Designing for Kitchen Safety: Tips for Successful Kitchen Remodeling

Kitchen remodeling isn't just about style and aesthetics. While those are important, you also want to ensure that your remodeled kitchen is as safe as possible for you and your family.

Kitchens are the source of more than half of all fires in U.S. homes, and kitchens can also pose other safety risks from falls, burns, cuts, and other injuries.

Most people know about basic kitchen safety tips, such as carefully handling knives and never leaving pots unattended, but few homeowners know that you can actually design your kitchen in ways that optimize safety and prevent accidents.

A remodel is the perfect opportunity to incorporate safety-oriented design elements into your kitchen. This allows your renovation to make your kitchen safer while also making it more functional and visually appealing.

In this post, I'll go over a number of specific design considerations that play a role in making your kitchen safer for everyday use.

Design Elements to Promote Kitchen Safety

There are many components of interior design that contribute either directly or indirectly to kitchen safety. Each is worthy of your consideration when planning a remodel.

Lighting

Whether prepping food, cooking, or cleaning up, it's important to be able to see what you're doing. Although that may sound obvious, it's often overlooked, and studies have found that poor lighting is associated with more household injuries like falls and burns.

When designing a new kitchen, you want to account for both ambient lighting and task lighting. Your overhead lights provide a base level of illumination that is complemented by lighting in more specific areas, including near the stovetop and prep areas. In many remodels, we include under-counter lighting for brighter workspaces.

It's also helpful to think about the location of light switches, making sure that they are in convenient places so that you can turn your lights on and off easily and without having to reach across hot surfaces.

Electrical Outlets

Both the location and type of wall outlets can affect kitchen safety.

In your design, try to include plenty of outlets, and put them near places where you expect to use small appliances. This avoids the need for extension cords, which can be a fire hazard. Long, outstretched cords can also accidentally knock over glassware or other items on your countertops.

We also recommend installing Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets according to all local building codes and manufacturer requirements. These outlets can detect electrical imbalances and automatically trip the circuit to prevent electrical shocks.

Cooktop Controls

Whether you have a gas stove or induction cooktop, make ergonomic controls a priority. Some characteristics to consider include:

• Well-placed and accessible controls so you don't have to reach over hot surfaces or burners

• Clear, intuitive markings so you know exactly what will happen when you adjust a knob or touch a button

• Indicator lights that tell you when a surface is active or still hot

• Sufficient knob resistance or a digital lock button to prevent accidental activation

• Automatic shut-off after a set period of time

Floor Plan

Your kitchen's floor plan should promote safe and efficient movement throughout the space.

Many designers focus first on the "work triangle," which includes your sink, fridge, and cooktop. You want your floor plan to enable quick, barrier-free movement between these three key points.

The floor plan should also avoid chokepoints where collisions are more likely to happen. Ideally, you can design the flow so that the main foot traffic patterns don't intersect with the primary kitchen work zone. In addition, having more width in your kitchen can decrease the risk of accidental bumps, bruises, and burns.

Flooring and Fall Risk

To further prevent injuries from falls, look for slip-resistant flooring, such as textured porcelain tile, luxury vinyl plank (LVP), or engineered hardwood.

You can also help avoid slippery floors by having a sink that is deep enough to reduce water spillage onto the floor.

See also: Essential Guide to Stylish and Durable Kitchen Floor Tile

Reducing Fire and Burn Risk

Multiple different steps can help lower the risk of burns or a damaging fire that starts in your kitchen.

• Install smoke alarms and consider supplementing them with heat alarms for added safety

• Design a specific space for a fire extinguisher so that it's easily reachable in case of an emergency

• Position hooks for kitchen towels, oven mitts, and pot holders so that they are never close to major heat sources

• Consider an induction cooktop if you want to eliminate the exposed flames on a gas stove and maintain a cooler cooktop surface

• Choose an oven with a well-insulated oven door, especially if you have young children living in your home

• Ensure that there are multiple egress routes in case of a serious fire

Ventilation

Not all aspects of kitchen safety are immediately visible. Cooking at home can produce particulate matter and chemicals like nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO), all of which can be harmful to your health.

This makes ventilation an important aspect of designing a safer and healthier kitchen environment. A high-quality range hood with a powerful fan can improve indoor air quality and help protect you and your loved ones.

Safe Storage Space

A handful of tips can enhance safety when designing cabinets, drawers, and other storage spaces in your kitchen.

• Limit the amount of storage space that requires using a ladder or step stool to reach

• Consider installing auto-closing drawers and cabinets so that doors and drawers are not accidentally left open

• Put in sturdy shelves for all glassware and dishware

• Select hardware that is easy to operate and that won't stick out too far where it can snag clothing as people walk by

• Apply child safety locks on any cabinets or drawers that will hold hazardous chemicals

Microwave Placement

For most kitchens, we recommend against putting a microwave directly over your range.

While this doesn't always pose a safety problem, it does create potential risks. For example, it's imperative that there be enough clearance to avoid heat damage to the microwave. An over-range microwave also requires more regular cleaning to prevent grease from building up in the microwave vent where it can become a fire hazard. Finally, over-range microwaves offer weaker ventilation than dedicated range hoods because most models simply recirculate the air back into the room rather than venting it to the outside.

Rounded Corners and Edges

When choosing countertops and cabinets, try to avoid sharp edges that can lead to injuries. Rounded corners and edges are usually a safer alternative, especially for tight spaces or homes with young kids.

Kitchen Islands

Kitchen islands are extremely popular in remodels, and many of them involve an integrated cooktop and bar seating. If you're interested in this design, make sure that there is a height differential or physical barrier between the cooktop and the eating surface. This reduces the risk of accidentally touching hot surfaces or getting splattered by hot oil.

Anchoring Furniture

If you have a china cabinet, hutch, sideboard, buffet, or any similar piece of furniture for storing dishes or glassware, anchoring it to a wall is a smart precautionary measure. This keeps the furniture item from tipping over and causing an injury (not to mention breaking all the china inside).

Expert Help for Your Kitchen Remodel

In your dream kitchen, you don't have to sacrifice functionality, aesthetics, or safety. With the right remodeling partner, you can design your kitchen to meet all of your needs and expectations.

Our firm has been serving the Des Moines area for more than 15 years, helping countless homeowners with high-end remodels. With our design-build process, we manage the entire project under one contract, offering a seamless experience with streamlined communication and enhanced cost control.

We'd love to hear about your vision for a remodeled kitchen and invite you to contact us directly for a proposal. And if you're looking for information or inspiration, check out our portfolio and guide to kitchen remodeling costs.