livable designs, manufacturers and kitchen designers are placing a greater emphasis on kitchen safety as well.

Keep Your Chicago Kitchen Design Safe & User-Friendly

While your focus on safety may slightly alter product selections in your Chicago kitchen design, we also recommend asking your design-build team about smaller design choices that make a big difference.

Here are 7 ideas for promoting safety in the kitchen:

1. Rounded Edges. Small children are prone to bumping their heads on lower countertop edges and corners. Busy chefs and parents often find their countertop corners jump out and bite their thighs or hips. One way to reduce the impact of these unavoidable interactions is to choose rounded corner and edge details. Examples include bullnose or ogee edges.
   
   
2. Induction Stovetops. Because these stovetops operate on a magnetic principle, heat arrives and dissipates quickly, eliminating the chances of burning someone once the heating elements are turned off. You can read more about Induction vs. Electric in, "Cooktop Options for Your Chicago Kitchen Remodel...".
   
   
3. Strong Shelving. Open shelves are becoming more popular with every kitchen we design. However, all those dishes, cookbooks, appliances and/or servingware get very heavy, very quickly. That's why it is so important that the shelves are properly designed, built and installed. The last thing you want is for a loaded shelf to rip out of the wall and come crashing down on people or pets in the vicinity.
   
   
4. Hardy Cabinet Organizers. Similarly, any pull-out shelving systems used in the cabinets must be able to bear the brunt of the weight they'll hold, combined with the daily inning-and-outing they'll experience in a busy kitchen. Invest in high-quality products to protect yourselves and your cabinet bodies. For example, the CAVARE pull-out shelf system is made of metal, and uses slow-motion movement for safer use.
   
   
5. Cleanliness & Hygiene. Anyone whose every handled chicken-in-the-raw or mixed their dough by hand knows that faucets are a challenge. It's tricky to turn a faucet on with one's elbow, yet grabbing the handle creates a germ-a-phobe nightmare. Touch-sensitive faucets are both hygienic and accessible, not to mention convenient. Other hygienic design features include non-porous countertops, like Corian or quartz, and anti-microbial mats.
   
   
6. Accessible Features. If you're overstretching your reach to grab something, or can't easily access everyday appliances, the kitchen becomes an obstacle course. By designing a kitchen that is unique to your household's needs - including heights, ages and abilities, safety is an automatic byproduct.
   
   
7. Great Lighting. Finally, no safe kitchen is complete without a well-balanced lighting plan. Task lighting ensures your family can see what they're doing, whether it's chopping, stirring, cleaning or working around hot surfaces, and ambient lighting will strike the right tone as needed.

Kitchen & Baths Unlimited is dedicated to creating safe, stylish Chicago kitchen designs. Visit us to get started.