Some people include their floor plans in their finished kitchen's photos, some do not. If you check the Finished Kitchens Blog and go to the "FKB Categories" you can look for kitchens that include layouts/floorplans. [See the "Read Me" thread linked below for more information.]

Are you asking what a zone is? Prep Zone, Cooking Zone, Cleanup Zone, etc.?

The "Read Me" thread has a description of the various zones in the "Planning for Storage" post (scroll down to find it).

Also, for some additional discussion, see this thread:

Thread: Death to the Work Triangle??

Basically, a "zone" is a work area that contains the things you need for a particular task. E.g., the "Cleanup Zone" contains a sink, DW, and relatively close proximity to a trash pullout and dish storage. The "Cooking Zone" contains the range/cooktop, pots/pans, cooking tools & utensils, etc. The "Prep Zone" contains prep tools & utensils, small appliances, very close proximity to a sink w/o crossing large distances, a trash pullout/can, and close proximity to the Cooking Zone.

Zones should follow the workflow....Refrigerator --> Prep Zone --> Cooking Zone --> Serving Zone --> Cleanup Zone

There should also be no zone-crossing if at possible. E.g., you should not have to cross the Cleanup Zone to go from the Prep Zone to the Cooking Zone. Additionally, you should strive to avoid obstacles in the various zones...the DW should not open into the Prep or Cooking Zone, for example.

Here are some pics of the zones in my kitchen. Note there are some differences in "secondary" and "tertiary" prep zones, but the primary ones are the same (Primary Prep Zone, Cooking Zone, Cleanup Zone).

Cooktop wall zones:

Sink/window wall zones:

Here is a link that might be useful: Read Me If You're New To GW Kitchens!

I didn't realize I was working with "zones" when we designed our kitchen, I just knew that I didn't want to have to travel very far left or right when working on baking, that I needed a sink and long consolidated spaces when processing garden produce, that I wanted a beverage and snack area out of the working kitchen, that I wanted to keep working when DH enters room and does a second activity, that there needed to be places for items coming and going (trash, recycling, groceries, stuff for deck or freezer), etc. I also had read about two-cook kitchens and the pluses and minuses of various standard layouts. Having remodeled years ago, I had a lot of previous understanding of the work triangle.

Turns out DH and I came up with a very well zoned kitchen, but it took hours and hours plus a couple sessions with vendors who made drawings for purposes of doing bids, which showed me how the people with some training were approaching the problem. There are a number of good library books to consult, if you have a good library. Some of the kitchen-related mags also have good summaries about wise kitchen design, but a surprising number of them ignore this concept or gloss over it.

Start making lists: What activities will I do in the kitchen? How much space do I need to do them? What is relationship to other areas? Become an astute observer of your own kitchen behavior--what do you learn about how you cook and clean up?

My flickr account has two copies of our blueprint embedded in it, which you can use to work back and forth to photos, but it will take you a lot of time and I don't have the neat circles and arrows that Buehl offers. One blueprint is set up with colors to show the relationship between existing stuff and new stuff.

Also strongly urge you to be realistic about what the kitchen is not: it's not going to make you a better person, a better cook, a better spouse, a better parent, a better housekeeper, etc. It's only a tool and only will help you if you use it wisely and at the times when you need this tool. If a worker has good tools, it's more likely that good things will be produced.

Here is a link that might be useful: Florantha's blueprint

Not at all as neat as Buehl's, but here is my kitchen plan with zones and their main traffic paths marked:

The plan

Lastly, this is from a long time ago. Its a simple chart of idealized zones(labels for work areas), their relationships to each other (actually carrying out activities), and what might be kept in any given area. It becomes a drawing how the way to make your kitchen a more effective place to work in. It also gives you an unemotional way to judge a floor plan and weigh trade-offs.

Oh wow, bmorepanic, florantha, buehl, rhome -- thank you for the process-pointers. I realize the trouble here is, I am not enjoying this process; it's too overwhelming for me at the moment. So having you break things out like this is *really*, really, really helpful. Being instructed just to follow that Read Me list, helped, I'll go try to make out a rough notion of zones and sketch them out. In some ways it seems silly as my options are so eclipsed already. But maybe I'll be able to ream something out.

My plans were posted on another thread but it might have been lost. I'll put the link below again. I could paste the plans in here but I think that's overkill as you can find the plans if you're interested. If someone wants me to do this though let me know. The other thread was called, um, "No wall: where oh where to put the stove?? (ridiculously long!)"

I think the bottom, sad line is that I will have to lose my passthrough. I guess. I really don't want to. But more than that I'm seeing now that sticking a stove in an island is a rotten decision. I'm sold on the need for a hood, just still waffling over where on earth to put it. I guess I could stick it against the 'electrics' wall, but that would eat into the FR.

sigh. As I said, you-all seem to just lap up this process/design part. It just panics me!

Back to the drawing board. I just love reading your wisdom, though, and appreciate the great outpouring of it.

Here is a link that might be useful: aliris kitchen hood dilemma

Buehl-Can you direct me to your finished kitchen on the FKB? I can't find it under your name! What is it listed under? And do you find you have enough storage? (Do you have a pantry somewhere?
Debbie

you-all seem to just lap up this process/design part

Designing is a process...and catching on to how to do it is a process, too! We all learned as we went and you will, too.

Can you be happy with a reduced pass through? If you could fit the fridge across from the aisle that's currently in front of it and put the stove on that wall, I think you could still have a pass through...just smaller.

I was noticing the bay behind your sink...Will you have to climb up on the counter to clean all the way back? ;-)

Did you think about putting the sink under the pass-through and the stove where the bay is?

I'm in the "In-Progress Kitchens". I still haven't put in a backsplash so it's not done yet. I was hoping to do it this fall/winter, but I was just laid off so that money is now being saved in case I cannot find another job quickly.

Something more important always seems to come up when I finally have enough money saved up for it! (Washing machine, new car, and now no job! Oh, and now, I find out my DS needs $4K for a trip to Germany, Switzerland, & France this summer w/his school's Jazz Band. OK, we knew it was a possibility and I had even hoped to go with them, but the timing is lousy!)

I do have plenty of storage. I even have room in my kitchen for two sets of dishes...winter dishes (Snow Bear) and the rest of the year. I was also able to move most of the kitchen items I used to have stored throughout the rest of my house into the kitchen as well as have room for two cabinets to be display (they were originally slated for dishes, but I found I didn't need them for that!)

Pantry...yes, I have two pantries...a quite small corner pantry to the right of my ovens and a downstairs overflow pantry that's a little bigger...but not by much!

My pantry thread: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1122521925815.html
Link to my downstairs pantry pics: http://s182.photobucket.com/albums/x108/Buehl/Pantry/

aliris19...planning a kitchen right can take a long time...often much more time than it will actually take to construct it. That's the nature of projects like this. If you take the extra time to plan it right, there will be fewer "surprises" and regrets later. Also remember...it's far less expensive to fix problems while planning than during construction or even after the fact. So, take your time and do it slowly to get it right! You will be much happier w/the result if you do.

Oh, and don't let anyone pressure you into getting it done now. Stand firm and tell whoever is pressuring you that you are not ready and that you want to take the time to do it right!

Here is a link that might be useful: FKB In-Progress Kitchens

Thank you for answering my question, Buehl. Would you be willing to look at my room's measurements and try to imagine your floor plan within? (I have ridiculous amounts of doorways, openings, windows, etc.) I tried posting my layout and room measurements once before but it was very small. If you are willing to take a look, my e-mail address is Oursbelille@hotmail.com. If you do e-mail me I can forward you the layout in a format where it will become legible. The truth is I have a million ideas and grand plans, but really don't trust my creative vision- but I know what I like when I see it (for instance-your kitchen!). I would probably be more comfortable copying someone else'd executed vision than moving forward with my own! Plus I have a narrow space and you have mentioned before that yours is as well. I have always been against Galley, but have never seen one as spacious as yours. Thanks! Debbie

rhome, buehl -- thanks as always. Unfortunately we are already under construction, buehl. I've been not so much standing firm as scuffing my heels and in complete denial as to this planning phase. As noted in the 'work triangle is dead' thread, I'm one of those types who wanted a designer just to make it all go away and get better. Only our architect can't/isn't and my husband can't/isn't and I haven't the foggiest idea how to find a "KD"; had no idea such things existed until hours ago. I wouldn't even know where to find one much less how to find the money for one. So... it looks as if I'm going to have to stop deny, stop dragging my heels, and start making those lists as suggested, etc.

So. I actually broached some of this with dh and of course he's just exasperated: 'of course you have to do it...'.

Anyway, I therefore have new thoughts to bring to the process that I'll post over on my thread about 'No wall: where oh where...'. I know buehl and others, that you've been very kind enough to help me over there where I was asking for layout help. I understand now that I need to have more conceptual ducks-in-the-row before I can layout. But also I have a few liberating guidelines so I'll nip over there now...

Thanks as always mavens. You're really amazing; the net is amazing.

And buehl -- I'm really sorry about your job. I hope it's not as a KD that you've been laid off! Presumably you've a good living to be earned, potentially, from doing this professionally, no? And many congrats for DS's band achievements, too, expensive though they may be...

Thanks Arliris19! No, I'm not a KD, I'm in IT (requirements, testing, software quality assurance). It was a complete shock since two days before I was being told what contracts I was bid on as "key personnel" and what I would be doing until we heard from them or other work started that typically begins in Dec/Jan each year. Even my manager seemed to be in shock about it. (She said the decision was not hers.)

Want to know something? I'm secretly enjoying the time off with no stress and no very long work hours! If only there wasn't college looming on the horizon for both children (and, of course, retirement savings), I might consider taking 6 months or more off! It's been nice being able to schedule things whenever I want to (like parent-teacher conferences last week) and knowing that I can probably watch my DD play basketball (she not only made JV as a freshman but she's also a starter!)

Back on topic, I'm working on a couple of layouts for you right now and will post them in your "no wall" thread.

OT to Buehl: ouch! That IT background perhaps explains the facility with making software kitchen-design-friendly!

Here's hoping it's all temporary and for the best. I stopped working after my first was born and have had a hard time getting geared up for any sort of meaningful return. Projects and activities, like space in a closet, get filled always. Hopefully it's all for the best that your work become more family-oriented for a time...